Oregon historical quarterly

UKIV.OI-

THE

QUARTERLY

OF THE

VOLUME XIV

MARCH. 1913— DECEMBER, 1913
Edited by

FREDERIC GEORGE YOUNG

Portland, Oregon
The Ivy Press

[I]

£ <NN

T

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SUBJECTS OF PAPERS.

FOLK FESTIVAL, WHY NOT, IN ROSE FESTIVAL?

By F. G. Young 315-317

GRAY, CAPTAIN WILLIAM P., REMINISCENCES OF

By Fred Lockley 321-354

OREGON IN 1863

By Thomas W. Prosch 61-64

OSBORN, BURR, SURVIVOR OF HOWISON EXPEDITION TO OREGON

IN 1846
By George H. Himes 355-365

SCOTT, HARVEY W.
— Review of Half-Century Carreer of, as Editor, and Estimate

of His Work
By Alfred Holman 87-133

— Outline of Events in Life of 133

— Extensive Library as Gauge of His Broad Scholarship and

Literary Activity
By Charles H. Chapman 134-139

— Review of Writings of, on Favorite and Most Important

Topics
By Leslie M. Scott 140-204

— Verses Contributed on Occasion of Death of

By Dean Collins and Wm. P. Perkins 139, 205

— Tribute to, From Contemporary Editors Throughout United

States on Fame in Journalism 206-210

WILBUR, FATHER, AS INDIAN AGENT, 1886

By Henry C. Coe 65-67

DOCUMENTS.

HOWISON, LIEUTENANT NEIL M., REPORT ON OREGON, 1846.

A Reprint 1-60

LOWNSDALE, DANIEL H., LETTER OF, TO SAMUEL R. THURSTON.

Introduction by Clarence B. Bagley 213-249

McLoucHLiN, DR. JOHN, COST OF IMPROVEMENTS MADE BY, AT

WILLAMETTE FALLS, TO JANUARY 1, 1851 68-70

Ross, ALEXANDER, JOURNAL OF, ON SNAKE COUNTRY EXPEDITION,

1824. Editorial Notes by T. C. Elliott 366-388

SMITH, E. WILLARD, JOURNAL OF, WITH FUR TRADERS, VASQUEZ
AND SUBLETTED 1839-41. Contributor's Note by J. Neil-
son Barry 250-279

WORK, JOHN, JOURNAL OF, ON SNAKE COUNTRY EXPEDITION,

1830-31. Second Half— Editorial Notes by T. C. Elliott. .281-314

Cm]

REVIEW.

COMAN'S ECONOMIC BEGINNINGS OF THE FAR WEST

By F. G. Young 71-79

AUTHORS.

Bagley, Clarence B., Introduction to Lownsdale Letter 215-7

Barry, J. Neilson, Contributor's Note to Journal of E. Willard

Smith, 1839-40 250

Chapman, Charles H., Harvey W. Scott's Extensive Library as

a Gauge of His Broad Scholarship and Literary Activity 134-9
Coe, Henry C, Father Wilbur as Indian Agent, 1886 65-7

Collins, Dean, Harvey W. Scott. A Poem 139

Elliott, T. C., Editor of Journal of John Work on Snake

Country Expedition, 1830-31 281-314

— Editor of Journal of Alexander Ross on Snake Country

Expedition, 1824 366-388

Himes, Geo. H., Burr Osborn, Survivor of Howison Expedition

to Oregon in 1846 355-65

Holman, Alfred, Review of Harvey W. Scott's Half-Century

Career as Editor, and Estimate of His Work 87-133

Lockley, Fred, Reminiscences of Captain William P. Gray ,..321-354

Perkins, William P., Harvey W. Scott A Poem 205

Prosch, Thomas W., Oregon in 1863 61-64

Scott, Leslie M.,

—Review of the Writings of Harvey W. Scott on Favorite

and Most Important Topics 140-204

— Outline of Events in Life of Harvey W. Scott 133

Young, F. G., Why Not a Folk Festival in the Rose Festival?. . .315-317

[IV3

THE QUARTERLY

of the

Oregon Historical Society

VOLUME XIV MARCH 1913 NUMBER 1

Copyright. 191 3. by Oregon Historical Society
The Quarterly disavows responsibility for the positions taken by contributors to its pages

REPORT OF LIEUTENANT NEIL M. HOWISON
ON OREGON, 1846

A REPRINT

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

Lieutenant Howison was early in 1846 detailed by Commo-
dore Sloat of the Pacific squadron of the United States Navy,
then on this Coast, to make an examination of the situation in
Oregon. This order was given at the instance of George
Bancroft, Secretary of the Navy, and the expedition had prob-
ably been resolved upon by the administration at Wash-
ington. During the months of April, May and most of June
his vessel, the schooner Shark, was undergoing repairs in the
Sandwich Islands in preparation for the trip. Howison en-
tered the Columbia on July 1, conducted his investigations and
prepared, in compliance with his orders, to return about Sep-
tember 1. He suffered shipwreck in crossing the Columbia
bar on September 10. Chartering the Cadboro from the Hud-
son's Bay Company officials he was ready to sail November 1,
but was compelled by unfavorable weather to remain anchored
in Baker's Bay until January 18.

His disastrous experience in the total loss of his vessel, and
the difficulties he contended with throughout his course in nav-
igating the Columbia naturally made him emphasize the condi-
tions affecting the channels and passableness of that river. He
revised Captain Wilkes' sailing directions for entering the Co-
lumbia. Changes in the channels in the intervening five years
had made this revision necessary.

2 LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

It will be noticed that as he was preparing to embark on the
Cadboro in early November in 1846, homeward bound, the
American barque Toulon arrived from the Sandwich Islands
with the "news of the Oregon treaty, Mexican war, and occu-
pation of California." He had taken his observations of condi-
tions in Oregon near the close of that long period of suspense
over the unsettled ownership of the country. He had seen
"all settled spots on the Columbia below the Cascades, the
Wilhammette valley for sixty miles above Oregon City, and
the Twality and Clatsop plains." He confines his/ report to
subjects his "own observations or verbal inquiries from authen-
tic sources could reach."

He begins with a characterization of the attractive personal-
ity of Dr. McLoughlin, and gives an appreciative estimate of
his able and sagacious administration of the affairs of the Hud-
son's Bay Company down to 1845, and of his large service to
the community as a whole. The attitudes taken toward him by
the different elements in the Oregon community are not with-
held. The classes in the composition of the population of Ore-
gon in the middle of the forties are described, particularly the
situation in which the American immigrants found themselves
after completing their long treks across the continent.

The Hudson's Bay Company dominated the affairs m the
settlement. The benevolence, the steadiness and the far-
sighted character of the policy of the managers of that concern
elicited his commendation.

Lieutenant Howison's report supplies very definite informa-
tion on the trade, shipping, productions, towns, Indian popu-
lation and general development of Oregon at this stage. He
forecasts with wonderful clearness the factors that have been
controlling influences in its growth ever since. The document
is a fit companion of the reports of Slacum and of Wilkes.
These are found in Volume XIII, pp. 175-224, and in volume
XII, pp. 269-299, respectively, of the Quarterly.

LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846 3

30th CONGRESS, [HOUSE OF REPS.] MISCELLANEOUS
1st Session. No. 29.

OREGON.

REPORT

OF

LIEUT. NEIL M. HOWISON, UNITED STATES NAVY,

TO THE COMMANDER OF THE PACIFIC SQUADRON J
BEING

The result of cm examination in the year 1846 of the coast, har-
bors, rivers, soil, productions, climate and pop-
ulation of the Territory of Oregon.

FEBRUARY 29, 1848.

U. S. FRIGATE SAVANNAH,
San Francisco, California, February 1, 1847.

SIR : Want of opportunity has prevented me from commu-
nicating with the commander-in-chief of the squadron since the
month of June last.

I shall therefore do myself the honor on this occasion to
report in detail my proceedings since that date, premising that
the much regretted shipwreck of the vessel I commanded, with
the loss of her log-book and all my papers, obliges me to draw
upon memory for what is now respectfully submitted.

In obedience to orders from Commodore Sloat, then com-
manding the Pacific squadron, I took the United States
schooner "Shark" last April to the Sandwich islands, where she
was thoroughly repaired and newly coppered. With my best
exertions, this was not completed until the 23d of June, on the
afternoon of which day I sailed for the Columbia river. Noth-
ing more than usual occurred on this voyage. Made the land
of Oregon on the 15th of July, about thirty miles north of the

4 LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

river, and in expectation of northwesterly winds; but we had
calms and light westerly winds for the succeeding three days,
which obliged me frequently to anchor on the coast, and await
a change of tide, the directiori of the flood being directly on
shore, and the soundings shoal ; in some places only ten fathoms
seven or eight miles from the land.

About 10 o'clock a. m., of July 18, I anchored in ten fath-
oms, Cape Disappointment bearing NE. by N., distant
five miles. Several guns were fired and signals made for a
pilot ; but seeing no one moving about the shore, on either side
of the river, I took the master with me in the whale-boat, and
pulled in the channel, between the breakers, sounding in no
less than four fathoms, and passing sufficiently far in to rec-
ognise the landmarks on the north shore, described in Wilkes's
sailing directions.

Here it is proper to mention, that while at the Sandwich
islands I met with Captain Mott, master of the Hudson's Bay
Company's barque Vancouver, and Captain Crosby, master of
the American barque Toulon, both of whom had lately been
in the Columbia river. I was informed by those persons that
the sands about the mouth of the Columbia had undergone
great changes within a short time past, and that a spit had
formed out to the eastward from the spot upon which the Pea-
cock was wrecked in 1841, which made it impossible to enter
the river by the old marks, or those laid down on Wilkes's
chart. The receipt of this information was most opportune
and fortunate for me, as I had no other guide than a copy of a
copy, upon tracing paper, of Wilkes's chart, which was even
now, before its publication, out of date.

This new formation of Peacock spit, extending into the old
channel, greatly obstructed this already embarrassing naviga-
tion, and those most experienced undertook to cross the bar
with apprehension and dread. When, therefore, a seaman of
my crew, who had been wrecked in the "Peacock," reminded
me that this was the anniversary of her loss, I cannot deny that
I felt sensibly the weight of my responsibilities.

LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846 5

Having, however, traced the channel in my whale-boat
through the tumult of various tide rips, and the way seeming
clear, I returned on board the schooner, and at 2 p. m. got
under way and stood in ENE. With the wind at west, weather
clear, and tide young flood, we glided rapidly and safely into
Baker's bay; and to those who were unacquainted with the
dangers which closely and imperceptibly beset our passage in,
nothing appeared more simple and free from danger. Upon
rounding Cape Disappointment, a boat came alongside with
three American gentlemen in her, who introduced themselves
as Mr. Lovejoy, the mayor of Oregon city, Mr. Spalding, a
missionary, and Mr. Gray, a resident of Clatsop Plains. From
these I learned that no regular pilots were to be had for the
river, but that there was a black man on shore who had been
living many years at the cape, was a sailor, and said, if sent
for he would come off and pilot us up to Astoria. He was ac-
cordingly brought on board, and spoke confidently of his
knowledge of the channel ; said he had followed the sea twenty
years, and had been living here for the last six ; that "I need
have no fear of him," &c. He ordered the helm put up, head
sheets aft, and yards braced, with an air that deceived me into
the belief that he was fully competent to conduct the vessel, and
he was put in charge Of her. In twenty minutes he ran us
hard ashore on Chinook shoal, where we remained several
hours thumping severely. We got off about 10 p. m., without
having suffered any material damage, and anchored in the
channel, where I was determined to hold on until I could make
myself acquainted with the cha'nnel, or procure the services of
a person to be relied on. At daylight I was pleased to find Mr.
Lattee, formerly mate of a ship belonging to the Hudson's Bay
Company, and now in charge of the port at Astoria, on board.

Upon the vessel's grounding, the gentlemen visitors, feeling
themselves somewhat responsible for the employment of this
pretended pilot, immediately put off to Astoria, a distance of
ten miles, to procure the services Of Lattee, who promptly com-
plied with the request, and they all came back to the schooner
about daylight, having been all night exposed in an open boat.

6 LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

At 2 p. m. of the 19th, I anchored off Astoria, where I re-
mained until the 22d, in order to visit Gatsop Plains and the
neighboring country.

We were abundantly furnished by the American settlers
here with fresh beef and vegetables.

As I have said before, my only guide up the river was
Wilkes's chart, which extended about twenty-five miles, and
included part of Puget's island. In this a fine straight channel
is delineated from the neighborhood of Tongue point up to
Termination island. But upon consulting Lattee and an In-
dian named George, who acts as pilot in the upper part of the
river, they both denied the existence of this channel, and as-
sured me that no other than the shallow and tortuous passage
which Captain Wilkes had himself always used, and which
was invariably used by all others, had been found out, although
George said he had often in his canoe, and at favorable times,
attempted to trace it as described by Captain Wilkes and his
officers. I nevertheless adhered to the opinion that such a
channel existed, but thought it best at present to follow the
beaten track, and accordingly buoyed out the common channel,
(which is necessarily done by every vessel attempting to pass
through it), and used that in proceeding up the river. I em-
ployed Indian George to accompany me, and derived great ad-
vantage from his knowledge of the water above Tongue Point
channel. He knows nothing about handling a vessel,, but, with
a fair wind, will conduct her very safely, pointing out ahead
where the channel runs.

At this season of the year westerly winds blow every day,
and there is no difficulty in ascending the river.

I reached Fort Vancouver, 100 miles from its mouth, on the
night of July 24th, where I found H. B. M. sloop-of-war "Mo-
deste," Captain Baillie, who immediately sent on board his com-
pliments and the offer of his services. There were also moored
to the river bank two barques and a ship in the employment of
the Hudson's Bay Company. The next morning Mr. Douglass,
chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company, called on me with
polite offers of supplies, &G.

LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

On the 26th, I dropped down to the mouth of the Wilham-
mette, six miles below Vancouver, and made an effort to get
the schooner over the bar at the mouth of the river, with the
view of ascending it as far as navigable for sea-going vessels ;
but having grounded on the bar, and the water having still
five or six feet to fall, I was obliged to desist from the attempt ;
and se'nding off in a boat the first lieutenant and some other
officers to visit Oregon city, and the neighboring American
settlers, I returned with the schooner to Vancouver.

At this time we had not heard of the settlement of the boun-
dary question, and intense excitement prevailed among all
classes of residents on this important subject. I enjoined it by
letter on the officers under my command to refrain from engag-
ing in arguments touching the ownership of the soil, as it was
our duty rather to allay than increase excitement on a question
which no power hereabouts could settle.

The officers were also directed to seek all the information
respecting the country which their respective opportunities
might afford. Besides the sloop of war Modeste, anchored in
the river, the British government kept the frigate Fisguard
in Puget's sound, and the strongly armed steamer Cormorant
in the sound and about Vancouver's island. These unusual
demonstrations produced anything but a tranquilizing effect
upon the American portion of the population, and the presence
of the British flag was a constant source of irritation.

The English officers used every gentlemanly caution to re-
concile our countrymen to their presence, but no really good
feelings existed. Indeed, there could never be congeniality be-
twee'n persons so entirely dissimilar as an American frontier
man and a British naval officer. But the officers never, to my
knowledge, had to complain of rude treatment. The English
residents calculated with great certainty upon the river being
adopted as the future dividing line, and looked with jealousy
upon the American advance into the northern portion of the
territory, which had some influence in restraining emigration.

8 LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

Finding it impossible to get the schooner into the Willhamette
river, I left her at Vancouver, and made a visit to Oregon city,
where I was received by the provisional governor, George
Abernethy, esq., and honored with a salute fired from a hole
drilled in the village blacksmith's anvil. From the city the gov-
ernor accompanied me for a week's ride through the Willham-
mette valley, and a more lovely country nature has never pro-
vided for her virtuous sons and daughters than I here travelled
over. This excursion ended, the governor took a seat in my boat,
and accompanied me to Vancouver. He was received on board
the schooner with a salute and remained with me for two days.
I had previously dispatched the first lieutenant, Mr. W. S.
Schenck, up the Columbia river as high as the Dalles, to find
out what settlements had been made along its banks, and more
particularly to endeavor to gain some information of the large
emigration which was expected in from our western frontier
this autumn, and from which we should get dates from home
as late as June. In person I visited the Twality plains, and
returned again by the city and river.

The high price of mechanics' labor here, and facility with
which any one can earn a living, had tempted ten of the Shark's
crew to desert ; and although a liberal reward was offered for
their apprehension, only two had been brought back. The few
American merchant vessels which had visited the Columbia
suffered the greatest inconvenience from the loss of their men
in this way, and it is now customary for them to procure a
reinforcement of Kanakas in passing the Sandwich islands, to
meet this exigency.

When Captain Wilkes left the river in 1841, he placed the
Peacock's launch, at that time a new and splendid boat, in
charge of Dr. McLaughlin, agent of the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany, to be used in assisting vessels about the bar, should they
need it. After this boat had remained a year in the water with-
out being of any use, she was hauled up on shore, and was
now completely out of order from the effect of decay and
shrinkage. Many applications had been made for her by Amer-
ican emigrants, but Dr. McLaughlin did not feel authorized to

LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846 9

deliver her to any other than a United States officer. She was
fast going- to pieces, and I thought it good policy to sell her
for the benefit of the government, particularly as the man who
purchased did so with the intention of repairing her, to be
used as a pilot boat ; she brought $150. It would have required
as much more to repair her, and I was only anxious she should
sell for enough to make the purchaser take care of her and
keep her employed.

Being under orders to come out of the river by the 1st day of
September, my explorations were necessarily very limited, mak-
ing the best use of our time. Many interesting portions of the
country were still unvisited, which I greatly regret; for al-
though Captain Wilkes in 1841, and other travellers since,
have given very comprehensive descriptions of the country,
so rapid are the developments made of its productions and re-
sources by the large annual emigration of inhabitants, that
a statistical account two years old may be considered out of
date. Preparations were, of course, made to comply fully with
orders.

The American barque Toulon, bound to the Sandwich is-
lands, and now attempting to go down the river, had required
the services of the old Indian, who acted as pilot, which left
me entirely dependent on the lead, and a boat ahead, to feel
my way through a devious channel of nearly 100 miles hi
extent. I had not, nor could I procure, a map giving even an
outline of the general direction of the stream. Thus unpro-
vided, I left Fort Vancouver at daylight of August 23d. Three
or four miles below the fort, I found the barque Toulon badly
aground on a sand bar. I anchored abreast of her and sent
men and boats to her assistance, but the current was strong,
and it became 'necessary to unlade part of her cargo; so, nearly
three days were consumed in relieving her. This, and the sub-
sequent tediousness of the voyage down against constant head
winds, made it the 8th of September when I anchored in
Baker's bay. The 9th was devoted to observations on the bar
and preparations for crossing it. On the 10th, in the after-

10 LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

noon, the attempt was made and resulted in the shipwreck
of the schooner, as is circumstantially related in my communi
cation dated September 21st.

Cast on shore as we were, with nothing besides the clothes
we stood in, and those thoroughly saturated, no time was to be
lost in seeking new supplies. I left the crew, indifferently shel-
tered, at Astoria, and, with the purser in company, pushed up
the river to Vancouver, whither news of our disaster had
preceded us, and elicited the sympathy and prompt attentions
of the factors of the Hudson's Bay Company and of Captain
Baillie and the officers of her Britannic Majesty's ship "Mo-
deste." These gentlemen had unitedly loaded a launch with
such articles of clothing and necessary provisions as we were
most likely to need, and added a gratuitous offering of a bag
of coffee and 80 pounds of tobacco. I met this boat 25 miles
below the fort, and could not but feel extremely grateful for
this very friendly and considerate relief. Copies of the let-
ters accompanying these supplies are appended to this report,
(marked A and B,) as well as an extract from one from
Governor Abernethy, and another of the same friendly tenor
from Captain Couch, an American trader at Oregon city, agent
of Mr. Cushing, of Newburyport, Massachusetts, (the last
marked C and D ;) to all of which I made appropriate replies.

At Vancouver my wants of every kind were immediately
supplied by the Hudson's Bay Company; and although cash
was at Oregon city and with the American merchants worth
twelve per cent, more than bills, yet the company furnished all
my requisitions, whether for cash or clothing, taking bills on
Messrs. Baring & Brothers at par. Upon returning to Astoria,
I set about putting up log houses for our accommodation, as
there was no vessel in the river, and it was extremely uncer-
tain when an opportunity would occur for us to leave. We
got two comfortable buildings, of 30 by 24 feet, a story and a
half high, well floored and boarded, with kitchen and bake oven,
soon ready for occupation and use, and had half completed a
frame house for the officers' special accommodation, when the

LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846 11

schooner "Cadboro" arrived, which opened a prospect of leav-
ing the river, and induced us to desist from finishing the offi-
cers' house. The cost of plank for these buildings was some-
thing over two hundred dollars.

OfBcers and men had been constantly kept exploring the
beach from Point Adams to the southward, to pick up any
articles worth saving which should drift ashore from the wreck,
but they seldom found a spar or plank from her which the
Indians had not already visited and robbed of its copper and
iron fastenings.

Receiving information through the Indians that part of the
hull, with guns upon it, had come ashore below Killimuk's
Head, about 20 or 30 miles south of Point Adams, I sent
Midshipman Simes, an enterprising youth, to visit the spot.
He did so, and reported that the deck between the mainmast
and fore hatch, with an equal length of the starboard broadside
planking above the wales, had been stranded, and that three
of the carronades adhered to this portion of the wreck. He
succeeded in, getting one above high-water mark ; but the other
two were inaccessible, on account of the surf ; and as it would
have been utterly impracticable to transport any weighty ob-
ject over the mountain road which it was necessary to traverse,
I of course made no exertions to recover them, but informed
the governor of their position, that during the smooth seas
of next summer he might send a boat round and embark
them.

Within a month all the upper works, decks, sides and spars
came ashore from the wreck, but separated a distance of 75
miles from each other, and were of no value, from the long
wash and chafing which they had undergone. To the heel of
the bowsprit we found two kedge anchors attached, one with
an arm broken off; and it is a little singular that the only
articles recovered which could be at all useful hereafter were
of metal and weight.

On the llth of October we were cheered with the sight of a
sail in the offing, and next day the Hudson's Bay Company's

12 LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

schooner Cadboro, from Vancouver's island, anchored at As-
toria. The first lieutenant, master, and assistant surgeon were
ordered to examine her, and report in writing her capacity
or fitness to transport us to California; and although she was
but 57 feet in length, they were of opinion we could pack in
her closely and make the voyage. I lost no time, therefore,
in going up the river and chartering her from the company;
and although the price demanded (£500 sterling) was, in my
judgment, an extravagant one, my anxiety to rejoin the squad-
ron, having heard overland of hostilities with Mexico, was
such as to overrule all other considerations, and I engaged the
schooner.

On the 28th of October the winter set in, with a strong
gale at southeast, and heavy rain. The Cadboro was pre-
pared to receive us on board by the 1st of November; but
unremitting gales from the southward, with rain, prevented us
from embarking until the 16th. In the meantime the American
barque Toulon arrived from the Sandwich islands, and brought
us news of the Oregon treaty, Mexican war, and occupation
of California. This intelligence rendered us doubly anxious
to escape from our idle imprisonment in the river, and we
seized upon the first day of sunshine to embark. This was on
the 16th of November.

The ground upon which the houses described above had been
built (the extremity of Point George) was within the pre-
emption claim of Colonel John McClure, who lived at Astoria ;
and, upob vacating them, they were put under his care, and
subject to his use, as will be seen by letter annexed (marked
E.) The right ownership of the soil being decided by the
treaty, I no longer felt any reserve in hoisting our flag on
shore ; and it had been some time waving over our quarters on
the very spot which was first settled by the white man on the
banks of the Columbia. When we broke up ahd embarked,
I transmitted this emblem of nationality to Governor Aber-
nethy. The letter accompanying it, and the governor's reply,
are annexed, (marked F and G.)

LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846 13

The Cadboro anchored in Baker's bay November 17th, where
we remained, pent up by adverse winds and a turbulent sea
on the bar, until the 18th of January. Her master, an old sea-
man, had been navigating this river and coast for the last 18
years, and his vessel drew but eight feet water; yet, in this
long interval of sixty-two days he could find no opportunity
of getting to sea safely. This is in itself a commentary upon
the dangerous character of the navigation of the mouth of the
Columbia.

We suffered very much from our crowded stowage in this
small craft. The weather was wet and cold ; and the vessel not
affording the comfort of stove or fireplace, and without space
for exercise, I was very apprehensive that we should have some-
thing more serious than chilblains and frost-bitten fingers to
complain of ; but it was not so. Both officers and men enjoyed
the most robust health and ravenous appetites. Many of the
smaller items of the ration being deficient, the value was made
up by beef, salmon, and potatoes, and of these each man con-
sumed and digested his four pounds and a half a day. The
Hudson's Bay Company allow its servants while making a
voyage eight pounds of meat a day, and I am told the allow-
ance is none too much. Our long detention in the river obliged
me upon two occasions to send on new requisitions upon the
company's store at Vancouver for supplies, which were prompt-
ly answered.

The Toulon, having gone up the Willhammette, discharged her
cargo and taken in another, came down the river and anchored
near us on the 8th of January. Ten days afterwards we both
succeeded m getting to sea, and arrived in company at San
Francisco on the 27th of January. The barque was laden with
provisions, principally flour, which latter cost her $6 per barrel.
Before she came to an anchor a United States officer had
boarded her and purchased nearly all she had at $15 per
barrel.

We found at San Francisco the U. S. frigate Savannah, and
sloop-of-war Warren, to which vessels my officers and crew

14 LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

were immediately transferred and assumed their appropriate
duties.

It will be seen by the foregoing sketch that although my visit
to Oregon was most unexpectedly prolonged to six months, it
had notwithstanding offered very limited opportunities of ex-
tending personal researches throughout the country. The offi-
cers, in compliance with my orders, have individually furnished
me with a written report of all the information that each had
acquired deemed worth communicating, and I take this occasion
to express my obligations to them for the aid thus rendered me
— a service alike useful to me and performed in a manner
highly creditable to themselves. From these and the result of
my own inquiries and observations, I .am enabled to put you in
possession of the following information, which, though it may
be deemed in many points trite and unimportant, I will not
apologize for, as my instructions required a full and minute
report, which "for its very fullness would be the more accept-
able. (Extract from Mr. Bancroft's letter of August 5, 1845.)

During the summer months, from April until October, the
winds on the coast prevail almost uninterruptedly from the
west, inclining northerly in the afternoon, and the other part
of the year they are generally from SE., S., and SW. ; the nav-
igator will therefore know what course to adopt in approaching
the mouth of the river. He cannot fix the cape, even when
many hundred miles distant, better than on an ENE. bearing.
He will be almost sure of a fair wind, as it seldom Mows from
northeast any distance off shore. Cape Disappointment is in
latitude 46° 19' N., longitude 124° W. It is between six and
seven hundred feet high, and can be seen in clear weather 30
miles. It juts prominently out into the sea, is a bold headland,
and, if the weather be such as to allow an approach within
15 miles of it, cannot possibly be mistaken by persons at all
experienced in adjusting a line of coast with the chart south
of the Columbia. Soundings are very deep close in shore, while
to .the north of the river you will have from 15 to 20 fathoms

LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846 15

in some places ten miles from shore, and in high westerly gales
the sea often breaks five miles from the beach. A ship should
never go nearer the coast than ten miles or twelve, unless with a
view of going right in, or of reconnoitring the bar, particularly
in winter, when the southeasterly gales spring suddenly up, and
as suddenly shift to SW, and WSW., which with a flood tide
requires a good sailing vessel and a press of canvas to keep
a safe offing. I lay at anchor in Baker's bay, some three hun-
dred yards inside the cape, from November 17, 1846, until
January 18, 1847; and although we were unfortunately desti-
tute of barometer and thermometers, we had a good oppor-
tunity of observing during these two winter months the wind
and weather. The heavens were almost always overcast; the
wind would spring up moderately at E., haul within four hours
to SE., increasing in force and attended with rain. It would
continue at this point some 20 hours, and shift suddenly in a
hail storm to SW., whence, hauling westwardly and blowing
heavy, accompanied with hail and sleet, it would give us a
continuance of bad weather for three or four days, and force
the enormous Pacific swell to break upon shore with terrific
violence, tossing its spray over the tops of the rocks more than
two hundred feet high. A day of moderate weather, with the
wind at NE., might succeed this ; but before the sea on the bar
would have sufficiently gone down to render it passable, a
renewal of the southeaster would begin and go on around the
compass as before.

Throughout Oregon the NE. wind, or between N. and E.,
is clear and dry, and in winter very cold ; it is the only wind
at that season which will serve to take a ship safely out to
sea; and as it generally succeeds the westerly gales, which
leave a heavy sea on, the impatient navigator is oftentimes
obliged to remain at his anchor until this fair wind has blown
itself out. The northeaster may, as I have said before, be
considered a land breeze, not reaching over ten or twelve miles
to sea. In the upper part of the Territory, and above the
mouth of the Cowlitz, on the Columbia, clear easterly winds

16 LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

are prevalent, and it is during their continuance the greatest
degree of cold is felt; the river is often frozen over in. the
neighborhood of Fort Vancouver. Even in Baker's bay, the
schooner we were on board of was in January belted around
with ice at the water's edge, fully eighteen inches thick; this
was, however, considered by the old residents an unusual and
extraordinary spell of cold weather.

Captain Wilkes's survey, in 1841, of the mouth of the Co-
lumbia, however accurately it may have been done, is, I am
sorry to say, at present only calculated to mislead the navigator ;
this I affirm without any intention to reproach himself or his
assistants with incapacity or neglect ; five years' time has doubt-
less put an entirely new face upon the portrait of the sands
hereabouts; nor has the change beeri altogether sudden, for I
ascertained from those who had passed and sounded among the
sands at short intervals since the date of the survey, that these
changes have been gradually and steadily progressing. This
chart delineates two fine open channels, broad and with reg-
ular outlines ; but at this mome'nt the mouth .of the southern
channel is nearly closed up, not having at low water more
than two fathoms in it, while the old or northern one is ob-
structed by a spit from the wreck of the Peacock to the east-
ward ; so that on the line of six fathoms laid down on the chart,
only six feet can now be found. Many other chariges equally
important have taken place within the bar, which is needless
to allude to here. The constant alterations which this bar, in
common with most others, is undergoing, go to prove the
necessity of frequent surveys and the establishment of resi-
dent pilots, who can be constantly exploring the channel, and
keep pace with the shifting of sands, and the consequent change
in the direction of the tides.

The following sailing directions will at this time carry a
vessel safely into Baker's bay ; but how far they may be suit-
able a year hence is altogether doubtful. There has been no
heavy freshet in the Columbia for the last two summers, and
the elongated and narrow spits which now jut out from the sands

LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846 17

bordering on the channel are considered the result of the pre-
dominant sea wash, which will be removed by the first sweep-
ing freshet that rushes out of the river. The past winter, 1846-
'47, having been unusually severe, and a heavy deposit of snow
and ice resting on the mountains and in the interior valleys,
persons anticipate a great inundation in June, or as soon as the
sun's rays attain power to convert this winter covering into
fluid. This will unquestionably produce a new movement in
the sands at the mouth of the river, and may perhaps render
nugatory these directions for entering the river.

The wind should not be to the northward of west, nor to the
eastward of south. The beginning of the summer sea breeze
is generally at WSW., which is the most favorable quarter.
Bring Cape Disappointment to bear NE. by N., catch an object
in range on the high land behind it, (in order to correct the
influence of the tide,) and stand for it on that bearing until the
middle of Cockscomb hill is fully on with Point Adams — you
will then be in 10 fathoms, a fathom more or less depending
on the stage of the tide. Now steer ENE., or for Point Ellice,
taking care to fix that also in range, and keep it on with some
object in the distant high land in the rear — this course will
gradually open Cockscomb hill with Point Adams, and will
take you over the bar in four and a half fathoms water, deep-
eni'ng to five and six if you are exactly in the channel. If the
tide be flood, and you shoal the water, you are probably too
near the north breaker, and will find it necessary to observe
strictly the Point Ellice range, which will inform you how you
are affected by the tide. As you advance in, look along the
northern shore for the first yellow bank or bluff which opens
from behind the cape ; and if it be ebb tide, haul up immediately
NNE. ; but if it be flood or slack water, NE. will do, and stand
on that course until the next point opens, which is called Snag
point; then steer direct for the cape and Snag point in range,
which is N. by W. ^ W. by compass. Passing a little to the
eastward of this range, will open another seeming point,
marked in summer by a growth of alder trees of unusually dark

18 LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

green hue, (in winter they are more brown thah the adjacent
forest,) which has attained the name of Green point; beyond
this range a vessel should not pass to the eastward, or the
middle sands will abruptly bring her up. If it be flood tide
you may pass within fifty yards of the cape; and even if it be
full calm, the current will take you to an anchorage ; but if it be
ebb, keep a short quarter of a mile from the cape, as you are
almost sure to be becalmed, and the tide runs out to the west-
ward here at least five knots ; if you lose the wind at this point,
you must instantly let go an anchor, and, veering a good scope
of cable, await a change of tide. The best anchorage is the
cape bearing SSE., or on with Killimuk's Head, distant about
five hundred yards, in five fathoms water. If a strahger reach
this point in safety, he had better remain here until either of
the Indians, George or Ramsay, be sent for, or he can procure
advice from some one familiar with the navigatioh. hence to
Astoria. From appearances on the chart, he would suppose
this navigation very simple, but the strong and diverse cur-
rents make it extremely embarrassing and dangerous; and
should a vessel ground anywhere within fifteen miles of the
outer bar, and a strong wind arise, the swell is sufficiently
great and the bottom hard enough to bilge her; none but a
buoyant and fast pulling boat should be sent to sound about the
bar, as the tide occasionally runs with an irresistible force ; and,
in spite of all efforts, would sweep an indifferent boat i'nto the
breakers.

Five fathoms can be carried at low water up to Astoria,
which is the first anchorage combining comfort and security;
three-quarters of a mile above that, is a narrow pass of only
thirteen feet; but from Baker's bay, (pursuing the Chinook
channel, which passes close to Point Ellice, and is more direct
and convenient for vessels bound straight up,) four fathoms
can be carried up to Tongue point, which is three miles above
Astoria; and just within, or to the westward of, Tongue point
is a spacious and safe anchorage. From Tongue point the
navigation for ten miles is extremely intricate, and some parts

LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846 19

of the tortuous channel not over ten feet deep at low water.
The straight channel which Captain Wilkes discovered has be-
come obstructed about its eastern entrance, and nothing can be
made of it. A channel nearly parallel with it, but to the south-
ward, was traced in my boats, and I devoted a day to its ex-
amination, and carried through three fathoms at low water;
but my buoys bei'ng submerged by the tide, prevented me from
testing its availability in the schooner. From Pillow rock the
channel is at least three fathoms deep at the dryest season all
the way to Fort Vancouver, except a bar of fifteen feet at
the lower mouth of the Wilhammette, and another about a mile
and a half below the fort. The Wilhammette enters the Co-
lumbia from the southward by two mouths, fourteen miles
apart; the upper is the only one used, and six miles below
Vancouver. Throughout the months of August and Septem-
ber, it is impracticable for vessels drawing over ten feet. Both
it and the Columbia, during the other months, will easily ac-
commodate a vessel to back and fill drawing thirteen feet.

The Columbia is navigable to the Cascades, forty miles
above Vancouver; the Wilhammette up to the mouth of the
Clackamas river, twenty-one miles above its junction with the
Columbia, and three below the falls, where the city of Oregon
is located. These rivers reciprocally contribute their waters
to one another at different seasons of the year. When the
winter sets in, generally with the month of October, and rains
are almost incessant, the Wilhammette river receives all the
waters which drain from the valley of its name, which imme-
diately raise it above the level of the Columbia, into which it
flows with a strong current, causing a rise in the latter, and
sometimes a ge'ntle reflux of the waters up stream; this con-
tinues until March, when the rains cease and the Wilhammette
settles to its level. 'Tis then, however, the warm rays of the sun
begin to penetrate the more northern and frozen resources of
the Columbia ; the mountain snow and ice are soon converted
into streams, which simultaneously contribute, along a course of
seven or eight hundred miles, to swell this majestic river until,

20 LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

by the month of June, it attains its greatest force and volume; it
is then actually a tributary to the Wilhammette, forcing its wa-
ters back to the falls and causing a perceptible current in that di-
rection. This rise in the Columbia is, however, like freshets
in the Mississippi, not perceptible on the bar at the mouth,
except to extend the time and increase the force of the ebb
tide; at Vancouver the average summer rise is 16 to 18 feet.

The most suitable sailing vessels for this navigation are brig
or barque rig, and of light draught of water — not to exceed,
when loaded, 13 feet. They should be well found in ground
tackling, and furnished with at least two good sized hawsers
and kedges of suitable weight. During the summer months the
prevailing westerly winds make the voyage up the river both
safe and quick, a'nd a vessel may descend at that season with
the assistance of the downward current without much deten-
tion ; but in winter both wind and tide are generally from the
eastward, and forty-five days is the usual time to get to Van-
couver ; and this can only be done by warping, a very laborious
operation for merchant vessels. I have been thus prolix in
speaking of these two rivers, as they are the arteries of life to
this country ; indeed, I have no information touching points
distant from their banks which has not already been published
to the world by means vastly more competent than ?.ny in my
possession. Besides, the information desired of me was more
particularly in relation to the civilized inhabitants of Oregon;
and very few of these are found settled, as yet, any great dis-
tance from the rivers.

Of Puget's sound and its many harbors nothing more is
known or can be at present added to Wilkes's observations in
1841.

English jealousy a'nd unoccupied country in the south have
interposed to prevent American emigration to the north side
of the Columbia until the last autumn.

I fell in with many persons exploring the country between
the Cowlitz river (which is navigable by boats thirty miles
from the Columbia in the line of route to Puget's sound) and

LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846 21

the seacoast, and that hitherto unknown region is represented
as offering many attractions to the new settler. A few scatter-
ing families are to be found horth of the Columbia and else-
where. I saw personally but little of Oregon, but that com-
prised its most interesting parts, viz: all settled spots on the
Columbia below the Cascades, the Wilhammette valley for
sixty miles above Oregon city, and the Twality and Clatsop
plains. These, with the exception of superannuated missionary
establishments at the Dalles and Wallawalla, and the Hudson's
Bay Company's farm on the Cowlitz, and their distant trading
posts in different parts of the Territory, are the only portions
of the country yet occupied. All these united, however, make
but an item when compared with the vast whole of Oregon,
of whose topography, mineralogy, soil, or natural productions,
it would be affectatioh in me to offer any account. My report,
as far as it goes, shall be confined to subjects which my own
observations or verbal inquiries from authentic sources could
reach. And first in order and importance is of the people who
form the body politic here, their laws, &c.

The persons of any consideration who have been longest
settled in Oregon are the factors, clerks and servants of the
Hudson's Bay Company. Their first point of residence was at
Astoria; but the country hereabouts was forest land, and dif-
ficult to clear, and it became necessary to increase their re-
sources of provisions and other domestic productions as their
establishments enlarged. About twenty-two years ago, leaving
a single trader to conduct the fur trade at Astoria, they made
a new settlement 96 miles up the river, and called it Vancouver.
This eligible site is the first prairie land found upon the banks
of the river sufficiently elevated to be secure from the summer
inundations. The control of all the company's affairs west of
the Rocky mountains was at that time, and continued until
1845, to be in the hands of Mr. John McLaughlin. As this
gentleman figures largely in the first settlement of the country,
and continues to occupy a most respectable and influential stand
there, it may be proper to describe him. He is a native of

22 LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

Canada, but born of Irish parents; his name is seldom spelt
aright by any one but himself ; he is well educated, and, hav-
ing studied medicine, acquired the title of doctor, which is now
universally applied to him. Of fine form, great strength, and
bold and fearless character, he was of all men best suited to
lead and control those Canadian adventurers, who, influenced
partly by hopes of profit, but still more by a spirit of romance
enlisted themselves in the service of the fur trading companies,
to traverse the unexplored country west and north of Hudson's
bay. He came, I think, as early as 1820 to assume the direc-
tion of the Hudson's Bay Company's interest west of the
Rocky mountains, and immediately organized the necessary
trading posts among the Indians of Oregon and those on the
more northerly coasts.1 He continued to maintain the super-
intendence of this increasing and most profitable trade, and by
judicious selections of assistants, the exercise of a profound
and huma'ne policy towards the Indians, and unremitting stead-
iness and energy in the execution of his duties, placed the
power and prosperity of his employers upon a safe and lasting
foundation. So much of his early life was passed away in the
canoe and the camp, that he seems to have been prevented from
cultivating those social relations at home which have their
finale in matrimonial felicity, and (as was customary among
his brethren of that day similarly employed) he rather uncere-
moniously graced the solitude of his camp with the society of a
gentle half-breed from the borders of lake Superior. This lady
occasionally presented him a pledge of her affection and fidel-
ity, of whom two sons and a daughter survive, and I believe
before her death was regularly married to the doctor, whose
example in this particular was followed by all the other offi-
cers of the Hudson's Bay Company who had acquired the
responsibility of parents. The doctor's oldest son, Joseph, is
a respectable land owner and farmer in the Wilhammette ; his
daughter, the widow of a deceased Scotchman ; and the other
son, David, who received his education at Woolwich, in Eng-

i. He came in 1824.

LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846 23

land, is engaged in commercial business with an American
named Pettygrove, of whom something will be said hereafter.
The doctor's present wife is a half-breed, the widow of one
McKay, a celebrated old trapper, who came out with Astor's
people in 1810, and was killed oil board the ship Tonquin the
same year.

The doctor is now about seventy years of age; is still strong
and active, of robust figure and rosy complexion, with clear
gray eyes, surmounted by huge brows and a full head of hair,
white as snow. He is a strict professor of the Catholic religion.
He resides now altogether at Oregon city ; is said to be on fur-
lough from duty in the company's service, and devotes him-
self to the operation of a fine flour ahd saw-mill which he has
built at the falls. He is active and indefatigable, and has by
his advice and assistance done more than any other man to-
wards the rapid development of the resources of this country ;
and although his influence among his own countrymen, some
few of the most respectable America'n settlers, and throughout
the half-breed and Indian population, is unbounded, he is not
very popular with the bulk of the American population. Some
complaints against him of an overbearing temper, and a dis-
position to aggrandizement increasing with his age, seem not
to be entirely groundless. He is, nevertheless, to be considered a
valuable man ; has settled himself on the south side of the river,
with full expectation of becoming a citizen of the United
States, and I hope the government at home will duly appre-
ciate him.2 With Dr. McLaughlin came many others engaged
in the Hudson's Bay Company's service; and these, as before
remarked, are now the longest settled residents of the land.
Few of those who filled everi so high a post as that of clerk
have separated themselves from the company's service and
still continue to reside in the Territory; but of the boatmen,
trappers, farmers, and stewards, almost every one, upon the
expiration of his five years' service, fixed himself upon a piece
of land and became a cultivator.

2. This wish of Lieutenant Howison was not gratified. Section eleven of the
Oregon Donation Land Law of 1850 dispossessed Dr. McLoughlin of his claim
known as the "Oregon City Claim."

24 LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

By far the greater part of these are Canadian voyagers, or
those who worked out their term of service in pulling bat-
teaux and canoes along the water-courses, which are almost
continuous from York factory, on Hudson's bay, to the shores
of the Pacific ocean. Eight or ten of these persons being annu-
ally discharged for twenty years, have become a large item in
the population of Oregon. They settled contiguous to each
other on the fine lands of the Wilhammette, about 30 miles
above the falls, and form now a large majority in Champoeg
county; their residence is called the French Settleme'nt, and
Canadian French is their language. Besides, there are a few
prosperous cultivators adjacent to the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany's farm on the Cowlitz. They are all connected with
Indian women, and would have united themselves with the tribes
to which their women belong but for the advice of Dr. Mc-
Laughli'n, whose influence induced them to assume the more
civilized and respectable life of the farmer. They are a simple,
uneducated people, but very industrious and orderly, and are
justly esteemed among the best citizens of the Territory. They
come under the general designation of half-breeds, and this
class of population, including all ages and sexes, may be com-
puted, numerically, at seven or eight hundred. They are well
worthy the fostering care of the government, and have been
assured that they will not be excepted by any general law of
the United States in relation to Oregon land claims or pre-
emption rights. If, unfortunately, their rights of property
should not be protected by laws of the United States, they
will soon be intruded on a'nd forced from the lands. Falling
back upon the Indian tribes with a sense of injury rankling in
their bosoms, the consequence might in all time to come be
most deplorable for the peace and safety of this country ; where,
from the sparseness of the population, a band of forty or fifty
blood-thirsty savages might surprise and destroy to rotation
hundreds of inhabitants.

Simultaneously with the Canadians were discharged from
the company's service other subjects of Great Britain, as farm-

LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846 25

ers, mechanics, gardeners, dairymen, &c., chiefly from Scot-
land and the Orkney isles ; besides some of the wild offspring
from the Earl of Selkirk's emigrants to the Red River settle-
ment, north of the lake of the Woods. A few American
hu'nters, not numbering over 12 or 15, straggled into the coun-
try about the same time, and occasionally runaway seamen from
our northwest traders. This heterogeneous population was,
in some way or other, to a man, dependent on the Hudson's
Bay Company. No important accessions to it occurred until
the American missionaries, with their families, came into the
country ; nor do I believe, prior to 1836, a single white woman
lived here. It was not until the year 1839 that any regular
emigrating companies came out from the United States ; and
these were small until 1842, when an annual tide of thousands
began to flow towards this western window of our republic.

From the best information I could procure, the whole pop-
ulation of Oregon, exclusive of thoroughbred Indians, whom
I would be always understood to omit, may be set down now
at nine thousand souls, of whom two thousand are not natives
of the United States, or descendants of native Americans.
Nearly all the inhabitants, except those connected with the
Hudson's Bay Company, are settled in the Wilhammette valley ;
the extreme southern cottage being on Mary's river, about
one hundred miles from the Columbia. Twenty or thirty fam-
ilies are at Astoria and the Clatsop plains ; and by this time,
there may be as many on the north side of the river, in the
neighborhood of Nisqually abd other ports on Puget's sound.

Between Astoria and Fort Vancouver, but o'ne white man
resides on the bank of the river for purposes of cultivation;
and he is a retired officer of the Hudson's Bay Company, named
Birnie, who has fixed himself 25 miles above Astoria. His
house is the seat of hospitality, and his large family of quarter-
breeds are highly respectable and well behaved. From Fort
Vancouver to the Cascades, forty miles, but a single family has
yet settled on either side of the river. Lieut. Schenck, who
went up to the Dalles, had nothing to add to Captian Wilkes's

26 LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

account of this point of the country. He was hourly impressed
with the strict accuracy of that officer's observations.

The people of Oregon had lived without law or politics, until
the early part of 18453 ; and it is a strong evidence of their good
sense and good disposition that it had not previously been found
necessary to establish some restraints of law m a community of
several thousand people. Among the emigrants of this year,
however, were many intelligent reflecting minds, who plainly
saw that this order of things could not continue in a rapidly
increasing and bustling population ; and that it had become in-
dispensable to establish legal landmarks to secure property to
those already in its possession, and poi'nt to new comers a mode
of acquiring it. A convention was accordingly held, and a
majority of votes taken in favor of establishing a provisional
government, "until such time as the United States of America
extend their jurisdiction over us." The organic law or con-
stitution was of course first framed, and made abundantly dem-
ocratic in its character for the taste of the most ultra disciple of
that political school.

It makes the male descendants of a white man 21 years of
age, no matter of what colored womaft begotten, eligible for
any office in the Territory; and grants every such person the
privilege of selecting six hundred and forty acres of land, "in
a square or oblong form, according to the natural situation of
the premises." It provides for the election of a governor and
other officers, civil and military, and makes it the duty of such
elected to take the following oath :

"I do solemnly swear to support the organic laws of Oregon,
as far as they are consistent with my duties as a citizen of the
United States, or as a subject of Great Britain, and faithfully
demean myself in office ; so help me God."

One of the first enactments of the legislature elected under
the organic law, was, "that in addition to gold and silver, treas-
ury drafts, and good merchantable wheat at the market price,
shall be a lawful tender."

3. Lieutenant Howison is hardly correct in this statement, as a fairly com-
plete political organization was effected in 1843. In 1845 the governmental author-
ity was made more adequate.

LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846 27

The subject of forming this provisional government had been
several months, indeed years, under discussion, and may be
considered the first political question canvassed within the Ter-
ritory. It was opposed by the influence of the Hudson's Bay
Company and British subjects generally, although the chief
factors of that company were ready to enter into a compact
or domestic treaty for the regulation and adjustment of all
points of dispute or difference which might spring up among
the residents : indeed, they admitted that it was time to estab-
lish some rules, based upon public opinion, decidedly expressed,
for the maintenance of good order and individual rights ; but
they felt apprehensive for themselves and their interests in
placing extensive law-making power in the hands of a legis-
lative body, composed of men on whose judgment they could
not implicitly rely, and whose prejudices they had reason to
believe were daily increasing against them. Their opposition
was, however, unavailing.

The election for governor excited the same sort of party
array ; but, as there were several candidates for this office, some
new considerations may be supposed to have mingled in the con-
test. George Abernethy, esq., a whole-souled American gentle-
man, was elected by a majority of the whole ; nor did he re-
ceive any support from those under the company's influence.
This gentleman came to Oregon as secular agent to the Meth-
odist mission in 1838 or '39, and, at the dissolution of that body,
engaged in mercantile and milling business. He is very ex-
tensively acquainted with the country and people of Oregon,
and greatly respected for his amiable, consistent and patriotic
character. He is a native of New York, and married a lady
of Nova Scotia, and will make a valuable correspondent to the
United States government, should it be desirable to communi-
cate with Oregon.

Among the components of the population are some few
blacks, (perhaps thirty,) and about double that number of
Kanakas or Sandwich islanders. These last act as cooks and
house servants to those who can afford to employ them. Al-

28 LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

though the population has quadrupled itself within seven years
past, and will doubtless continue to increase, it cannot be ex-
pected to do so at the past ratio.

California invites many off who are seeking new lands ; and
the emigrants of 1846 who reached Oregon were not computed
at over seven hundred, while the two previous years had each
increased the population two thousand or more.

The privations and sufferings of the first overland emigrants
to this country are almost incredible, composed, as they were,
of persons who, with families of women and children, had
gathered together their all, and appropriated it to the purchase
of meahs to accomplish this protracted journey.

They would arrive upon the waters of the Columbia after
six months' hard labor and exposure to innumerable dangers,
which none but the most determined spirits could have sur-
mounted, in a state of absolute want. Their provisions ex-
pended and clothes worn out, the rigors of winter beginning
to descend upon their naked heads, while no house had yet
been built to afford them shelter ; bartering away their wagons
and horses for a few salmon, dried by the Indians, or bushels
of grain in the hands of rapacious speculators, who placed
themselves on the road to profit by their necessities, famine
was staved off while they labored in the woods to make rafts,
and thus float down stream to the Hudson's Bay Company's
establishment at Vancouver. Here shelter ahd food were in-
variably afforded them, without which their sufferings must
soon have terminated in death.

Such was the wretched plight in which I may say thousands
found themselves upon reaching this new country ; but, in the
midst of present want and distress, the hardy pioneer saw
around him all those elements of comfort ahd wealth which
high hope had placed at the terminus of this most trying jour-
ney. At Vancouver he found repose and refreshment, the
offerings of a disinterested benevolence. Aided by advice and
still more substantial assistance, he prosecuted his journey up
the Wilhammette, and on the banks of this river could make

LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846 29

choice of his future home, from the midst of situations the
most advantageous and lovely. Here stood the ash, the pine
and the poplar — the ready materials which an Illinois man,
axe in hand, wants but a few hours to convert into a family
domicil; the river teemed with fine salmon, and the soil was
rich, promising fruitful returns for labor bestowed on it.

But throughout the winter these enterprising people were,
with few exceptions, dependent on the Hudson's Bay Company
for the bread and meat which they ate, and the clothes which
they wore ; stern necessities, and the clamors of suffering chil-
dren, forced them to supplicate credit and assistance, which, to
the honor of the company be it said, was never refused. Fear-
ful, however, of demanding too much, many families told me
that they lived during the winter on nothing more than boiled
wheat and salted salmon ; and that the head of the family had
prepared the land for his first crop without shoes on his feet, or
a hat on his head. These excessive hardships have been of
course hourly ameliorating; the emigrant of 1843 has pre-
pared a house and surplus food for his countrymen of the
next year ; ahd two roads being opened directly into the Wil-
hammette valley, rendering a resort to the Columbia unneces-
sary, has enabled the emigrants to bring in their wagons, horses
and cattle, and find homes among their own countrymen.

The apprehensions of want are no longer entertained; the
new arrivals improve in character and condition; a cash cur-
rency is likely soon to bd the law of the land, and the houses
are more and more fashioned to convenience, with an occasional
attempt at nicety. The Hudson's Bay Company is no longer
begged for charity, or besought for credit; but is slowly re-
ceiving back its generous loans and advances.

But I am sorry, in connexion with this subject, to report that
the conduct of some of our countrymen towards the company
has been highly reprehensible. The helping hand held out by
the company to the early American emigrants not only relieved
them from actual distress at a critical moment, but furnished
them with means to make a beginning at cultivation, and un-

30 LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

questionably accelerated the growth and settlement of the coun-
try in a manner which could not have succeeded but for such
timely assistance. The missionaries are not, however, to be for-
gotten ; they did much for the early emigrants, but their means
were more limited. I was told at Vancouver that the amount
of debt due the company by Americans exceeded eighty thou-
sand dollars; and that so little disposition was shown to pay
off this debt, that it had been determined to refuse any further
credits.

Some few persons, arriving here with titles and pretensions,
had obtained credit for more than a thousand dollars; and
these very men, since further credit had been refused, were
foremost and most violent in denouncing the company as a
monstrous monopoly, &c.

The bulk of this debt, however, is due in sums of from twenty
to two hundred dollars, and seems to be the cause of no un-
easiness to the officers of the company, who told me they were
often surprised by the appearance (after an absence of years)
of some debtor who came forward to liquidate the claim against
him. Much of this large amount will probably be lost to the
company ; but there is some reason to presume that the larger
credits were granted to individuals whose political influence
was thus sought to be procured ; and that the company, in this
respect, should have made false calculations, and lost their
money, is not so much to be regretted.

The honor of enrolling the names of doctors, colonels, gen-
erals and judges upon the debtor side of the ledger, they may
also consider a partial indemnification for what they may event-
ually lose.

However unlimited, therefore, may be our gratitude for
their kindness to the needy emigrants in earlier years, we can-
not suppose it was necessary of late to have been so profuse in
such grants ; and I have no doubt their determination to with-
hold further credits will prove advantageous to both parties.
The country is now so generally settled, and furnishes so much
surplus, as to enable the people to supply the indispensable

LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846 31

necessities of each other; among whom obligations of small
debts will be mutual, and not onerous. Of the politics of the
people of Oregon, it may be said they are thoroughly demo-
cratic ; but, although I doubt not every American was a warm
party man at home, a separation from the scene of contest has
had the effect to cool down his feelings on the subject; and,
as he no longer has the privilege of a vote in national elections,
the subject engrosses but little attention. Some individuals
were named to me who had, while discussing the propriety of
forming a provisional government, been disposed to advocate
an entire independence of the United States; but as matters
have resulted, they have almost to a man changed their opin-
ions, and are 'now displaying more than ordinary patriotism
and devotion to the stars and stripes.

Of the British subjects, who form but a fraction of the whole
population, I can say but little, as in my intercourse with
them national affairs were but little spoken of. Nearly every
one of them is or has been in the service of the Hudson's Bay
Company, and entertains a becoming reverence for his coun-
try ; but I heard many of the most respectable express the opin-
ion that the resources of Oregon would be much more rapidly
made available under the auspices of the United States gov-
ernment than under that of Great Britain.

The next most prominent British subject to Dr. McLaughlin
is Mr. James Douglass, a Scotchman of fine talents and char-
acter. He has been on this side the mountains since 1825 or
'26, and has gone through the probationary grades in the
company's service, and now has the control, associated with
Mr. Peter Skeen Ogden, of the whole business in Oregon and
on the Northwest coast. He has a large family of quarter-
breeds: a daughter of fifteen, with whose education and man-
ners he has taken much pains, would compare, for beauty and
accomplishments, with those of her age in any country. Mr.
Ogden is senior to Mr. Douglass in the company's service ; he
has been, until recently, the active agent in exploring the coun-
try and establishing trading posts ; and although he is not with-

32 LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

out those tender ties which it is the weakness of humanity to
yearn after, they have not yet been legitimated by marriage.
A handsome, lady-like daughter of his is married to a Scotch-
man, and these in turn have a family of childre'n. Mr. Ogden is
a jocose and pleasing companion ; has at least one brother liv-
ing in New York, but says he was born on the lines between
New York and Canada. I mention the domestic relations of
these gentlemen with reluctance; but it is necessary, to illus-
trate how completely their interests and affections are fixed
upon things inseparable from Oregon. This remark will apply
to every Englishman who has been five years in the country;
and although when news of the boundary treaty arrived they
undoubtedly were much mortified, they soon recovered their
composure, and, I believe, were very well satisfied with their
future prospects. Mr. Douglass, loyal to his king and country
from principle, observed that "Jonn Bull could well afford to
be liberal to so promising a son as Jonathan, for the latter had
given proofs of abilities to turn a good gift to the best ac-
count." I cannot but suppose that, before the expiration of
the company's trading privileges here, the very respectable and
intelligent body of. men engaged in conducting its business
will become blended with us in citizenship, and good members
of our great democratic society. The number of British sub-
jects throughout this Territory does not exceed six hundred,
exclusive of French Canadians, and this number is not increas-
ing. With three days' notice, double that number of Ameri-
cans, well mounted and armed with rifles, could be assembled
at a given point on the Wilhammette river. In the excited
state of public feeling which existed among the Americans
upon my arrival, the settled conviction on the mind of every
one that all Oregon belonged to us, and that the English had
long enough been glea'ning its products, I soon discovered that,
so far from arousing new zeal and patriotism, it was my duty
to use any influence which my official character put me in
possession of to allay its exuberance, and advise our country-
men to await patiently the progress of negotiations at home.

LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846 33

The Hudson's Bay Company had information of consultations
held on the south side of the river, in which the agrarian prin-
ciple of division of property found some advocates, and per-
haps they had some grounds to apprehend that their extensive
storehouses of dry goods, hardware and groceries might be
invaded ; in addition, therefore, to their own means of defence,
they procured from the British government the constant at-
tendance at Vancouver of a sloop-of-war. This vessel an-
chored there in October, 1845, and I left her there in January,
1847. She, however, I understood, was under orders to leave
the river, and her commander, who had once struck on the
bar, and narrowly escaped with the loss of false keel and rud-
der, only awaited the good weather of spring to attempt to get
out.

The company's agents expressed to me their fervent hopes
that the United States would keep a vessel of war in the river,
or promptly send out commissioners to define the bounds of
right and property under the treaty. They have been exces-
sively annoyed by some of our countrymen, who, with but
little judgment and less delicacy, are in the habit of infringing
upon their lands, and construing the law to bear them out in
doing so. An individual, and a professor of religion, too, had
been ejected by our course of law from a "claim" of the com-
pany's, and costs put upon him ; but having nothing, the costs
had to be paid by the plaintiffs ; which was scarcely done when
the same person resumed his intrusive position ; and as he called
himself now a "fresh man," the same formula of law must
be gone through with to get clear of him, and so on ad infini-
tum. In a case where an American was confined one night in
the fort for this sort of pertinacity, and refusing to give secur-
ity that he would forbear in future such forcible entry upon the
land, he instituted an action for damages for false imprison-
ment; but as no notice of suit had been served on the commit-
ting magistrate, and as I expostulated with the man on the sub-
ject, I believe he gave over the idea. These and many other
similar acts arose from a belief that the Hudson's Bay Com-

34 LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

pany would be soon turned out of the country by the terms of
the anticipated treaty, and many were led to this offensive
course by a desire to succeed to those advantages which could
not be conveyed away by the retiring company. Since the de-
tails of the treaty have come to hand, it is to be presumed a
better understanding of respective permanent rights will be
entertained; but I feel bound to express the opinion, for the
information of government, that however acceptable that treaty
may be to the people generally, some of its items give great
discontent and heart-burnings in Oregon. Howsoever little
creditable this may be to the good sense and moderation of
the complainants, it may be accounted for by reference to the
fact that in every community some of its members are unrea-
sonable enough to act upon a one-sided view of the subject.
In this particular case several causes unite to excite dissatis-
faction: first, disappointment at not having a grasp at the en-
closed fields and ready-made habitations which they had all
along expected the treaty would oblige the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany to vacate; next, the hoped-for dissolution of this com-
pany would have relieved many persons from the presence of
their creditors; and others saw that only in that event would
Americans be able to engage successfully in commercial pur-
suits. But although too many were influenced by motives so
unworthy, yet it must not be supposed I would include among
them the substantial cultivator, or any one of the great bulk
of hobest emigrants who came here to live by his labor, and
not by his artifice or speculating genius, which would render
the labors of others subservient to his use.

These discontents might not be worth alluding to, did we
not remember from what small beginnings political parties
sometimes take their rise; and this may be the nucleus of a
growth of independents, who may compromise our government
i'n its stipulations for the security of English property in Ore-
gon, to say nothing of the effect produced upon public opinion
by the habit of seeing always on the increase a party opposing
the policy and measures of the United States. It should be

LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846 35

nevertheless observed that in Oregon the general tendency of
persons and things is towards improvement; the ragged and
penniless emigrant is, upon his arrival here, much less under
the influence of human or moral laws than the same man is
found to be a couple of years afterwards, when he has acquired
a house over his head and fenced in an enclosure for his cattle.
Becoming a property-holder instantly inspires him with a rever-
ence for the law, and he sees by supporting its inviolability
he can alone make sure of retaining the means of independence
and comfort which it has cost him two years' labor to obtain.
The Hudson's Bay Company, from its having been so long
established in the country; from the judicious selection it has
made of sites for trading, agricultural and manufacturing pur-
poses ; from the number of persons and large moneyed capital
employed, and most of all from the far-sighted sagacity with
which its business is conducted, in some way or other involves
itself in every matter of consequence relating to this country ;
nor is it possible to avoid introducing it as bearing upon all
points worth bringing to the notice of government. The terms
of the treaty exemplify how ably its interests have been repre-
sented in London, and the immunities it enjoys by that instru-
ment will, I apprehend, make it more the object of jealousy and
dislike to our citizens here than it has hitherto been.

However long and tedious this report has already become,
my inclination to terminate it must give way to a sense of duty,
while I describe as briefly as possible all that I could see or
learn about this company. Its original charter, granting ex-
clusive trade for furs around Hudson's bay, was extended to
other trade west of the Rocky mountains ; and the privilege
of raising from the soil whatever was necessary for their
comfortable maintenance, in the prosecution of this trade, was
likewise granted; but in reading its charter and the laws sub-
sequently enacted in relation to its interests, it is very mani-
fest that it was only considered an associatioh of capitalists
for purposes of trade.

36 LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

The Puget's Sound Agricultural Company is merely a nom-
inal affair, being only a new name with new privileges, under
which the capital of persons belonging to the Hudson's Bay
Company is turned into profit. It would be difficult to get
exactly at the true relationship between it and the other, as the
parties who manage them are the same, and they have endeav-
ored to make them appear as separate interests. When, there-
fore, a new farm is taken possession of, stocked and put under
cultivation, or a fine mill erected and put into profitable opera-
tion, these are acts and privileges of the agricultural society;
but when the products of these establishments are ready for a
market, the company, with trading privileges, takes them in
hand. As before stated, persons wishing to hold land under
the provisional government, having selected the same, were re-
quired to mark out its limits, and have it recorded by a person
selected to keep a book of all such entries. Lands thus marked
out were called "claims" ; and in compliance with this require-
ment, the Hudson's Bay Company had entered all their landed
property in the names of their officers and clerks; they have
omitted no means or forms necessary to secure them in their
possessions. Fort Vancouver is surrounded by 18 English
"claims," viz : nine miles on the river and two back ; and besides
the dwelling houses, storehouses and shops in the fort, they
have a flour mill a few miles up the river, and above that again
a saw mill. The Vancouver grounds are principally appropri-
ated to grazing cattle, horses, sheep and hogs. On the Cowlitz
the company has a large wheat-growing farm, and I believe
these are the only land claims they have below the mountains.
They have, besides, a post on the Umpqua. Around their posts
at Fort Hall, Boise, and on the northern branches of the river,
they have hitherto enclosed no more ground than was neces-
sary for garden purposes; but finding themselves confirmed
by treaty in their hold upon property "legally acquired," God
knows what may be the extent of their claims when a definite
line comes to be drawn. The company have three barques,
employed freighting hence to England and back, via the Sand-
wich islands, besides a schooner and small steamer in the trade

LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846 37

of the northwest coast. They supply the Russian establishment
at Sitka annually with 15,000 bushels of wheat, and sell them
besides, I am told, some furs. The trade in this latter article
has become of late years much less profitable than formerly;
and it is said to have so far dwindled in amount as to be scarce-
ly worth pursuing; but as no statistical reports of profits, or
extent of trade, are ever published by the company, it is not
possible to say with accuracy what they are doing. In April,
1846, a report reached Oahu that the company's barque Cowlitz
had? after leaving the Sandwich islands for England, been run
away with by the crew, and Mr. Pelly, the company's agent,
immediately issued advertisements, making it known, and call-
ing o'n commanders of ships of war to intercept her. He told
me on that occasion that the barque's cargo of furs and specie
(which was the usual annual remittance by the company)
amounted to nearly two hundred thousand pounds sterling. The
rumor about her turned out to have originated in a mistaken
apprehension. Although it is well known that furs are not so
abundant as formerly, they nevertheless still form an important
article of trade, and this is entirely monopolized by the com-
pany. Nearly every dollar of specie which comes into the coun-
try— and there is more of it than might be supposed — finds its
way sooner or later into the company's chests ; keeping, as they
do, a very large stock o'n hand of all those articles most neces-
sary to the new settler. Indeed, so extensive and well selected
are their supplies, that few country towns in the United States
could furnish their 'neighbors so satisfactorily. An annual ship-
load arrives from London, which, with the old stock, makes an
inventory of one hundred thousand pounds. Goods are invari-
ably sold at an advance of one hundred per cent on London
prices ; which, taking their good quality into consideration,
is cheaper than they are offered by the two or three Americans
who are engaged in mercantile business in the country.

The managers of this company, as I have before remarked,
are sagacious, far-sighted men; they hold the keys of trade,
and establish the value of property and of labor, both of which

38 LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

they are too wise to depreciate unduly. They are complained
of as powerful monopolists; but so long as their power is
made subservient to general interests, as well as their own,
and stands in the way of rapacious speculators, it avails a good
purpose, and is cheerfully recognized by the good citizen. They
certainly may be said to establish a standard of prices; and
many persons think if they were withdrawn, more competition
would arise among merchants, and higher prices would be given
for produce; but it should be remembered that their prices,
those which they give and those which they take, are uniform,
and not subject to those fluctuations which militate eventually
against the producer.

They would sell the last bushel of salt or pouhd of nails in
their storehouses as the first had been sold ; not increasing the
price as the article became less abundant in the market. They
give sixty cents for an imperial bushel, or sixty-eight pounds of
wheat ; one dollar apiece for flour barrels ; three dollars a thou-
sand for shingles, and a corresponding price for other articles
of country production. They see very plainly that in the pros-
perity of others consists their own; and, acting upon this judi-
cious principle, they are content with sure and moderate gains.
I have heard general charges of extortion alleged against them,
but without proof to sustain them. They have providentially
been the instrument of much good to Oregon, as the early emi-
grants can testify; and however objectionable it is on some
grounds to have a large and powerful moneyed institution, con-
trolled by foreigners, in the heart of this young America, its
sudden withdrawal would be forcibly and disadvantageously
felt throughout the land. In a few years, with a knowledge
that the company is to withdraw, there will no doubt be a more
enlarged system of trade entered upon by our own merchants,
which will eventually supply the place of the company. At
present they ca'nnot well be spared, as will be more plainly seen
by what I have to say of the commerce of Oregon. These re-
marks about the Hudson's Bay Company are made under the
impression, prevalent in Oregon — where the treaty itself had

LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846 39

not arrived when I left, but only a synopsis of it — that the
charter of the company would expire in 1863, and of course its
privileges with it. If the facts be otherwise, and its existence
as a corporate body, under British charter, is perpetual, my
speculations about its officers becoming- American citizens are
fallacious. Exclusive of the Hudson's Bay Company's imports,
the external commerce of Oregon is of very limited extent ; it is
a petty trade, not sufficiently systematized to be reducible to
a statistical table, and I can give no better idea of its extent
than to state that during the whole year of 1846 a barque of
three hundred tons came twice from the Sandwich islands,
bringing each time about half a cargo of dry goods, groceries, -
hardware, etc., bought at Oahu. An American ship was also
in the river this year, but came in ballast for a freight of lum-
ber, &c., to the islands. Three mercantile houses divide the
business of the Territory, small as it is, and I believe each has
a favorable balance on its side. The prices imposed in selling
to the consumer are enormously high, and these he must pay
from the produce of his labor, or dispense with the most neces-
sary articles of clothing, cooking utensils, groceries and farm-
ing implements. An American axe costs $5 ; a cross-cut saw,
$15 ; all articles manufactured of iron 25 cents per pound, &c.,
&c. The impediments to commerce here are, first, the want of
a fixed currency ; second, the remoteness of the foreign market
and its uncertainty, and more particularly the hazardous nature
of the navigation in and out of the river, and the tediousness
of ascending and descending it. These last make the freight
and premium on insurance very high, which adds to the cost
of the imported article, and detracts proportionally from that
which is offered in payment for it, and which, to realize any-
thing, must be carried abroad. The misfortune is, that these
impediments create and depend upon each other, and are likely
to continue, and painfully retard the growth of this promising
country. If the commerce were more extensive, it would afford
payment to pilots, and construct light-houses, beacons, and
buoys, which would greatly diminish the risk and expense of

40 LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

getting vessels into the river; and again, if more means of
transportation presented themselves, the surplus produce of the
country would find a sale, and be conveyed to a foreign mar-
ket— thus enabling the farmer, the miller, the sawyer, the
shingle-maker, the gatherer of wool, and the packer of salted
beef and pork, to share i'n the advantages of a more extended
demand ; in short, some thousands of people in this country are
suffering at this moment in consequence of the inadequate
means of commercial exchange between it and its neighbors
of California and the Sandwich islands.

The granaries are surcharged with wheat ; the saw-mills are
surrounded with piles of lumber as high as themselves; the
grazier sells his beef at three cents per pound to the merchant,
who packs it in salt and deposites it in a warehouse, awaiting
the tardy arrival of some vessel to take a portion of his stock
at what price she pleases, and furnish in return a scanty supply
of tea and sugar and indifferent clothing, also at her own rate.
I feel it particularly my duty to call the attention of govern-
ment to this subject. This feeble and distant portion, of itself,
is vainly struggling to escape from burdens which, from the
nature of things, must long continue to oppress it, unless par-
ental assistance comes to its relief. The first measure necessary
is to render the entrance and egress of vessels into the mouth of
the Columbia as free from danger as possible ; and the first step
towards this is to employ two competent pilots, who should
reside at Cape Disappointment, be furnished with two Balti-
more-built pilot boats, (for mutual assistance in case of accident
to either,) and be paid a regular salary, besides the fees, which
should be very moderate, imposed upon each entering vessel.
A light-house, and some beacons with and without lights, would
aid very much in giving confidence and security to vessels ap-
proaching the river ; but more important than all these would of
course be the presence, under good management, of a strong
and well-built steam tug. The effects of these facilities would
be to render certain, at least during the summer months, the
coming in ahd going out of vessels, subtract from the premium

LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846 41

on insurance, and give confidence to the seamen, who now enter
for a voyage to Oregon with dread, reluctance and high wages.
It is not for me to anticipate the boundless spring which the
vivifying influe'nce of an extended organized commerce would
give to the growth and importance of this country ; its portrait
has been drawn by abler hands, in books and in the Senate, but
I must take leave to suggest that good policy requires the par-
ent government to retain the affections of this hopeful offspring
by attentions arid fostering care : it needs help at this moment ;
and if it be rendered, a lasting sense of dependence and grati-
tude will be the consequence ; but if neglected in this its tender
age, and allowed to fight its own way to ibdependent maturity,
the ties of consanguinity may be forgotten in the energy of its
own unaided exertions.

Nisqually, the innermost harbor of Puget's sound, may at
some future day become an important port for the exportation
of produce from the north side of the river; but the inland
transportation is at present impracticable for articles of more
than a hundred pounds weight, on account of the mountains
and water-courses. No wagon road has yet been opened from
an interior point to* Nisqually. Its importance will increase
with the settlement of the country around it, possessing, as it
does, natural advantages exceeding those of any other port in
the Territory.

Besides Fort Vancouver, six sites have been selected for
towns ; of these Astoria takes precedence in age only. It is
situated on the left bank of the Columbia, thirteen miles from
the sea: it contains ten houses, including a warehouse, Indian
lodges, a cooper's and a blacksmith's shop; it has no open
ground except gardens within less than a mile of it. It may be
considered in a state of transition, exhibiting the wretched re-
mains of a bygone settlement, and the uncouth germ of a new
one. About 30 white people live here, and two lodges of Chin-
ook Indians. The Hudson's Bay Company have still an agent
here, but were about transferring him over to a warehouse
they are putting up at Cape Disappointment. A pre-emption

42 LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

right to the principal part of this site is claimed by an American
named Welch; the other portion, including Point George, is
claimed in like manner by Colonel John Maclure. Leaving
Astoria, we ascend the Columbia eighty miles, and there enter-
ing the Wilhammette, find, three miles within its mouth, the
city of Linton, on its left or western shore. This site was se-
lected by a copartnership of gentlemen as the most natural de-
pot for the produce of the well settled Twality plains, and a
road was opened over the ridge of hills intervening between
the plains a'nd the river. It contains only a few log-houses,
which are overshadowed by huge fir trees that it has not yet
been convenient to remove. Its few inhabitants are very poor,
and severely persecuted by musquitos day and night. Not one
of its proprietors resides on the spot, and its future increase
is, to say the least, doubtful. Eight or nine miles above Linton,
on the same side of the Wilhammette, we come to a more prom-
ising appearance of a town. It has been named Portland by
the individual under whose auspices it has come into existence,
and mainly to whose efforts its growth and increase are to be
ascribed. This is Mr. F. W. Pettygrove, from Maine, who
came out here some years back as agent for the mercantile
house of the Messrs. Benson, of New York. Having done a
good business for his employers, he next set about doing some-
thing for himself, and is now the principal commercial man in
the country. He selected Portland as the site of a town ac-
cessible to shipping, built houses, and established himself there ;
invited others to settle around him, and appropriated his little
capital to opening wagon roads (aided by neighboring farmers)
into the Twality plains, and up the east side of the river to the
falls where the city of Oregon stands. Twelve or fifteen new
houses are already occupied, and others building; and, with a
population of more than sixty souls, the heads of families gen-
erally industrious mechanics, its prospects of increase are fa-
vorable. A good wharf, at which vessels may lie and discharge
or take in cargo most months in the year, is also among the
improvements of Portland. Twelve miles above we come to

LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846 43

the falls of the Wilhammette, and abreast of and just below
these, on the east side of the river, stands Oregon city. This
is considered the capital of the Territory, contains seventy-odd
houses, and has a population of nearly five hundred souls. The
situation of this place is very peculiar : the river here is about
eighty yards wide, and at its lowest stage is twelve feet deep ;
in freshets it sometimes rises thirty feet above low-water mark.
The rocky rampart, over which it falls almost perpendicularly,
is perhaps forty feet high; and from about its upper level, a
narrow strip of level ground three hundred yards wide, (be-
tween the bed of the river and a precipitous hilly ridge,) is the
site of the town. This hilly range runs along down stream for
nearly a mile, when it slopes off to the level of the river side
plateau. The opposite side presents nearly the same features,
so that the view in frorit and rear abruptly terminates in a
rocky mountain side of five or six hundred feet elevation. In
a summer day the sun's rays reflected from these cliffs make
the temperature high, and create an unpleasant sensation of
confinement, which would be insupportable but for the refresh-
ing influence of the waterfall; this, divided by rocky islets,
breaks into flash and foam, imparting a delicious brightness to
this otherwise sombre scenery. A Methodist and a Catholic
church, two flour and saw mills, a tavern, a brick storehouse
and several wooden ones, an iron foundry just beginning, and
many snug dwelling houses, are at this moment the chief con-
stituents of the capital of Oregori. The site on the opposite side
of the river, upon which some good buildings are beginning to
appear, is called Multnomah. Communication is kept up be-
tween these two places by two ferry boats. Dr. McLaughlin
claims the square mile which includes Oregon city on one side,
and an American named Moore claims an equal extent on the
other side. The doctor has fixed a high price on his town lots,
more than can be conveniently paid by those desirous of living
in town, and persons were occasionally constructing upon his
la^nd in defiance of his remonstrances and threats of the law.
Our government is already, I understand, in possession of the

44 LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

evidence upon which his claim rests, and I need therefore say
nothing more on the subject.

A sixth spot dignified with the name of town is Salem, high
up the Wilhammette, of which too little exists to be worthy of
an attempt at description. It would seem from this sorry cata-
logue that Oregon cannot yet boast of her cities. Even in these,
however, her improvement has been great and rapid, and pop-
ulation comes into the capital faster than the gigantic fir trees,
which have lately been its sole occupants, can be made to dis-
appear.

The American missionaries were the first persons to attempt
any establishment in Oregon, independent of the Hudson's Bay
Company. They have doubtless done much good in past years,
but are now disunited ; and with the exception of Mr. Spalding,
a worthy old Presbyterian gentleman who resides on the Koos-
kooskie river, I could hear of no attempts going on to educate
or convert the aborigines of the country by Americans. Why
their efforts came to be discontinued, (for there were at one
time many missions in the field, Presbyterian, Methodist, and
Babtist, and an independent self-supporting ohe,) would be a
question which it would be difficult to have answered truly.
The various recriminations which were uttered, as each mem-
ber thought proper to secede from his benevolent associates
in Christian duty, were not calculated to increase the public
respect for their individual disinterestedness or purity. They
seem early to have despaired of much success in impressing
the minds of the Indians with a just sense of the importance of
their lessons, and very sagaciously turned their attention to
more fruitful pursuits. Some became farmers and graziers,
others undertook the education of the rising generation of
whites and half-breeds, and a few set up for traders ; but these
last imprudently encroached upon a very dear prerogative of
the Hudson's Bay Company by bartering for beaver, and only
by hastily quitting it escaped the overwhelming opposition of
that all-powerful body. The French missionaries, to-wit: a
bishop, a number of priests, and seven nuns, are succeeding in

LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846 45

their operations. They are amply furnished with money and
other means for accomplishing their purposes. They educate
a number of young Indians, principally girls, and all the off-
spring of the Canadians. In addition to a large wooden nun-
nery already some years in use, they are now building a brick
church of corresponding dimensions, on beautiful prairie
grounds a few miles from the Wilhammette river, and thirty-
two above Oregon city. They are strict Catholics, and exercise
unbounded influence over the people of the French settlements,
who are improving in every way under their precepts. The
mission derives its support from Europe, and I was told that
the Queen of France, and her daughter, of Belgium, are lib-
eral patronesses of the institution. It is at present in high
estimation with all classes ; it gives employment and high wages
to a great number of mechanics and laborers, pays off punctu-
ally in cash, and is without doubt contributing largely to the
prosperity of the neighborhood and country around it. A few
Jesuits are located within six miles of the mission, and are os-
tensibly employed in the same praiseworthy occupation.

The Methodist institute, designed as an educational estab-
lishment for the future generations of Oregon, is still in the
hands of gentlemen who were connected with the Methodist
mission. It is finely situated on the Wilhammette, fifty miles
above Oregon city. As a building its exterior was quite impos-
ing from a distance, but I was pained, upon coming up with it,
to find its interior apartments in an entirely unfinished state.
Mr. Wilson, who is in charge of it, was so hospitable and polite
to me that I refrained from asking questions which I was sure,
from appearances, would only produce answers confirmatory
of its languishing condition. Five little boys were now getting
their rudiments of education here ; when, from the number of
dormitories, it was manifest that it had been the original design
to receive more than ten times that number. I learned from
Governor Abernethy, however, about jthe beginning of 1847,
that the number of its pupils was fast increasing.

46 LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

Of the Indian population of Oregon nothing new can be said.
The "Nez Perces" are described as receiving advantageously
the suggestions of Mr. Spalding with regard to the cultivation
of their fields and rearing their cattle and horses. No diffi-
culties or wars among the tribes of any consequence have re-
cently occurred. A fracas between the Cowlitzes and Chinooks
took place while I was in the river, in which a young Chinook
was killed, but the parties are mutually too feeble to make their
quarrels a matter of any general interest. It was only among
these two remnants of tribes, besides the Clatsops and the Cal-
lapooiales, that we had an opportunity of making any observa-
tions, and what I say on this subject will be understood as
relating exclusively to them. The old and melancholy record
of their decline must be continued. Destitution and disease
are making rapid havoc among them ; and as if the proximity
of the white man were not sufficiently baneful in its insidious
destruction of these unhappy people, our countrymen killed two
by sudden violence and wounded another in an uncalled for and
wanton manner during the few months of my sojourn in the
country. The only penalty to which the perpetrators of these
different acts were subjected was the payment of a blanket or
a beef to their surviving kindred. Public opinion, however,
sets very strongly against such intrusions upon the degraded
red man, and perhaps a year hence it may be strong enough to
hang an offender of this kind. It is clearly the duty of our
government to look promptly into the necessitous conditions of
these poor Indians. Their number is now very small : of the
four tribes I have named, there are probably altogether not
over five hundred, old and young, and these are scattered in
lodges along the river, subject to the intrusion of the squatter.
If their situation could but be known to the humane citizens
of the United States, it would bring before the government
endless petitions in their behalf. As a matter of policy, like-
wise, it is indispensable that measures should be taken to get a
better acquaintance with these as well as the mountain tribes ;
they are perfectly familiar with the difference between Amer-

LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846 47

icans and English, calling us "Boston mans," and the English
"King George's mans"; and it would be highly judicious to
make them sensible of their new and exclusive relations with
the United States. A gratuitous annual distribution of a few
thousand flannel frocks and good blankets (for an Indiah would
rather go naked than wear a bad one) to those living near our
settlements would be not only an act which humanity demands,
but one from which many good consequences would ensue. In
speaking of the Indians, I would respectfully suggest that this
moment is, of all others, the most favorable for extinguishing
their titles to the land. Miserable as they are, they display
some spirit and jealousy on this subject. Although a patch
of potatoes may be the extent of their cultivation, they will
point out a circuit of many miles as the boundary of their pos-
sessions. The tribes of which I have spoken have no chiefs,
and o'n that account it would be difficult to treat formally with
them; but a well selected agent, with but small means at his
disposal, would easily reconcile them to live peaceably and
quietly in limits which he should specify.

The salmon fishery naturally succeeds the preceding sub-
ject. Strange to say, up to this day none but Indians have
ever taken a salmon from the waters of the Columbia ; it seems
to have been conceded to them as an inherent right, which no
white man has yet encroached upon. They are wonderfully
superstitious respecting this fish ; of such vital importance is his
annual visitation to this river and its tributaries that it is prayed
for, and votive offerings made in gratitude when he makes
his first appearance. In Frazier's river, arid still further north,
the Indians carry their ceremonies and superstitious observ-
ances at this event far beyond the practices in the Columbia:
here the shoals of salmon, coming from the north, enter the
river in May, but they are permitted to pass on several days
before nets are laid out for their capture. No reward of money,
or clothes, will induce an Indian to sell salmon the first three
weeks after his arrival ; and throughout the whole season, upon
catching a fish they immediately take out his heart and conceal

48 LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

it until they have an opportunity to burn it, their great fear
being that this sacred portion of the fish may be eaten by dogs,
which they shudder to think would prevent them from coming
again to the river. When it is remembered that the many
thousand Indians living upon this river, throughout its course
of more than twelve hundred miles, are almost entirely de-
pendent upon salmon for their subsistence, it would lessen our
surprise that these simple-minded people should devise some
propitiatory mean of retaining this inappreciable blessing. The
annual inroad of these multitudinous shoals into the Columbia
may, in its effects upon the happiness and lives of the inhabi-
tants, be compared to the effect produced upon the Egyptians
by the rising of the Nile; a subject upon which they are de-
scribed as reflecting not with lively solicitude and interest, but
with feelings of religious solemnity and awe.

The salmon are much finer, taken when they first enter the
river ; and from the last of May the business of catching and
drying is industriously pursued by the Indians. These sell to
the whites, who salt and pack for winter use, or exportation.
As the season advances the fish become meagre and sickly, and
only those not strong enough to force a passage against the
torrent at the Cascades, and other falls, remain in the lower
waters of the river. In September they are found at the very
sources of the Columbia, still pressing up stream, with tails
and bellies bruised and bloody by the long struggle they have
had against the current and a rocky bottom. They die then in
great numbers, and, floating down stream, the Indians inter-
cept them in their canoes, and relish them none the less for hav-
ing died a week or fortnight previous. The young fry pass out
to sea in October; they are then nearly as large as herrings.
Different families of salmon are in the habit of resorting to
different rivers. The largest and best come into the Columbia,
weighing on an average twenty pounds each; .some exceed
forty pounds. Seven or eight hundred barrels are annually
exported ; they retail at Oahu for ten dollars a barrel, but I do
not believe they are so highly appreciated anywhere as in Ore-
gon, where they may be considered their staple article of food.
Sturgeon arid trout are also abundant in the Columbia.

LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846 49

I was surprised to find so great a scarcity of game in this
country. I lugged a heavy gun more than a hundred and fifty
miles through the Wilhammette valley, and in all that ride saw
but three deer. Wolves are numerous, and prey upon other
animals, so that the plains are entirely in their possession. The
little venison I saw in Oregon was poor and insipid ; a fat buck
is a great rarity. Elk are still numerous, but very wild, living
in the depths of the forests, or near those openings which the
white man has not yet approached. An Indian hunter often
brought elk meat to us at Astoria, which he had killed in the
unexplored forests between Clatsop plains and Young's river.
Black bears are very common, and destructive to the farmers'
pigs ; the grizzly bear is more rarely seen, but one of the Shark's
officers procured a very promising young grizzly, and sent him
a present to a lady friend at Oahu, whence it is probable he will
be conveyed to the United States.

Nearly all the birds and fowls of the United States are found
here, with several varieties of the grouse and partridge which
we have not. The turkey is not indigenous to Oregon, but has
been introduced and successfully reared there. Wild fowl,
from the swan to the blue-wing, are very abundant during the
winter. The wild geese move over the country in clouds, and
do great injury to the wheat fields upon which they determine
to alight. The field lark, the robin, the wren and the sparrow
alternately flit before the traveller and identify the country
with scenes at home.

Although most descriptions of timber grow in this country,
and grow to a great size, its quality and usefulness are in no-
wise comparable to that produced in the United States. The
best here is found farthest north from Nisqually, towards the
northern boundary. In those parts I visited, there was not a
stick of timber suitable for shipbuilding; the spruce makes
tough spars, but is very heavy, and after seasoning is apt to
rive and open too much. Neither hickory, walnut, nor locust
has yet been found here ; they would doubtless, if introduced
and proper soil selected for them, thrive prosperously. The

50 LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

hazel bush makes a substitute for hickory hoop-poles, and an-
swers well. Perhaps a critical exploration would find timber
of durable fibre in the less genial atmosphere of the mountain
ridges; the cause of its bad quality in the low lands is the
rapidity of its growth, which in all countries produces the same
disqualifying effects. The ash, which is very abundant, com-
pares with that grown elsewhere better than any other timber.
Much remains unknown respecting this essential portion of
this country's wealth ; nor would I have it inferred that because
I saw no good specimen of timber, there are bone to be found.
Oregon, from its extent and varied topography, must, of
course, possess some diversity of climate. As a general re-
mark, it is equable and salubrious; and although ten degrees
of latitude farther north than Virginia, it assimilates to the
climate of that State, particularly in winter, qualified by less
liability to sudden violent changes. The same season, however,
in Oregori is characterized by more constant rains and cloudy
weather. Our log-book records rain, hail, or snow, every day
between October 29th, 1846, and January 17th, 1847, except
eleven, and a continuation of such weather was anticipated
until the month of March. But during this time there were
but few days of severe cold. Grass grew verdantly in every
spot that was at all sheltered, and yielded sustenance to the
cattle, which requires neither shelter nor feeding (except what
it procures itself) throughout the year. From March till Oc-
tober the weather is delightful ; occasional showers obscure the
sun and refresh the earth; but what is very remarkable, the
summer clouds in Lower Oregon are seldom attended by thun-
der and lightning. During the winter, at the mouth of the
river, we experienced this phenomenon, and witnessed its ef-
fects occasionally upon conspicuous trees in the forest, but in
the interior it is not common at any season — a consoling cir-
cumstance to our countrywomen, who had been previously
subject to its terrifying effects, ofn the banks of the Illinois
and Mississippi.

LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846 51

The products of the soil depend mainly upon the climate,
and the excellence of the latter is indicative of the abundance
of the former. Hence we find from the seacoast to the Cas-
cade range of mountains, an average breadth of 110 miles, a
most vigorous natural vegetable growth; the forest trees are
of gigantic stature, while the intervals between them are filled
with a rank, impenetrable bushy undergrowth. Where the
growth is rapid, maturity and then decay quickly succeed, and
the soil is enriched from its own fruits. This region, like that
of the United States before it was colonized, "has been gath-
ering fertility from the repose of centuries, and lavishes its
strength in magnificent but useless vegetation." It is not,
however, a woody solitude throughout. Within the limits al-
luded to lies the whole Wilhammette valley ; continuous ranges
of prairie lands, free from the encumbrance of trees or other
heavy obstacles to the plough, stretch along, ready for the
hand of the cultivator; in their virgin state these are over-
grown with fern, the height of which, say from three to ten
feet, indicates the strength of the soil. No felling of trees
or grubbing is necessary here. A two-horse plough prostrates
the rankest fern, and a fine crop of wheat the very next year
succeeds it. The fields, however, continue to improve under
cultivation, and are much more prolific the fourth and fifth
years tha'n before. Wheat is the staple commodity ; the average
yield is twenty bushels to the acre ; and this from very slovenly
culture. Those who take much pains, reap forty or fifty. Al-
though population is dispersed over these clear lands, and a
large portion of them is held by "claims," there is, notwith-
standing, a mere fraction cultivated. A fair estimate of all
the wheat raised in 1846 does not exceed 160,000 bushels,
which, by the average, would grow upon 8,000 acres of land — -
not a hand's breadth compared to the whole body claimed and
held in idleness. The quality of the wheat produced here is,
I believe, unequalled throughout the world ; it certainly excels
in weight, size of grain, and whiteness of its flour, that of our
Atlantic States, Chili, or the Black sea, and is far before any
I have seen in California. Oats grow with correspondent lux-

52 LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

uriance ; but the nights of this salubrious valley are too cool for
Indian corn or rye. These last grow to perfection further
interior, where the summers are warmer than they are west-
ward of the Cascade mountains. The few experiments made
with hemp and tobacco have proven the competency of the soil
and climate to their production. In short, I can think of noth-
ing vegetable in its Mature, common within the temperate zone,
that Oregon will not produce. Fruits have been, so far, very
sparingly introduced; there are a few orchards of apples,
peaches, and pears among the Canadians; but growing upon
seedlings, the fruit is inferior. A great variety of berries
are indigenous and abundant; among them the strawberry,
cranberry, whortleberry, and a big blue berry of delicious
flavor. The traveller stopping at the humblest cottage on a
summer day will be regaled with a white loaf and fresh butter,
a dish of luscious berries, and plenty of rich milk; to procure
all of which the cottager has not been outside his own enclosure.
The fields for cultivation comprise, as before remarked, but a
small portion of the country; outside the fences is a common
range for the cattle. These have increased very rapidly, and
in nothing does the new emigrant feel so sensibly relieved from
labor as in having to make no winter provision for his stock.
Large droves of American cows and oxen have annually ac-
companied the emigrating parties from the United States, and
the Hudson's Bay Company have imported many from Califor-
nia ; but of this indispensable appendage to an agricultural dis-
trict, the far greater number in the Wilhammette valley have
sprung from a supply driven in from California, through the
instrumentality of Purser Slacum, United States navy, who
visited Oregon eight or nine years ago as an agent of the
government. Chartering a small vessel in the Columbia, he
carried down to St. Francisco a ^number of passengers, gratis,
whom he aided in procuring cattle, and purchased a number
for himself besides, which were driven into the rich pastures
of Oregon; their descendants are to the inhabitants a fertile
source of present comfort and future wealth. It is but justice

LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846 53

to the memory of Mr. Slacum to add, that from this circum-
stance, and others like it, evincing an interest in the welfare of
the people, and a desire to aid their efforts in settling the
country, no other official agent of the United States who has
visited Oregon is held in equally high estimation or grateful
remembrance by the early settlers here.

The Hudson's Bay Company own large flocks of sheep, the
breed of which they have taken every pai'ns to improve, besides
affording them a constant table supply of good mutton. This
stock yields a profitable fleece of wool, which goes to England.
Many farmers are also rearing this animal, which succeeds
admirably. I saw a flock of twenty on the Recreall river,
which had been brought the year before from Missouri. Its
owner informed me that they had travelled better, and proved
on the journey more thrifty, than either horses or oxen, climb-
ibg mountains and swimming rivers with unabated sprightli-
ness during a journey of two thousand miles. Of this small
stock every one had come safely in.

It is scarcely worth while to add that all garden vegetables
grow abundantly in Oregon — at least all which have been
tried ; fresh seed and increased varieties are much wanting, and
it is to be lamented that the emigrants seldom bring out ariy-
thing of this kind. If each would provide himself with a few
varieties, how soon would they be repaid for their trouble.
The man who will put some walnuts and hickory nuts in his
pocket, and bring them to Oregon, may in that way propagate
the growth of timber, for which posterity will be grateful. But
few exotic plants or flowers have yet arrived; but the natural
flora of this country is said, by those acquainted with the sub-
ject, to be very rich and extensive. Speaking of flowers re-
minds me that the honey-bee has not yet been naturalized — a
desideratum which every one seems to notice with surprise
where the sweet briar and honeysuckle, the clover and wild-
grape blossom, "waste their sweets upon the desert air." An
emigrant of 1846 left Missouri with two hives, and conveyed
them safely over the mountains ; but was overtaken by winter

54 LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

before reaching- the settlements, and, to the regret of all, this
praiseworthy and troublesome experiment did not succeed.

There has been nothing valuable in mineralogy yet discov-
ered. Coal had been found in the northeastern portion of
Vancouver's island, and the British war-steamer Cormorant
visited the mine and procured some of it, which was found to
be of fair quality. A systematic exploration of our own terri-
tory would doubtless bring to light much valuable information
on this subject.

With respect to defences, the subject is too comprehensive
to be more than hinted at here. Cape Disappointment may be
rendered impregnable, and will command the river so long as
the channel passes where it does; but I cannot suppose the
government will commence works of defence anywhere, with-
out a special reconnoissance by military engineers had first been
made of the premises. It may be proper, however, to report
that Cape Disappointment is now "claimed" by Mr. Peter
Skeen Ogden, a chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company.
He purchased the "claim" from an American named Wheeler,
giving him a thousand dollars for it, and is now putting up a
warehouse there. Point Adams, the southern point of the
river's mouth, and nearly five miles from the cape, is low and
sandy, and of course not so susceptible of defence as the other
side ; nor is there safe anchorage in its neighborhood during the
winter season. The cape, Tongue point, both sides of the Wil-
hammette falls, a site at the Cascades, and one at the Dalles,
are points on the rivers prominently presenting themselves for
reservation by the government, should it design to reserve
anything.

Nisqually, and perhaps other places on the sound and coast,
are not less distinctly marked by nature as eligible sites for
forts or future towns. I have omitted Astoria from this list,
as the isthmus of Tongue point, within three miles of it, is
every way better situated for a business settlement, being acces-
sible to ships from sea of equal draughts of water, having more
spacious anchorage ground, and subject to less tide. A snug

LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846 55

cove on the eastern side affords secure landing for loaded boats,
flats, and rafts coming down the river, without the exposed
navigation around the promontory. Mr. Shortiss, an Ameri-
can, "claims" two miles along the river and half a mile back,
including all this point, by virtue of the organic law of Oregon,
and an hereditary title acquired through his Indiari wife, who
was born somewhere hereabouts. The policy of confirming all
these land claims it is not my province to discuss ; but it may
be necessary to observe that few of those who are now in pos-
session of the land could by any means be made to pay even
a dollar and a quarter an acre for it. In the first place, they
have 'not the necessary funds; and in the second, they feel
that they have fairly earned a title to it, by assuming posses-
sion while it was uncertain to whom it belonged, and that this
very act of taking possession at the expense of so much toil
and risk gives an increased value to what remains unoccupied,
which will indemnify the government for the whole. The
President's suggestions to Congress on this subject will, it is
hoped, be acted on, and a law framed to meet the exigency.

Many allowances should be made in favor of these people.
They come generally from among the poorer classes of the
western States, with the praiseworthy design of improving
their fortunes. They brave dangers and accomplish Herculean
labors dn the journey across the mountains. For six months
consecutively they have "the sky for a pea-jacket," and the wild
buffalo for company; and during this time, are reminded of
no law but expediency. That they should, so soon after their
union into societies at their new homes, voluntarily place them-
selves under any restraints of law or penalties whatever, is an
evidence of a good dispositiori, which time will be sure to im-
prove and refine. If some facts I have related would lead to
unfavorable opinions of them, it will be understood that the
number is very limited — by no means affecting the people as a
mass, who deserve to be characterized as honest, brave, and
hardy, rapidly improving in those properties and qualities which

56 LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

mark them for future distinction among the civilized portion
of the world.

With great respect, I am, sir, &c., &c.,

NEIL M. HOWISON,
Lieut. Commanding, U. S. Navy.

To the COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF

Of the U. S. Naval forces in the Pacific Ocean.

APPENDIX.
A.

HER MAJESTY'S SLOOP MODESTE,
Fort Vancouver, Columbia River, Sept. 13, 1846.

SIR : It was with the greatest regret that I this morning
received information of your vessel being on the sands at the
mouth of the Columbia. From the hurried information I have
received, I much fear my boat will be too late to render any as-
sistance in saving the vessel ; but in the possibility of your not
having bee'n able to save provisions, &c., I beg to offer for your
acceptance a few of such articles as are not likely to be obtained
at Clatsop.

I have the honor to be, sir, your most obedient servant,

THOS. BAILLIE, Commander.
Lieut. HOWISON,

Commanding U. S. Schooner Shark.

B.

FORT VANCOUVER, Sept. 11, 1846.

DEAR SIR: We have just heard of the unfortunate accident
which has befallen the Shark on the bar of this river, and
we beg to offer our sincere condolence oh the distressing event.

LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846 57

We also beg to offer every assistance we can render in your
present destitute state, and hope you will accept of the few
things sent by this conveyance. Captain Baillie having de-
spatched bread and tea by the Modeste's pinnace anticipated
our intention of sending such things. Have the goodness to
apply to Mr. Peers for any articles of food or clothing you may
want,. and they will be at your service if he has them in store.
As the people of Clatsop can furnish abundance of beef and po-
tatoes, we are not anxious about your suffering any privation
of food. If otherwise, Mr. Peers will do his utmost to supply
your wants.

With kind remembrance to the officers, we remain, dear sir,
yours truly,

PETER SKEEN OGDEN,
JAMES DOUGLASS.
NEIL HOWISON, &c., &c.

B.

BAKER'S BAY, Friday, September 9, [1846.]
SIR: I much regret the melancholy disaster which befel
your vessel on Wednesday evening, and also my inability to
render you any assistance at that time. The Indians tell me
there are several lives lost, but I hope such is not true.

I am informed you wish to occupy part of the house at
Astoria ; it is at your service, as also anything else there in the
shape of food or clothing ; and I must, at the same time, apol-
ogise for offering you such poor accommodations. I sent off
a despatch to Vancouver yesterday morning, to acquaint them
of your distress, and expect an answer Sunday morning.
I remain, sir, yours, most respectfully,

HENRY PEERS,

Port Agent of Hudson's Bay Company.
To CAPTAIN HOWISON,
&c., &c., &c.

58 LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

OREGON CITY, September 15, 1846.

DEAR SIR : Last night we heard the melancholy tidings that
the schooner Shark was lost on the South spit. It was very
pairiful intelligence, particularly as we are yet in doubt as to
the safety of yourself, officers, and crew. The letter we re-
ceived at this place states that the probability is, all were saved ;
which I sincerely hope may be the case ; but until we hear of
the safety of all, we will be in an unhappy state of suspense.
My first feeling' was to leave all here, and reach Clatsop as
soon as possible; but I am situated in such a way, just at this
time, that I cannot leave. Should you not make arrangements
to get away in the Mariposa, we have your room in readiness
for you, and will be very happy to have you make one of our
family, as long as you may remain in the country, and any
one of your officers that you may choose for the other room.
I perceive the Modeste's launch was to leave with a supply of
provisions for you for the present. If you wish anything that
I have, let me know, and I will send it down immediately. I
have plenty of flour, and have no doubt but plenty of beef and
pork can be obtained here for the crew. It will give me great
pleasure to be of any service to you. Hoping to hear from
you soon, and that yourself, officers, and crew are all safe on
shore, and in good health,

I remain, dear sir, yours, very truly,

GEORGE ABERNETHY.
Captain NEIL HOWISON,

&c., &c., &c.

D.

[Extract.]

September 19, 1846.

* * * Should a vessel arrive belonging

to the firm, I think you will have no difficulty in chartering her

LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846 59

to go to California. I shall be happy to render you all the
assistance that lies in my power. Should you wish any assist-
ance as it regards money, or anything that I can obtain for you
in Oregon, please inform me, and I will at the earliest date
endeavor to procure it for you. Please accept my kindest re-
gards to yourself and officers.

Yours truly,

JOHN H. COUCH.
Capt. NEIL HOWISON.

E.

BAKER'S BAY, COLUMBIA RIVER,

December 1, 1846.

DEAR GOVERNOR: One of the few articles preserved from
the shipwreck of the late United States schooner Shark was
her stand of colors. To display this national emblem, and
cheer our citizens in this distant territory by its presence, was a
principal object of the Shark's visit to the Columbia; and it
appears to me, therefore, highly proper that it should hence-
forth remain with you, as a memento of parental regard from
the general government.

With the fullest confidence that it will be received and duly
appreciated as such by our countrymen here, I do myself the
hdnor of transmitting the flags (an ensign and union-jack)
to your address; nor can I omit the occasion to express my
gratification and pride that this relic of my late command should
be emphatically the first United States flag to wave over the
undisputed and purely American territory of Oregon.

With considerations of high respect, I remain your obedient
servant,

NEIL M. HOWISON,

Lieutenant Commanding United States Navy.

60 LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846

F.

OREGON CITY, December 21, 1846.

DEAR SIR: I received your esteemed favor of the 1st De-
cember, accompanied with the flags of the late U. S. schooner
"Shark," (an ensign and union-jack) as a "memento of parental
regard from the general government" to the citizens of this
Territory.

Please accept my thanks and the thanks of this community
for the (to us) very valuable present. We will fling it to the
breeze on every suitable occasion, and rejoice under the em-
blem of our country's glory. Sincerely hoping that the "star-
spangled banner" may ever wave over this portion of the
United States, I remain, dear sir, yours truly,

GEO. ABERNETHY.
NEIL HOWISON,

Lieutenant commanding, &c., &c.

G.

A very snug harbor has within a few years been sounded
out and taken possession of by the Hudson's Bay Company on
the southeastern part of Vancouver's island. They have named
it Victoria, and it is destined to become the most important
British seaport contiguous to our territory. Eighteen feet
water can be carried into its inmost recesses, which is a fine
large basin. There is besides pretty good anchorage for fri-
gates outside this basin. The company are making this their
principal shipping port, depositing, by means of small craft
during the summer, all their furs and other articles for the
English market at this place, which is safe for their large ships
to enter during the winter season. They no longer permit them
to come into the Columbia between November and March.

OREGON IN 1863

$y Thomas W. Pro«ch

One of my books is Bancroft's (San Francisco) Hand Book
Almanac for the Pacific States for 1863 — a half century ago.
It is not, perhaps, a rare or valuable volume, but to those in-
terested in "old Oregon" it is entertaining and pleasant — a re-
minder of days when people and things on the North Pacific
Coast were young and new. To the readers of the Oregon
Historical Quarterly the mere mention of the names therein
contained will be good, while comparison of the statistical facts
and figures of those days with like statements of these days
will be instructive and grateful. It is impossible to tell
how many people were in Oregon fifty years ago,
but, judging by the numbers found by the census taken
in 1860 and 1870, it may be safely assumed that the
number was about sixty-five thousand, or about one-fourth the
number to be found this year in the city of Portland alone, a
city that then contained about four thousand inhabitants. While
all parts of the state have increased in population, trade and
wealth, no one will pretend, of course, that other parts have
kept up in the race with Portland. Gold had been discovered
in Washington Territory in 1860-1-2, and so many men had
gone to seek it that in 1863 Congress created the Territory of
Idaho, including those parts of Washington in which the gold
had been found. Following these discoveries, gold was found
in Eastern Oregon. As one of many results of these gold finds
several thousand people, mostly men, planted themselves in
that part of the State east of the Cascade Mountains. They
liked the country and were there to stay. They demanded
political recognition from the Legislature, and in consequence
the counties of Baker and Umatilla were created, these, with
Wasco, being the three counties in the eastern half of the
State in 1863. Baker and Umatilla were then so new, how-
ever, that they do not appear in the Almanac as possessed of
settlements arid governments as complete as those of the older
counties.

62 THOMAS W. PROSCH

In 1863 Addison C. Gibbs was Governor of Oregon. He had
six predecessors, dating back to 1845, namely : George Aber-
nethy, Joseph Lane, John P. Gaines, John W. Davis, George
L. Curry and John Whiteaker. Other State officers were
Samuel E. May, Secretary of State ; Edwin N. Cooke, Treas-
urer ; Asahel Bush, Printer, and P. S. Knight, Librarian. Elec-
tions were held in June, and State officers chosen for four
years. In 1862 the people had voted on location of the State
capital, Salem getting 3213 votes, Eugene 1921, Corvallis 1798,
and all other places 427. The vote was indecisive, as no place
had a majority.

James W. Nesmith and Benjamin F. Harding were U. S.
Senators, and John R. McBride Representative in Congress.

P. P. Prim, R. E. Stratton, Reuben P. Boise, E. D. Shattuck
and J. G. Wilson were the five circuit judges, and they also
constituted the Supreme Court. In each district was a prose-
cuting attorney. The first and fifth districts each included three
counties ; the second, third a'nd fourth, five counties each. The
district attorneys were James F. Gazley, A. J. Thayer, Rufus
Mallory, William Carey Johnson and C. R. Meigs.

The State militia was then headed by Major General Joel
Palmer, Brigadier General Orlando Humason, Brigadier Gen-
eral Elisha L. Applegate, Judge Advocate Richard Williams,
and Surgeon General Ralph Wilcox. Aides to the commander-
in-chief were A. G. Hovey, John H. Mitchell, David P. Thomp-
son and L. W. Powell. The writer believes these men consti-
tuted the entire militia force of the state.

The United States was represented by Matthew P. Deady,
district judge ; Shubrick Norris, clerk ; Wm. L. Adams, customs
collector at Astoria ; Edwin P. Drew, collector at Umpqua, and
William Tichenor, collector at Port Orford ; Byron S. Pengra,
surveyor general at Eugene ; W. A. Starkweather, register, and
W. T. Matlock, receiver, of the land office at Oregon City;
John Kelly, register, and George E. Briggs, receiver, of the
land office at Roseburg; Wm. H. Rector, superintendent of
Indian affairs, and T. McF. Patton, clerk, at Salem; Wm.

OREGON IN 1863 63

Logan, Indian agent at Warm Springs reservation; T. W.
Davenport, at Umatilla; James B. Condon, at Grand Ronde;
Benjamin R. Riddle at Siletz; Lewis Brooks at Alsea, and
Amos D. Rogers at Klamath.

General George Wright at San Francisco was in command
of the military on the Pacific Coast, but General Benjamin
Alvord, at Fort Vancouver, under Wright, was in charge of
operations, posts and men in Oregon and Washington.

At Cape Hancock and Toke Point were Oregon's only two
lighthouses. In the State were one hundred and fourteen post-
offices.

The State Treasurer reported April 22d, 1862, that he had
$3,899 in hand September 8th, 1860, but that since he had re-
ceived $89,707. He had disbursed $54,472, and there was on
hand at date of report $39,134. These figures seemed large
then, but now, when they are exceeded frequently in a single
week, they are very small.

The State Senate consisted of sixteen members, and the
House of Representatives of thirty-four. Those belonging
to the two bodies were :

Senate— D. W. Ballard, Wilson Bowlby, C. E. Chrisman,
Bartlett Curl, J. W. Drew, Solomon Fitzhugh, William Green-
wood, John W. Grim, D. S. Holton, A. G. Hovey, James K.
Kelly, John R. McBride, John H. Mitchell, James Munroe,
William Taylor and Jacob Wagner. Wilson Bowlby was pres-
ident, and Samuel A. Clarke, chief clerk.

House— Lindsay Applegate, C. P. Blair, H. M. Brown, F.
A. Collard, E. W. Conyers, John Cummms, A. J. Dufur, Joseph
Engle, James D. Fay, P. W. Gillette, J. D. Haines, A. A.
Hemenway, Orlando Humason, J. T. Kerns, Rufus Mallory,
V. S. McClure, Wm. M. McCoy, A. A. McCully, John Minto,
I. R. Moores, Joel Palmer, Maxwell Ramsby, C. A. Reed, G.
W. Richardson, Ben Simpson, John Smith, Archibald Steven-
son, S. D. Van Dyke, P. Wasserman, James Watson, Ralph
Wilcox, M. Wilkins, W. H. Wilson arid A. M. Witham. Joel
Palmer was speaker, and S. T. Church, chief clerk.

64

THOMAS W. PROSCH

The Legislature represented by these men was the twenty-
third in Oregon's history, or the twenty-third session was held
by them, dating back to May 16th, 1843, there being ten ses-
sions under the Provisional Government, ten under the Terri-
torial Government, and three under the State.

The twenty-one counties of Oregon by name, county seat
and statistically, showed up a half century ago as follows :

Population, Voters, Taxable

Counties, County Seat — 1860. 1861. 'property.

Baker, Auburn

Benton, Corvallis 3,074 748 $ 1,293,047

Clackamas, Oregon City 3,466 909 1,403,539

Clatsop, Astoria 498 135 214,277

Columbia, St. Helens 532 124 244,273

Coos, Empire City 384 201 164,523

Curry, Ellensburg 393 164 201,641

Douglas, Roseburg 3,264 1,134 1,398,752

Jackson, Jacksonville 3,736 1,564 2,082,385

Josephine, Kerbyville 1,622 833 628,982

Lane, Eugene City 4,780 1,170 2,297,375

Linn, Albany 6,772 1,567 2,447,557

Marion, Salem 7,088 1,766 2,784,068

Multnomah, Portland 4,150 1,381 2,789,804

Polk, Dallas 3,625 810 1,828,470

Tillamook, 95 32 21,358

Umatilla,

Umpqua, Yoncalla 1,250 298 611,798

Wasco, Dalles 1,689 573 750,400

Washington, Hillsboro 2,801 632 1,044,760

Yamhill, Lafayette 3,245 857 1,679,942

52,464 14,898 $23,886,951

AN INDIAN AGENT'S EXPERIENCE IN THE
WAR OF 1886

2fc/ Henry C. Coe

The last Indian uprising in the Pacific Northwest, known
as the Cayuse War of 1886, was not a great affair ; a few whites
and some Indians were killed, and some property destroyed.
It was a pitiful failure — the last feeble effort of a dying race
to retain their homes, their tribal habits and their independ-
ence, bequeathed to them by their ancestors of unknown ages
past, a protest against the encroachment and domination of
the white man. The trouble was precipitated by the govern-
ment using force of arms to effect the removal, to the various
reservations, the numerous camps and villages of Indians scat-
tered along the banks of the Columbia and Snake Rivers. For
years past the reservation agents and special commissioners
had utterly exhausted their stock of blandishments, promises
and threats in order to effect a peaceable removal of the ob-
durate savages. But patience finally ceased to be a virtue and
the soldiers came. The trouble first originated in the tribe of
Chief Moses of the Grand Coulee Reservation in Northeastern
Washington. A noted medicine man, Sem O Holla, commonly
known as Smoholly, having possessed himself of a tamanowas
(spirit), began to dream dreams and see visions. Sem O Holla
then was a middle-aged man of more than ordinary intelli-
gence. He had a fine face, always wreathed in smiles, but
with a fearfully deformed body, being a hunchback, the sec-
ond that I ever knew amongst the Indians. He was reputed to
have had wonderful mesmeric forces and to have dealt largely
in occult mysteries. His seances were always accompanied by
the beating of torn toms, dancing and singing of war songs, and
continued until the whole camp was in an uproar and resulted
in the brutal murder of a family near Snipe's Mountain in
Yakima County, Eastern Washington, by three young bucks
who were on their way southward from Moses's camp to incite
other tribes along the Columbia River to revolt. Old Chief

66 HENRY C. COE

Moses was later compelled to give up the murderers, who were
afterwards taken to Walla Walla and hanged. The dream
habit seemed to be contagious and spread to neighboring tribes.
Ah old scallawag named Colwash, a rump chief of a rene-
gade band that made its headquarters on the north bank of
the Columbia River at the Grand Dalles, the same thieving
outfit that caused the early emigrants on their way to the Wil-
lamette Valley so much trouble and annoyance, got the fever
and dreams and dancing commenced. The character of these
performances soon reached the ears of the agent of the Yakima
reservation at Fort Simcoe, who had jurisdiction over all the
Indians north of the Columbia River and east of the Cascade
Mountains. At this time the Rev. J. H. Wilbur was the tem-
poral as well as the spiritual head of that institution and a man
who would not stand for any performances of that kind at this
particular time. A message was sent notifying Colwash to
cease his "dreaming" and close up his dahce house instanter.
No attention was paid to the order and dreams and dancing
continued. Two Indian policemen were sent from the reser-
vation to arrest the offender and bring him to the agency. On
their arrival at the camp members of the band crowded so
thickly fn and around the dance house that the policemen were
unable to make the arrest and returned to the agency and
reported the facts in the case.

Father Wilbur, who had just finished his dinner, listened
quietly to their report; then, turning to an attendant, ordered
a team to be hitched to his two-seated covered hack ready for
an immediate start to the Dalles. To Mrs. Wilbur he said,
"Mother, a little lunch for our suppers." And inside of an hour
with his two trusted policemen was on his way to the scene of
the disturbances. Father Wilbur was a remarkable man of
powerful physique, an indomitable will and as utterly fearless
as it was possible for a man to be, of a genial, kind-hearted,
generous nature, he was as sternly just and firm as a New Eng-
land Puritan. Late that night he reached the block house in
the Klickitat Valley, fifty miles from the agency and thirty

FATHER WILBUR AS INDIAN AGENT, 1886 67

from his destination, and there rested until morning. With a
fresh team, he reached Colwash's camp before noon and found
the dance in full blast and torn toms beating time to their sing-
ing of war songs, which made a din that would have made
a heart less stout than his hesitate at the task ahead. Springing
from his hack he walked to the door of the dance hall, where
nearly the entire band of savages had collected as soon as they
saw him make his appearance. The Indians at once attempted
to block his way, as they had the Indian policemen previously.
And then trouble began. His long, muscular arms began to
revolve like the fans of a great windmill. The "siwash" ob-
structors were pitched headlorig this way and that and were
soon fairly running over each other in their attempt to escape
those terrible flails. The road cleared, he seized the rascally
old dreamer by the nape of the neck and literally yanked him
out of the house headforemost, handcuffed him, picking him up
bodily, and then pitched him into his hack, taking a seat by his
side. No jeers or laughter followed him as he turned on his
way back to the agency, as it had his discomfited policemen
a few days previously. Those who were not rubbing their sore
spots were simply wondering what was coming next. There
are but few men who would have dared to have undertaken such
a task alone. Unarmed he drove fifty miles over a lonely road,
by the very spot where a former agent, A. J. Bolan, was bru-
tally murdered in cold blood by a band of his own Indians,
and to a camp of renegades collected from the various tribes
throughout the country and numbering between one a'nd two
hundred men, and single-handed forcibly takes his man from
their midst, handcuffs him and drives away. The act was char-
acteristic of the man. He feared God only.

DOCUMENTS

COST OF IMPROVEMENTS MADE BY DR. JOHN McLouGHLiN AT
WILLAMETTE FALLS TO JAN. 1, 1851.

Flour Mill-
Machinery $6050.00

Frame of the building 2575.00

Studding and rafters 110.00

Weather boarding 65.00

Flooring 580.00

Partitioning 96.00

Flour Bin 78.00

Shingles 84.00

Windows 255.00

Painting and glazing 255.00

Flour press 18.00

Wood for machinery ' 550.00

Stone foundation 2871.00

Men's work 1760.00

$15,347.00

Granary —

Framing, building, laying floor, and weather-
boarding (labor) $2700.00

Weather boarding 65.00

Shingles 80.00

Flooring 225.00

Studding 105.00

Additional work 10.00

3,185.00

Old Saw Mill-
Building $1500.00

Machinery 800.00

2,300.00

New Saw Mill —

House and machinery 2,000.00

Canal-
Making $ 500.00

Materials 330.00

s 830.00

Basin and breakwater —

Making $1700.00

Materials 900.00

2,600.00

Gates —

Labor and materials 285.00

Bull wheels 620.00

Boom 270.00

Grist mill canal —

Labor $ 775.00

Materials 640.00

1,415.00

DR. McLoucHLiN's IMPROVEMENTS AT OREGON CITY 69

Blasting new canal 1,000.00

Rennick's house 400.00

Wilson's house 250.00

Beef store 100.00

Mission house and lots 5,400.00

New dwelling house 4,368.00

Office 950.00

Kitchen 70.00

Kitchen 50.00

J. Brown's house 60.00

F. Ermatinger's room 80.00

Indian shop 40.00

J. Bechan's house ! 60.00

Paid on road ($600.00), bridge ($400.00) 1,000.00

In 1849—

Bake house $1200.00

Office addition 1250.00

Subscription to road 100.00

2,550.00

In 1851—

Subscription road 1,500.00

$46,730.00

Oregon Territory ,

Clackamas County.

Personally appeared before me, Allan P. Millar, clerk of the
District Court of the United States, for the coutaty of Clack-
amas, in the Territory of Oregon, Philip Foster, who, being
by me duly sworn, deposes and saith that he has examined
the foregoing account of moneys expended by Dr. John Mc-
Loughlin, in making improvements at the Falls of the Willam-
ette, and that to the best of his knowledge and belief and rec-
ollection, the same is correct, a'nd that a large portion of the
work was executed by himself and the money by him received.

PHILIP FOSTER.

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 8th day of January,
A. D., 1851.

ALLAN P. MILLAR,
Clerk U. S. Dist. Court for Clackamas County.

A precisely similar affidavit is made by Walter Pomeroy,
Esq., another old citizen.

70 DOCUMENTS

In addition to the afore-mentioned amount, Dr. McLoughlin
has expended large amounts in building, as follows:
A large store, occupied for some years past by De-
ment & Co., with offices in second story, house
plastered and well finished throughout, built in

1853, cost $16,000.00

A two-story store, built and finished throughout
for a drug store, with a hall full size of the sec-
ond story, house plastered and well finished

throughout, built in 1853, cost 12,000.00

A large store, with rooms in second story, near the
steamboat landing, built for Preston, O'Neil &

Co., in 1854, cost. 10,000.00

A two-story building erected for the office of J. B.

Preston, surveyor-general, in 1854, cost 6,000.00

In all $44,000.00

To which add the previous amount 46,730.00

Making a grand total of $90,730.00

Note. — The above document was found among a lot of manuscripts left by
the late ex-Senator James W. Nesmith, and given to the Oregon Historical Society
by his daughter, Mrs. Harriet K. McArthur, several years ago.

Allan P. Millar, the clerk of the United States District Court for Clackamas
County, was the father of Mrs. Elizabeth Millar Wilson, for many years a resident
of The Dalles, now deceased.

Philip Foster, referred to in the affidavit, was a native of Maine, and came
to Oregon in 1843. He was a brother-in-law of Francis W. Pettygrove, who
came to Oregon by sea in 1843. He made the first settlement in the vicinity of
the place now called Eagle Creek, Clackamas County, about sixteen miles east of
Oregon City, and was widely known as an excellent mechanic.

Walter Pomeroy was a pioneer of 1842, and a mechanic also.

GEORGE H. HIMES.

"ECONOMIC BEGINNINGS OF THE FAR WEST" *

A REVIEW

Miss Coman has in this two-volume work "rounded up" the
essential elements in the records of the white man's beginnings
in all that part of our country lying to the west of the Missis-
sippi River. The story is brought down to the Civil War
period. Her achievement consists in revealing the main threads
in each narrative of exploration, colonization and settlement
and in suggesting the basis upon which all may be wrought
into a great dramatic whole. An expansive field, a long roll
of world-famous characters and a period stretching through
three centuries are staged. The first scene opens with almost
transco'ntinental marches by Coronado and De Soto bent on
conquest and confiscation of the treasures of supposed cities of
the far interior. This was in the early part of the sixteenth
century, and it was the middle of the nineteenth before the
struggle was over and this last unoccupied imperial domain
of the temperate zone was relinquished to the youngest con-
testant— the latest to enter the lists for it. Nor does the action
lag from the beginning to the end. Spanish conquistadores
and Franciscan monks move to the north into New Mexico
and Texas and up the Pacific Coast to San Francisco Bay.
Spanish navigators penetrate to 54° 40' in search of the straits
of Anian. English buccaneers round Cape Horn and prey upon
Spanish cities and commerce and set up national standards on
our western coast, claiming the whole region as a New Albion.
Russian enterprise directed from St. Petersburg, and first led
by the dauntless Bering, comes down the coast and occupies
for decades a post just north of the Golden Gate. In the
meantime France, represented by such empire builders as La
Salle and the Verenderyes, with followings of missionaries and
fur traders, establish lines of posts and extend explorations from
the Great Lakes to the mouth of the Mississippi and to the Rocky

* Economic Beginnings of the Far West. How We Won the Land Beyond the
Mississippi. By Katharine Coman. Volumes I and II. Illustrated. New York:
Macmillan, 1912.

72 F. G. YOUNG

Mountains. These would have held all the country beyond
had not the military prowess of the English at Quebec com-
pelled a relinquishment to them of all the Canadian approaches.
England's great corporate agencies, the Northwest Company
and the Hudson's Bay Company, then display highest energy
and efficiency in exploitation of the fur resources of the north-
ern zone of the region, and especially of the Pacific Northwest,
and get a grip upon that portion so strong that it would seem
nothing would ever wrest it from them. However, a new con-
testant has appeared upon the scene. American seamen show
themselves able to hold their own in the maritime fur trade
upon the Pacific shores and a Gray is first to enter the Colum-
bia River. This exploit of discovery is followed by the great
stroke planned by a far-seeing American executive and car-
ried out by Lewis and Clark. Adventurous fur traders, irre-
sistible home-building pioneers, gold-seekers and religious zeal-
ots do the rest. The land beyond the Mississippi is won for an
American nation, which is to front squarely on both oceans.

This integration by Miss Coman of the annals of the three-
centuries-long series of struggles for possession, participated
in by representatives of half a dozen nations, was sorely needed.
As an aid towards an orderly and comprehensive grasp of the
historical foundations of this western land, it is most wel-
come. It is conducive to the development among the dwellers
therein of a real depth of home feeling for and home interest
in their environment.

The well-read or well-taught youth living to the east of the
Mississippi River has a fairly clear mental picture of the pro-
cession of events through which that part of our national do-
main became the home of the people and the institutions now
established there. His study of American history in the com-
mon schools has furnished him with a well-ordered vista that
stretches back to the first appearance of the white man upon
our eastern shores and which includes the westward movement
of the American people in fairly clear outline as they com-

COMAN'S ECONOMIC BEGINNINGS OF THE FAR WEST 73

plete the occupation of the eastern half of the Mississippi
Valley.

Conditions have been comparatively favorable in the Eastern
States for the development of a forceful appeal of the past
through the objects in the environment of the dweller there.
From the Jamestowns and Plymouth Rocks as natal spots, the
radiating lines of growth of populations and of institutions
can be readily visualized. There have been orderly expansions
and increasing complexity of organization from these simple
germinal centers. Dramatic incident and crises of revolutionary
struggle when great issues were at stake have marked the prog-
ress of events leading up to the present. Historians of high-
est skill and genius have spared no effort in bringing that part
of our national annals into instructive and charming form.
The easterner should naturally come under the spell of such
surroundings ; and the sense of having a precious patrimony
to conserve should be kindled and strengthened. Communal
regard for his land as his home must naturally arise, and what
is of moment far and beyond all else, the meaning and spirit
of this past so fully realized becomes the vehicle through which
the communal and commonwealth hearts and minds may pro-
ject their ideals.

No such vitalized traditions speak from the surroundings
of the resident of the newer West. We are, of course, joint
heirs with our eastern brethren of the glorious national tra-
ditions, but our mountains and plains, rivers and valleys do
not serve us as bearers of historic associations. We cannot,
as is possible with those in the East with their surroundings,
people in imagination our landscapes with scenes that enrich
the thought and 'nourish the heart. Yet it is this consciousness
of a common heritage associated with one's home surroundings
and this use of it that affords the best basis for strength of
the sentiment and the spirit of communal unity. All those who
dwell in that larger portion of the country stretching from Min-
nesota to Southern California and from Louisiana to the Puget
Sound country are in prime need of halos of associations for

74 F. G. YOUNG

their surroundings. These vouchsafed, bonds of sympathy and
community of interest would arise affording the only really
indispensable capital-fund for life enrichment. It must ever be
borne in mind that out of the sublimated elements of a peo-
ple's past their bibles are made. It must be their own essen-
tial and peculiar achievements that become the well-spring of
communal nobility from which issue the refinement of senti-
ment, visions and ideals.

For this history of the "Economic Beginnings of the Far
West," Miss Coman should have the credit of having made a
unique initial contribution toward the end of enabling the west-
erner to see each object of his surroundings as a burning bush.
There are two characteristics in Miss Coman's handling of the
source material for her work that give it its significance. For
the first time the trans-Mississippi part of the country is identi-
fied as having a degree of historical unity. The annals of the
different sections of this region are made to show the under-
lying unity in the movements through which the occupation of
it was consummated. The progressive ensemble of result of
the converging advances upon this territory by the Spaniard
and Frenchman, and by the Russian, Englishman and Ameri-
ca'n is revealed so clearly that it is seen as a whole from the
beginning of the sixteenth century to the middle of the nine-
teenth. The essential features of the process through which
the darkness of barbarism was dispelled from the whole of this
realm are made assimilable. A mental picture of it as a whole
is possible from the moment the first white man, a Spaniard,
rode into its borders ; and a continuing visiori of it is presented
uninterruptedly through three centuries until it is all assem-
bled under the Stars and Stripes.

The "Economic Beginnings" of the title refers to the other
characteristic that gives peculiar significance to Miss Coman's
work. The prowess of virtue through which the white man
supersedes the red mah and through which one type or nation-
ality of white occupants supplants another has always been, and
seems destined ever to be, a prowess in economic virtues. The

COMAN'S ECONOMIC BEGINNINGS OF THE FAR WEST 75

highest requisite for survival and that which has given best
guaranty of possession here has not been power to conquer
other men, but ability to utilize nature most largely and for
highest and largest human good. A work that purports to be
the story of the "Economic Beginnings" naturally passes in
review the long procession of exploiters — the seekers for treas-
ures already accumulated and heaped in supposed cities — and,
after a long interval, the forty-niners who were eager to hunt
for gold, though hid in beds of placer and veins of quartz ; the
trappers of the beavers or traders for it and the hunters for the
buffalo, animals that nature had led into this region; others
who introduced horses and cattle to roam as wild; and finally
those who introduced and husbanded both plants and animals
and established more humane systems of relationship among
themselves as husbandmen. Since economic efficiency and fair-
ness seems to be the test determining destiny, and most certainly
so in this region unencumbered by any established ogres of
the past, it is well that a beginning should have been made
in setting forth and emphasizing the economic principle in its
shaping of the past. Such a narrative as Miss Coman's in sug-
gesting to the people of the different commonwealths of this
"Far West'' the central motive in the history they are making
should aid them in utilizing all their past toward giving unity,
strength and effectiveness in their collective aspirations and
thus greatly accelerate their pace of social progress.

I will let Miss Comah herself state the means and method
she relied upon. I quote from the preface of the work : "A
goodly number of men who bore an influential part in this
long and complex contest left .diaries, letters or journals re-
counting what they saw and did. I have endeavored to tell the
story as they understood it without bias or elaboration." This
plan of handling i'nvolves much shifting of the scenes as one
source is laid down and another is taken up. In fact, the
presentation as a whole strongly suggests the effect of an his-
torical panorama, with breaks such as would be occasioned by
instantaneous flights from one region to another far distant

76 F. G. YOUNG

as the eyes of one narrator and actor were dispensed with and
those of another were made use of.

Such a method of treatment in which "bias" and "elabora-
tion" are barred out, and which tells the story as the actors
"understood it," without interpretation by the author, has prime
negative virtues, but also decidedly positive defects. It makes
a synthesis of annals but hardly history. However, the author
fortunately does not fully keep the pledge made in the preface.
She does indulge in effective interpretation, particularly in
connection with conditions under which the Spanish explora-
tions and attempted occupations were made ; in the fine picture
given of the influx of people into the first belt of the trans-
Mississippi region ; in the summary of the causes of the virtually
complete failure of the Spanish occupation of California. With
all the advantages of perspective the author had, as compared
with the points of view of the individual narrators, and with
the birds-eye view of the whole field and of the course of the
three-centuries-long struggle, it is difficult to see wherein the
author's self-restraint under such circumstances can be called
a virtue.

As a rule each actor is brought upon the scene without in-
troduction and the reader is also left to his own resources as
to the lay of the ground, resources, climate, prior occupation
of the region in which an economic beginning is to be at-
tempted. If the reader is to be interested and enlighte'ned with
regard to the play of economic forces, should not an economic
survey have been made of each region as it was brought within
the field of view ? Should not the standards of living of the
natives and of the incoming white men have been compared,
their different valuations of the goods of life and the facilities
of transportation and markets used referred to? But this is a
matter of judgment and is probably suggesting an impossibility
if the admirably clear cut views of the actual course of events
in each case were to be realized.

A very serious complaint must, however, be registered against
the author of this work. She evidently spared herself the

COHAN'S ECONOMIC BEGINNINGS OF THE FAR WEST 77

tedious task of verifying each statement made where she is
specific in her summaries. Not a few errors, too, are due to
careless proof reading: On pages 44-5 we have Lieutenant
Pike commissioned "to explore the sources of the Red River
with a view to defining the watershed that divided Louisiana
from the United States." It should of course be "Louisiana
from the Spanish country." On page 276 Lewis and Clark,
on leaving Fort Clatsop, are represented as leaving "a rostrum
of the party," instead of a roster. In a note referring to a
statement made of the experiences of Hunt's party at Caldron
Linn, oh page 320, "Milburn" is given as the name of the
Idaho town located at these rapids, when it is Milner.

In the errors pointed out below the reviewer confines him-
self to those casually noticed in those portions of the narrative
that relate to the old Oregon country : On page 209, "Captains
Portland and Dixon" should be Captains Portlock a'nd Dixon.
The error is repeated. On page 219, Lieutenant Broughton
is represented as naming "Mts. Hood, St. Helen and Rainier,"
while exploring the Columbia River. Mt. Rainier had been
named some time before in the course of Vancouver's explora-
tions; Mt. St. Helens was named by Vancouver while he was
off the mouth of the Columbia vainly trying to enter. Miss
Coman endorses this latter statement as a fact on page 270.
Again Broughton did not name "the outer harbor Gray's Bay,"
but the recess in the north shore of the river to the northeast
of Tongue Point was named for Captain Gray by Broughton
as indicating the limit of Gray's voyage up the river. On
page 270 we are told that "on October 19 they (Lewis and
Clark) came in view of a snow-clad peak to the west, which
they rightly surmised to be the mountain named St. Helens
by Vancouver." It is true that they surmised the mountain
in view to be St. Helens, but it is most likely that it was Mt.
Adams, a higher peak on the eastern side of the range, while
St. Helens is on the western side and not in view except on very
elevated points east of range. On page 324 McKenzie of the
Astor Company is said to have "built a fort at its (the Snake's)

78 F. G. YOUNG

junction with the Boise * *" Mackenzie's location is re-
peatedly spoken of as among the Nez Perces and was probably
on the Snake, at or near the mouth of the Clearwater, far from
the mouth of the Boise. On page 331 the claim that Astoria
was not thought of in connection with the making of the terms
of the Treaty of Ghent is false, as is proven by the instructions
given the plenipotentiaries. The Russian-American Company
is quite regularly but mistakenly given the designation "Rus-
sian-American Fur Company." On page 142, volume II, Mrs.
Whitman's name appears as Priscilla Prentis Whitman, when it
should be Narcissa Prentiss Whitman. On page 153 the pas-
toral settlement is located "at Multnomah Is, (Governor's Is-
land Willamette Falls)." This was not physically possible.
On page 148 we are told that the immediate result "of the
Whitman massacre was a punitive expedition under the aus-
pices of the United States." All the punishment the Cayuses
received was administered by military forces under the Pro-
visional Government of Oregon. The annual migrations of
Oregon pioneers from 1839 to 1849 are, on page 155, repre-
sented as having as their goal Waiilatpu instead of the Wil-
lamette Valley. On page 156 the "caravan" of emigrants "of
one hundred and twenty wagons" is spoken of as Whitman's
and is claimed to be the first to cross the Snake River Desert
and the Blue Mountains to Walla Walla. It was hardly Whit-
man's, nor was it the first to cross the Snake River Desert and
the Blue Mountains. Dr. Floyd is, on page 161, mentioned as
"senator from Virginia," when he introduced the Oregon res-
olution of inquiry. He was a member of the House. On page
162 Hall J. Kelley is given credit for supplying the statistics
used for Floyd's report. It is very doubtful that he contributed
any. Survivors of the Astor expedition and the maritime fur
traders, as well as Prevost's report, are more likely sources.
On page 163 Champoeg is spoken of as Ewing Young's ranch.
It was at some distance on the other side of the river. On
page 164 we learn that "the Donation Act of 1850 finally real-
ized the liberal land policy proposed by Hall, Whitman and

ft COHAN'S ECONOMIC BEGINNINGS OF THE FAR WEST 79

Lrnn." By "Hall" probably Hall J. Kelley is intended. The
credit for suggesting the liberal land policy should have been
confined to Senator Linn, who probably received the suggestion
from the practices of the older states with their western lands.
Notwithstanding these strictures charging inaccuracy in the
details and limitations in articulating the different parts of her
narrative, Miss Coman's "Economic Beginnings of the Far
West" deserves the largest measure of gratitude for the new
light of unity it throws on the past of this great realm and for
the new meaning suggested in its annals.

F. G. YOUNG.

FIRST PRESIDENT OF OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY
1898-1901

FOREWORD

QjlllllllllllllllllllllllMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIII

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHIII

SHE editorial page of The Oregonian
throughout the decades the paper
was in charge of Harvey W. Scott,
bore constant witness of an unre-
mitting labor of love in the course
of Pacific Northwest history, on the
part of its editor. All future gen-
erations ot Oregonians will owe a large measure of
indebtedness to him for the light his pen threw
on the part of Oregon and for the insight he gave
into the significance of the unique beginnings of
this western outlying community.

When conditions were ripe for the organization
of the Oregon Historical Society, he was among the
first to cooperate to effect the founding of it and was
made its first president. For nearly half a century
historical activity here received from him the
kindliest fostering and there is thus peculiar fitness
in the use of the Quarterly to convey to the world
the memorials of him incorporated in this issue.

iiminimmiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiu

iHiiiiiimiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiij

THIS NUMBER IN INSCRIBED TO
THE MEMORY OF

Editor, pioneer, scholar, commonwealth-
builder, exponent of national authority,
leader of thought in the formative period
of the Oregon Country, distinguished figure
in American Journalism. His breadth and
resource of mind, his grasp of abiding prin-
ciples, his teachings of sturdy moralities,
his powers of exposition, made him widely
admired. His life labor as helper of men
in the Pacific West made him widely belored

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

HARVEY W. SCOTT at 62 years of age. (Frontispiece.) At Bingham
Springs, Umatilla County, in 1900.

JOHN TUCKER SCOTT (1809-80), Harvey W. Scott's father.
ANNE ROELOFSON SCOTT (1811-52), Harvey W. Scott's mother.
HARVEY W. SCOTT at 19 years of age at Lafayette in 1857.

HARVEY W. SCOTT at 27 years of age; at Portland in 1865 on becoming
editor of the Oregonian.

HARVEY W. SCOTT at 37 years of age, at Portland in 1875.

UAKSEX W. Scuu dl 50 yuuiu uf age, At ruilLtiid in 1QOQ. ^frU^-Mt

HARVEY W. SCOTT at his Editorial desk in 1898.

HARVEY W. SCOTT at 62 years of age, at Bingham Springs in 1900.

HARVEY W. SCOTT at 66 years of age, near Washington, D. C, in 1804.

HARVEY W. SCOTT at 70 years of age.

HARVEY W. SCOTT at Seaside, Oregon, in 1905.

HAHVBV Wrfcicow at TU-yuuimf a&i, at Puillui'id Hi 1UU8V W*^**-

Facsimile of writing of Harvey W. Scott.

HARVEY W. SCOTT and GEORGE H. WILLIAMS at Portland in 1»04.

HARVEY W. SCOTT'S library in his home at Portland.

HARVEY W. SCOTT'S home at Portland.

THE QUARTERLY

of the

Oregon Historical Society

VOLUME XI v JUNE 1913 NUMBER 2

Copyright, 191 3. by Oregon Historical Society
The Quarterly disavow* responsibility for the petitions taken ky contributors to its pages

HARVEY W. SCOTT, EDITOR— REVIEW OF

HIS HALF-CENTURY CAREER AND

ESTIMATE OF HIS WORK

&\> Alfred Holman '

It was given to the generation of Mr. Scott's youth and to
the succeeding generation of his maturer years to take a wil-
derness in the rough and mold it through steadily advancing
forms to the uses of modern life At the beginning of Mr.
Scott's career Oregon was a country whose very name was
best known to the world as a poet's synonym for solitude and
mystery; at the end it was a country which might challenge
the world as an exemplar of the worthiest things in social
development. Thus the background of Mr. Scott's career

i Mr. Holman, many years prominent in the journalism of the Pacific
Coast, now editor of the San Francisco Argonaut, received his first newspaper
training under Mr. Scott on The Oregonian in 1869-70. His fitness proved itself
early and Mr. Scott gave him growing opportunities. His intimate association
with Mr. Scott during more than 40 years gave him close knowledge of the
editor's personality for this appreciative article. Mr. Holman has called Mr.
Scott the "parent of my mind" and Scott once publicly referred to Mr. Holman
as the "well-beloved son of my professional life." Mr. Holman's article shows
not only keen insight into the personality of his subject, but also wide knowledge
of pioneer conditions and sympathy with pioneer life. This equipment comes to
him from long residence in Oregon and contact with it in newspaper work; also
from his pioneer family connections. His paternal grandfather was John Holman,
native of Kentucky (1787-1864), who came to Oregon in 1843 from Missouri; his
father was Francis Dillard Holman, who came to Oregon in 1845. Mr. Holman's
maternal grandfather, Dr. James McBride (1802-73), native of Tennessee, came to
Oregon in 1846 from Missouri. His daughter, Mary, married Francis Dillard
Holman September 25, 1856. The Holman and the McBride families settled in
Yamhill county. Later the McBride family moved to St. Helens, in which
vicinity members of it yet reside. The two connections belonged to the pioneer
energies of Kentucky and Tennessee.— (L, M. S.)

88 ALFRED HOLMAN

was a shifting quantity, presenting each year — almost each
month — new conditions and fresh problems, ahd calling
to the man who for forty-five years was the pre-eminent leader
of its thought for hew adjustments, oftentimes for comprom-
ises. If it must be said of Mr. Scott that the essential values
of his character were individual, it still remains to be said that
they were profoundly related to the conditions and times in
which his work was done. The great figures of any era are
those who, sustaining the relationships of practical under-
standing and sympathy, are still in visiob and purpose in
advance of the popular mind and of the common activities.
So it was with Mr. Scott. There was never a day of the many
years of his long-sustained ascendancy in the life of Oregon
in which he did not stahd somewhat apart and somewhat in
advance of his immediate world. In this there was an element
of power ; but there was in it, too, an element of pathos. For
closely and sympathetically identified; as Mr. Scott was at all
times with the life of Oregon he was, nevertheless, one doomed
by the tendencies of his character arid duties to a life meas-
urably solitary.

The fewest number of men are pre-eminently successful in
more than a single ensemble of conditions. Any radical
change is likely first to disconcert and ultimately to destroy
adjustments of individual powers to working situations. The
qualities which match one condition are not always or often
adjustable in relation to others. It was an especial merit of
Mr. Scott's genius that it fitted alike into the old Oregon of
small things and into the new Oregon of large things. Yet
there was that i'n the constitution of old Oregon which re-
lieved it of the sense of limitation and narrowness, for be it
remembered that the old Oregon — the Oregon of Mr. Scott's
earlier years — stretched away to the British possessions at the
north and to the Rocky Mountains at the east. -Geographically
it was a wide region, and some sense of the vastness of it and
of the responsibilities connected with its potentialities, early
seized upon and possessed the minds alike of Mr. Scott and
of the more thoughtful among his contemporaries. If we

CAREER AND WORK OF HARVEY W. SCOTT 89

regard this primitive country with attention only to the num-
bers of its people, it appears a small and even an insignificant
outpost of the world; but if, with a truer sense of values, we
study it under its necessities for social and political organiza-
tion, there opens to the mind's eye a field vast, practically, as
the scheme of civilization itself. Thus even in the old
Oregon of small things, the man who sat at the fountain
of community intelligence — the editorship of the one and only
newspaper of the country — lived and worked for large pur-
poses and under high aspirations. In a mind of common
mold, taking its tone from the life around about it, there would
have developed a sense of power leading to the exhilarations
of ah individual conceit. Upon the mind of Mr. Scott the
effect was far different. In him and upon him there grew a
noble development of moral responsibility. And this he car-
ried through the vicissitudes of changing times. It was
this which gave to him, firmly rooted as he was, the power
which, in conjunction with his individual gifts, sustained him

as a continuing force through all the years of his life.
*******

The external record of Mr. Scott's life is quickly told.
He was born February 1, 1838, near Peoria, 111., in the pioneer
county of Tazewell, to which his grandfather, James Scott, a
native of North Carolina, after a career of twenty-six years in
Kentucky, came in 1824, the first settler in Groveland town-
ship. In 1852,, at the age of fourteen, he crossed the plains to
Oregon as a member of his father's family, arriving at Oregon
City October 2 of that year. After something less than two
years in the Willamette Valley, he went as a member of a still
migratory family to Puget Sound, where a pioneer home was
established in what is now Mason County, three miles north-
west of the present town of Shelton, on la'nd still known as
Scott's Prairie. Immediately following the settlement of the
Scotts at Puget Sound, came the Indian war of 1855-6, and
in connection with this war Mr. Scott began the career of
public service which ended with his death in 1910. Mr. Scott's
part in the Indian War was that of a volunteer soldier in the

90 ALFRED HOLMAN

ranks, and it is of record that he endured the hardships and
hazards of the campaign with the cheerful hardihood which
marked every other phase of his life, public and private. In
1856, at the age of eighteen, we find Mr. Scott a laborer for
wages in the Willamette Valley, dividing his small earnings
between contributions in aid of his family and a small hoard
for purposes of education. He entered Pacific University at
Forest Grove, a small pioneer institution for all its resound-
ing name, in December, 1856, but was compelled under neces-
sities, domestic and individual, to abandon its classes four
months later to become again a manual laborer. From the
late Thomas Charman2 of Oregon City, in April, 1857 — at
that time just nineteen years of age — he bought an axe on
credit and part of the time alone and part in association with
the late David P. Thompson,3 he worked as a woodcutter, liv-
ing meanwhile in a shack of boughs and finding his own food,
supplied only with a sack of flour and a side of bacon from
Charman's store. While so working and so living he took
from his labors time to attend the Oregon City Academy dur-
ing the winter of 1858-9. In the Fall of the latter year he re-
entered Pacific University at Forest Grove, and supporting
himself by alternating periods of team-driving, woodcutting
and school teaching during vacations and what we now call
week-ends, he graduated in 1863 — a first graduate of the school.
After another period of school-teaching and study Mr. Scott
came to Portland and entered as a student in the law office
of the late Judge E. D. Shattuck, sustaining himself by serv-
ing as librarian of the Portland Library, then, as fitting the
day of small things, a small and struggling institution. Mr.
Scott's first regular contribution to The Oregonian appeared

2 Thomas Charman was born in Surrey, England, September 8, 1829, and
came to the United States in 1848, first to New York and afterwards to Indiana.
He left Indiana in February, 1853, and came to Oregon via the Isthmus, and
arrived at Oregon City March 30. He began the bakery business first and in a
few years went into general merchandising. He was mayor of Oregon City several
terms, beginning in 1871. Was treasurer of Clackamas county during the civil
war. Was appointed major of the State Militia by Gov. Addison C. Gibbs in 1862,
and served four years. Was one of the organizers of the Republican party in
Oregon, beginning in 1855. He was married to Miss Sophia Diller on September
27, 1854. He died at Oregon City February 27, 1907. — (George H. Himes.)

3 David P. Thompson (1834-1901) crossed plains to Oregon in 1853; many
years a leading citizen and banker of Portland; mayor, 1879-82; territorial governor
of Idaho, 1875-6.

CAREER AND WORK OF HARVEY W. SCOTT 91

April 17, 1865, as an editorial on the assassination of Abra-
ham Lincoln.4 He was admitted to the bar of the Supreme
Court in September, 1865.

By this time Mr. Scott had become established in the editor-
ship of The Oregonian, and excepting for a period of five years
from 1872 to 1877, in which he held the post of Collector
of Customs at Portland, busying himself in the meantime iri
various activities, public and private, he held this place, made
great by his industry, his talents and his character, to his death,
August 7th, 1910. In his earlier career in The Oregonian he was
an employed editor. He returned to it in 1877 as part owner as
well as editor, holding this relation to the e'nd. His definite
editorship of the paper, with the interregnum above set forth,
covered the period between April, 1865, and August, 1910 —
forty-five years.

We have seen something of the external conditions and in-
fluences which went into the shaping of Mr. Scott's individual
character, but behind these there lies a wide field. Whence
came the essential spirit of this extraordinary man? What
were the sources of the hardihood, the tenacity of purpose, the
hunger for knowledge and the thirst for culture, the impulses
and motives which inspired and vitalized his career? There
is a suggestion in Mr. Scott's name sustained by many physical
and mental characteristics of a remote ancestry, but the family
records prior to the migration from the old world to the new
have been lost. John Scott, great-grandfather, came to North
Carolina shortly before the Revolutionary War, supposedly
from England. John Scott's wife, great-grandmother, was
Chloe Riggs, of North Carolina, obviously of British descent.
Of her family it is known only that her father was killed by
Indians. John Tucker Scott,5 father, was born in what was
then Washington County, Kentucky. Anne Roelofson,6 wife
of John Tucker Scott and mother of Harvey Scott, was, like

4 Mr. Scott was first recognized as editor of The Oregonian May 15, 1865,
although he wrote numerous editorial articles prior to that date. (George H.
Himes.)

5 Died at Forest Grove September i, 1880; born February 18, 1809.

6 Died on river Platte, 30 miles west of Fort Laramie, en route across the

plains June 20, 1852; born July 26, 1811.

ALFRED HOLMAN

her husband, a product of the pioneer life. The first Roelofson
in America was a Hessian soldier who arrived about 1755
and presumably took part in the French and Indian Wars
which preceded the Revolution. The so-called Roelofson
Clan is widely scattered over the United States.

John Tucker Scott, founder of the Scott family in Oregon,
knew no other life than that of the frontier. He was born, as
we have seen, in Kentucky, and within eighteen miles of the
birthplace of Abraham Lincoln and six days before that event.
His early boyhood was passed amid the tragic excitements of
Kentucky, and at the age of fifteen he followed his father,
James Scott, into the wilds of Illinois. The spirit of the man
is illustrated by the fact that in 1852, at the age of forty-three,
he ventured upon the great trek which brought him and his
family of nine sons and daughters to the then Oregon wilder-
ness.

I can speak from personal recollection of this typical pio-
neer. In physical aspect he was very much the counter-
part of his distinguished son, although framed in even larger
mold. There was in his face and eye a certain eagle-like qual-
ity, not often seen in these days of gentler living and softer
motives. Of native mind John Tucker Scott had much; of
knowledge he had, through some inscrutable process, a good
deal; of conventional culture comparatively little. Yet he was
essentially a man of civilized ideas and standards. So little
resentful was he against the Indian race from which his family
had suffered grievously that prior to the migration to Oregon
his name was enrolled in the membership of a society for
mitigating the sorrows and cruelties of Indian life. There was
m the man an element of humanitarian feeling, with a ten-
dency to sympathy with movements not always wisely con-
sidered for the betterment of social and moral conditions. I
think I am not going too far in saying that there were in him
tendencies which might easily have made him an habitual agi-
tator ; yet I suspect that the soundness of his mmd would under
any circumstances have checked any temperamental disposi-
tion toward utopianism. He had grown old when I knew

CAREER AND WORK OF HARVEY W. SCOTT 93

him, and in his bearing there was something of the arbitrari-
ness of a resolute character developed under the conditions of
pioneer life. He held very definite notions of things not
always carefully considered, and 'not infrequently there was
collision of opinions between father and son, in which the
former, despite the developments of time and the enlarged
dignities of the latter, never lost the sense of patriarchal au-
thority. However others might defer to the knowledge and
judgment of the son, the father in leonine spirit would often-
times seek to bear him down. Yet there was between the two
men a singularly deep affection, in the father taking the form
of a glowing pride, and in the son of a respect amounting
almost to veneration.

Mr. Scott — I speak now of the son — was subject always to
moods of dejection. There were times when it was difficult
to arouse in him any sense of the pleasant and hopeful side of
life. I have seen him m these moods unnumbered times and
can recall but one other — that of the death of a promising son7
— in which he showed such intense feeling as upon the death
of his father. For days as he sat in his office or tramped the
hillsides — and to this he was much given at all times — he
would pour forth from the storehouse of his memory floods of
elegaic poetry with sombre phrases from the literature of the
ages. I know of nothing within the range of human passion
more painful than the grief of a strong man; and there is
impressed upon my memory in connection with the death of
John Tucker Scott a most pathetic picture. In one sense it
was mute, for no direct word was spoken, yet it colored Mr.
Scott's thoughts for many weeks and stimulated in him that
sehse of the mystery of life which was always at the back-
ground of his serious thinking.

*******

Of Mr. Scott's mother, Anne Roelofson, I can only speak
from the basis of family tradition and in respect of the sus-
tained affection in which long after her death she was held
by her children. I do not remember ever to have heard Mr.

7 Kenneth Nicklin Scott, born May 4. 1878; died February j, 1881, at Portland.

94 ALFRED HOLMAN

Scott speak of her directly, albeit there has always been in
my mind a feeling that his deep and abiding respect for
womankind found its first inspiration in the memory of his
mother. It was the opinion of Mr. Scott's sister, Mrs. Co-
burn8 — the one among his several sisters whom I knew well —
that the mother left perhaps a deeper impress on the son than
did the father. It was from her that he gained the elements
of tenderness and sympathy which often tempered his more
aggressive tendencies. I came to understand Mr. Scott's re-
serve respecting his mother when, after his death, I was told
by his son Leslie that his father had once remarked that he
could hardly think of her without tears. And indeed those of
us who know how the conditions of pioneer life pressed upon
womanhood, can easily conceive his motives. Whatever of
hardihood and endurance was demanded of the pioneer, the
requirement was multiplied as related to the pioneer's wife.
For the gentler sort of womankind — and to this type by all
accounts Anne Roelofson belonged — life in the wilderness
was a long agony of self-sacrifice. With none of the exhilara-
tions of the conflict with crude conditions, so powerful in their
appeal to men, there had still to be suffered the same obstacles
plus denial of a thousand tender impulses and a thousand
deep ambitions which masculine character may never feel.
To the end of his life Mr. Scott remembered — this I have from
his son — that when he was fourteen years of age, and just
before her death, his mother called him to a private talk and
gave him admonitions for the guidance of his life which took
form as the very foundation stones of his character. Anne
Roelofson, as we have seen, was of German extraction, and
her family still living prosperously in Illinois are worthy folk
industrious, progressive, self-respecting. These qualities the
mother of Mr. Scott had in eminent development. And by
due inheritance they became the possession of her son.

8 Catharine Amanda Coburn, associate editor The Oregonian 1888-1913. Born
in Tazewell county, Illinois, November 30, 1839; .died at Portland May 28, 1913.
She was one of the able members of The Oregonian staff, an efficient and devoted
assistant of her brother, the editor. She made strong impress upon the newspaper-
reading community.

CAREER AND WORK OF HARVEY W. SCOTT 95

From heredity and through the experiences of his younger
life, Mr. Scott gained the bent of individual character which
ruled all his years. He never ceased to be a pioneer. The
vision of the pioneer,, the temper of the pioneer, the spirit of
the pioneer — these were the dominating tendencies of his life.
Knowledge with reflection gave him philosophy, culture re-
fined his mind, mental training gave him orderliness of meth-
od, discipline self-imposed but absolute gave him power. All
these regarded as forces, as time moved on, were augmented
by the assurances of approved capability, of an established pro-
fessional ascendancy and ultimately of a notable fame. But
with all and back of all there was the temper and mental atti-
tude of the pioneer. In all his thoughts, in all his ways of
doing things, in every phase of his many-sided attitude toward
life, there appeared the mental bias — if I may so name it — of
the pioneer.

Self-reliance was the resounding motif in Mr. Scott's sym-
phony of life. His dependence in all things was upon himself.
He never thought to be "boosted" by society or government.
He had little patience with those who looked outside of them-
selves or beyond their own efforts for advantages or benefits.
With none of the vices of surface knowledge, of improvised
and makeshift method, of the self-satisfied emotionalism char-
acteristic of the self-made man, Mr. Scott was yet a self-made
man. He was self-educated, self-disciplined, self-reliant.
Above all of the men I have ever known he was self-centered,
not in the sense that he thought overmuch of self or was
devoted to the things which pertained, to self, but in the rarer
and finer sense of self-dependence in the motives and usages
of life. - :. : j,ui'j

The pioneer is necessarily an individualist, and never was
there a man more imbued with the spirit of individualism
than Mr. Scott. He and his kind had worked their way under
and through the hardest conditions. They had fought and
had achieved against multiplied resistant forces. In later
times to those about him who declaimed against conditions he
was wont to exclaim with impatience, not untouched with as-

96 ALFRED HOLMAN

perity, "You," he would say, "you who talk of hardships or of
'oppressive conditions' and of the 'grinding forces of life,' are
absurd. If all the things you and your kind complain of as
oppressive and burdensome were massed together they would
not equal one-tenth part of the obstacles which had to be
met in the settlement and organization of this country, and
about which we never thought to complain." And if in this
attitude there was something of the pride of a man of con-
spicuous achievement, who perhaps regarded too lightly the
changed atmospheres of new times compared with old, the
fact none-the-less explained and perhaps none-the-less justi-
fied a sovereign contempt for socialization projects, for senti-
mental declamation, for the whole range of pretenses and
vanities which mark the man or the community which waits
and complains as contrasted with the man or the community
which girds its loins and bravely goes forward.

It was a day of small things when Mr. Scott came to the
editorship of The Oregonian. Prior to that event the office
staff had consisted of Mr. H. L. Pittock,9 the publisher, who
also served as mechanical foreman, with one outside assistant,
who helped with the bookkeeping, collected bills and brought
in details of such local happenings as came to his attention.
There was a local reporter upon whom the whole burden of
preparing the news features of the paper fell. Editorial dis-
cussion, when it was required, was supplied by one or another
of several public-spirited citizens, among them Judge Shat-
tuck.10 And it was in response to a call made upon Judge
Shattuck for "copy" that Mr. Scott, a student in his office,
wrote his first paragraph for the paper. The result so com-
mended itself to the publisher that he promptly asked for more,
and as the intelligence and sincerity of the young writer were
further demonstrated, he was asked to attach himself regu-
larly to the paper. His compensation, made up in part by the

9 Managing owner of The Oregonian.

10 Erasmus D. Shattuck, noted Oregon jurist, born at Bakersfield, Vt., Decem-
ber 31, 1824; died at Portland July 26, 1900.

16

JOHN TUCKER SCOTT

HARVEY W. SCOTT'S FATHER. CROSSED PLAINS TO OREGON
IN 1852 FROM ILLINOIS

CAREER AND WORK OF HARVEY W. SCOTT 97

paper and in part by the Library Association, for he continued
to act as librarian, was fifteen dollars per week. Upon these
terms Mr. Scott's professional life began ; all that followed
was of his own creation. Even this small beginning was won
by his own merit without assistance or promotion.

In the making of Mr. Scott's professional character — of
the spirit in which he worked and of the methods of his work
— times and conditions had much to do. It was before the
day when news-gathering and reporting had become a science,
before these activities had come to engross the purpose and
the energy of newspaper-makers. The points of competition
were not those of lavish expense in news-collecting and of
lurid processes of presentment, but rather those of individual
industry and close economy. The business of the editor was
not that of organizing, drilling and disciplining a force of re-
porters, copy-readers and headline makers, but the study and
presentment of facts, explanations and opinions. The machinery
of social organization in a new country was in the forging ; and
the interest of the community was naturally and wholesomely
related to serious matters. Not so much a fever to search out
and present what is now called the news, as a sense of social
responsibility, possessed the. minds of publisher and of editor.

In its demands the situation was directly to the hand of a
youth temperamentally addicted to serious things, disposed by
propensity and habit to refer every incident and every ques-
tion to underlying principles. I think it questionable if Mr.
Scott even in his youth could have adapted himself to present-
day standards and methods of journalism. Journalist, pre-
eminent journalist, though he was, for nearly half a century,
his interest was never in the things which present-day journal-
ism holds paramount. Events, unless they were related to
economic or moral fundamentals, had no fascination for him,
and little hold upon his attention. At the bottom of his mind
there was ever a sovereign contempt for the trivialities which
make up the stock in trade of the news room. No editor was
ever more solicitous for the efficiency of his journal in its news
pages, but never was there one who personally cared less than

98 ALFRED HOLMAN

Mr. Scott about what was happening in incidental and incon-
sequential ways. He comprehended the necessity for encour-
aging and inspiring his assistants in all departments of The
Oregonian as it grew to greatness as a disseminator of news,
and he would upon occasion give himself the labor of going in
detail through every column of the paper. But it was a per-
functory labor, and oftentimes I have suspected that it was
a duty more frequently honored in the breach than in the
observance. In reports of proceedings of congress or state
legislature, of utterances of important men the world over,
of the larger movements of international politics — in these
matters Mr. Scott was interested profoundly. But he cared
nothing about the ordinary range of insignificant occurrences
and events.

Mr. Scott's interest in his own paper centered in the edi-
torial page. All the rest he knew to be essential. But if there
had been a way to get it done without demands upon his per-
sonal attention, he would, I think, have felt a distinct sense
of relief. He regarded the news department of his paper, in
the sense of its appeal to his own personal interest, as
subordinate to the department of criticism and opinion.
And in the daily making of the editorial page, the fundamental
conception was that of social responsibility. Expediency, en-
tertainment, showy writing — these he valued perhaps for not
less than their real worth, but for infinitely less than the esti-
mate in which they are held by the ordinary editor. Never at
any moment of Mr. Scott's professional life was there any
concession on his part to the vice of careless and perfunctory
work. Scrupulousness with respect to small as well as large
matters, commonly the product only of necessity enforced by
competition, was in the case of Mr. Scott sustained upon in-
stinct and principle. During the greater part of his editorial
career he labored wholly free from any sort of professional
rivalry, and never in relation to anything approaching effec-
tive competition. He might have made easy work of it; he
chose rather to work hard.

CAREER AND WORK OF HARVEY W. SCOTT 99

As the only publicist and pre-eminent man of opinion in the
country, Mr. Scott spoke with authority. The habit of regard-
ing his public counsels as authoritative reacted upon his own
mind in the sense of creating and sustaining a feeling of in-
tense individual responsibility. Ultimately he became some-
thing of an autocrat, but never was there an autocrat in whom
the spirit of authority dwelt so impersonally and in such
subordination to conditions and principles of which he was
ever a devoted student. I recall, as illustrating this aspect of
Mr. Scott's character — an incident among many — his retort to
a shallow and pretentious man who had ventured to discuss a
financial issue with him. Overwhelmed by the fulness
of Mr. Scott's knowledge, driven from every point of his as-
sumption, he doggedly remarked, "Well, Mr. Scott, I have as
good a right to my opinion as you have to yours." "You
have not," said Mr. Scott, as he rose in warm irritation.
"You speak from the standpoint of mere presumption and
emotion, without knowledge, without judgment. You speak
after the manner of the foolish. I speak from the basis of
painstaking and laborious study. You have no right to
an opinion on this subject; you have not given yourself the
labors which alone can justify opinion. You do not even
understand the fundamental facts upon which an opinion
should be based. You say your opinion is as good as mine. It
will be time enough for this boast when you have brought to
the subject a teachable mind and when you have mastered
some of its elementary facts. But I fear even then you will
be but a souriding brass and a tinkling cymbal, for the very
lack of judgment which permits you now to assume judg-
ment without knowledge is but a poor guaranty of your char-
acter. I bid you good-day, sir!"11 I promised a single in-
stance, but here is another : An editor of small calibre, com-
menting upon what he characterized "Scott's arrogance," de-
clared that he had as good a title to consideration as Mr. Scott
himself. "Tell him," said Mr. Scott, to the friend who had

1 1 This incident relates to the contest over fiat money, against which Mr.
Scott fought from 1866 until its culmination in the election of November, 1896.

100 ALFRED HOLMAN

brought a message, "tell him that it is not for me to judge of
his merits or of his title to speak, but say to him for me that
when he shall have borne the burden and carried such honors
as are attached to the leadership of journalism in this country
for forty years, I will be disposed to concede to him a certain
equality of privilege."

Again : There had come to Portland a man of some experi-
ence in minor journalism in a middle western town of the third
class, making noisy announcement of his intention to establish
a newspaper in rivalry with The Oregonian. It happened that
I fell in with the newcomer and had a free talk with him
Somewhere in the course of our conversation I said: "Mr.
Blank, they tell me you are a Democrat; and may I ask to
which wing of the party you belong? Are you a goldbug or
a Bryanite?"12 "Well," he replied, "I never cross bridges until
I come to them." A few hours later I reported this conver-
sation to Mr. Scott with emphasis upon the significant reply.
"Well," he said, as he strode up and down the room with his
thumbs in the armholes of his waistcoat, and in the deliberate
manner which marked moods of amused satisfaction. "Well,
so that's the measure of Brother Blank, is it? Well, I do
suspect that this community has been fed on too strong meat
to prove very hospitable to a journalistic dodger!"

Circumstances tended in multitudinous ways and for many
years to exhibit and emphasize the importance of Mr. Scott's
relations to the public. There was scarcely a day in which
there did not come to him, either in the form of compliment
or opposition, some tribute to his powers and to his place
in the life of the state. A man of trivial mind, open to
the besetments of vanity, would under these recurring in-
fluences have become a colossus of self-esteem. Mr. Scott
indeed knew himself a factor in affairs, but he never lost him-
self in a fog of self-admiration. Oftentimes, when some visitor
had paid extravagant compliments upon his work in general

12 William J. Bryan, of Nebraska, was candidate for President in 1896, of the
free silver Democratic party. Supporters of the single gold standard were com-
monly called "gold bugs."

CAREER AND WORK OF HARVEY W. SCOTT 101

or with respect to the character of The Oregonian, he would
say, "Oh, he means well, but I suspect that if I had slammed
his interest or had bumped one of his favorite prejudices
his tune would have been pitched in another key. If he had
read widely he would know better than to estimate extrav-
agantly an article which merely applies in a timely way prin-
ciples as old as civilization." Then if there was a moment of
leisure or if the mood was upon him — and when the mood
was upon him there was always leisure — he would, commonly
rising from his chair and pacing the floor, recite in a sort
of measured sing-song which never failed to bring out the full
meaning, some classic passage pertinent to the matter im-
mediately under consideration.

It would be too much to say that Mr. Scott did not relish
commendation. What I wish to make clear is he never al-
lowed his pleasure in the approval of others to unhorse his
judgment, least of all to magnify to himself the merit of his
own performances. His standards in the matter of estimating
the value of any piece of work were wholly apart from his
own relation to it, and the only fault I could ever discover in
his judgment of his own work and the work of others was
that he was infinitely more considerate of the latter than of
the former. Yet there was one curious exception to this rule.
Somehow Mr. Scott could never feel that the work of any
pen other than his own could pledge The Oregonian to any-
thing. In later years — that is, within the latter half of his
editorial life — the editorial page was the work of various
hands. Scrupulous as he was in respect to his own articles,
he could never, unless the subject chanced to be important, be
brought to give more than perfunctory attention in manu-
script or proofs to the work of anybody else. "Oh, let it go
in," he would say, if asked to pass upon an article, "and take
its chance for whatever it may be worth." And so four times
out of five Mr. Scott's first reading of the articles of his
associates was when they appeared in printed form. Then,
perhaps, if there was anything which he seriously disapproved
he would soon thereafter bring the paper round with one

102 ALFRED HOLM AN

of his own thunderbolts to his own line of thought. Often-
times when he was absent, or even when at home, articles
would appear quite outside the range of his ways of
thinking but it seemed never to occur to him that the paper
could be committed in its policies by such expressions ; and
he invariably treated a question, no matter what had been
said about it by others in the editorial columns, as if it were
discussed for the first time. That this curious tendency and
habit should lead to some inconsistencies and to occasional
serious misunderstandings, was inevitable. They might disturb
others but they rarely disturbed Mr. Scott himself. He felt
himself to be The Oregonian ; arid he never could feel that the
paper stood committed to anything unless he himself by his own
pen had written it out.13

The thought to seek out the tendencies of current opinion,
to follow or to lead it, and so flatter and cajole the public —
this which has come to be almost a fundamental rule of con-
temporary journalism — had no place in Mr. Scott's philos-
ophy. Of what is called policy he had none at all, and he held
in sovereign contempt the very word policy. "Policy ! Policy !"
he would say, "is the device by which small and dishonest men
seek to make traffic in lies. When a newspaper gets a 'policy'
it throws over its conscience and its judgment and becomes a
pander. There is but one policy for a newspaper and it is
comprehended in the commandment, 'Thou shalt not bear false
witness.' " And by this principle Mr. Scott guided his news-
paper. I never knew him to give an order to "color" the news.
His rule with respect to the news pages was to present

13 On February 22, 1906, Mr. Scott said in The Oregonian: "At every stage
of its history the charge of 'inconsistency' has been thrown at it (The Oregonian)
by minds too petty to understand even one side of the question under discussion.

* The files of the carpers and critics never will be searched, for they contain
nothing. 'Inconsistency1 is the perpetual terror of little minds. It was the worn
weapon used against Burke, and against Webster, and against Hamilton, and against
Lincoln, and against Gladstone, and against Carlyle, and against Herbert
Spencer; for whom, however, it had no terrors. In the arsenal of all petty and
shallow and malignant accusers it has been the chief weapon. It always will be.
The most 'inconsistent' books in the world are Shakespeare and the Holy Bible,
most inconsistent because they say and contain more than all other books what-
soever; and you can pick them to pieces everywhere and prove their inconsistencies
throughout. * It is not necessary to say much in this matter. The work The

Oregonian has done on the mind of the country, the effects of that work, the

feneral achievement, are known. What has been done may tell the story." —
L. M. S.)

CAREER AND WORK OF HARVEY W. SCOTT 103

the facts as clearly and as briefly as possible. His judg-
ments and opinions, his preferences and resentments, his
loves and his hates — if they were exploited, and candor re-
quires me to say that they were all exploited at times, the
place was in the editorial page. The integrity of the news
Mr. Scott always scrupulously respected. The reports of The
Oregonian were commonly as fair to those whose ambitions
or courses it opposed as those it wished to promote. I recall
in this connection the publication in full made from shorthand
notes — an exceptional thing in those days — of Senator Mitch-
ell's address to the legislature upon the occasion of his second
election.14 The Oregonian had fought Mitchell with all its
powers, but when he was elected his address of thanks to the
legislature and through the legislature to the public was given
verbatim. Mr. Mitchell himself was greatly surprised by it —
indeed, so much surprised that when I met him in the lobby
of the old Chemeketa Hotel the following morning he forgot
that we were not on speaking terms. Addressing me abruptly
in the presence of half a roomful he said : "I want to say that
while I abate nothing with respect to differences between Mr.
Scott and myself I do respect his integrity as an editor. I
was ashamed this morning to find myself surprised at the com-
pleteness of the report of yesterday's doings at the Capitol.
Yes, I ought to have known that as a journalist — no matter
about other things — Mr. Scott is a man of strict integrity."

In the many controversies in which The Oregonian engaged
with individuals, much was said that was severe. Much per-
haps was said that would have been left unsaid upon reflec-
tion. But invariably the man assailed was given opportunity
to present his side of the issue, even to the length of open
disrespect and downright denunciation. Only in one respect can
I discover any just criticism of Mr. Scott's practice in such
matters. This exception was upon calculation under the no-
tion that it was justified — a notion in which I could never
quite coincide. Mr. Scott would always print an opponent's
letter, but occasionally he would damn it with a "smashing"

14 Elected November 18, 1885; died December 8, 1905.

104 ALFRED HOLM AN

headline. If protest were made on any account by a member
of his own staff he would reply, "Oh, well, it saves the bother
of answering." None the less, for he dearly loved a personal
"scrap," he was more than likely to "answer" in a manner ex-
hibiting the fact that he had not exhausted the vials of his

mind in- the making of a headline.

******

I have said that Mr. Scott never sought to hunt out and
pander to immediate phases of popular opinion; and this per-
haps was the strongest point in his character as an editor.
Certainly it is a point which profoundly differentiates him
from the more modern editor whose main occupation appears
to be an imitation of the office of the weathercock to the wind.
Looking back over his long career and upon its amazing out-
put of individual work in some ninety volumes of half-year
files of The Oregonian, it now seems that he was almost al-
ways in opposition. "It seems forever my fate to be con-
tending with today, and to be justified by tomorrow," he would
say. And it was literal truth. I cannot now think of any
vital principle or of any great issue in all the years of Mr.
Scott's editorial career in which he was not fundamentally
right. I cannot recall an instance where he conceded a vital
principle to mere expediency; nor can I recall an instance in
which he permitted himself to play upon the public caprice or
the public credulity.

This is said with full remembrance of the fact that a con-
stant charge against Mr. Scott was that he lacked consistency.
Upon this charge the changes were rung and re-rung through-
out his whole career and by those who thought they found
innumerable proofs in the columns of The Oregonian. I have
already set forth one habit which formed a certain basis
for this charge, but the statement does not cover the whole
case. A larger explanation lies in the difference of vision
between the man whose sense of obligation was to principles
and to those who could never see anything higher than inci-
dents and expedients. For example, Mr. Scott was intellec-
tually a believer in un trammeled trade. He saw that the ideal

ANNE ROELOFSON SCOTT
HARVEY W SCOTT'S MOTHER, FROM A FADED DAGUERREOTYPE

CAREER AND WORK OF HARVEY W. SCOTT 105

principle in the relations of men and nations was the rule of
freedom from artificial barriers. When opportunity served, as
it did frequently, in connection with the discussion of abstract
considerations, he wrote under inspiration of the faith that
was in him. I suspect that a careful study of the files, with
the massing together of many detached articles, would exhibit
a practically complete exposition of all that may be said on
behalf of the abstract theory of free trade. At the same time
Mr. Scott was among those who saw advantages in a scheme
of protective tariff, regarded purely as an expedient. To
himself there was a clear line of distinction between the ab-
stract and the practical presentment. His position to himself
was clear. But to the rough-riding "protectionist" who knew
and cared nothing of fundamentals and who under motives
of self-interest or under the inspirations of partisan feeling
made a fetish of "protection" there appeared neither logic nor
honesty in Mr. Scott's position. He was persistently assailed
by those who did not, and perhaps could not, understand him
because they lacked intellectual and moral vision to dis-
tinguish between the tariff scheme regarded fundamentally on
the one hand, and upon the other as an economic and political
expedient.15 Again, in connection with abstract studies Mr.
Scott frequently declared judgments concerning minor mat-
ters, only to pass over these same considerations as they were
related to current politics ; and here again he was assailed as
a man who held one set of opinions in offyears and another
set of opinions when it came to the years of practical conten-
tion. These critics did not see what was clearly in the mind
of the editor, namely, that politics in its practical aspects can
only approximate the standards of the fundamental thinker.
They could not understand— indeed they can never under-
stand— that one may hold definitely to certain abstract ideals,
yet in his working relations shape his course subject to the

15 Mr. Scott, though a free 'trader, acted throughout his life with the pro-
tective tariff Republican party, because of larger and more vital issues, such as
anti-slavery, preservation of the union, anti-greenbackism, gold standard, territorial
expansion after the Spanish war. He was radically opposed to the Democratic
party in these questions and considered them far more important than protective
tariff. If he quitted the Republican party he knew he would lose effective
political associations.

106 ALFRED HOLMAN

demands of time and circumstance. There are two kinds of
truth. But many minds are so constituted that they can see
but one. Mr. Scott saw both.

The truth of the matter is that in his professional character
Mr. Scott represented two types of men. He was a scholar
and he was a journalist. He loved to study and to preach the
fundamental and the ideal. As a man of practical affairs he
knew that the fundamental and the ideal are rarely attainable,
that they call for conditions and for states of society non-
existent. Scholarship and philosophy gave him a vision of an
airline ; but as a leader in the affairs of practical life he real-
ized that in the working world, including human progress, the
forward march is not by the airline, but by a winding road.
He was an idealist but no dreamer, still less a tilter at wind-
mills. He would, perhaps, have enjoyed a purely scholarly
life — or might have done so if opportunity had come to him
before the strenuous and combative elements of his nature
were attuned to action — but his professional responsibilities
and labors had led him far afield from the cloister. He never
lost his taste for abstract studies, and his studies were more
or less reflected in his daily outgivings. But he had that qual-
ity of mind which led him to comprehend the necessity for
concession to conditions as he found them in the workaday
world.

In the long course of Mr. Scott's editorial career he was
again and again compelled to make compromises. Exigencies
of time and circumstance found in him such response as be-
comes a leader in practical thought, but he never lost sight of
any principle which had come to possess his mind and con-
science. While circumstances might compel him to swerve from
the ideal line,, he could never be brought to be faithless to it.
Necessity might compel a change of course, but it could never
obscure in him a clear vision of the guiding star.

Under the necessity Mr. Scott could temporize, but he never
made the slightest concession from sinister motives. In an
association which gave me the closest possible insight into the
processes of his mind in relation to his professional labors, I

CAREER AND WORK OF HARVEY W. SCOTT 107

never once saw or heard the slightest suggestion of the cloven
foot. It became oftentimes an office of friendship as well as
a matter of duty to point out to Mr. Scott the practical haz-
ards of one line of action or another. He was always openly
receptive to suggestions from any source. But it would
have been a bold man who, knowing Mr. Scott's tendencies of
mind, would have pressed a point based upon financial, social
or other personal considerations. His concern, with a not
undue regard for what was expedient, and therefore practi-
cally wise, was with what was fundamentally right.

Somewhere in my youth — perhaps in the correspondence of
Mr. George W. Smalley, who for so many years wrote both
entertainingly and wisely of Europe and European affairs in
a New York paper — I read an, explanation of the rather curi-
ous fact that English provincial journalism has always been
abler than the journalism of London. Newspapers like the
Leeds Mercury and the Manchester Guardian have always
had a clearer vision than the journals of the metropolis. The
explanation was to this effect, namely, that the provincial
editor, sitting a little upon one side, so to speak, apart from
the suggestions and influences of London life, sees things in
a truer perspective. This remark has long stuck in my mind
and has seemed to explain in part an exceptional quality in
Mr. Scott's editorial writing. Oregon for thirty years of Mr.
Scott's professional career was a country detached and apart,
and even to this day it is far removed from the greater centers
of political and material life. The telegraph brings daily re-
ports of leading events, but it brings only essentials. The
ten thousand side lights which illuminate the atmosphere of
New York, Washington or London are lacking. The man
who deals at such range with the current doings of the world
has no aid through daily contact with the agents of great
events and can have small knowledge of the incidental and
oftentimes significant gossip which attends upon important
movements. His resource must be a broad view of things. He
must measure events not as they stand related to incidents,
but by the gauge of fixed principles. The conditions under

108 ALFRED HOLM AN

which Mr. Scott worked accorded perfectly with the
propensities of his mind. He had a contempt for what he
termed "outward flourishes" ; his mind went to the core of
every issue. If the subject were reconstruction or finance or
the tariff or civil service or foreign policy or whatnot, he
dealt with it not after the fashion of the mere journalistic
recorder, but in the profounder spirit of the philosophic his-
torian. Your average journalist is a mere popularizer of ap-
propriated materials. He applies to current events conclu-
sions pretty much always obvious and for the most temporary.
Mr. Scott, sitting apart from all but the essential facts and
exercising a true philosophic instinct, sought out the subtle
links through which, in history and in logic, facts stand related
to facts. He saw the essential always. He wore upon himself
like an ample garment a splendid erudition under which he
moved with entire ease; and it so possessed his mind that he
could bring to bear upon any contemporary event all the lights
of history and philosophy with a judgment unbiased by trivial
incidents and petty considerations.

It is not within the purpose of this writing to consider the
specific judgments of Mr. Scott in relation to public policies,
still less to recite the story of the many battles of opinion in
which he stood in the forefront. These phases of Mr. Scott's
career form a separate theme which will be treated by another
hand in this publication. But I hope that without invasion of
that aspect of Mr. Scott's life which is to engage the pen of
another, I may speak of his championship of one great cause
— a championship which ran through many years, developing
in their fullest power the ample resources of the man and
which must, I think, in the final summing up of Mr. Scott's
professional life, stand as the most imposing of his many pub-
lic services. I refer to his advocacy of sound money as against
recurrent attempts to inflate the currency of the country by
issues of "fiat" paper and to debase the monetary standard by
giving, or attempting to give, to silver an arbitrary parity with
the world's standard of value, gold. Careful study of history
had impressed upon Mr. Scott's mind the vital importance of

CAREER AND WORK OF HARVEY W. SCOTT 109

a sound and stable currency. He was among the first to rec-
ognize the hazard involved in any and all schemes of inflation.
He foresaw clearly the dangers involved in the earlier efforts of
the inflationists and long before the silver menace was real-
ized elsewhere, he spoke in Prophesy and in protest. During
many years his was a lone voice crying in the wilderness ; and
as the silver movement developed and waxed strong his pro-
test became more earnest and vehement. And as he stood
in the front of the fight at its beginning so he stood in the
mighty struggle of 1906 in which it culminated. No other
man in the country, in public life or out of it, carried on so
long and so able a campaign as did Mr. Scott.16 I chance to
know that it is the opinion of those best qualified for judgment
that Mr. Scott's earnestness and strength in this great contest
was from first to last the most powerful individual force in it.
And to my mind his early insight into this subject with his
subsequent presentments of fact and reason with respect to it
form perhaps the best exposition of the powers of his mind
exercised in relation to a purely practical matter.

I am loath to pass on from the professional phase of Mr.
Scott's career, for though my reverence is more for the man
than for the editor, there was that in his purely professional
character which sustained very exceptional standards of jour-
nalism— standards which under the amazing prosperity which
recent years have brought to the business of newspaper pub-
lishing have been well nigh overborne. A fine sense of social
responsibility, an intense respect for fundamental considera-
tions, the disposition to get from himself the best that was in
him in matters small and large, the quick conscience with re-
spect to fact no matter how grievous the labor required to
develop it, an integrity of mind which would not descend to
the smallest public deception, a mental intrepidity which reck-
oned not at all upon consequences, the ability to work and the

1 6 Mr. Scott began his fight against free coinage of silver in 1877; the
contest culminated in the November election of 1896. It was universally admitted
that Republicans then carried the gold standard issue in Oregon through efforts of
Mr. Scott. Fourteen years later, shortly before his death, Mr. Scott said that
that issue was the grayest that had confronted the nation since the civil war, on
account of the industrial and political danger threatened by debased standard of
value.

110 ALFRED HOLMAN

propensity to work in season and out of season — these quali-
ties, supplemented by broad resources of knowledge and the
powers of a mind which instinctively rejected non-essentials
to seize upon the essence of things — these make up a profes-
sional character which in my judgment has not been matched
in the journalism of this country or any other. And when I
reflect that Mr. Scott passed almost half a century with noth-
ing of the stimulus which comes from intellectual rivalry, with
few of the legitimate helps of intellectual association, un-
spurred by any species of competition, working wholly under
the promptings of his own impulses and his own fine sense of
manly obligation, I marvel at the record.

***** *

Generations of clean-blooded, wholesome-living, right-
minded forbears gave Mr. Scott a towering frame and a con-
stitution of mighty vitality. A youth of manual labor and
untouched by vices had toughened every fibre of the physical
man. Never was there a sounder mind in a sounder body.
He had an eye which could gaze unshrinking into the face of
the sun at meridian and which no stress of study ever wearied.
"I have never been conscious of having any eyes," he once
remarked when after many hours of severe work he was cau-
tioned to be careful of his vision. Labors which would ex-
haust the vitality of an ordinary man he could in the early and
middle years of his life sustain day after day with no sense of
fatigue. At one period — about the year 1875, as I recall it —
he devoted no less than eighteen hours per day to his studies
and his office duties. He was temperamentally disposed to
industry and he had never cultivated habits which idly dissi-
pate time. Many men of fine minds are subject to atmos-
pheres and dependent for their moods upon surroundings.
Something of this disability, if it may be so called, came to
Mr. Scott in his later years, but during the greater part of his
life he cared nothing at all about these matters. He could
have sat amid the clamor of a boiler factory and pursued un-
disturbed the most abstruse studies. In later years his powers
of abstraction declined, but in the first twenty years of my

CAREER AND WORK OF HARVEY W. SCOTT 111

acquaintance with him they were absolute. It was his habit
in these more acquisitive years to turn every moment to ac-
count. Once in, reply to an inquiry as to his habits of reading
he answered jocosely, "I read in the morning in bed as soon
as it is light enough; then I read before breakfast and after
breakfast; then after I get to the office, before lunch and a
while after lunch, and, of course, before dinner. Then I read
a while before I start to my office for the evening and after I
have read my proofs and trudged home, before I go to bed and
after I am in bed." And this was hardly an exaggeration.
More amazing still, he remembered everything he read. He
never ceased to possess anything he had once made his own,
and before his thirty-fifth year he had made his own pretty
much the whole range of the world's serious literature.

Mr. Scott's classical culture was so thorough and so sus-
tained that much which the ordinary classicist gropes through
painfully he could read without a lexicon. It was his daily
practice and one of his chief diversions to turn passages
from one language into another. "That's the trick/' he
would say, "which gave me such poor ability to write as I
have. I could never have done anything without it." Most
authors of classic renown he had read in the original, and all
of what may be called the greater works of antiquity he knew
practically by heart. The late Edward Failing,17 himself a
man of fine culture, once told me that his first meeting with
Mr. Scott was in the reading room of the old Portland Library
prior to his coming to The Oregonian. It was the practice of
a group of studious young men to pass their evenings in the
library and not infrequently conversation, with mutual com-
parison of their acquirements, was substituted for reading.
Upon one such occasion somebody brought out a whimsical
book in which as a literary curiosity Paradise Lost was ren-
dered in its prose equivalent. As passage after passage of this
fantastic production was read Mr. Scott gave the versified
form from memory. The story is characteristic of Mr. Scott's

1 7 Born in New York City Dec. 18, 1840; died Portland, Jan. 29, 1900. Cam*
to Portland in 1853.

112 ALFRED HOLM AN

habit through life. His feats of memory indeed were mar-
velous. Open a book of the Shaksperian plays anywhere and
read a line and he would almost surely give you the next, and
upon the instant. Recite to him any passage from the Homeric
poems, and from memory he would give you the varying
English translations. Any phrase or any idea having its roots
or resemblances in standard literature would bring from him
a perfect flood of recitation, all from memory. I recall once,
in describing to him the method of a certain orator that I re-
membered him as a schoolboy rendering heavily one of Web-
ster's orations beginning : "Unborn ages and visions of glory
crowd upon my soul," etc., etc. "Ah !" said Mr. Scott, "That's
an old friend." And he proceeded to reel off from a poet I
had never heard of, the original expression of which
Webster's resounding exordium was a paraphrase. What-
ever form of literature found in him especial apprecia-
tion became a fixed furniture of his mind. The plays of the
earlier British dramatists in all their finer passages were as
definitely in his mind and as available for immediate use as
the worn maxims are familiar to most of us. He was an ad-
mirer of Burke and whole passages of his speeches he would
recite offhand. In the course of every day in his office he
would illustrate perhaps twenty situations by recalling some
classic or standard utterance, always reciting it letter perfect.
If he looked from his office window upon the moving crowd
below, there would arise to his lips some quaint or wise passage
apt to the circumstance. If anyone asked after his health he
was more than likely to reply with a couplet. The writings
of the great religious teachers of antiquity, even the jargon of
the modern religious schools, were at his tongue's end. In
his own writings he was not given to quotation, but one fa-
miliar with the world's literature might easily trace the gen-
esis of many a thought and of a thousand turns of expression
to the amazing storehouse of his memory.

Mr. Scott gave his mind to many subjects, but perhaps his
most exhaustive study was within a sphere singularly removed
from the range of his daily activities. I fancy that it will sur-

FROM TINTYPE TAKEN AT LAFAYETTE, OREGON,
AT AGE OF NINETEEN YEARS

CAREER AND WORK OF HARVEY W. SCOTT 113

prise many to know that the subject which claimed his deepest
interest was that of theology. Here he really touched bottom.
His researches left unexplored no source of knowledge and no
scheme of philosophy as related to the spiritual side of human
nature or as exhibited in the history of the races of men and
in the writings of prophets and sages. As time wore on and
as the responsibilities of life pressed upon him he grew away
somewhat from this enthusiasm, but he never lost interest
in matters theological. Upon no theme could he be more
easily drawn out and upon none was the wealth of his knowl-
edge and the play of his thought more fully displayed. He
came ultimately to a philosophy all his own, very simple, yet
sufficient to the repose of a mind deeply inclined to spiritual
contemplation, yet rejecting absolutely the claims of any dog-
matic creed as the content of absolute truth. In his own
words: "That mystery, 'where God in man is one with man
in God,' is sacred to every soul." His ultimate philosophy
of life was finely expressed in a remark, with respect to
"Jerry Cold well,18 a long time reporter of The Oregonian,
when called upon to speak at his funereal : "Everything perishes
but the sweet and pure influences that proceed from an honor-
able life. They are immortal, extending in ever widening
circles, we may believe through time and eternity."

In the earlier years of my association with Mr. Scott it was
his habit to expound to me, for the want of a more intelligent
audience — none could have been more sympathetic — his plan
to write a book of moral and religious philosophy; and I re-
proach myself in the thought that while the memory of his
earnestness of purpose and of the obvious profundity of his
learning and reflection abide with me,, the matter which per-
haps I never really understood, has passed from my mind.
Among his literary remains, if it be not lost, there should be
found a fairly complete scheme of headings and notations
presenting in outline a work which at one time it was in his
mind to present as a contribution to the permanent religious

18 Edward Lothrop Coldwell died at Portland March 15, 1908, age 68 years;
twenty-five years reporter on The Oregonian and in daily touch with Mr. Scott.

114 ALFRED HOLM AN

literature of the world. Time changed his purpose but it
never altered, I am sure, a philosophy which was the founda-
tion of his religious thought and the mechanism of what I may

presume to call his conscious moral reflections.

******

Writing was not to Mr. Scott a natural gift. His propen-
sity was to thought rather than to expression. He had noth-
ing of the light and easy grace in the making of phrases which
with many renders the operation of writing little more than
pastime. Literally he forged his matter into form and if the
form was always fine it was made so less by instinctive art
than by unremitting labors. With many writers, especially
those who combine experience with propensity, the very pro-
cess of expression oftentimes inspires and shapes the thought.
With Mr. Scott the thought always dominated the expression.
I question if he ever wrote a careless sentence in his life.
Every utterance was first considered carefully then — often
very slowly — hammered into shape. He wrote always with
his own hand and could never with satisfaction to himself em-
ploy the aid of an amanuensis. His style was a reflection of his
mind. It was considered, clear, logical, complete and always
pure. Of a certain species of whimsical slang he was a master
in conversation; it made the substance of a playful humor,
which was unfailing in all his freer talks. But when he set
himself to write, his scholar's sense of propriety, his clean-
minded regard for pure forms overcame the tendency to ver-
bal flippancy so frequently and happily illustrated in his speech.
In my own judgment Mr. Scott's written style lost something
from this scrupulousness, from its unfailing dignity of phrase.
I think his work would have gained buoyancy — a certain
winged power — if he had been a less severe critic of himself,
if his touch had been lighter and his critical instinct less exact-
ing. When, as rarely happened, he could be induced to de-
part from his customary formality of expression, he had in
it a kind of delight akin to the exhilaration of a naughty child
over some pleasing smartness. I recall once when some rather
ridiculous man had made a grandiloquent public declara-
tion of heroic views, Mr. Scott remarked, "I don't know just

CAREER AND WORK OF HARVEY W. SCOTT 115

how to treat that/' Mr. Ernest Bross,19 a long-time and very
able editorial assistant, suggested : "Just print what he says and
put under it as your sole comment, 'Wouldn't that jar you!' "
Mr. Scott pooh-poohed the suggestion ; but half an hour later
he came into my room, which adjoined his own, and read to
me a paragraph in which in modified form he had used the
suggested expression. He gurgled over it with the keenest
delight, and later when his proofs came he walked through
the editorial rooms reading it to others of the staff. The
following morning, with the paper spread before him, he ran
over the particular paragraph with boisterous satisfaction in a
literary prank.

Competent as his judgment was with respect to his own
work as well as to the work of others, it was nevertheless Mr.
Scott's practice to read over his prepared articles to his as-
sistants. "Trying it on the dog" was his familiar phrase for
this form of experimentation. He always invited criticism
though I do not recall many instances in which any of us were
wise enough to help him unless it were at the point of restraint.
But if there came to him from any source a really good sug-
gestion he had no vanities leading to its rejection. I think the
office boy, if he had had a point to make, would have been
listened to as respectfully as his most trusted assistant.

Although a constant and profound reader, Mr. Scott spent
little time upon light literature. Newspapers interested him
in so far as they gave him information or suggested reflections
upon current events, but he cared little for magazines and
would oftener cast them aside after running over the table of
contents than read them. He lived — I use his own phrase —
with books; and the books he lived with were books which
presented to him new facts or old facts in new relations and
which dealt with broad views of things. Books of mere en-
tertainment he valued not at all. Of really good fiction he
read all there was. Of poetry he was a constant reader and
re-reader. I think he was familiar with every great poem in

19 Managing editor The Oregonian 1897-1904; now editor Indianapolis Star.

116 ALFRED HOLM AN

literature and I doubt if there is anywhere a high imaginative
figure or a great poetic image that was unknown to him. Pas-
sages from the standard poets came to him upon the slightest
suggestion, and oftentimes he would recite them from memory
and at great length. No man more quickly or more surely
discriminated the good from the bad. Mr. Lucius Bigelow,
long a brilliant contributor to the Oregonian's editorial page,
once remarked that Mr. Scott's mind was "a refinery of metals,
taking in all kinds of ore and with an almost mechanical
discrimination selecting the fine from the base." The most
trivial incident would draw from him the loftiest selections
from the storehouse of his reading.

Mr. Levinson,20 another lobg time member of the Ore-
gonian family, recently told me of a characteristic incident.
One evening he came upon Mr. Scott in the hall with his key
in his office door, when apropos of nothing he looked up and
began to recite a passage from White's Mysterious Night —
"When our first parent knew thee from report divine," etc.
Having finished the passage, his face wreathed itself in a smile
and he remarked : "No, Joe ; / didn't write that" — and open-
ing his office door, walked in and sat down to his labors. Thus
at unexpected times and in whimsical ways he illuminated the
daily life of the Oregonian office, making it of all the work-
shops I have ever known the most delightful and inspiring.

Nature in all its aspects had for Mr. Scott a tremendous
fascination. He luxuriated in the mere weather — good or
bad. He would stand at his window and look out upon the
dreariest day with a certain joy in it. Fine weather with him
was an infinite delight. He was singularly uplifted by fine
views, and perhaps of the multitudes who have gazed upon
Mt. Hood no one ever so intensely enjoyed in it. From the east
windows of his office on the eighth floor of the "Tower" — for
so his office came to be known to the public — Mt. Hood was,
before the period of the sky-scraper, in full view. He kept

20 N. T. Levinson now-publishes Fresno Herald; many years city editor and
Sunday editor Th« Oregonian.

CAREER AND WORK OF HARVEY W. SCOTT 117

a pair of field glasses on his desk and it was his habit every
day many times to gaze at the beautiful picture athwart the
eastern sky. "I suppose," he remarked one day, "that I keep
as close tab on Mt. Hood as anybody, but I have to tell you
that in the tens of thousands of times that I have looked at
it I have never failed to find in it some new charm." Once in
the early evening he burst into my room, next his own, in what
was to him a state of positive agitation. "Look! Look!" he
exclaimed. My first thought was that some terrible tragedy
had stirred him ; but the scene was the full summer moon emerg-
ing as if from the body of the mountain. "You will probably/'
he said, "never in your life behold that amazing conjunction
again." So with every other aspect of this ever changing
mountain. It was his singular love for it, I think, that with all
of us — certainly with me — has given to Mt. Hood a certain
identification with Mr. Scott. I never look upon it without
seeing not alone the mountain, but the rugged figure of the
"Old Man" — for so in affection we always styled him when
his back was turned — in his peculiar pose standing at his win-
dow, glass in hand, gazing, gazing, gazing!

I have said that Mr. Scott was not by nature a writer ; and
truth to tell he was a bit contemptuous of those who were. He
had a sneering phrase which he often applied to easy, grace-
ful, purposeless work. "Feeble elegance" was his character-
ization of all such. He not only wrote with his own hand, but
perhaps for every column of finished matter which he pro-
duced he made a column and a half of manuscript. Often-
times not only his desk but the floor about him would be lit-
tered with sheets of paper written over but rejected. He de-
tested slovenliness in the form of a manuscript and would
laboriously erase words, phrases and whole sentences and re-
write over the space thus regained. His thought was definite
but he made serious work of getting it into form ; and he never
shirked any labor to this end, although to the end of his life
it was always a labor. He had one curious habit which bears
a certain relationship to the quality of his work. Oftentimes
while pondering over the form of a sentence, he would write

118 ALFRED HOLM AN

and rewrite on another sheet of paper the word "solidity." I
have seen this word in his characteristic script duplicated a
hundred times in a single evening. Whence came this whim-
sical habit I know not. He had it when I first knew him ; he
persisted in it to the end. And somehow the word "solidity"
as he wrote it a million times to no obvious purpose seems to
me to bear in it a kind of symbol of his literary method. Solid-
ity of thought, solidity of expression — this was his character-
istic quality.

Upon many occasions I have heard remarks suggesting the
idea of Mr. Scott as a severe man — as if he were a hard task-
master. Never was there a greater misconception. He was
not indeed much given to the conventioned amenities. He
would come or go often without a sign of recognition, but it
was merely the mark of a mind absorbed. In all essential ways
he was the most considerate of employers — I have sometimes
thought too considerate for his own profit or for our best
discipline. His assumption was that every man was, of course,
doing his duty. There was never anything like critical observa-
tion of the occupations or the absences of his assistants. He
never looked at the clock. In his attitude toward his assistants
there was no direct oversight, no pettiness. And all who
served him will bear me witness that in the crises of personal
distress or domestic affliction he was the very soul of con-
sideration. A man called from his work by any domestic
emergency was never made to suffer in the thought that his
absence from duty would discredit him or that it would be re-
flected in a diminished pay check. Nor was any man ever
expected in respect of the course of the paper to write against
his own convictions or in disloyalty to his own judgment. "Do
you feel like writing so and so?" he would say. And if there
was any indication of dissent from views which he evidently
wished presented he would say : "Oh, well, I will do it myself.
I don't want in this paper any perfunctory work. No man
ever wrote anything that he didn't believe, that was worth
anybody's reading." And so he would set himself to labors

CAREER AND WORK OF HARVEY W. SCOTT 119

which a man of less delicacy or of more arbitrary spirit would

have imposed upon others.

******

In the sense that he held in profound contempt many things
which men in general delight in, Mr. Scott may be described
as unsocial. He abominated ordinary frivolities in which many
persons find mental refreshment. Social life in the usual inter-
pretation of the phrase he regarded as waste of time — even
worse, as tending to mental flabbiness. He had not been
brought up to understand that even a wise man may frivol not
unwisely; and though at periods of his life he mixed
more or less in social companies he got little out of it
but weariness. So with ordinary amusements. He caied
little for the theatre unless by some happy chance there
was intellectual merit in the play or power in the per-
formance. Sports he held in contempt. But he liked
walking and at one period of his life he got a good deal of
pleasure out of horseback riding. Driving was more or less
a pleasure to him if he found congenial company, but other-
wise it was a bore. Perhaps the keenest pleasure in his life
in the sense of occupation, apart from his studies and profes-
sional labors, was the clearing of a forest tract at Mount
Scott.31 Here he felt that he was doing constructive work —
redeeming the wilderness and preparing it for production. It
recalled to him, too, the labors of his youth and a thousand
memories connected with them. He once remarked as we stood
on the side of Mt. Scott that the odors of burning stumps and
brush piles carried him back to his boyhood as nothing else
did. "I suppose" he said, "that where it costs me a hundred
dollars to clear an acre of this land, its productive value will
be less than a mere fraction of that sum. But somehow I like
to do it. First or last it's got to be done by somebody and I
might just as well get the fun out of it."

The theory that Mr. Scott was unsocial in his nature was
one of his own pet self-deceptions — perhaps I would better say
affectations. "Yes," he would often remark, "I am by nature

a i Seven miles southeast center of Portland; named for Mr. Scott in 1889 by
W. P. Ready.

120 ALFRED HOLMAN

solitary !" Then he would sit down on the top of Mr. Bross's
table or my own and declaim for an hour upon arts and letters,
or politics or philosophy with the keenest zest. Upon such
.occasions, and they were almost of daily occurrence, all the
ordinary bars of conventional relationship between senior and
junior were down. More than once I have said: "Mr. Scott,
this is mighty interesting and I wish I had nothing to do but
sit here the rest of the night, but if you expect anything from
me in tomorrow's paper you have got to get out." "Yes/' he
would answer, "I suppose I am something of a nuisance but
as you know I am a solitary man and perhaps I don't realize
when I impose upon others." The truth is that he was of an
intensely social disposition, delighting in companionship and
delightful as a companion, Like every other man of rare mind
he demanded as an essential condition of pleasurable inter-
course, understanding and sympathy; and of the former he
found too little. The range and the gravity of his thought was
far too wide and too deep for the average man ; therefore, the
average man bored him. But when the companionship was
upon even or sympathetic terms, no man could enter into it
with higher zest. No member of The Oregonian staff of the
period of the 'eighties will ever forget the occasions when
Judge Deady22 or Mr. William Lair Hill,23 Judge Williams24 or
Mr. Asahel Bush25 would look in upon him. These were men
of his own stamp, worthy of his steel, and in their company
the very best of Mn, Scott's mind and the best of his vast

knowledge was brought into play.

* * * * * *

But quite apart from men of hi& own intellectual rank,
Mr. Scott had a considerable group of close personal friends.
They were without exception men of some native and genuine

22 Matthew P. Deady, eminent Oregon jurist, born in Talbot county, Md.,
May 12, 1824; died at Portland March 24, 1893. Came to Oregon in 1849.

23 Mr. Hill is now a resident of Oakland, Cal., was editor The Oregonian
1872-77.

24 George H. Williams, jurist, attorney-general under President Grant, fore-
most in reconstruction after civil war, born in, New Lebanon, Columbus county,
N. Y., March 26, 1823; died at Portland April 4, 1910. Came to Oregon in 1853.

25 Mr. Bush, of Salem, during many years has been one of the striking figures
in Oregon affairs and is now one of its venerable citizens. Came to Oregon in
1850; born at Westfield, Mass., June 4, 1824.

110

HARVEY W. SCOTT

AT 27 YEARS OF AGE ON BECOMING EDITOR OF
THE OREGONIAN

CAREER AND WORK OF HARVEY W. SCOTT 121

quality. John Ward,26 a famous politician of his day, a man
representative in many ways of things Mr. Scott disliked, was
nevertheless a close friend. He valued Ward not for pro-
fundity of knowledge or for graces of character, but for
his unfailing common sense and for a certain rock-ribbed
honesty. "I don't like Ward's business," he said to me one
day, "as you must know. Nevertheless it takes very much of a
man to be a political boss. Just consider a moment
what the elementary qualities of his character must be. First
of all he must have honesty. No man who tells lies can find
support in other men. No man who is careless about his word
can have the respect of other men. No man who lacks loyalty
can command loyalty. I am pretty much of the opin-
ion that it takes more of a man to be a good political
boss than it does to be a bishop. Now your bishop must either
be a bit of a blank fool or something of a hypocrite. Either
would be fatal to a political boss. Now, there is Ward ; I have
known him for thirty years. I would accept his word as final
with respect to any matter upon which he presumes to have
knowledge. I would leave uncounted money in his possession.
I would rather have his judgment upon a question within his
range than that of any man I know. When it comes to sterling
qualities combined with working common sense I don't know
John Ward's equal. And I guess, when it comes to the senti-
mental side, our bishop hasn't got much on Ward. I would as
soon leave my estate in his hands as any man I know; and
I would about as lief he would counsel my boys as
any clerical brother of our acquaintance. He would
teach them to tell the truth and to keep faith and to be honest in
all dealings. Now if there be any better fundamentals for the
business of life I don't know what they are. Yes, and I do
flatter myself that I know something about fundamentals —
a few of the simpler sort."

There were other men' for whom Mr. Scott cherished warm

26 John P. Ward, still living in Portland, long prominent in Republican
political affairs; born in Rhode Island June 30, 1833. Came to Oregon in 1863.

122 ALFRED HOLM AN

sentiments. The late Judge Struve27 of Seattle was especially
a friend of his and there was always an evening of wise and
hilarious talk when the two came together. Then there was
the late Sam Coulter,28 a man of quite another type, who inter
ested Mr. Scott chiefly by a certain receptivity of mind. The
late F. N. Shurtleff29 was still another to whom Mr. Scott gave
his friendship on the score of a certain fundamental honesty
of character. And still another friend was the late Medorem
Crawford30 who could command Mr. Scott's time even upon
his busiest day although to no better purpose than to retell the
familiar stories of his experience as Captain of the Guards
which accompanied wagon trains across the plains in 1861-63.

27 Henry G. Struve was born in the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, Germany,
November 17, 1836. He received a thorough academic education prior to coming
to America, at the age of sixteen. A few months later he came to California,
and for six years engaged in mining, studying law and newspaper work, most of
this time in Amador county. In 1859 he was admitted to the bar. In February,
1860, he came to Vancouver, Washington territory ,and bought the Chronicle,
which he conducted for about one year. He then began the practice of law, which
he continued in Seattle until a short time before his death. He made Vancouver
his home for about eleven years and during that time was elected to several different
offices — prosecuting attorney, probate judge, both branches of the legislative
assembly, etc. In 1871 he went to Olympia, and the next year was in charge of the
Puget Sound Courier for a time, and then was appointed secretary of the territory.
In 1879 h« removed to Seattle and formed a law partnership with John Leary, and
from time to time J. C. Haines, Joseph McNaught, Maurice McMicken, John B.
Allen, E. C. Hughes and other strong men made a part of the firm, others having
been separated from it by death, resignation, etc. There he took an active part
in public life, politically and in municipal and educational affairs for many years
and became one of the foremost citizens of the place. He was married in Van-
couver October 29, 1863, to Lassie F. Knighton, and four children were born to
them, two sons and two daughters. He retired from active business early in 1904.
After a brief illness he died in New York City, June 13, 1905. — (C. B. Bagley.)

28 Samuel Coulter was born in Ohio in 1832. Came across the plains to
Oregon in 1850, arriving in Oregon City September 12, with $2.00 in his pocket.
Some time in 1852 he went to Thurston county, Oregon, and took up a donation
land claim. In 1871 he was appointed collector of internal revenue by President
Grant for Washington territory. In 1873 he went into the steamboat business on
Puget Sound; in 1878, in company with C. P. Church, he built the Esmond Hotel,
Portland; in 1879 he was one of a company to build a part of the Northern Pacific
railroad from Cheney to Spokane; a little later, in company with two men, Messrs.
Davids and Buckley, he laid out the town of Bucoda, Washington, and opened up
a coal mine near that place. The name of the town was derived as follows:

Bu— ckley.
Co — ulter.
Da— vids.
Bu-co^da.
Mr. Coulter died in Seattle July i, 1907. leaving a wife and two sons. — (Geo.

29 Ferdinand N. Shurtleff came from Washington, D. C., to Iowa. Was mar-
ried there in 1858, and crossed the plains to Oregon in 1862, locating in Polk
county. He died in Portland April 6, 1903. He was a Republican politically, and
was in the Indian service for a number of years. He was collector of customs
under President Arthur, 1881; in 1891 he was the manager of the Gettysburg
Cyclorama at Portland. — '(Geo. H. Himes.)

30 Medorem Crawford was born in Orange county, N. Y., June 24, 1819;
died Dec. 26, 1891. Came to Oregon in 1842 with Dr. Elijah White. He was
several times member of the Oregon Legislature. In 1861-3 he was captain of a
company of soldiers that protected the Oregon trail. He was collector of internal
revenue at Portland 1865-70; appraiser at Portland 1871-6.

CAREER AND WORK OF HARVEY W. SCOTT 123

Each of these men had some quality of nature or some
association with past times which made him companionable
to Mr. Scott. If in any one of them there was some whimsical
quality or habit Mr. Scott saw it clearly enough. He had an
amusing way of hitting off their foibles. For example, one
day he came into my room and remarked : "I have got to find
some way to keep 'Cap' Crawford occupied for about two
hours. Can't you go out to Chinatown and buy some of the
very worst cigars that are to be had for money — remember, the
very worst — I wouldn't run the risk of reforming Crawford's
taste in cigars." But in spite of this disposition to play upon
whimsicalities, his tendency was to discover whatever was fine
in a friend and to pass over with amused tolerance things which
he would have condemned in others. Where understanding
was not available he could be content with sympathy and ap-
preciation.

I cannot pass from this phase of Mr. Scott's character with-
out reference to an incident which curiously exhibited the senti-
mental side of his nature. Between himself and the late Ed-
ward Failing there was much in common in connection with
much that was diverse. They were friends on and off for forty
years, chiefly on the intellectual side of things, for they stood
upon a common plane of mentality. At one time there had
been a lapse of relations so profound that for years they passed
and repassed without recognition. But an incident brought
them together when both were well past fifty and they saw
much of each other, easily renewing the bond of early youth.
I knew Mr. Scott was fond of Mr. Failing but how fond I did
not realize until the latter's death. Going into Mr. Scott's
office I said, "I have a sad message, Mr. Scott ; Edward Failing
died an hour ago."31 He sat with fixed gaze as if upon noth-
ing for a full minute, then rose and walked to the window,
took up his field glass and carefully studied the glowing moun-
tain. He turned toward me with his hands raised. "The last,"
he said "the last of the friends of my youth — the last to call me
Harvey!"

31 Jan. 29, 1900; see supra.

124 ALFRED HOLM AN

In the later years of his life Mr. Scott went much to the East.
These visits he greatly enjoyed. His reputation, long an estab-
lished quantity in the professional world, had expanded into
fame. He stood among the leaders in his profession — a tower-
ing survival of the older and better fashion in journalism. He
found too an appreciation among statesmen and men of affairs
which was gratifying to him. No man of discriminating power
to whom Mr. Scott ever gave ten minutes time failed to discover
the qualities of the man. Men like Henry Watterson32 and
Whitelaw Reid,33 with whom he fell i'nto cordial associa-
tion, quickly saw that here was a mind of high powers. After
a lifetime of isolation he thus came in his later years familiarly
into association with leaders in the world of national affairs.
To the new relationship he brought the zest of one who had
known little of the gracious phases of life outside his local circle.
Without his being in the least conscious of it, it opened up to
him something approaching a new career. Every man of
laborious habit is more or less exhilarated under detachment
from his customary tasks and by association with new people,
and none more than Mr. Scott. With a pleasure not unmixed
with pride I recall an evening or two passed with him in New
York and in distinguished company where in a conversational
sense he held the center of the stage, bearing himself in it
with a power and a charm which seemed almost like an effect
of intoxication. Only a few months before his death the late
Whitelaw Reid told me of an occasion where Mr. Scott with
himself and others dined as the guests of Archbishop Corrigan.34
"Scott," said Mr. Reid, "came late and was obviously embar-
rassed by the fact that he had kept the company waiting for
nearly an hour. His annoyance reacted in a kind of mental
exhilaration. We were about twenty at dinner, Mr. Scott sit-
ting at the left of His Grace. Almost immediately when the
time for general talk began a question addressed to him
by the host brought from Mr. Scott a reply which ex-
hibited his acquaintance with theological scholarship. The

32 Editor Louisville Courier- Journal ; long-time friend of Mr. Scott's.

33 Editor New York Tribune and later Ambassador to Great Britain.

34 Michael Augustine Corrigan (1839-1902), Archbishop of New York.

CAREER AND WORK OF HARVEY W. SCOTT 125

Archbishop, obviously surprised, pursued the subject. Then
with absolute unconsciousness, Mr. Scott on the one hand
and the Archbishop on the other entered into the most extra-
ordinary discussion I have ever heard. It began about nine
o'clock and did not end u'ntil near midnight. Hardly another
man than the host and Mr. Scott spoke a word. Indeed, it was
practically a monologue on the part of Mr Scott, but in perfect
taste and surprisingly eloquent. Such a flood of knowledge,
such a wealth of reflection, such freshness and earnestness of
mind I have never seen matched in connection with a subject
so outside the sphere of ordinary interests. For months after,
if I chanced to meet anybody who was present at that dinner
there was sure to be reference to the extraordinary talk. The
powers of the man and his familiarity with theological matters,
surprised all of us. We could but marvel that such a man
could be a product of a pioneer country, living all his life
remote from the centers of scholarship and of abstract thought."
*******

It was no doubt due to the conditions of Mr. Scott's early
life as they have already been outlined that he had, or always
assumed to have, little sympathy with personal incapacity or
its consequences. I often thought him too much disposed to see
the individual deficiencies which lay behind personal distress
rather than the distress itself. If self-indulgence or wasted
energies had brought a man to want, Mr. Scott's impulse was
less to relieve the need than to define the cause of it. He de-
spised inefficiency with the whole brood of its causes. Yet he
was much kinder in deed than in sentiment. More than once
when applied to for help in the name of charity he would
declaim with tremendous emphasis against the vices of
incompetence and end by yielding a donation. But broadly
speaking, his attitude towards grown-up men and women who
had neglected or dissipated their opportunities in life was
severely critical. "He has thrown away his chances, laughed in
the face of counsel, sneered at the lessons of experience — let
him take the consequences." Something like this was not in-
frequently heard from Mr. Scott. But he had the tenderest

126 ALFRED HOLM AN

feeling for childhood. Nothing so aroused him as reports of
suffering on the part of children, especially if caused by some-
body's cruelty

There was a citizen of Portland, now dead;, whom Mr. Scott
had known in the days when he was cutting wood for Tom
Charman in Clackamas County. In this man, although they
had little in common, Mr. Scott always cherished a profound
interest. " What," I once asked him, "do you find in that man ?"
He replied : "One day forty years ago up Molalla way as I was
passing a farm house, I was attracted by the screams of a
child manifestly in pain. I rushed into the barnyard and there
found a boy of perhaps fourteen triced up and under the merci-
less lash of a beast of a father. This man was that boy. I
have never been able to get the incident out of my mind. To
this day my pulse quickens and my gorge heaves when I think
of it. To me he is always the little boy who was being cruelly
flogged. I did at the time what the God of righteous ven-
geance required, then helped the lad to get away from home,
and my interest has followed him from that day until now."

Some thirty years ago there appeared one morning in the
Oregonian a pitiful story of a child abused by a brutal step-
father on a squalid scow-house up the river near the old pump-
ing station. The little chap had been whipped with a strap
to which a buckle was attached and it had cut into his flesh
until he was gashed from head to foot. Mr. Baltimore35 of the
local staff had personally visited the scene and had helped
rescue the victim of this cruelty, and he had made the account
painfully graphic. Mr. Scott having read the report at home,
came to the office in hot wrath. He was furiously im-
patient for Baltimore's arrival to have the story over again and
with fuller details. Then he stalked forth in search of the man.
What he would have done I do not know — I can only guess —

35 John M. Baltimore crossed the plains in 1863 and grew to manhood near
Salem. In the early yos he became reporter on The Oregonian. Later he went to
San Francisco where he became correspondent of the Western Associated Press.
In 1883-5 he was reporter on The Oregonian and Evening Telegram and in 1888
became city editor of The Oregonian, succeeding Sam R. Fraser. In 1891 he quit
The Oregonian and became special writer on the Evening Telegram. In i8g6 he
went to Spokan* and later to Oakland, Gal. He died at San Francisco in January,
191*,

CAREER AND WORK OF HARVEY W. SCOTT 127

but I think it was well for the beast that he had slunk from
sight. For days after, Mr. Scott could hardly speak of any-
thing else. In the midst of his work he would leave his desk
saying, "I cannot get that terrible picture out of my mind.
Curses, curses on the base creature !" And out he would stalk
to regain composure by tramping the hillsides. In multiplied
other instances Mr. Scott's sympathies for childhood were
prompt and vehemently declared. He had nothing of mock
sentiment; indeed he never seemed particularly fond of chil-
dren other thah his own. Yet the distresses of childhood from

wherever they came, aroused him as nothing else ever did.
******

Statesman Mr. Scott was in the truest possible sense; but
he was never, excepting for a time when he held an admin-
istrative office, an official factor in governmental affairs. He
had little respect for ordinary officialism, and none at all for the
type of man who contrives by hook or by crook to get himself
elected to something, or who makes a trade of public office.
Yet there was always in the background of his mind a certain
yearning for the opportunities which only official station can
give. "There is," he was wont to say, "but one platform from
which a man may speak to the whole American people. A
senator of the United States, if he have mind with knowledge
and powers of expression, may have a great audience." But
while Mr. Scott might again and again have been a senator
if he had been willing to arrange for it, he could never bring
himself to do so. In truth, he regarded with supreme con-
tempt the concessions commonly necessary under our political
system on the part of one who would take an active part in
the responsible work of national legislation. I am sure that
in the latter years of Mr. Scott's life if he had been invited,
under conditions calling for no compromises, that he would
have been very glad to have represented Oregon in the Senate.
He would have eh joyed the associations and he would like-
wise have been glad to bear a part in the discussions of great
questions. But he could never have yielded to the political
game the pledges which it demands. Nor would he have given

128 ALFRED HOLM AN

attention to the multitudinous trivialities with which senators,
particularly from the newer states, are forever pestered. Within
two or three years of his death, Mr. Scott was brought to the
test through a tender on the part of the President of the United
States of the Ambassadorship to Mexico.36 And at another
time he was informally tendered a similarly dignified post in
o'ne of the European countries.37 In each instance he declined
the honor with thanks. When it came to abandonment of his
customary relationships and responsibilities and his familiar
ways of life he was not willing to make the sacrifice. I suspect
it would have bee'n the same in connection with any other office.
Among Mr. Scott's intimates — among those of us who knew
him in all the phases of his character — it has always been a
subject of speculation as to how he would have carried himself
as a senator. I am frank to say that in my judgment he would
have failed to satisfy any constituency, like that of Oregon,
accustomed to a species of more or less eager subserviency on
the part of officialism. If he could have represented a state
like New York or Massachusetts where the demands upo'n
a senator are of a large intellectual kind, he would have made
a noble record. But where every man capable of making his
cross feels at liberty to write to "my senator" for any service
at Washington from the purveying of garden seeds to the secur-
ing of a contract for army supplies or the getting of a dissolute
son out of jail, Mr. Scott would have been a disappointment.
He simply would riot have done the things required; and not
doing them he would have been thought neglectful of senatorial
duties. Beyond a doubt Mr. Scott would have distinguished
himself in discussion. While no orator in the conventional
sense, he could still express himself with mighty force upon
his feet ; and in prepared argument there has perhaps not bee'n
a man in the senate during this generation whom he did not
more than match. But at the point of getting things done — and
unhappily senators are expected to get things done — he would
hardly have been what is called efficient. His habits of mind

36 Tendered by President Taft in 1909.

37 Tendered by President Roosevelt in 1904; MinUter to Belgium.

It?'

HARVEY W.SCOTT
AT 36 YEARS OF AGE

CAREER AND WORK OF HARVEY W. SCOTT 129

and action were under the inspiration of independence. He
could never have subordinated himself to the severely partisan
method of doing things and he would 'never have made com-
promises or have entered into bargains. In the senate I think
he would have been strong, brilliant, forceful but eccentric
and I fear, as regards what are called working results, an
impotent figure. Success in the senate is attained by methods
wholly outside the lines of his genius and propensity of his
habit and his sense of propriety. Mr. Scott often remarked
when efforts were made to stimulate in him the spirit of political
ambition that he would not "step down" from the editorship
of The Oregonian into the United States senate. And this was
no boast ; for the editorship of The Oregonian as it was carried
by Mr. Scott was truly a higher place, a place of wider re-
sponsibilities andi of larger powers than any official place pos-
sibly attainable by a man geographically placed as Mr. Scott
was.

All who, like myself, shared in the advantages of close asso-
ciation with Mr. Scott are fond of recalling a thousand trivial-
ities which, small though they are, illustrate certain aspects
of his character. No man was ever more scrupulous in all
the essentials of personal habit ; yet he had always a certain
indifference to appearances. When free from domestic
discipline — that is, during the absences of his family from
home — he was wont to be exceedingly careless about his dress.
Now and again one of us would remind him that he ought
to get a fresh suit of clothes. Once in response to this kind
of suggestion he appeared brand new from crown to sole and
obviously conscious of the quite radical change. "How does
this suit you ?" he asked as he paused in my doorway. It hap-
pened to be at a time when waistcoats were cut high, barely
exhibiting the collar and an inch of necktie. But the waistcoat
of this new suit was extremely low. "Why," I replied, "hasn't
your tailor cut that vest a little low?" "Well," he replied as
he sought with a characteristic movement to get it into its
proper place, "I thought it seemed a bit low, and I remarked
it to the man, but he insisted, and this is what I got. I sup-

130 ALFRED HOLM AN

pose one must make some concession to the style." I once re-
minded him that the braid had wholly disappeared from the
rim of his hat. "You say the braid is gone ?" he said. "Now,
don't you see that that hat has reached a perfect development?
It has got where nothing more can happen to it." Nobody
can know better than I that these be trivialities ; but they linger
in memory with a certain sweetness and I venture to
set them down for what they may be worth as illustrating a
certain engaging simplicity in one who, the more I see of life,
looms heroic in my firmament of men.

I cannot feel that it would be in place to speak particularly
of the domestic side of Mr. Scott's life. He was singularly
and devotedly a family man — fond of his home, the devoted
lover of the sweet woman who was his wife, and a father to
whom no labor or sacrifice was ever a weariness. He was not
one to find entertainment at clubs, at theatres or at other
assemblages; his personal interest outside of his office was
within the four walls of home abd there he spent practically
every hour that was not given to his labors or to out-of-doors
recreation of which he was fond. Formidable figure that he
was in most relationships, he shed his austerities when he hung
his hat on the hall rack. Many years ago with practically the
first considerable fund that was available for other than business
necessities, he built the spacious and dignified house in which
he lived to his death. He loved to adorn it with art and to
enrich it with treasures. Yet his taste for other things
never overbore certain cherished sentiments. In the great
library in which he passed the larger part of his time,
the portrait of his father had the place of honor. The shelves
which held his most valued volumes were made of boards re-
trieved many years ago from the pioneer house in Tazewell
County in Illinois built by his father's hands and in which
himself and his brothers abd sisters were born. I hardly need
to add that the man whose propensities to domestic life and
whose family sentiment was so marked a feature of his char-

CAREER AND WORK OF HARVEY W. SCOTT 131

acter suffered nothing — neither his duties nor his studies — ever
to interfere with the fondest of human obligations.
******

It was not Mr. Scott's way to talk much about the sentiments
which were the spiritual guides of his life and the sources of his
power. But now and again quite unconsciously there would
come from him that which revealed the inner springs of the
man. Of many such utterances I think perhaps that in which
he set forth the character of the late Judge Williams most
clearly summarized Mr. Scott's own standards of intellectual
and moral worth. Of Judge Williams Mr. Scott wrote :

"In him personal integrity, intellectual sincerity, intuitive
perception of the leading facts of every important situation,
quick discernment and faculty of separation of the important
features of any subject from its incidental and accidental cir-
cumstances, with clearness of statement and power of argu-
ment unsurpassed, marked the outlines of his personal char-
acter. He was a man who never lost his equipoise, nor ever
studied or posed to produce sensational or startling effects. I"n
his private life and demeanor there was the same simplicity of
character, evenness of judgment and temper andunaffectedness
of action. His immense powers, of which he himself never
seemed unaware, were always at his command."38

Here we have not more Mr. Scott's view of Judge Williams
than a presentment of his own ideals — his own measure of
a man.

******

I come with reluctance to the end of a recital — for I have
attempted only a recital — of things tending to illustrate the
character and life of a very extraordinary and very helpful
man. He came, as we have seen, into leadership of public
thought i'n Oregon at a time when the character of the country
was in the making. His work in journalism lay at the sources
of a stream of life which grew large under his hand

38 From an editorial in The Oregonian April 5, 1910, the last important article
written by Mr. Scott. Reprinted in Oregon Historical Quarterly, XI, 223-6. Judge
Williams died April 4, 1910.

132 ALFRED HOLM AN

from small beginnings and must now go on expanding through
indefinite years. It was at a time when great events were
in the germ. The adjustments which followed the Civil War,
the relations of the government to the Pacific world, the ar-
rangements for commerce in this hew world — these early
pressed upon his attention to find in him a conscientious stu-
dent and an intelligent and practical counselor. Then came the
period of western development with the momentous issues
connected with it. Following this came financial issues
in many phases and forms, questions of alien immigration, ques-
tions growing out of the populistic movement, of labor organ-
ization, or socialistic agitation and of ten thousand subjects of
high public import. To each of these in turn, and to all of
them recurrently, the mind and hand of Mr. Scott were ad-
dressed. He shirked no labors, he avoided no issues. He felt
himself under a high mandate and he carried himself with
the resolution which responsibility inspires in large minds. To
changing fashions in journalism, he made almost no conces-
sion. He could no more have purveyed poisons to the mind
than he could have fed poisons to the body. For the practices
2n journalism which we nominate "yellow" he had a profound
detestation. He would have none of it. Whoever might wish
for a paper reeking with uncleanliness and pandering, vicious
or flabby trivialities for the light-minded, might seek else-
where. Mr. Scott's purposes were serious, his journalism
always dominated by high purposes and limited by a taste which
rejected and rebuked all tendencies to carelessness or vulgarity.
If there were scandalous incidents which must be reported,
details were minimized and relegated to least conspicuous pages.
If unpleasant things had to be dealt with it was done, but with
frankness and decency — in the gentleman's spirit. So by the
tendencies of his mind, by the gravity of his character, by
the guides of wisdom, dignity, courage ahd taste — Mr. Scott
planted on high ground and sustained for nearly half a century
standards of journalism which must for all time be a pattern
for the worthy and rebuke to the vicious.

CAREER AND WORK OF HARVEY W. SCOTT 133

For myself whose fortune it was to live long in association
with this rare man, to share in many of the influences and in a
sense to inherit the inspirations of his life, there seems now a
mighty void in the immediate world in which he lived. Lover of
my motherland as I am, let me confess a certain sadness when
I revisit the home from whence the light of a great character
has departed. It is as if Mt. Hood were blotted from the
landscape. Verily, a great force has gone out of the world.

EVENTS IN LIFE OF HARVEY.W. SCOTT

Born February 1st, 1838, near Peoria, Illinois.
Left Illinois April 1st, 1852, for Oregon.
Arrived Oregon City, October 2, 1852.
Went to Puget Souhd, Spring of 1854.
Served in Indian Wars at Puget Sound, 1855-56.
Returned to Oregon City, September, 1856.
Attended Pacific University, December, 1856- April, 1857.
Attended Academy, Oregon City, Winter of 1858-59.
Returned to Pacific University, Fall of 1859.
Graduated Pacific University, 1863.
Librarian Portland Library, 1864-5!
Admitted to Oregon Bar, September 7th, 1865.
Married Elizabeth A. Nicklin, Salem, October 31, 1865.
Editor Oregonian, April 17, 1865-September 11, 1872; April
1, 1877-August 7, 1910.

Collector of Customs, October 1, 1870-May 31, 1876.
Married Margaret McChesney, Latrobe, Pa., June 28, 1876.
President Oregon Historical Society, 1898-1901.
President Lewis and Clark Exposition, 1903-4.
Death, August 7th, 1910, at Baltimore, Md.

Associated Press 1900-1910.

MR. SCOTT'S EXTENSIVE LIBRARY AS A

GUAGE OF HIS BROAD SCHOLARSHIP

AND LITERARY ACTIVITY

(By Charles H. Chapman1

H. W. Scott's intellectual interests were extremely varied.
His wide reading and habit of deep thought were shown most,
of course, in his editorials, which touched on every theme and
were always illuminative; but his conversation also betrayed
an almost exhaustless knowledge of books, and constant med-
itation upon their contents. Throughout the course of his long
life he was a persistent reader and collector of books. Like
most men of mark, he began to form his library in early life,
at a time when every volume represented more or less sacrifice.2
It is from the books which are thus purchased by a young man
more perhaps than from the acquisitions of later years, that
his genuine literary predispositions may be ascertained. When
he has attained to fortune and wide acquaintance with public
characters, a man buys books because they are making a noise
in the world, or because the author has a great scientific repu-
tation or for a thousand other reasons but in his struggling
youth he buys them only because he wishes to read them.
Some of Mr. Scott's earliest acquisitions were histories and
volumes of the classics.

His preference for these branches of literature never dimin-
ished. The catalogue of his library shows that he came into
possession sooner or later of almost every important historical
work that has ever been written, not the narrow technical
essays certainly, but the productions of wide international in-
terest. He read Greek with the ordinary collegiate skill and
Latin with much facility so that the great classical historians

1 Dr. Chapman, himself a noted writer and scholar, is especially qualified to
appreciate the mind and work of Mr. Scott, both by his own attainments and his
intimate acquaintance with the late editor. Many years the two men were in con-
tact, especially during the period of 1904-10, when Dr. Chapman was assistant to
Mr. Scott as editorial writer. Dr. Chapman's writings entitle him to recognition
among the ablest of the editor's assistants such as Alfred Holman, Lucius A.
Bigelow, Frank A. Carle, Ernest Bross and Mrs. Catharine A. Coburn. — (L. M. S.)

2 This library is preserved as Mr. Scott left it.

SCHOLARSHIP AND LITERARY ACTIVITY OF H. W. SCOTT 135

will be found among his books in the original. But in his
college days the modern languages were less studied than they
are now, and being a man of his time, he was less versed in them
than in the ancient tongues. Hence he collected the modern
histories for the most part in translations. He was one of the
comparatively small number of present day public men who
liked to read Gibbon. This most profound of the historians
Mr. Scott knew familiarly and quoted liberally. Gibbon's ac-
count of the early church particularly struck his fancy, since,
as everybody understands, the great Editor inclined to take
the same views of theology as the philosophical historian did.

His familiarity with the classics was revealed by everything
he wrote. He could quote long passages from Vergil m the
original and had dozens of lines from Catullus at his tongue's
end. Not long before he passed away, Mr. Scott began to
renew his acquaintance with Ovid whom he had read at college
but somewhat neglected since. It was interesting to see the
skill with which he rendered the Metamorphoses into English
and the ease with which he construed lines that have puzzled
the commentators. He may not always have been correct but
he never failed to have an opinion and a well grounded one
at that. Mr. Scott's extraordinarily vigorous English style
was founded oh his Latin reading. He wrote with all the pre-
cision of the classical authors and often with more than their
incisiveness. His Latin taught him to shun that diffusive
wordiness which is the bane of so much common writing and
gave him the model for those condensed and forceful sentences
which never failed to go straight to the mark, and pierce it
when they struck. We may thank Mr. Scott's classical tastes
for a great deal of the power over Oregon politics which he
wielded up to the day of his death. Naturally, mere study of
the classics would not have accomplished anything if his mind
had not been of a caliber to benefit by them, but in his case
the instrument was admirably adapted to its use and needed
nothing but sharpening. This the Greek and Latin authors
gave it as nothing else could have done.

136 CHARLES H. CHAPMAN

With the classics Mr. Scott cherished a great fondness for
ancient history, not only that of Greece and Rome but par-
ticularly of the older nations. He followed assiduously every-
thing that was written about Egypt and the works of the great
modern Egyptologists will be found among his books. Like
many superior readers, he was keenly interested in the progress
of Assyriology. The decipherment of the cuneiform inscrip-
tions filled him with wonder and he eagerly followed every
new discovery in that cryptic field. Closely allied to this was
his fondness for Biblical studies. Very little has ever been
brought to light by the Higher Criticism which Mr. Scott did
not master. Naturally of an investigative turn of mind, he
found endless delight in those marvelous interpretations of the
Old Testament tales which criticism has provided. The mir-
aculous in itself made but a slight appeal to him but the scien-
tific explanation of a reported miracle gave him unqualified
pleasure. Among his books will be found the best critical
works of his time both upon the Old Testament and the New.
The Life of Paul was one of the subjects which interested him
deeply. In one of his best editorials he explained elaborately
the use which Paul made of the Roman principle of adoption in
propagating early Christianity. Referring to the famous text,
"If children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with
Christ," he showed how the apostle bent the concept of the
Roman law to his purpose and made his religion acceptable to
the rulers of the world by assimilating it to their legal pre-
conceptions. The purport of the editorial was that Paul had
most skilfully applied his own theory that a good propagandist
ought to be all things to all men.

Mr. Scott's editorials betray everywhere his wide reading
in the publicists. The abstract theory of law and speculations
on the basis of government occupied his mind a great deal.
Burke was his favorite author in this field but he read many
others. Burke's "Reflections on the Revolution in France"
was one of the many books which he seemed to have by heart
and its doctrines pervaded all he wrote. Next to Burke, Mr.
Scott probably revered the political authority of Alexander

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SCHOLARSHIP AND LITERARY ACTIVITY OF H. W. SCOTT 137

Hamilton whom he constantly exalted above Thomas Jefferson.
He was in sympathy with the Hamiltonian theory of nation-
alized governmental powers and checks upon the popular will.
His acquaintance with the American revolutionary authors
was profound. Their political views were attractive to him as a
matter of course but he lound a great deal of other matter in
them with which to sympathize. Madison's love of religious
liberty, for example, found a ready echo in Mr. Scott's heart.
No man ever detested theological tyranny more than he while
at the same time he deeply revered the fundamental principles
of religion. In his writings the distinction between theology
and religion is constantly brought forward,

Most of the great books on free thought will be found in his
library. Milton's prose works, Richard Hooker's Ecclesiastical
Polity, Locke's Essay on the Human Understanding and books
of that caliber he had read attentively and made their contents
part of his mental possessions. Voltaire was not among his
particular favorites. He inclined to Carlyle's judgment of
the great French freethinker, that he was somewhat shallow
and more disposed to tear down than build up. But upon the
whole his views coincided with those of the British liberals
in theology and the skeptics of all ages fou'nd him a sympathetic
reader of their books. Naturally with tastes like these Mr.
Scott could not escape the fascination of metaphysics. Among
his books the famous philosophers all find a place. As has
been intimated already, his personal views were inclined to
those of Locke and the "common sense" school in general but
his sympathies, included all sorts of speculation. He uhder-
stood Berkeley's theory and liked to trace its history through
its many devious forms until it finally appeared transformed
into Christian Science. He was familiar with William James's
Psychology and thoroughly understood its religious and polit-
ical consequences, but Pragmatism appeared a little too late
to win his interest. His health began to fail at about the time
when James introduced Bergson to American readers.

From what has been said it will appear that Mr. Scott was
fond of "solid reading." This is true but not exclusively. A

138 CHARLES H. CHAPMAN

person who did not understand the breadth of his sympathies
and the catholicity of his taste would be surprised to see the
number of novels in his library. The "best sellers" of his
later years are missing but most of the fiction that has stood
the test of time is on his shelves. His favorite was Thackeray.
Very likely there was no novelist that he cared for so much
as he did for Burke or Shakespeare, but he had read the best
of them, as he had the best of everything. He k'new the
Biblical stories better than any others. Mr. Scott's knowledge
of the Bible was exhibited at every turn. He could hardly
write a column without half a dozen allusions to the sacred
text. The Bible and Shakespeare always lay on his desk and
he used both of them constantly. Much of the vigor of his
English style was due to his memory of Scriptural expres-
sions. Perhaps he owed more to that source than he did to
the classics. He was always pleased to have Biblical subjects
touched upon in The Oregonian and frequently discussed them
himself. When he did so his knowledge made what he said
final.

His memory of poetry was astonishing. He could quote
page after page of Paradise Lost. Burns's songs were at his
tongue's end. He knew the finest passages in Faust and loved
Tennyson. The English and classical poets were equally
familiar to him, but it was Shakespeare that he read most and
quoted constantly. He was never at a loss for a line from the
great dramatist to illustrate a point or clinch a witticism. His
library contains all the celebrated editions of Shakespeare down
to the Furness set with its voluminous notes and readings. Mr.
Scott found a mild pleasure in the vagaries of the Baconians,
as they style themselves, but their arguments never made any
impression upon his mind. He always maintained that Shake-
speare "wrote his own plays" and never conceded that any
other hypothesis was tenable. He was as conscious as any-
body could be that there was a great mystery surrounding the
production of poetry so marvellous by a man with opportunities
in life so slender but that consideration never weakened his
faith in the Bard of Avon.

SCHOLARSHIP AND LITERARY ACTIVITY OF H. W. SCOTT 139

In the course of his life Mr. Scott collected one of the largest
private libraries in the Western United States. It was the
result of wide and varied culture, catholic tastes and rare op-
portunities to discover and acquire what was best. From his
youth he was an omnivorous reader and his memory was equal
to his hunger for books. He seldom forgot a passage. What-
ever he had seen in print he could quote, often years after-
ward. He always knew precisely what books contained the
information he needed at any moment and usually they were
in his own collection. To one who understands and loves
books Mr. Scott's library gives a better account of his life and
thought than any biographer could write.

HARVEY W. SCOTT

By Dean Collins

Across the doorway to the dim unknown

Fate's hand the somber curtains draws at last,

Where, from the teeming world of men, alone

And unafraid, a mighty Soul has passed ;

One who, by his indomitable will,

Into the ranks where deeds are. done, had pressed ;

Upreared himsef among his fellows till

He moved a power in the growing West.

Lament, O Oregon ; Death takes from thee

His priceless toll, and grimly passes on ;

But one whose hand wrought in thy destiny

Is, in the shadow of that passage, gone.

A master spirit housed m mortal clay —

Lo, with his death, a giant passed away !

Dallas, Oregon.

REVIEW OF MR. SCOTT'S WRITINGS ON HIS

FAVORITE AND MOST IMPORTANT

SUBJECTS

By Leslie M. Scott

OUTLINE

I. Pioneer Influence on the Writings.

II. Intellectual Range of Mr. Scott.

III. Literary and Historical Essays.

IV. Religious and Theological Topics.
V. Sound Money:

(a) Long Fight Against Fiatism.

(b) Greenbackism.

(c) Free Coinage of Silver.
VI. Reconstruction After Civil War.

VII. Negro and South.
VIII. National Idea:

(a) Its Progress After Civil War.

(b) Rival Doctrines of Hamilton and Jefferson.
IX. Expansion of National Territory.

X. Tariff, Revenue and "Protection."

XI. Chinese Exclusion.

XII. Coxey Armies.

XIII. Individualism:

(a) In Morals.

(b) In Industry.

XIV. Socialism:

(a) Analysis of Its Doctrines.

(b) Spread of Governmental Function.

(c) Single Tax on Land.
XV. Evils of Large Wealth.

XVI. The "Oregon System."
XVII. Local Controversies:

(a) Railroad Disputes.

(b) Mortgage Tax.

(c) High Cost Living.
XVIII. Ethics of Journalism.

XIX. His Devotion to the Public Interest.

REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 141

This review of Mr. Scott's work is based on a collection of
some ten thousand articles written by him in the course of his
long and busy life. Yet even this seemingly large number is
small in comparison with the author's great output. It is no
easy task to summarize the collection in the space here allotted ;
quite impossible to detail it minutely. Therefore we shall
treat only most important general subjects, or rather, favorite
ones of the Editor's writing. And first let us note the pre-
dominating idea of his editorial productions — his devotion to
individual function and duty. This motive of the pioneer era
he bespoke probably more forcefully than any other writer of
his generation.

I PIONEER CHARACTER

As each man's character is formed by ancestral and youthful
environment, it may be interesting to note the conditions which
molded the life of Mr. Scott. From his pioneer heritage of
the Western frontier he derived his vigor of utterance and per-
sonality. From this same experience he found his democratic
sympathies; perceived bational tendencies; gained breadth of
view, which he extended by reading; learned humble toils and
frugalities; brought himself close to feelings of Western folk
and acquired the principles of self-dependence and individual
responsibility which mark all his work. He was a self-made
man, had made his way as a youth, unaided, and gained rudi-
ments of an education through his own energies. It was but
natural, therefore, that he continually urged habits of self-help
on the later generation.

Mr. Scott was an individualist in personal habit, in precept,
in lessons of industry, sobriety, economy — in all that works
for personal thrift; an individualist in parental discipline of
the home; an individualist in face of growing demands for
"community help" and government paternalism. This ever-
present idea in his writings will afford basis of understanding
for his readers who may think back on what he published day
by day or who may examine his articles hereafter.

142 LESLIE M. SCOTT

Let it be remembered that the American frontiersman and
pioneer expected to overcome obstacles in their path, alone.
In time of savage warfare, they united, but this necessity was
only occasional. When a barn was to be "raised" they met
together, but this was quite in the nature of a "social function."
For mutual protection, they sometimes "crossed the plains" in
organized companies, but with danger absent, they chose to
travel in small parties or alone. They supported community
schools, but it is testimony of survivors that children learned
rudiments of education chiefly at home. The whole mode of
life of the Pioneer West taught each person and each married
couple to work out their own fortune and to be responsible
for their own spiritual salvation. It never occurred to them
that the community owed anybody a living. Government was
not depended upon to give a "lift" nor to create a "job" nor
to regulate health or morals or wages, nor to pension the un-
fortunate.

That this mode of life developed a hardy race needs but bare
mention here. It brought out resourcefulness, initiative, self-
reliance. It fostered the democratic spirit, raised high the level
of public and private morals. It barred caste and discontent
of older communities. It is manifest that best traits have come
out of the West. Mr. Bryce has said "The West is the most
American part of America." And a remark of another writer
is equally true : "America was bred in a cabin" — a dwelling of
logs, symbolizing the rough strength of the people.

Out of such life came the later Editor, Mr. Scott, in Taze-
well County, central Illinois. His grandfather, James Scott,
was the first settler in Groveland Township in 1824, from Ken-
tucky. Mr. Scott's father, John Tucker Scott, twenty years
later thought of moving to Texas, as James had moved to Illi-
nois, but instead came to Oregon, in 1852. The six or seven-
year-old son — the editor-to-be — wondered if Texas was a less
chilly abode and asked: "Father, is Texas a tight house?"
This question indicates the simplicity of the pioneer dwelling.
With the family of John Tucker Scott came to Oregon sturdy
principles of morality and industry, which invigorated the

REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 143

career of the editor. Mr. Scott always took sentimental interest
in matters of Oregon history. His writings on these subjects
make a valuable collection. At some future time it is the pur-
pose of the present writer to give them publication. These
subjects held him with the filial attachments of a son toward his
forebears. Mr. Scott delighted to lay aside even most pressing
tasks to "talk over" old times or to greet companions or con-
temporaries of his youth. His sanctum door was open to such
visitors oftentimes when others could not gain entrance and
when his newspaper work suffered for the interruption. Once,
George H. Himes, meeting Mr. Scott when the latter was under
heavy pressure of business, hastened to say that John Forbes,1
of Olympia, a companion of Mr. Scott's in Captain Swindall's
company in the Indian war of 1855-6, was in Portland. "John
Forbes !" "John Forbes !" exclaimed Mr. Scott. "Bring him to
see me!" "But," hesitated Mr. Himes, "you're so busy."
"Never mind, never mind ! Bring him up !" A similar inter-
view preceded an appointment for Bill Ruddell.2 On each
occasion Mr. Scott abandoned his editorial tasks and gave up a
long period to the interview.

II INTELLECTUAL RANGE

Mr. Scott was conspicuously a reader as well as a writer.
His library was his place of recreation; to companionship of

i John Butchard Forbes, born in Dundee, Scotland, May 14, 1833. Came
to the United States in 1834, settled in New Jersey, moved to Illinois in 1844.
Started with his brother David across the plains on April 13, 1853, arriving at
The Dalles Sept. 25. Soon afterwards went to Olympia. Followed lumbering,
farming and steamboating. Was in Indian war of 1855-56, under Captain Calvin

to Monticello by steamer, then knocked it down and shipped it piecemeal in
canoes to Cowlitz Landing, and threshed for Cowlitz farmers. In June-July, 1857,
this machine was taken to Puget Sound. This was the first thresher and sep-
arator north of the Columbia river. Capacity, under the most favorable circum-
stances, 500 bushels in 12 hours. Mr. Forbes was married to Lydia Croghan in
August, 1856, but she died within a year or two. He died several years ago.
(George H. Himes.)

2 William Hendry Ruddell, born near Quincy, Adams county, 111., Nov. 7, 1839.
Went to Missouri in 1842, settling in Schuyler county. Crossed the plains to
Oregon in 1851, and spent the winter near the present town of Catlin, Cowlitz
county. In the summer of 1852 the Ruddell family removed to Thurston county,
then in Oregon, and settled on a D. L. C. six miles east of Chambers prairie, six
miles south of east of Olympia. He was married to Miss Helen Z. Himes
Feb. 21, 1864. His occupation was that of a farmer and stock raiser. Moved
to Elma, Chehalis county, Washington, in the spring of 1870. Died March 13,
1903. Served during the Yakima Indian war of 1855-56 in the Pioneer company
commanded by Capt. Joseph White, and afterwards by Capt. U. E. Hicks. Was
a member of the Elma town council for several years.

144 LESLIE M. SCOTT

his books he devoted large part of his daily life. His reading
was constant and unflagging to his last days. Never for long
did he engage in conversation, except during after-dinner
periods, when surrounded by friends or members of his family.
That was his social intercourse. These intellectual after-feasts
covered widest range of religion, history and literature, nature
and spirit, matter and mind. The great storehouse of his
memory yielded allusions and quotations which charmed his
auditors with their versatility. At such times, the Editor truly
unfolded the greatness of his mind, the universality of his
talents, the accuracy of his memory, the maturity of his scholar-
ship. Many were his philosophical and theological disquisi-
tions ; his narratives of great men and great events ; his dis-
courses on Shakespeare and Milton and Homer and Goethe
and Dante and others too numerous for mention here. His
touches on the moral and the spiritual delighted his hearers.
He could talk on most intricate doctrinal subjects; none could
speak more precisely on Fall of Man or Resurrection or Atone-
ment. But he preferred reflections on daily good conduct and
non-dogmatized deity. In these conversations his sincerity,
humility and docility of spirit would have surprised the ortho-
dox who, perhaps, that very day had stirred his resistance by
their dogmatic efforts to repress him. Along with his fine
literary, historical and religious perceptions, he possessed much
practical sense for every-day affairs in these discourses. Never
did he soar away with dreams or ideals that he forgot life's
earthly matters.

These periods of his relaxation lasted an hour or two hours ;
then back he went to his desk or his books. The chief lesson
of his daily life was his economy of time and effort. He enter-
tained rarely and joined social gatherings seldom. Many per-
sons thought him unsociable, reticent, taciturn, severe ; whereas
his were the direct opposite of all those traits. Without such
habits he could not have covered the vast areas where his studies
took him. His singleness of aim and unity of pursuit were
to equip his mind with copious supply for his daily writings.
These matters are mentioned here to show that Mr. Scott's

HARVEY W. SCOTT

AT 62 YEARS OF AGE. PHOTOGRAPH BY LEE MOORHOUSE AT

BINGHAM SPRINGS, UMAflLLA COUNTY, IN THE

SUMMER OF 19OO

REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 145

writings, admirable though they are in the collection, omit
much of his intellectual output.

Ill LITERARY AND HISTORICAL ESSAYS

Most delightful of Mr. Scott's productions were his frequent
writings on subjects of literature, history, and theology. These
marked him as one of the ablest essayists of his day. Seldom
does a scholar become a powerful editor. Scarcely any of
the great editors have been great scholars. The editor of
practical affairs, idealistic sense and scholarly attainment is the
rarest combination. But such a combination was Mr. Scott.
Amid his busiest work, dealing with current affairs, he would
insert a frequent article on some phase of the genius of Shakes-
peare or on a theme of Milton, or Tennyson, or Cervantes, or
one of a host of others. These commentaries on literary mat-
ters, so remote from centers of scholarship, were objects of
surprise and admiration the country over. No man could
have afforded his community wider variety of reading than
did Mr. Scott. His favorite books were the Bible and Shakes-
peare, Milton and Burke. He re-read these constantly and
had their contents always at command. Napoleon and Crom-
well were special objects of his study and frequent subjects
of his pen. British and French history were as familiar to
him as that of his native country. His comments on foreign
politics he spiced with historical references. The rivalry of
European peoples gave scope for favorite themes of "Race
Rivalry a Force of Progress," and "Potent Agency of War
in Human Progress." For in Mr. Scott's view, strong and
aggressive nations are the ones that arm and take and grow ;
war is the nursery of national strength ; as injustice is always
armed, so must justice be; without war despotism would be
permanent and evil inveterate ; the way to peace is not through
non-resistance but through preparedness for war; they who
can't fight can't live except in subordination; no morality, no
ideals, not backed with arms, can be worth anything ; "so it has
always been, and so it will be always, and forevermore" (Jan.
5, 1905).

146 LESLIE M. SCOTT

IV RELIGIOUS AND THEOLOGICAL TOPICS

The favorite branch of his historical study was theology.
To this study he brought a reverent, tolerant mind; also a
rational interpretation that would not be deterred by protest
of theologians who resented "invasion" of their sphere. His
reading was so wide, his acquaintance with greatest scholars on
historical religion was so extensive, that he could wage the-
ological polemics to discomfiture of any orthodox.3 He only
defended his views, however, never attacked belief or dogma
or creed, unless his inquiries were assailed. He never sought
to "upset" any religion nor to dissuade from any belief ; toward
persons who found comfort in any church he was always con-
siderate and sympathetic. But he thought that historical and
rational study was not responsible for error or superstition
that it revealed. Those persons who knew him well, knew his
sincerity, his reverence for the universal idea of men toward
deity. Among his friends and admirers were theologians of
many divergent sects. Archbishops Gross4 and Christie5, the
third and fourth heads of the Catholic faith in Oregon, re-
garded his writings with tolerant and admiring view. The
Rev. Arthur J. Brown,6 pastor of the leading Presbyterian
Church in Portland, himself a clergyman of scholarship, made
frequent friendly calls at Mr. Scott's editorial rooms. Many
leaders of Methodism held him in high regard and on October
10, 1908, he delivered an address in their leading church in
Portland, at its semi-centennial celebration. At one period
he was a regular contributor to the Pacific Christian Advocate
(Methodist) and was on intimate terms with most of its suc-
cessive editors. On June 15, 1906, he delivered an
address at Salem on Jason Lee and early Method-
ism in Oregon. Many years before, Methodists had
chosen him President of Portland University. Rabbi J. Bloch7

3 These subjects made up the most extensive department of Mr. Scott's large
library.

4 Most Rev. W. H. Gross, Archbishop of Oregon City, 1885-98.

5 Most Rev. Alexander Christie, Archbishop of Oregon City, 1899 —

6 Rev. Dr. A. J. Brown, installed pastor, First Presbyterian church, Portland,
May 9, 1888; resigned March 14, 1895, to become secretary of Board of Foreign
Missions, Presbyterian Church, U. S. A., New York City.

7 Rabbi J. Bloch, head of Congregation Beth-I*rael, Portland, 1884-14)01.

REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 147

and Rabbi Stephen S. Wise8 of Portland, noted leaders of Jew-
ish thought, found much satisfaction in his writings. Rev.
Roland D. Grant,9 of the Baptists, opened his pulpit to Mr.
Scott on Thanksgiving Day, 1895, for the best utterance Mr.
Scott ever made on the subject of religion. In Congregational
circles Mr. Scott found congenial association and with
that church maintained a nominal affiliation. His friendly
relations with Rev. T. L. Eliot,10 Unitarian, began with the ar-
rival of the latter in Portland in 1867 and lasted until Mr.
Scott's death. The Christian Science following liked the
tolerant spirit of Mr. Scott, and extended to him the privilege
of their platform for an address,11 on November 15, 1903. Al-
though these several sects represented diverging doctrines and
his historical and rational studies startled the theologians of
each in turn, yet most of them perceived him an exponent of
modern scholarship in its inevitable trend toward a truer and
fuller expression of religious faith. Ever present in his thought
was the motto, "The form of religion passes ; the substance is
eternal." Men's battles of opinion were over the forms. "The
religious nature of man continually struggles for expression,"
he said in his Thanksgiving day address in 1895, "and its man-
ner of expression changes from age to age. Yet we call each
formulated, transitory expression a creed, as if it were to be
permanent, and often contend for that creed as if it were the
absolute truth; but it passes into something else in the next
ages. Yet the religious feeling is the permanent force in the
nature of man."

Occasionally there was protest from a clergyman who feared
the Editor's inquiries were sapping the strength of belief in
particular sects. In 1909 the head of one of the largest church
denominations wrote Mr. Scott a letter saying that his articles
were "cutting the ground from under the feet" of his church.

8 Rabbi S. S. Wise, head of same congregation, 1901-6; now officiates at Free
Synagogue, New York City.

9 Rev. R. D. Grant, pastor First Baptist church, Portland.

10 Dr. Thomas Lamb Eliot (1841 — ) was pastor First Unitarian church in Port-
land until 1891 and has since been pastor emeritus. He has been active in public
benevolent enterprises.

11 In this address Mr. Scott introduced Septimu* J. Hann«, of Chicago.

148 LESLIE M. SCOTT

The Editor's response, by private letter, dated August 3, 1909,
was the last comprehensive statement of his life study on this
subject. As it epitomizes his opinions so completely, it is
offered here in part:

"The Oregonian 'assails' no religion nor religious belief. It
does not, however, deem itself forbidden to inquire into the
concepts of religion or of theological systems — especially of
such as most persistently urge their 'claims' on public atten-
tion. The Oregonian under my hand, has dealt with these sub-
jects, as an incident of its work, these many, many years; very
inadequately, I know — yet not to the dissatisfaction of the
great multitude of its readers.

"You, of course, it would not expect to please, since one who
deems his own creed or formula the last word on religion
can scarcely be expected to open his mind to other or dis-
sentient views. Your position requires you to profess an in-
fallibility. The Oregonian makes no such pretension. It
simply wishes to apply the tests of reason, of experience, of
judgment, and of such knowledge as history affords from the
manifestations of the religious principle in man, to some of
the phases of the thought and inquiry of our time.

"Christianity is a fact and it is to be accounted for. You
account for it in one way, I in another. You rest on the
miraculous and supernatural; I do not — nor do I think there
is wickedness in any inquiry into the origin of theological or
ecclesiastical concepts, or in comparison of religions with each
other, with a view to discovery of a common principle in all.

"Your assumption that it is not a proper province of a
newspaper to touch a subject which clergymen (or some of
them) claim as their exclusive field, I cannot admit; more
especially since, as a newspaper man, in active touch with the
public mind during more than forty years, I have found no
feature of the Oregonian's work more sought or approved
than in the field from which you would bar it. I am old enough
and have had experience enough to tender advice also ; and I
must assure you that you ought to begin to know, even if you
can't acknowledge, that the greater part of mankind, even
of the so-called Christian world, has a profound tendency to-
wards a rational, historical and comparative view and inter-
pretation of religions in their various forms — the Christian
religion included with the rest. Dogma can no more support

REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 149

the mythical element in one religion than in another. The
time is coming when Christianity will abandon the effort alto-
gether; but its last stronghold will be the Roman Catholic
Church.

V SOUND MONEY EFFORTS: LONG FIGHT AGAINST FIATISM

Most persistent and successful of his many editorial efforts,
was his perennial fight for "sound money." In this work he
bespoke the intensity of the nationalizing purpose of the coun-
try. The contest for fiat money began as one of state sover-
eignty,, involving local issues of note currency; with state
rights conquered in the Civil War, the idea endured in ques-
tions involving payment of the war debt ; surviving that strug-
gle came "Repudiation" of 1866-70, — that is, payment in de-
preciated greenbacks — and then free silverism, which meant
payment in debased silver coinage. Also surviving the war
came demand for abolition of national bank currency, which
had supplanted state bank notes. And breeding out of the
mania was a train of numerous delusions about need of "more
money."

Not yet thirty years of age, when the "sound money" ques-
tion sprang up after the Civil War, possessing no experience
in banking or finance, new in his profession of Editor, and
far distant from the centers of the country's discussion, Mr.
Scott yet applied principles and judged current issues with
remarkable precision. His articles reveal wonderful acumen
for an author so young. On every financial issue he "started"
right and subsequent events vindicated his views.

Throughout his newspaper life Mr. Scott was writing on
currency and coin ; almost daily he treated some matter of
financial policy with application to Western life. His writings
on these topics are models of directness, clearness and resource-
fulness. The fruitage of his long struggle was the victory of
the gold standard in the Oregon elections of 1896, in the face
of tremendous popular prejudice and seeming defeat. This
victory in Oregon was attributed to Mr. Scott by friend and
foe and broadened his national fame.

150 LESLIE M. SCOTT

The American people have always been harassed with the
"more money" fiat delusion. Among no other people has there
been more absurd governmental interference with currency,
affecting values, promoting speculation and upsetting confi-
dence. Bitter lessons have been theirs with fiat currency, in
colonial times, revolutionary and confederation periods, early
years of national life and during and after the Civil War.
The delusion has possessed one generation after another that
currency is capital; that citizens can be made prosperous with
cheap substitutes for gold money. Even yet, the insidious fiat
notion persists, though in lesser degree, than heretofore. Silver
and paper currency was of doubtful redeemability until the
gold standard was secured in 1896 and 1900. Only strong, re-
cuperative powers of the Nation have prevented overthrow
of the gold standard of value and the good faith of the gov-
ernment.

However much of the greatness of the American Nation
has come out of the progressive spirit of the pioneer West,
however puny or different the American State would have
been without the stimulus coming out of the land toward the
setting sun, it is fair to say that out of this expanding land
came also the financial and monetary heresies that have afflicted
its politics, business and industry. The virile race of the West,
restive under its poverty, confused capital with money, falsely
thinking that, if currency be multiplied, capital could be multi-
plied also.

Himself, a son of the West, Mr. Scott knew its mind as
to money and capital as intimately as any man could know it.
This knowledge equipped him to cope with it in his skillful
way. Perhaps no other writer of the day equalled him in this
perception and in ability to meet it. His struggle through 45
years was laborious, distasteful to himself, creative of personal
animosities. He estranged his closest friends by sharp criti-
cisms of their advocacy of silver coinage. But he regarded that
issue the most critical in the country's industrial history and
he could not be deterred from, his duty by matters of friend-
ship. His appeals reached the sober thought of the Common-

REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 151

wealth and Oregon finally surprised the Nation by supporting
the gold standard and rejecting Bryan after its politicians and
office holders during many years had been committing the
State to silver.

Money is to be gained from work, he used to repeat in his
newspaper, not from the government's printi'ng presses nor
from the stamping machine of the mint. Best money will be
abundant enough if not driven out by cheap "money" — de-
preciated paper or debased silver. "Reasonable men do not
expect to obtain money," he said, "unless they have something
to give for it, either labor or goods. If money is to be easily
had without effort, it will have little value. If best money is
hard to earn, the people will not be benefited by cheap money.
The only real money is gold. They cannot improve by issuing
doubtful substitutes for it and declaring by law the substitutes
just as good. To be just as good as gold they must be payable
in gold."

GREENBACKISM

Right after the Civil War came the contest over payment
of the war debt, then amounting to nearly three billion dollars.
"Contraction" of the greenback debt, $433,000,000— retire-
ment of legal tender notes — made the first controversy. But
these debt notes have continued from that day to this, an ever-
present menace to stability of the nation's credit and currency.
The ablest financiers of both political parties have urged their
retirement. The young Editor took solid ground, therefore,
when he insisted that these notes were not "money" but evi-
dences of debt; that their withdrawal would not diminish the
"circulating medium" but increase it and promote confidence;
that their continuance necessitated heavy gold reserve for re-
demption and was a costly menace to government credit. Their
use, he pointed out, tempted to evils of inflation. These evils
he displayed clearly and often, both when greenbacks were at
discount, prior to the year 1879, and later when this credit cur-
rency and silver coinage were shaking the monetary stability
of the government.

152 LESLIE M. SCOTT

Resisting "contraction" of greenbacks, Democrats also op-
posed redemption of such notes, or any of the nation's debt,
in gold. They likewise fought conversion of greenbacks into
bonds. Led by George H. Pendleton and sustained by Presi-
dent Johnson, they 'wished to pay bonds and other debt paper
in more greenbacks, especially printed for the purpose, then
much below par. They also wished to tax government bonds
despite a direct pledge of law that they should be tax free.
Pendleton was defeated on these issues.

The policy of "repudiation" of the public debt by payment
in depreciated currency, instead of in full-value gold, was
hotly contested. Mr. Scott insisted that the government should
pay its obligations in full in gold — both principal and interest
— for thus only could the government keep faith ; that the debt
exchanged for notes, would not be paid, because the notes
must still be paid; and that the notes could not be made as
good as gold coin unless redeemable in gold coin. The young
Editor had the satisfaction of seeing advocates of repudiation
defeated in 1868-9.

It was no argument to the Editor that large part of the
government debt was owing speculators who had bought the
claims at discount. Against numerous schemes for scaling
down the debt he used the vigor of his pen, with constant ap-
peals to national honor. He cited that the same sophisms were
then used against full payment of government obligations as
after the Revolutionary War. "The scheme at that time was
called 'scaling down the debt/ " he wrote December 6, 1867,
"and though it was pressed with vigor and importunacy, it
signally failed. Our fathers refused to sanction any such dis-
reputable plan of virtual repudiation. Cannot the repudiators
of today learn honesty as well as wisdom from the fathers
of our government?" And again November 18, 1867: "The
proposition to pay the national debt in greenbacks is simply a
proposition to take away an interest-bearing security from
those who purchased in good faith the bonds of the national
government, and substitute for it a security that bears no
interest. It would be equivalent to the act of a debtor taking

HARVEY W. SCOTT
AT AGE OF 66 YEARS. THIS WAS A CHARACTERISTIC ATTITUDE

REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 153

away from his creditor a mortgage note bearing interest, and
giving in its stead a due bill bearing no interest."

Against greenbackism, he was continually referring to pay-
day or redemption. The integrity of currency notes, he was
always saying, depends on purpose and ability of the govern-
ment to redeem them in gold coin — not in depreciated paper
promises. Of the plan to print enough greenbacks to take up
the national debt — this was the programme of "greenbackism,"
— he wrote :

February 18, 1878— "This would be a thorough and logical
method of carrying out the greenback scheme. It would simply
be repudiation of the entire debt ; for there would be no hope
that so great an amount of greenbacks would be redeemed;
no tirrte for redemption would or could be specified and as
holder*' Would receive no interest the greenbacks would not
possess ra single quality of value."

August 31, 1892 — "While it is true that government may
issue paper and call it money, yet it is with government as
with the individual — that which costs nothing is worth nothing.
There is no juggle in values. Many who see the paper bill,
forget that there is value behind it, stored up in gold or silver ;
but the value is there, and this is what gives the paper note
the function and character of money. Increase the paper notes
beyond redeemability and their value is gone or impaired alto-
gether. Among all nations and in all ages where this has been
tried, the result has been the same."

April 8, 1898 — "The truth is, we buy only with gold coin,
to which alone the name of money ought to be applied. No
bank note, treasury note or paper certificate, in any form or
by whomsoever issued, is more than an instrument of credit.
It is an order and a security (so long as the party issuing it
is solvent) for a sum of money and is good for the sum it calls
for, orrity $o long as gold can be obtained for it .... We
have more of the notes now than formerly, because we have
more gold to stand for them ; and we have more gold because
we have ceased to expel gold from the country or to drive it
into hiding at home by ceasing the threat of free coinage of
silver and by stopping the purchase of silver for issue of
paper upon it."

154 LESLIE M. SCOTT

The right system of currency, he said, would be patterned
after those of the great nations of Europe, which employ the
medium of a great central bank. But Mr. Scott knew full well
the popular prejudice in the United States against the central
bank system and did not hope for restoration of the Hamilton
plan of government credit, which he always defended. Per-
ceiving the futility of overcoming this prejudice he had little
hope that the American currency system soon could be brought
to needed efficiency. The "fundamental error" of our currency
he pointed out as follows (March 8, 1908) : "There is a fun-
damental error in our monetary system. It is the parent of all
other errors that beset the system. This error is the fiat notion
of money . . . But these notes are not money. They
are merely substitutes for money whose value depends on their
redeemability in gold or the prospect of it . . . This, it is
asserted, is cheap money, for it costs nobody anything. But
the government's fiat money is dearest of all forms of currency.
It requires gold to be banked up in enormous sums for its
protection . . . It is an impeachment of the intelligence
that tolerates such a financial or monetary system. . . The
Treasury is simply warehousing gold against its own obliga-
tions. . . . With the enormous sum of one billion dol-
lars in gold held by the Treasury under our inelastic and im-
movable system, we are unable to keep circulation afoot. Every
now and then it congeals, freezes up, simply stops. But the
Bank of France and the Bank of Germany make their gold
support a paper currency twice in excess of the proportion of
our own."

The great need, he said, in order to give control and steadi-
ness to financial affairs and the currency system, is a central
bank and branches modeled after the United States Bank
founded by Hamilton in 1791, and after government banks of
Europe. On November 23, 1909, he wrote:

"Our people, believing they can regulate by their votes, the
value of money, and calling notes issued by authority of the
government, money, will not permit any rational currency or
rational banking system to be established in the United States.

REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 155

. . . It is useless, therefore, to attempt a remedy now for
the defects of our banking and currency system. We shall be
compelled to blunder along with the system as it is, and ^to
accept the consequences of such financial collapses as it will,
at intervals, necessarily produce. Sometime we may become
wise enough to have a great central bank, with branches all
over the country, like the Bank of France, whose strength
was so great that even the Commune of Paris, in the ascendant
in 1871, dared not touch it."

FREE COINAGE OF SILVER

Greenbackism waned in strength after 1880, for then a new
fiat doctrine was spreading — free coinage of silver at ratio of
16 to 1 — which largely supplanted the idea of fiat paper. The
same arguments, in the main, were used against the silver
heresy as earlier against the paper delusion ; with the important
difference that silver coins possessed bullion value whereas
paper currency had no intrinsic value whatever. Free coinage
of silver could not be redeemable in gold money nor could un-
limited issue of paper currency. Both would make inflation,
and debasement of silver would make depreciation of paper
worse, because then the remote expectation of redemption in
gold would be gone. Silver coins would fall to their bullion
value of between 76 and 46 cents (1891-1901) ; paper currency
would fall to whatever level credit confidence would give it
(in 1864, 39 cents gold). Following the popular project of
paying the national debt in greenbacks, came the scheme to
pay it in debased silver dollars. Mr. Scott fought these later
phases of fiat money as he did the earlier. When frequently
asked late in life how he placed himself right on subtle ques-
tions of finance, even in their hazy beginnings, and kept con-
sistent course through years of polemics, he was wont to
answer: "By study of history I learned fundamental prin-
ciples. By adhering to the principles of universal human ex-
perience, I pursued the right and logical course; I could not
go wrong."

For versatility and force, the Oregon editor's treatment of
free silver is one of the most notable feats in journalism. It

156 LESLIE M. SCOTT

was the longest and hardest work of his career. He began
in 1877, when silver advocates were first growing aggressive and
when few conservative persons were aware of the danger of
silver inflation. He ransacked his library for argument and
example. He used his full literary skill to present the subject
from all possible angles. Dealing with what he called "funda-
mental principles" he would tolerate no mere "opinion" from
adversaries. He considered such opinion unread, untaught and
ignorant. It was not a question, he said, on which men could
differ or compromise, as on tariff. He gave large space in
his columns to silver advocates, but made replies which ex-
cited them to charges of arbitrary and dogmatic intolerance.

Mr. Scott answered that ignorance was not entitled to opin-
ion on principles as absolute as those of mathematics or money.
"Somebody," he wrote (December 10, 1907), "asks if there
can't be 'an honest difference of opinion about the gold stand-
ard/ There can be no honest difference of opinion where one
of the parties knows nothing of what he is talking about.
There may be honest ignorance. But it is entitled to no opin-
ion." And on April 26, 1904 : "The silver craze was the great-
est menace the country ever knew. It has completely passed
away. It was no ordinary question, on which difference of
opinion was to be expected, but the standard was a matter of
economics as certain as the truths of mathematics or of astron-
omy. Hence the notion, that some hold to this day, that there
ever could have been any difference of opinion or question
whatever, among men of honest intelligence, whether the gold
standard should be maintained or the silver standard substi-
tuted for it, through free coinage of silver, is impossible. It
was not a matter of opinion at all, and no more open to debate
than the multiplication table."

In the midst of debate preceding the election of 1896, the
strong words of the editor denouncing the silver fallacy were
termed by an opponent "abusive." To which Mr. Scott re-
plied (August 8, 1896) : "It is not so; but when a man sets
himself up to fight the book of arithmetic and to insist that
something can be made out of nothing, it is necessary to answer

REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 157

him plainly." But toward open-minded ignorance, Mr. Scott
was always kind. Challenged in 1896 as "abusive," he re-
torted that plain statement of "fundamental principles" ought
not to be termed abusive and he then proceeded to state the
"principles" :

"The Oregonian does not use abuse as a weapon against
anybody. Persons have the habit of using the words 'abuse'
and 'abusive' too freely. Plain statement of unpalatable facts,
clear presentation of fundamental laws which contradict pop-
ular prejudice or excite popular passion, are resented as "abus-
ive.' The Oregonian pleads guilty to a certain dogmatism in
discussing the silver question. There is no other method than
the dogmatic in dealing with fixed and unchangeable principles.
. . . . That the purchasing power of money is exactly
equal to the commercial value of the material of which it is
made; that when two kinds of money of different value are
given free coinage and unlimited circulation, the cheaper being
preferred in payment of debts, drives the dearer out of use —
these are laws as absolute and inexpugnable as those of gravity
and chemical affinity As well indict the fairness and temper
of the teacher of mathematics who declines to discuss patiently
the proposition that with support of a government fiat, two
and two might make five. . . The Oregonian has no orig-
inal knowledge on these subjects. Its wisdom is all second-
hand. It has no information not accessible to every student.
It knows that the fundamental principles of monetary science
are absolute, because human experience for 2500 years so
teaches. . . . They are the property of the human race.
Only ignorance, presumptuous folly or selfish interest ignore
or defy them."

Popular resistance to "inexorable laws" of money and value
he declared futile, no matter what election majorities might be
and disaster's that would come to a people from such resistance
are inevitable (August 27, 1893) :

"In every country and in every age there have been attempts
to introduce cheap substitutes for money and the results have
always been the same — failure and disaster. Yet there is an
instinctive popular feeling, and often a popular revolt, against
the inexorable law of values, and multitudes, instead of con-
forming to it and working in accord with it, try in vain to get

158 LESLIE M. SCOTT

away from what they regard as its tyrannies. A people may
thus bring disaster on themselves and ruin to their fortunes,
but the law remains. . . . The co-ordination of knowledge
gathered from the experience of many centuries is by no
means an easy thing. Dependence therefore, on great thinkers
and writers becomes necessary for the masses/'

Mr. Scott lived to see the silver fallacy completely aban-
doned and his resistance to it lauded from one end of the
nation to the other. His success may be better appreciated when
it is noted that his own party — Republican — in several state
platforms, in Oregon, sustained the silver propaganda and
other times "straddled" it. Oregon had been represented in
Congress by men who supported free silver, but in 1896 they
and numerous other politicians, who long had fought Mr.
Scott's money "principles," were converted to the gold
standard.

It need not be said that each advance of the silver propaganda
was opposed by the Oregon Editor at big personal sacrifice.
Circulation and earnings of the newspaper which he edited
were greatly depleted. Silver adherents were numerous and
aggressive and probably a big majority of the population of
the State in the early contest. He attacked the Bland Silver
Act of 1878 and the Sherman Silver Act of 1890; pointed out
that the government was unable to circulate the silver currency
provided in those acts because business would not retain it;
showed that each act was depleting the gold redemption re-
serve; predicted disaster, collapse, and silver basis of values.
These writings, covering a period of twenty years, are a marvel
of literary force and reasoning power. From the first appear-
ance of the silver delusion in 1877 he predicted the financial
crisis that culminated in 1885 and 1893. On November 7,
1877, when silver advocates were pressing the issue that re-
sulted in the Bland law, he said : "A debased and unstable
silver currency will take the place of gold as fast as silver
can be coined. All the talk about a double standard is merest
moonshine. Gold and silver, everyone should know, will not
circulate together when the former is so much more valuable.

REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 159

We shall load ourselves with silver coin and the benefit will
fall to other nations, to which our gold will be exported as
fast as it comes from the mints or the mines." Yet so elastic
was the resource of the country that the collapse was deferred
much longer than he thought possible. The force that saved
the Nation was President Cleveland, who drove repeal of
the silver purchase law in 1893, and maintained the gold re-
demption fund of the government. These acts, said Mr. Scott,
earned Cleveland the lasting gratitude of the country. On the
death of Cleveland in 1908, he wrote (June 25) :

"A man who performed services to his country at a critical
time scarcely excelled by more than two or three of our Presi-
dents, was Grover Cleveland. He was the man for a crisis
and he had at once the intelligence, the purpose and the firm-
ness to do his work. . . . No man of clearer vision, in a
peculiar crisis, or more resolute to meet the demands of an
occasion, has ever appeared in our affairs. His second election
was one of the fortunate incidents of the history of the United
States. ... In all our history the act of no statesman has
been more completely vindicated by results, and by the recog-
nition of his countrymen, than that of Grover Cleveland in rid-
ding the country of the financial fallacies that attended the
silver fiat-money propaganda."

In contrast with Cleveland's firmness, said the Editor, was
the vacillating policy of McKinley, who during years in Con-
gress paltered with the silver question, failed to see it a divid-
ing and uncompromising issue and, with reluctance, allied him-
self finally with the gold standard in 1896. 'The President's
course," said the Editor December 10, 1899, "has been one of
indecision and hesitation. It has been the course of a politician
fearful of the effect on his own political fortunes of any open
and strong utterance or decided policy." And again, Septem-
ber 26, 1908: "McKinley tried sorely the patience of many,
who understood perfectly that gold and silver had long since
and forever parted company on the old ratio."

"International bimetallism" — free silver coinage by agree-
ment of the great nations — Mr. Scott declared as impossible
as the scheme for the United States alone, because laws of value

1'60 JLfesiaE:.M. SCOTT

themselves just! as iiievitably against internation-
al fiat ; moreover, the great nations: of Europe did not heed free
coinage of silver and did not wish it. While international
(inferences were held in 1867, 1878, 1881 and 1892, he kept
arway ad His ^fiociplesf andiscored the conferences
<;an>d; deliisioits abd "bait for gudgeons." On July
15, 1890, hdmf<^:; "tffae\[faiite&1 States might as well invite the
-fDf [Eitropento.jiDfin in > giving practical effect to the
of,I^-ward)iBellarriyv:as to ask them to join in an agree-
ment for f ree: coinagK: of silver."

When one considers ,that the gold standard idea made slow
ublican Party sought to evade it as an
s late as 1899, the perseverance of Mr. Scott appears the
ialudiaMe.:; Aiffiitmatiibrt1 of the gold standard in 1896 was
ilfftnediate re<*c>very of confidence and credit and by
1 prosperity. Immense stores of gold were released.

• "

ly referred to the vindication of sound
subsequent writings. On November 3,
the prophecies of the silver propaganda
by recovery of business and credit. But
pi^opa^andists of silver ever since have been trying to cover
up their confusion by the declaration that the recovery has been
&m td'trifc increased production of gold. It is as shallow an
assertion as any other pretense of the silver craze. There was
^old"'' enough, had it not been driven to foreign countries and
mi^'hiding places at home by continual injection of over-valued
Silver into the circulation of the country. . . . Foreign
countries, free from fiat money demagogues, had money
enough."

Again, on April 8, 1908: "Of this illusion it may be said
that not the wildest dreams of the alchemist or of those adven-
turers who sailed in quest of the Eldorado, were more extraor-
dinary instances of the human power of self-deception. This
prodigious fallacy had its origin in the equivocal use of a word."
(Dollar.)

Gravest crisis in the industrial history of America, in Mr.
Scott's view, was presented by the silver issue in 1896. Both

IIP

HARVEY W. SCOTT

AT 66 YEARS OF AGE. PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN NEAR WASHINGTON, D. C.
IN OCTOBER, 19O4

REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 161

before and after the event he held that opinion. Early in 1896
he went to Mexico, so as to learn conditions in that silver-
standard country, for information of his Oregon readers. Writ-
ing from Mexico City, February 20, 1896, to the Oregonian,
he said : "Here in Mexico is the place to observe the workings
of cheap money, of money based on the market value of silver.
Such money gives but a pittance to labor and debases human-
ity." Similar debasement of United States silver coins, he de-
clared, would shake the nation terribly. On November 6,
1894, he wrote editorially : "The plunge to a debased standard
of money would produce disorders in finance, industry and
general business, more frightful than this country has yet
known, or the world has ever seen, except perhaps the French
Revolution of a century ago." On August 9, 1896, he de-
scribed the danger thus forcefully: "Never was any question
contested between parties, of so mighty import to the people of
the United States. It involves a tremendous responsibility, not
merely for the present, but for all future time; for, if we go
wrong on this subject, we shall have done an act that will pro-
duce conditions under which the whole character of the people
will be changed. Here, indeed, is the test of success or failure
of popular government. If we take the silver standard, it will
gradually produce conditions under which the masses of the
people will sink to lower levels, because labor, paid in inferior
money, will not get its accustomed rewards. Continuance of
these conditions will within a few generations effect a trans-
formation of the national character and a national reduction in
our scale of civilization." In the evening of his life the Editor
was wont to laud the "unselfish patriotism" of "gold standard"
Democrats who quit Bryan and voted for McKinley in 1896,
in numbers sufficient to turn the election — the popular vote
being: McKinley 7,164,000, Bryan 6,562,000. On January
23, 1908, he referred to them thus appreciatively: "In every
community to this day the names of these men are remembered.
They saved the country from a financial and industrial disaster
greater than it has ever known."

162 LESLIE M. SCOTT

VI RECONSTRUCTION AFTER CIVIL WAR

Mr. Scott was called to the editorship of the Oregonian just
after the assassination of Lincoln. His article, "The Great
Atrocity," was published April 17, 1865. Here was a tragedy
in the greatest of all political contests in America. Broadly
stated, the issue of the contest was between nationalism and
state sovereignty, between ideas of Hamilton and Jefferson,
between negro slavery and freedom, between North and South.
During the whole period of his career, Mr. Scott was called
upon to discuss this issue in its many collateral aspects, as the
persistent one separating the two great parties. Almost his
last article, April 14, 1910, related to the tragedy of Lincoln.
His long-matured opinion he thus expressed:

"On this night, April 14, forty-five years ago, Abraham
Lincoln was shot by an assassin. A crime as foolish as horrible.
It changed (not for the better) the whole course of American
political life, from that day to this, and it may be doubted
whether we shall ever escape from the consequences of that
horribly mad and criminal act.

"The irrational division of political parties today is a con-
sequence of this crime ; and no one can see far enough into the
future to imagine when the course of our history, set awry by
this act of an assassin, will resume rational or normal line of

The young Editor was confronted, after the Civil War, with
large questions of Reconstruction. Opposed to slavery and
disunion, he had to meet a hostile and bitter element. As a
son of the Frontier West, he was born a nationalist and the
nationalist idea grew with his manhood. Always in his edi-
torial life that idea spurred him on. But there were many
Democrats in Oregon before the War and more of them after-
ward. On the secession and slavery issues they lost to the
Republicans, but in 1865-7 they won the State back. Issues of
Reconstruction made acrimonious politics. A leading figure in
the national policy was George H. Williams, Senator from Ore-

REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 163

gon, who originated many measures, including the Fourteenth
Amendment. Senator Williams found Mr. Scott his ablest
supporter. Friendship between the two, then begun, continued
as long as they lived, and on the death of the Senator, the Editor
wrote a beautiful tribute and farewell. It was his last large
work, for soon afterward sickness stopped his further writing.
Articles of Mr. Scott's, during the Reconstruction period,
display moderate and lenient spirit toward the South, yet un-
yielding demand for extinction of state sovereignty and slavery
and for the establishment of national sovereignty and negro
freedom. Sovereignty, he insisted, then lay in the victorious
North, yet not for vindictive nor despotic purpose. He never
reconciled himself to negro suffrage and in his later life, when
partisanship disappeared, he felt free to say that the Fourteenth
and Fifteenth Amendments "made a mess of it" (Oregonian,
December 25, 1905), and that "it is not to be denied that the
evils of indiscriminate negro suffrage in our Southern States
are too great to be permitted/' (Oregonian, August 8, 1907.)

VII NEGRO AND SOUTH

The Editor's paternal forebears were loyalists of South Caro-
lina; then pioneers of Tennessee, Kentucky and Illinois. In
Kentucky, the birthplace of his father was near those of Jeffer-
son Davis and Abraham Lincoln. Currents of westward expan-
sion merged from South and North in the Ohio Valley, thence
diverged northward, westward and southward. Mr. Scott's
people abhorred state rights and slavery ; in other matters thr.y
felt sympathy with the South. After these two issues were
eradicated, Mr. Scott felt that sympathy recurring. The negro
question in the South he knew a natural one in the white popu-
lation and not to be argued away. In his later life he often
said that disfranchisement or submission of the negro was in-
evitable. He foresaw that northern sentiment would not
strongly resist disfranchisement; commented often on its grow-
ing acceptance in the North and on the baseless fear in the
South that the North would uphold the negro.

164 LESLIE M. SCOTT

"The negro in every state where the race is very numerous,"
he wrote on January 7, 1909, "has been almost wholly disfran-
chised; and the disfranchisement is based on conditions and
regulations not likely to be shaken for a long time, if ever.
Negro domination, therefore, is no longer a bugbear or terror.
. . . The experience of forty years has shown the greater
North that the South must be left to manage this great matter
for itself." Seven years earlier, when Republicans appointed
a partisan committee to inquire into disfranchisement of South-
ern negroes, he condemned the plan as "useless and silly." "On
this subject," he added, "there has been a mighty lot of experi-
ence during the past thirty-five years, and it is useless to chal-
lenge repetition of it" (March 23, 1902).

Not less useless and silly he deemed the negro question in
the South. He called Southern fear of the negro and of North-
ern prejudice, "a strange nightmare" (November 11, 1904),
and an antiquated prejudice. "Why should not the Southern
people think of other things than the everlasting negro ?" ( No-
vember 11, 1904.) He pointed out repeatedly that the "night-
mare" or "prejudice" was harmful to Southern progress; that
it allied the South with repugnant notions of the Democratic
Party of the North, such as free silver coinage, opposition to
territorial expansion in 1898-1900, and socialistic hostility to
private business and property. He could perceive in his last
years the slow drift of the conservative South away from the
radical Democratic Party of the North. But the change was so
slow he would risk no prophesy as to proximity of the outcome.
"The negro question," he wrote February 4, 1909, "was the
source of the Civil War ; it has been the main division of parties
since ; yet now that the Southern States are finding out they are
no longer to be interfered with, in this most important of all
matters that concern them, their natural conservatism on other
matters asserts itself and takes a new course."

REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 165

VIII NATIONAL IDEA— ITS PROGRESS AFTER CIVIL WAR

Between the two chief political parties, the main line of de-
marcation continued to be the national idea, Mr. Scott fre-
quently wrote, when others complained, as in 1904-8, that they
could see party distinctions no longer. "The influence of na-
tionalism is the mainspring of party action/' he said February
2, 1908, "and must continue to be such. In this national aspect
of parties and politics lies the reason why Th'e Oregonian,
throughout its whole life, has acted in politics with a view to
efficiency in national government. The best exponent of this
principle has been the Republican Party." "During fifty years
(November 15, 1909) the Republican Party, depending on au-
thority and insisting on the use of it, has done everything. It
has been strong, because it is the party of national ideas. In
many things the Democratic Party has been a helper, doubtless ;
but a helper chiefly by its opposition. . . . Most conspicu-
ous display of this fact was when it elected Grover Cleveland
to the Presidency in 1892. Cleveland was an asserter of high
central authority; and, discovering this, his party exclaimed
that it had been 'betrayed' and it repudiated him. Ever since
it has followed the Bryan standard."

Party was to Mr. Scott a means to an end, not the end itself.
He was too broad-minded to think virtue in a mere party name
or to follow party as a fetish. The Republican Party was for
him the exponent — the only one — of concentrated and central-
ized power, in resistance to local authority and disintegration,
and in transformation from a federal to a national republic.
"During fifty years (May 30, 1904) the Democratic Party has
stood for nothing that the country has desired or could deem
useful to it. If anything of constructive policy has come out
of the Democratic Party these forty years, one would like to
be told what it is. This party of opposition has not been use-
less. Its use has been to force the Republican Party at inter-
vals to justify its aims and claims."

While the Editor had the statesman's lofty view, he was yet
an indifferent politician. He cared little about the "offices" nor
would the controlling bosses have permitted him to participate

166 LESLIE M. SCOTT

in the spoils which his efforts so often put in their hands. His
influence with them in party organization was always little or
nothing. But his power with the voters, on an issue such as
free silver, was to be reckoned with. Often when unable to
sway politicians on matters of party policy his appeal to the
public brought result. He never permitted petty questions of
an hour or a day or a locality to blind him to the main issue ever
confronting the country. Right up to the last of his life he
continued to reassert the issue. "On trifling events men fre-
quently scatter in considerable numbers from the parties they
commonly act with ; but any event or proposition of real im-
portance will bring them back" (November 15, 1909).

The long struggle for national unity was symbolic., the Editor
used to say, of all democratic progress. A democracy, in find-
ing its way, gropes in darkness of passion and ignorance, but
finally by its own force, is sure to take the best way, yet most
of the time because it exhausts all possible ways of going
wrong. So with the unifying process in the Nation. "It takes
a long time to teach a democracy anything — that is, any import-
ant principle. Tendency of democracy is to sub-divide. It is
driven together only by large industrial and national forces,
which it resists as long as it can. It took a great while to bring
a scattered American democracy, planted in separate colonies,
together in national unity; and the process required a bloody
civil war — perhaps the bloodiest in all history. It took a long
time and strenuous effort and a financial catastrophe, among
the worst the world ever has known, to cure the American
democracy of the fallacy of trying to maintain a fictitious money
standard. ... It will solve the tariff question rightly after
a while — that is, after it has tried every possible experiment of
going wrong."

The reader should not infer that there was hostile spirit in
Mr. Scott toward democracy ; it was critical and philosophical,
merely. No person could have been more intensely democratic
in mind or habit. The professions of aristocracy, in politics or
elsewhere, were to him abomination. Only in democracy did
the sentiment of justice have full sway. "The spark of justice

REVIEW or WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 167

and the fires of human freedom are kept alive in the hearts of
the common people, 'the plain people/ as Abraham Lincoln
called them" (April 2, 1884). And "the most potent of all
forces is democracy in its fighting mood" (December 20,
1905). Popular self-government was worth all its effort, how-
ever strenuous. It was the only security for freedom. Mr.
Scott regarded as an urgent national need the great isthmian
canal. Its unifying influence, he foresaw, would stimulate
growth of the national spirit. He began writing on "The Dar-
ien Canal" in 1867. His discussions of the Panama and the
Nicaragua and other routes were frequent. He believed that
this waterway would consolidate the country and eradicate
local narrowness even further than railroads have done. It
would uplift America's world influence and upbuild America's
sea power. The opportunity grasped by President Roosevelt
for making this waterway American he commended as a grand
stroke of statesmanship.

RIVAL DOCTRINES OF HAMILTON AND JEFFERSON

When the young Editor entered the post-bellum controversy,
the leading Democratic organ in Portland was the Herald,
whose editor in 1866 was Beriah Brown.12 This veteran of jour-
nalism undertook to discipline the "boy editor." But the "boy"
proved himself more than a match for the "veteran." Their
disputes brought out a subject on which Mr. Scott wrote with
growing power — the Jeffersonian origin of secession. Editor
Brown, after the style of good Democrats, exalted the mem-
ory of Jefferson. Editor Scott dug up history to show Jeffer-
son the architect of state sovereignty and rebellion ; hostile to
constitution and nationality; assertive of "Federal League";
author of Kentucky resolutions ; sympathizer with the Whisky
Insurrection and Shay's Rebellion; distrustful of courts and
judiciary; covertly hostile to Washington. All this the young
Editor suported with such array of reading as to spread wide
his reputation. One of his terse and direct remarks (Novem-
ber 1, 1869) was the following: "It is now an accepted national
and historical fact that the doctrines promulgated by Jefferson

12 Beriah Brown came to Portland from San Francisco. He spent his later
life at Puget Sound.

168 LESLIE M. SCOTT

for partisan purposes, in opposition to the administration of
Washington and the Elder Adams, were the fundamental cause
of the Great Rebellion. In none has the maxim that the evil that
men do lives after them been more fully illustrated than in the
case of Thomas Jefferson." And near the end of his life the
Editor outlined the same view as follows (February 23, 1909) :
"Jefferson was the man who, after the formation of the Con-
stitution and the making of the nation under it, for partisan
purposes, set up the claim that there was in fact no nation, no
national government, but only a league of states, that might be
abandoned or broken up by any of the members at will. This
was the Great Rebellion. This was the Civil War. He was
the evil genius of our national and political life."

Progress of the Hamilton idea, after its triumph in civil war,
was often a theme of Mr. Scott's comments on current events.
"The course of history during twenty years past (December
18, 1880) has vindicated Hamilton, demonstrated his marvel-
ous prescience and discovered to the country the immense ex-
tent of its obligations to him. To Hamilton the country is
chiefly indebted — to him it is indebted more than to all others —
for the creation of a national government with sufficient power
to maintain the national authority. He it was who, foreseeing
the conflict between pretensions of state supremacy and the
necessary powers of national authority, succeeded, in spite of
tremendous opposition, in putting into the Constitution the
vital forces which have sustained it. Appomattox was his vic-
tory. . . . The glory of Hamilton is the greatness of
America." And on February 12, 1908, the same thought moved
him to say : "The idea is growing that the Government of the
United States is no longer a Government of limited powers but
may cover all local conditions. This is a vindication of the
principles of Hamilton against those of Jefferson." The fame
of the Virginian, said Mr. Scott, will rest, in future history, on
his acquisition of Louisiana and Oregon ; this greatest of his
works will fix him in history as the nation's chief expansionist.
Acquisition of Louisiana was "the most important of all the
facts of our history because it created the conditions necessary

HARVEY W. SCOTT

AT SEASIDE, OREGON, IN THE SUMMER OF 19O5. HE WAS VERY FOND OF THE OCEAN

BEACH AND IN LATER LIFE SPENT BRIEF PERIODS THERE. HE RECEIVED HIS

NEWSPAPER FROM PORTLAND IN THE AFTERNOON

AND READ IT EAGERLY

REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 169

to our national expansion and consolidation." And after
Louisiana came the United States claims to Oregon. "Philos-
ophy of History" was a favorite pastime of Mr. Scott and he
applied it in his later life to the main currents of United States
history — Northern and Southern. On July 11, 1902, when in-
troducing Henry Watterson13 at Gladstone, near Oregon City,
he reviewed these two strains of national life in an address
which awakened Mr. Watterson's admiration.

IX EXPANSION OF NATIONAL TERRITORY

The hew expansion across the Pacific following the Spanish
War was, in Mr. Scott's opinion, a logical pursuit of national
ends. It opened a new destiny for the American republic. It
meant great national power at sea, and expansion of ocean
commerce, leading to American dominion of the Pacific; "the
nation's wider horizon is seaward" (July 12, 1898). It fol-
lowed a law of constant expansion of territory — a law of na-
tional progress which had united the country and ever extend-
ed its frontier. It would prove anew the assimilating power of
the American State ; would broaden the country's spirit and its
outlook on the world, because intercourse with other nations
gives the most powerful stimulus to progress and no nation
liveth unto itself alone. It would banish from home politics
fallacies which would be generated otherwise out of American
isolation ; among such had been fiat money and absurdities of
socialism. It would promote the growing leadership of Amer-
ica among the great powers. The Democratic Party was then
fighting the changed policy, calling it "imperialism" and "mili-
tarism" and "government without consent of governed" — issues
of Bryan from 1898 to 1904. Mr. Scott scored the opposition
as an affront to American intelligence. These issues were false
and unworthy of a political party which for generations had
negatived them in domination of negroes in the South. Fili-
pinos would not be "dnslaved," as the Democratic Party assert-
ed would be their fate under American rule, but would be
accorded larger measure of political and personal freedom than
they ever had before or could have under any other govern-

13 Henry Watterson, editor Louisville Courier- Journal.

170 LESLIE M. SCOTT

ment. Even before the war with Spain, the Editor frequently
told his readers that expansion was the rule of national life.
"Neither races nor individuals change their 'nature and the laws
of history cannot have fallen in sudden impotence in the nine-
teenth century (April 22, 1893). ... We shall go on ex-
tending our limits, so long as the vital impulse of our nation-
ality is not exhausted. When we lose the impulse to expand,
it will be time for some other people to take the primacy of the
Western Hemisphere out of our failing hands. " On October
8, 1898, when the war with Spain had delivered the Philippines
to the United States, he wrote: "Men and ideas now leap
oceans easier than they then (Washington's time) crossed
rivers ; and the notion that American ideas cannot pass beyond
this continent is a strange short-sightedness, reserved fortunate-
ly, as we believe, to a small proportion of our people." The
new destiny inspired him to appeal to the sentiment and fancy of
his readers. When the National Editorial Association assem-
bled in Portland in 1899, he welcomed the members in an
address which outlined his conception of the new expansion as
follows (July 6) :

"The East has been treading on the heels of the West, yet
never has overtaken it. Latterly, the West has taken ship on
the Pacific, and, through one of the movements of history, has
overtaken the East. America has put a new girdle around the
earth ; arid the West has moved on, till it has reached the gate-
way of the morning, over by the Orient where the men of the
United States are planting the banners of a free civilization.
. . . We are now making distant excursions, led thereto by
a march of events, whose direction we could not foresee. But
wherever we go we shall carry our great national idea, push it
to realization and accomplish the great work of organizing into
institutions the inalienable rights of man. . . . Realization
that our country faces the Pacific as well as the Atlantic starts a
new era of our national history, and, indeed, a hew epoch in
the history of the world."

A decade after acquisition of the trans-Pacific islands the
Editor was as ardent an expansionist as his forebears had been
in spreading to Kentucky, Illinois and Oregon. On January 1,
1908, at the time of the round-the-world voyage of the Ameri-

REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 171

can fleet, he said: "Every modern philosophical writer de-
clares that the first grand discovery of modern times is the
immense extension of the universe in space. The idea shows
man where he is a'nd what he is. And the second great discov-
ery is the immense and perhaps limitless extension of the uni-
verse in time. . . . It is with political geography that we
are now immediately concerned. The Pacific Ocean is becom-
ing more and more the theater of new interest for mankind.
Here, on the American shore of this greatest of oceans, we face
new movements and new destinies . . . Commercial move-
ment and industrial forces depend always in great degree on
political influences. With due regard for the rights of others,
we want our just share — which is to be a large share — of the
sovereignty of the Pacific."

X TARIFF, REVENUE AND "PROTECTION"

An ever-recurring questio'n, vexing the country during most
of Mr. Scott's period, even yet unsolved, was tariff. Nor could
Mr. Scott see solution of the complicated matter in the near
future. It may be fit here to outline his views on this subject,
for he was consistently opposed to the long protective policy of
the Republican Party, and the present protective policy of the
Democratic Party. "Free trade" or "tariff for revenue only"
belonged to his stock of "first principles" ; "protection" was
not a principle, at all ; only a temporary policy and a deluded
one. Never would the tariff be settled for any length of time
until "protection" should be eliminated. The system is main-
tained, he said, because many localities, including Oregon, seek
special advantages for themselves, aVid combine their forces to
impose import tax for benefit of their own products — Oregon's
being chiefly wool. All localities together are hostile to each
neighbor's part of the spoil so that no protective tariff law can
long exist. Such tariff, he used to say, will wreck the fortunes
of any political party. As proofs we see the wreck of the
Democratic Party after the Wilson bill of 1893 and recently
the wreck of the Republican Party after the Payne-Aldrich act
of 1909. He averred it is impossible to unite men long oh any

172 LESLIE M. SCOTT

protective tariff scheme because high moral enthusiasm, senti-
mental idea, are lacking. "The difficulty of uniting many men
in permanent alliance for a common object," he asserted Sep-
tember 27, 1909, "increases as that object appeals less and less
to any disinterested affection or high inspiration, and rapidly
proves itself insuperable when it sinks into a mere scramble of
greediness and vanity." A week earlier (September 20) he re-
marked: "It involves no contest of lofty opinions about jus-
tice or righteousness, the rights of democracy or the mainte-
nance of the dignity or authority of the nation. It is trade and
dicker, barter and swap."

The policy, declared Mr. Scott, takes wrongfully from one
man to bestow upon another; thus confers special privilege.
All cannot enjoy the benefits ; a few do, and for those few the
many, who have no products to "protect," are taxed. The ra-
tional tariff duty would be imposed on articles of universal con-
sumption— food, drink and clothing — such as tea, coffee, to-
bacco, wine, spices, sugar and luxuries in high class textile,
leather and metal goods and special luxuries of the rich. "The
general principle of 'tariff for revenue only/ " he wrote, Sep-
tember 2, 1892, "is that we should admit free of duty, such com-
modities, except luxuries, as we produce in our own country
and lay duties on such commodities of foreign production as we
largely consume yet cannot, or do not, produce ourselves."
Such settlement would put an end to the continuous brawl in
Congress and throughout the country over the protection of one
set of interests at the expense of others or at the expense of
consumers. Anything short of it would leave the subject open
to perpetual contention and strife; for protection was not an
equal policy ; never could be. Its most direct consequence were
creation of monopolies and enrichment of a few at expense of
the many. "Protection" conferred on manufactured goods yet
denied to raw products, he said, was discrimination to which
Western and agricultural communities would not submit. "Pro-
tection" had for its primary defense higher resultant wages for
labor; but labor enters into production of raw materials just as
into their manufacture.

REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 173

It may be remembered that the Editor never was at peace
with the Republican Party on tariff. Yet he could not quit the
party on this issue, first because there was no other party whose
policies he could accept and second, because more serious mat-
ters than tariff confronted the country arid in those matters
only the Republican Party afforded him lodgment. Chief of
them was the money question.

The Editor never regarded protective tariff as an enduring
policy of the national Republican Party. He considered it a
more natural one for the Democratic party, with its local habits.
He believed, therefore, that the parties eventually would shift
on this question, the Republican to champion tariff for revenue,
the Democratic to advocate tariff for protection. "Tariff for
revenue only/' he said August 8, 1909, "will become the demand
of the North sooner than of the South. But there will be no
result, these many years." Again: "As a party of national
authority, the Republican Party will find the ideas of the local
protectionists less and less suited to the policies for which it
stands and must stand."

In the early '80's a common argument used for protective du-
ties was that tariff would help maintain a "favorable balance
of trade." This was too flimsy to withstand the editorial broad-
sides of Mr. Scott's writings. Thirty years later a fresh idea
sprang up in defense of "protection" — an adjustment of rates
"based ori difference in cost of production at home and abroad,"
so as to afford "protection" only to industries that really "need-
ed" it. This was the last phase of tariff that Mr. Scott lived to
attack. On April 6, 1910, he said : "It is impossible to ascer-
tain the differences between the cost of production here and
abroad. Variations of opinion on this subject will be irrecon-
cilable and endless. . . . The differences will shift and
vary cdntinually. None of these differences is or ever will be,
a fixed quantity or a steady quantity for any length of time.
. . . New factors are continually entering into all processes
of manufacture ; and cost of materials varies from year to year.
Cost of production, being extremely unstable abroad, how can
it ever become a basis on which protective tariff laws can be

174 LESLIE M. SCOTT

framed for our country?" Begirining in 1880 "reciprocity"
was a frequent subject of discussion and legislation. By this
policy, the United States was to admit certain goods of certain
other nations, if such nations would admit certain goods of the
United States. The scheme never attained much success, owing
largely to American Unwillingness to lift tariff on favored ar-
ticles. Mr. Scott said that reciprocity was incompatible with
protection. "You never suspect that reciprocity is sincere,
when you look at its advocates. They never reciprocate except
for their own gain at somebody else's loss." (January 19,
1902.)

XI CHINESE EXCLUSION

At two periods, Mr. Scott's firm stand for law and order and
his unsparing denunciation of disturbers of peace evoked bitter
resentment and even mob excitement — in 1880-86, when Chi-
nese suffered violent attacks, and in 1894, when "Coxey
Armies" were "mustering" and "marching" on Washington
City. In each case the Editor's English denounced the exciters
and the doers of violence, in his most vigorous style. Threats
were often heard against his life atid he deemed it prudent to
guard his newspaper office against any possible assault. Labor
agitators were foremost in these crises and they were greatly
exercised by the Editor's criticism of their doctrines of labor;
for Mr. Scott, through his long experience as a laborer, had
learned lessons of industry which enabled him to put up effec-
tual arguments against their claims and theories and to drive
home his arguments by his own example.

Mr. Scott always held the Chinese a'n undesirable infusion
into American population, yet useful for menial labor. He op-
posed forceful ejectment of them from the United States, but
supported the plan of exclusion, which in 1882 was enacted
into law. Under treaty of 1868 with China, immigrants from
that country were guaranteed free ingress into the United
States. This treaty held until 1880, when a new one gave this
country the privilege of regulating this immigration. An exclu-
sion act of Congress in 1879 was vetoed by President Hayes,

REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 175

because violating the treaty of 1868. Finally in 1882 exclusioh
was effected by an act which has been continued up to the
present time.

There is little doubt that refusal of the United States to
admit hordes of Chinese laborers has been best for the internal
peace of the nation, although the Pacific Coast region has suf-
fered thereby for lack of efficient laborers. Mr. Scott clearly
foresaw both the social need of exclusion and the industrial
need of Chinese labor on the Pacific Coast. The former need
he regarded as the determining one. The immediate theme of
his writings during the critical time of anti-Chinese agitation
was the treaty rights of Chinese in this country to protection
against mob violence. He condemned in unsparing terms the
cruel attacks made upon them by agitators and mobs, whose
cry was "The Chinese must go !" He pointed out that attacks
upon the persons of the alien residents would involve the United
States in international complications with China and bring dis-
credit upon this country among foreign nations. He declared
that industrious Americans had nothing to fear from the labor
competition of Chinese. The crusade against Chinese was gen-
eral in the Pacific Coast in 1880-90, and in several places the
aliens suffered sorely, as in San Francisco and Tacoma. Port-
land had less disturbance than other cities of the Coast — in
which Mr. Scott both bespoke and guided the temper of his city.

During more than thirty years and from his first to his last
utterances on the Chinese question, Mr. Scott insisted that the
problem was not one of labor, but of race. It was neither true
nor important that Chinese were doing work that white men
otherwise would do, or taking "jobs" away from American
citizens. The real objection to them was that they were not
an assimilable element; could not fuse with the white popula-
tion; in other words, race antipathy existed which was not to
be overcome by argument and which would cause discord and
continual upset in the political and social body. In 1869, the
Editor pointed out that labor wages here — then about fifty per
cent higher than east of the Mississippi — would be reduced not
by Chinese at that time few in number, but by influx of workers
from our own denser populated part of the country.

176 LESLIE M. SCOTT

White immigration was thereafter agumented in California
by the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads, that year
completed, and i'n Oregon by large expenditure of money for
railroads by Ben Holladay. In that same year politicians in
Oregon, as well as in California, were making campaign
against "Chinese cheap labor," among them Grover,14 then
running first time for Governor. Against their assertion that
Chinese "add nothing to the wealth of the country," Mr. Scott
showed that the aliens had cleared large land areas for crops
and were building railroads for use of the white population.
Their number on the Pacific Coast — less than forty thousand,
and few in Oregon — was, as yet, no menace to the white race
and was contributing large capital, by its labor, to the uses of
the country. "Every Chinaman leaves the products of his labor,
a full equivalent for the wages paid him. He leaves more ; he
leaves the profit which his employer has made in the cheap
labor he has furnished" (July 7, 1869). Often Mr. Scott told
the white people that the Pacific Coast was slow in industrial
progress because there were not enough workers ; that Chinese
were not snatching places from white men because they were
doing work white men would not do; that the surfeit of white
laborers in San Francisco, the center of agitation, did not exist
elsewhere and that most of the work to be performed was out-
side the cities ; that the aliens had done much to make Oregon
and Washingtob habitable for white men, especially in clearing
land — a work too hard and cheap for white laborers ; that they
had been employed in this and other activities also because of
scarcity and indolence of the whites.

But the Editor was prompt also to say that while Chinese
were useful for labor, they could not be received in large num-
bers into American citizenship ; that the two races were antag-
ohistic, ethnically, politically, industrially. He asserted that
however much Chinese industry would stimulate growth of the
country, it was better to have peace. "They are not an assimil-
able element and they come in contact with our people in a way
which cannot in the large run be favorable either to morals or
prosperity. . . . Under this view we have believed it well

i4LaFayette Grover, Governor of Oregon 1870-77; U. S. Senator it7f-fj; bora
at Bethel, Maine, Nov. 24, 1823; died at Portland May 10, 1911. .

HARVEY W. SCOTT AT 7O YEARS OF AGE

REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 177

to pass a bill to restrict Chinese immigration" (March 21,
1879). On enactment of the exclusion law in 1882, he said
(April 29) : 'The Pacific States have made a great fight and
have won a great victory."

In 1905 Chinese in the Orient boycotted American goods
because of the exclusion law and many exporters in the United
States urged suspension of the exclusion law. The Chamber of
Commerce of Portland recommended admissiori of a limited
number of Chinese annually. This plan Mr. Scott opposed with
citations from experience of twenty-five years before. Other
matters were to be taken into account, he said, than exports
and need of laborers. "We can never expect (August 18,
1905) that our laboring classes will assume any position except
of unconquerable antagonism toward the Chinese. The history
of every community on the Pacific Coast for the past thirty
years proves it."

(July 5, 1905) : "No conflict is so cruel as that between an-
tagonistic races. ... No doubt Chinese laborers in this
country would quicken Industries now dormant for want of
hands to stir them. But how about politics? How about the
race conflict? Do you want it? The Oregonian has a mem-
ory and it does not."

(July 22, 1905) : "The commotion would be so great that it
may be doubted whether, on the whole, the progress of the
country would not be checked, rather than accelerated, even in
ah industrial way."

(July 6, 1905) : "The Chinese could do a lot of work here,
of course — and work a lot of trouble. We want industrial de-
velopment, but we want peace and must not have race war."

Inasmuch as Mr. Scott's opposition to Chinese expulsion has
led some persons to suppose that he also resisted Chinese exclu-
sion, it has seemed to the present writer appropriate to set
forth Mr. Scott's attitude on this subject in some detail. The
Editor understood the problem as many others did not — its
native antipathies, its basic race hatreds. Therefore, he was
equipped to deal with the subject according to "first princi-
ples" and moral precepts. His course was humane, rational

178 LESLIE M. SCOTT

and consistent and vindicated by subsequent events. It was a
very difficult question to handle in the then heated condition of
the public mind, especially in 1886 when expulsion was de-
manded. All are now ready to deprecate assaults upon Chinese
but denunciation of such acts twenty-five years ago excited
bitterest animosities, with attacks of malignity and folly. The
spirit of riot and outrage, of incendiarism, robbery and mid-
night assault assailed the Chinese during a decade.

XII "COXEY ARMIES"

The other period of turbulence was that of "Coxey Armies"
in March and April, 1894. "Hard times" and the worst stag-
nation in business the cou'ntry ever knew, followed the collapse
of 1893. Loud clamor went up from the unemployed for work.
The noise was heightened by a large element of the thriftless,
who having saved nothing from "good times," turned agitators
and even vagabonds and called upon government for the means
of livelihood. They organized "armies" which set out for
Washington, D. C, to lay their "grievances" before Congress
and to demand "aid." The movement was started by Jacob S.
Coxey, of Massillon, Ohio, and was encouraged by the Populist
political party and by many followers of fiat money. Chief of
the Coxey demands were free silver coinage and immediate
issue of $500,000,000 greenbacks, unsecured, wherewith to em-
ploy the "army" on road building — which, if done, would have
plunged the nation into the lowest depths of currency degrada-
tion and industrial chaos. The commonweal parties started
from many directions and but few reached the National Capital.
Coxey himself was arrested there for breaking the rule, "Keep
off the grass." The travelers had no means to pay for food,
clothing or passage and the mania made them hostile to work ;
therefore they first imposed themselves on charity and then re-
sorted to thievery and even to capture of railroad trai'ns. Gov-
ernor Pennoyer of Oregon afforded them sympathy, thereby
increasing the local tension. Oregon became a hotbed of Coxey
propaganda, and United States officers were called upon to pro-
tect railroad traffic from interference.

REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 179

If the reader has followed the outlfne of Mr. Scott's personal
character and editorial style, as hitherto given, he can foresee,
before reaching these lines, the war which the Editor waged
upon the Coxey movement. He told the "armies" that their
resources were not in government but in their own labors ; that
they would have to take what employment they could get and at
whatever wages a'nd that the government did not owe them
better nor any at all; that in Oregon and Washington was
place for every efficient man on farm, in garden and orchard
and dairy, in mine and forest, on terms that would enable him
both to live and to convert the tattered prodigal and aimless
vagrant into useful, prosperous and honored citizens; that it
was the business of every person to strive to make place for
himself instead of to complain, "No man hath hired us" ; that
the Coxey leaders were professional agitators and the followers
deadbeats and prodigals. The "armies" were similar to the "I.
W. W." groups of the present day, which have been defying
law, order and industry, and laying their grievances to capital-
ism. Mr. Scott viewed the "Coxeyites" as belonging to the
ultra-radical forces of socialism. His disbelief in "community
help" for the individual and his faith in personal industry and
prudence fired his utterances with a fervor which angered the
"Oregon army." A mob of Coxeyites in May, 1894, surround-
ed The Orego'nian building for several hour's calling for ven-
geance. In answer to their plaint, "We are starving in the
midst of plenty. Why?" Mr. Scott had answered (April 21,
1894) :

"It is easy to tell why. For years there had been plenty of
work and high wages. But these men did not make the most
of their opportunities. Some of them did not use their oppor-
tunities at all. Those who did work worked but fitfully or
irregularly and did not save their money. They 'blew it in.'
They refused the maxims and the practice of prudence, sobriety
and economy. They were careless, pleasure-seeking, improvi-
dent. And though they were getting the best wages ever paid,
they were dissatisfied and wanted more. Through their unions
they forced their demands for wages to a point beyond the
power of employers to pay. Their political demagogues told

180 LESLIE M. SCOTT

them they ought to get still more, that they were cheated out
of all the benefits of 'protection/ which were intended for them,
but had been swallowed up by the bosses. So the 'change' was
voted. This produced increased caution and timidity on the
part of employers, who feared to continue their business on the
old scale, and, in fact, were unable to do so. Then, when em-
ployment could ho longer be had, great numbers of these men,
who had saved nothing, found themselves destitute and forth-
with began to accuse and denounce society and government for
conditions resulting from their own imprudence. ... It
is not Jn the power of the national authorities to find remedies
for the evils which men bring on themselves through want of
forethought and steady industry, through dissipation of time,
opportunity and money, through the common modern habit of
pushing the demand for wages beyond what employers can
possibly afford to pay and compelling establishments to close or
greatly reduce their force. . . . They who spend their
money in one way or another as fast as they make it, who never
postpone present gratification to the expectation and purpose of
future advantage, who live in and for the passing day, with
little thought of the morrow, and none at all of next year, or of
the necessary provision for later life; who have been accus-
tomed to work, when they worked at all, only at such employ-
ments and such hours and wages as they could select or dictate ;
whose lives in many instances have been as profligate as that of
the prodigal son, but who have not yet reached the better resolve
of repentance and amendment — all such are stranded, of course.
These are fit recruits for the armies of vagrancy now pointed
toward Washington by the demagogue folly which has long
been proclaiming it to be the duty and within the power of
Congress to help men by legislation who can be helped only by
themselves."

As this quotation describes Mr. Scott's ideas of individual
thrift, it has been included here at some le'ngth. While there
might be an occasional exception to the general rule that a man's
success or failure in life is what he himself makes it, Mr. Scott
averred that the exceptions could not disprove the rule. With
men as a class and with individuals who failed to build a foun-
dation of personal prosperity, he had little or no sympathy. He
did feel, however, and most deeply, for children in destitution.
Their helplessness was always a source of sadness to him.

REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 181

In June, 1894, a railroad strike halted Mr. Scott's return
from an Eastern trip, at Tacoma, and he had to quit the North-
ern Pacific Railroad there, and make his way as best he could
to Portland. This amused a number of Populist editors and
they directed jibes at Mr. Scott, which he answered with the
following in The Oregoniah of July 24:

"Several Populist papers are chuckli'ng and cackling over
the fact that some two weeks ago the Editor of The Oregonian,
then at Puget Sound on business, was stopped at Tacoma by
the strike and had to make his way as he could across the
country to the Columbia River. Of course the poor milksops
do not know how little such an incident disturbs a man who all
his life has been accustomed to obstacles, and yet never to allow
them to stand in his way. The Editor of The Oregohian in
pioneer times was accustomed to foot it between Puget Sound
and the Columbia and carry his grub and blankets on his back,
and to think nothing of it. He and all others at that day went
through without complaint conditions a thousand-fold more
laborious and difficult than those against which our Populists
and anarchists and 'cultus' people generally now protest as intol-
erable hardship and grinding slavery. Trifling as this particu-
lar incident is, it illustrates right well the difference between
purposeful energy and poor, pitiful inefficiency. The one does
things, the other whines and complains, says it can't, and wants
somebody to help, or government to give it a lift."

In December of the same year, when "soup kitchens" were
abundant, Mr. Scott had said in his paper: "It is their duty
to put their wits and energies at work, to make employment for
themselves, not to stand all the day idle offering the excuse
that no man has hired us." A critical editor replied that he
would like to see what Mr. Scott would do, "out of money and
out of work and without friends." To which Mr. Scott an-
swered in The Oregonian, December 23, 1894 :

"He was in exactly that position m Portland over 40 years
ago. But he didn't stand round and whine, nor look for re-
sources in political agitation or bogus money nor join Coxey's
army. He struck out for the country, dug a farmer's potatoes,
milked the cows and built fences for his food and slept in a
shed ; got a job of rail-splitting abd took his pay in an order for

182 LESLIE M. SCOTT

a pair of cowhide boots; in these boots he trudged afoot to
Puget Sound; "rustled" there for three years and raked to-
gether $70, with which he came back to Oregon afoot, to go
to school, and managed by close economy to live six months,
till, his last dollar having vanished, he bought an ax of Tom
Charman, of Oregon City, on credit, made himself a camp on
the hill above Oregon City and cut cordwood till he got a little
money to pay debts he owed for books arid clothes. The next
years were spent very much the same way — hard work and hard
study, but nothing for beer and tobacco, and no time fooled
away listening to political demagogues. All this is very com-
monplace, but it is recited to show that when the editor of this
newspaper talks about hard times, self-help and what men can
do, he knows what he is talking about."

XIII INDIVIDUALISM

None knew better than Mr. Scott the irresistible drift toward
substitution of collective function for personal duty. He
stemmed the drift as ohly his strong personality could do, yet
not nearly so often as his conscience urged. He insisted that
citizens should supply, as far as society could compel them,
their own facilities and luxuries for selves and children, with-
out leaning on government. Otherwise character would be
impaired and the many would be burdened dn the thrifty few,
with the former quota fast growing. Always he was urging his
readers to employ energies of the self-reliant aforetime and
apply themselves to creative labor, instead of to seek the created
wealth of others. Pioneer conditions, he used to say, were a
thousand times harder than the later conditions that were
called "oppressive" and "grinding" by matiy a poor man. The
contrast between the pioneer era of self-help and the new era of
leaning on society he portrayed in the subjoined article, March
1, 1884:

"Our fathers, who settled and subdued the continent from
the Atlantic to the Pacific, pursued the rational and successful
way. Each family pushed out for itself, without theories to
hamper it. All worked with intelligence and industry, but no
one leaned upon another. The theories of modern social sci-
ence, so-called, fortunately for them and for the country, were
unknown. Its jargon had not yet been evolved to mystify the

REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 183

mind, to darken counsel, to suggest falsely that men might look
for resources where no resources are to be found. Our fathers
knew that the secret lay in independent energy, in intelligent
labor, in the rules of thrift, economy and virtue. They knew
that the thing for each family to do was to make a selection
of land and establish upon it an independent home. There
were no writings of Herbert Spencer or Henry George to per-
plex them with vain notioris of co-operative association or other
transcendental nonsense. Enough for each of them to mind
his own business, without bothering with co-operation, colony
or commonwealth. On those principles of common sense our
own state was settled."

INDIVIDUALISM IN MORALS

It is convenient to discuss the general attitude of Mr. Scott
on the large questions involved i'n "individual responsibility"
under two main heads — moral and economic. Under the for-
mer are classed his articles on reform, liquor prohibition, temp-
tation and the like ; under the latter his varied discussion nowa-
days presented by "socialization" projects. No subjects re-
ceived more frequent treatment at his pen than these and none
other were challenged more hotly by champions of opposing
ideas. They cover the whole period of his activity. They were
widely read and applauded; also widely misunderstood and
misrepresented.

Starting with the idea that each individual should be held
accountable for his own evil conduct and should suffer its con-
sequences, Mr. Scott declared this method the only one fit to
fortify the resistant forces of personal character. Only moral
strength would withstand temptation and such strength is ac-
quired from resistance. Temptation, therefore, was not to be
taken away. "It is poor and impotent method of reforming
the world," he remarked September 30, 1887, "to try to put
away means of evil from men, instead of teaching men to put
evil away from themselves. Temptation exists in forms innum-
erable and will ever exist, so long as man is man; and our
Maker himself appears to have seen no other way to develop a
moral nature in man but by setting temptation before him and

184 LESLIE M. SCOTT

bidding him, as he valued life, to triumph over it. ... The
text is, 'Deliver us from evil.' It is a mistaken method of moral
work when the text is reversed and men think, by putting
temptation out of the way, or by trying to remove from sight
things that may be perverted, to make moral character." Again
on December 28, 1909 : "If any philosopher — or if the philos-
opher is to be ruled out — if any charlatan or quack can discover
a way by which temptation can be resisted or character can be
formed except in the presence of temptation, he will be a world's
wonder. The problem was beyond Omniscience and Omnipo-
tence."

Drunkards are to blame for their excess, not the person sell-
ing the liquor ; nor the law which fails to suppress it ; drinkers
create the saloon by their demand for it. The one way to dimin-
ish the liquor traffic is to diminish the demand. Intemperance
is in the man, not in the whisky. It is not the fallen woman
who is responsible for the social evil, but the men who seek
her. It is not the "keeper of the game" who is responsible
for the evils of gambling but the persons whose demand cre-
ates the game and supports it. It is not the "loan shark" who
is responsible for usury but the persons who seek to pay exces-
sive interest. Those who stray from the strict moral code of
sex are not to blame other influences than their own weakness.
Parents whose children go wrong are to hold responsible noth-
ing else than their own neglect or failure of training. Morally
weak persons who fail to hold themselves erect should pay the
penalty, either in punishment or elimination. ''This poor fellow
can't resist the seductions of drink (October 7, 1887) ; that
poor fellow can't resist the seductions of the painted woman;
the other poor fellow can't resist the seductions of the gaming
table. And all of these poor fellows are a cheap lot, none of
them worth saving and the world would be better without
them." All this was a grim rule of conduct, yet it accorded, he
said, with the world's experience. It did not mean that society
was to fail to protect its weak members against the aggressions
of the strong. "But it cannot protect the weak against them-
selves without trenching on the rights of free action (May 24,

Facsimile of writing of Harvey W. Scott. From manuscript of an address
delivered by Mr. Scott at Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo, N. Y., Sept. 25,
1901 (Oregon Day). "The Oregon Country, when my father removed his family
to it, forty-nine years ago, embraced the country from the summit of the Rocky
Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, between the 426 and 4gth parallels of latitude.
It included the whole of three" states of the present day and large parts- of two
more.

REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 185

1904), through which the strong grow stronger and find a
freedom that makes life worth living. ... It remai'ns as
heretofore and will be the law of the life of man to the last
ages, that those who cannot stand the strain and pressure of
moral requirements will perish."

Legislation, he averred, has little effect on morals or charac-
ter. Rum, brandy, whisky, for example, always will exist.
They belong to the domain of human knowledge. To try to
suppress the knowledge is absurd. "All that can be done ra-
tionally is to teach, or try to teach, the error of misuse of them
(May 2, 1909). Restraint of sale is well. Still, however,
there must be left some quantity of choice in the use of them —
even in the abuse of them. This is absolute. It gives the rea-
son why prohibition never can be enforced." Indians of Ore-
gon, before whites came to the country, knew nothing of alco-
holic liquors. "But had they the virtue of 'temperance ?' Not
at all. Though they never got drunk, temperance was a virtue
they did not know. . . . Those who think that by prohibit-
ing liquor they can make men temperate are as absurd as those
who suppose that they can make men honest by never trusting
them with anything they can steal. Moral strength is created
only by allowing liberty of choice between right and wrong;
by marking the difference between right use of a thing and
actual abuse of it. All other miseries in the world are insignifi-
cant as compared with those that attend abuse of the sexual
function. But does the genuine reformer endeavor to abolish
the sexual relation ? Rather does he not insist that one of the
chief duties of life is to refrain from abuse of it?" (September
2, 1889.)

Often the critics of Mr. Scott urged that since the law for-
bids theft and murder, makes their acts crimes and punishes
them with severity, the law can also forbid liquor selling, make
it a crime, and enforce penalties for its violation. Mr. Scott
replied that murder and theft are crimes per se and so regarded
the world over ; but liquor selling is sanctioned by public opinion
because men recognize a proper and sober use of liquors. Re-
form of vice, in the Editor's view, rests with those who have

186 LESLIE M. SCOTT

the training of youth ; with those who can exert personal and
social influence to put vice under the ban. Virtue must have
its growth from within; cannot be enforced from without.
Training, if not in the home, is impossible. Mr. Scott depre-
cated the modern habit of shifting this duty to the state. "All
the duties of society (December 11, 1907), all the duties of the
State as the authoritative expression of the means and meas-
ures necessary for the regulation of society are of little import-
ance in proportion to the duties of parenthood ; for everything
depends on the watchfulness of parents and on their right care
and direction of the children for whom they are responsible."
He always resented ecclesiastical control or discipline of pri-
vate conduct, resisted the pratings of "pharasaic and charlatan
proprietors of civic virtue" and of revivalist reformers, drew
distinctions between innocent pleasures (as on Sunday) a'nd
theocratic condemnation of such pleasures as vices ; decried the
efforts of Pinchbeck or Puritan moralists, rebuffed "shrieky
preachers" who sought to force their sensational ideas on him
or on the public. His was a middle course between the ex-
tremes of vice and the extremes of reform, a course which he
deemed practicable and therefore sensible.

INDIVIDUALISM IN INDUSTRY

Most important of all parental teaching for the youth is that
of work and concentration, wrote the Editor often. Industry is
first among the influences of right living. Constant labor, ap-
plied to intelligent purpose, opens the way to good practices
and closes the paths of evil; also it trains to self-denial and
self-control. "This self-denial of which so many are impatient
(April 7, 1899) is no new doctrine; it contains a universal
principle that can never be suspended; the exercise of it is,
always has been, always must be, a fundamental condition of
success in human life."

Mr. Scott was ever driving home the lesson that there is no
considerable success without great labor and they who decline
the labor have no right to expect the results that come only
through labor. Young people are not to shun even drudgery,

REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 187

for it is the price of success and worth the price. "Voluntary
hard labor has always had a hard name among those not willing
to undergo it (April 7, 1899). 'Improbus' it was called far
back — an expression not translatable as applied to labor, in
accord with the ideas of the modern world. It is common
enough to say that success is not worth such extreme effort;
which would be true enough, if only material objects were con-
sidered, but the full exercise of every man's powers is due to
himself and due to the world, subordinate always to the rule
of right. The one thing that needs iteration is that no success
can rightfully be effected without payment of the price for it
in labor and conduct." Moreover, "the young man who is to
get on in the world (September 6, 1904) 'needs to work the
most days and the most hours he can — not the fewest. There
never will be reversal nor suspension of this rule. The few
who observe it will get on, will get ahead. The many who
neglect it will be servants while they live." Men's duty seldom
permits them to choose their occupations. If every man could
have the work he delights in doing, much work would go un-
done. Labor is the only means to happiness ; efforts to escape
it end miserably ; physical comfort does not always lead to vir-
tue ; there is no reward for idlers ; economy is a very great
revenue ; government can do little to "help" its people or pro-
vide them work; no man need suffer poverty in the bountiful
opportunities Oregon affords ; self-help is the only means of
escape from the wages system — such were frequent themes in
Mr. Scott's editorial discussions.

No rules for getting on in the world are worth much, beyond
the rules that inculcate the homely and steady virtues. "All else
will be controlled largely by circumstance (January 28, 1910).
A man of fair abilities, good judgment and powers of unceas-
ing application, may become moderately successful in any line
of effort to which he turns his attention. But sobriety, pru-
dence, industry and judgment must attend him every day of his
life." A year earlier, January 7, 1909 : "Attention to business,
whether it be sweeping out and making fires in a little store or
shop or helping to load coal on a freight engine, will land one

188 LESLIE M. SCOTT

at the top — but the three simple words at the beginning of the
sentence cover a multitude of things that the average boy
slights as not worth bothering himself about." As for college
education: "Everything is in the man; little in the school
(July 5, 1909). If it is in the mah it will work its way out —
school or no school. Talent is irrepressible. It will find its way.
If it hasn't energy to find its way, it will accomplish little from
all the boosting it may receive." Thus the Editor summarized
his slight faith in "easy" education. Again : "Boys and girls !
You've got to work, and your school will help mighty little.
The less help you have the stronger you'll be — if there's any-
thing in you. If there's nothing in you, the game isn't worth
the candle. But you must try."

Mr. Scott's own rule of life, his own self-examination and
fortitude of character are indicated in this analysis of what true
worth is, as distinguished from wealth or station or intellectual
capacity (April 7, 1899) :

"A man's greatness lies not in wealth or station, as the vul-
gar believe, nor yet in intellectual capacity, which often is asso-
ciated with the meanest character, the most abject servility to
those in high places and arrogance to the poor and lowly ; but a
man's true greatness lies in the consciousness of an honest pur-
pose in life, founded on a just estimate of himself and every-
thing else, oh frequent self-examination — for Socrates has not
been superseded on this topic nor ever will be — and on a steady
obedience to the rule that he knows to be right, without troub-
ling himself very much about what others may think or say or
whether they do or do not do that which he thinks and says and
does. The prime principle in man's constitution is the social ;
but independent character is the rational check upon its ten-
dency to deception, error and success."

Devotion to truth was a vital corollary to his moral theorem
of industry. "The straight path," he often said, "is the old and
only way." On March 25, 1905 : "The only security one has,
or can have, when he enters the world of activity and of strife
and struggles with it, is in keeping faith with his ideals. Star-
vation, with virtue, after all, is not likely to happen. But
shame, failure, vexation, disappointment, remorse and death

REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 189

are the proper consequences of life, without ideals of virtue and
duty. There are resources in decency and virtue and right liv-
mg, that are sure. To these resources, loose, vicious and idle
lives never can pretend. If the straight way is not the primrose
path, it certainly is the only safe one."

XIV SOCIALISM: ANALYSIS OF ITS DOCTRINES

The motives spurring the Editor against the oncoming hosts
of paternalism already have been outlined in this article. He
thought the rising power of collectivism and comrmmism, un-
less checked by later forces, ultimately would submerge the
energetic, the thrifty members of society. Immediately it was
bringing vastly extended functions of government, multiplied
office-holders and "free" enjoyments for the masses that pay
little or no part of the expense in taxes and that control taxa-
tion through non-propertied suffrage. Socialism, he defined as
the negation of all private property, since equality is the essence
of all its doctrines; as "the growing disposition to substitute
communism for individualism, an increasing desire to use the
State as a vehicle for support of the thriftless, by levying upon
the accumulation of the thrifty ; an increasing antagonism to the
man who through patience, energy and self-denial, accumulates,
and an increasing encouragement to the incompetent to rely
upon society as a whole for sustenance and even entertainment"
(April 15, 1901). Again: "It implies that industry, prudence,
temperance and thrift should divide their earnings with indo-
lence, stupidity, imprudence, intemperance and consequent pov-
erty" (March 10, 1892). Once more: "It means that the
state, or the community in general, is to be the collective owner
of all the instruments of production and transport — by instru-
ments meaning all things requisite, including land, to produce
and to circulate commodities. That is to say, the state is to own
all things which economists call capital — all the land, all fac-
tories, workshops, warehouses, machinery, plant, appliances,
railways, rolling stock, ships, etc." (July 9, 1895).

This definition excited hostile criticism of varied degree from
socialists, who would flood the editorial table with copious let-

190 . LESLIE M. SCOTT

ters defining socialism each for himself. "Every writer," re-
plied Mr. Scott (April 15, 1901), "has his own definition. Some
go no farther than general opposition to private ownership of
land and productive plants. Some go so far as the platform of
the Social Democratic Party in 1900, which demands public
ownership not only of railroads, telegraphs, telephones, water
works, gas and electric plants and public utilities generally, but
also of all mines, oil and gas wells. Some advocate community
ownership of all desirable things, including women." Mr. Scott
admitted that the negation of the idea of private property is not
the intent of socialism, but averred that such would be the logi-
cal and inevitable result, because no property could be used as a
private source of income and because personal goods would
soon wear out and could not be renewed, since the state would
possess the means of production. Hence, there would be no
way to acquire property beyond the barest means and needs of
living and no person could have more or better things than
his neighbor. "It is astonishing that this scheme to narrow
human life to one type, and that the poorest, should have any
support at all. It would be useless for anyone to make effort,
for he would have nothing to gain for himself and nothing to
leave to descendants" (November 22, 1904). Once when a so-
cialist writer called civilization a "monstrous disease," Mr.
Scott retorted (December 17, 1907) : "It may be supposed the
writer never saw uncivilized conditions, such, for example, as
those in which the tribes of Clatsop and Puget Sound lived, in
the former day. That state of life seemed to be a real disease."

SPREAD OF GOVERNMENTAL FUNCTION

We cannot epitomize the whole range of argument which Mr.
Scott employed against socialism, nor does space permit. His
articles on this ramified subject cover more than thirty years.
He knew he could stop the then forward march of the idea not
at all nor retard it even slightly. It would have to run its course,
he said. In concrete practice, Mr. Scott resisted the idea in its
continuous enlargement of governmental function. He declared
that public ownership of complicated utilities, such as lighting

REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 191

plants, street car lines, would prove more costly than in private
hands under government regulation; that extension of higher
education to make it "free" and "easy" injured the recipients of
its so-called benefits, absolved parents from their due obliga-
tions and youth from helpful striving ; that "free" libraries, hos-
pitals and many other "free" luxuries fostered official extrava-
gance bred officials and taxed the most energetic citizens for
benefit of those of lesser merit ; that worst of all it taught the
habit of "lying down on the government" and ''making the
state pay." "Government cannot compel the energetic few to
do very much for the improvident many" (June 7, 1909). "If
pushed very far, the result will be continual and rapid diminu-
tion of the energetic few and increase of the improvident many."
Again on June 20, 1904: "The dream of 'social justice' never
will do anything for him who depends on it. He should quit
that dream, take the first job he can get and stick to it till he
can make it the stepping stone to another and better. Then
he will find no theory of 'social justice' of any interest to him."
An earlier article, November 18, 1889, remarked: "No man
has ever yet risen to prosperity by croaking and grumbling and
spending his time in trying to discover reasons for the supposi-
tion that society is organized to keep him down." As for spread
of governmental function (February 1, 1901) : "Nobody can
look out for himself any more. He is no longer able to cut his
beard without superintendence by the state or to buy butter
for his table or to protect his fruit from winged or creeping
pests or his flocks from wild beasts. No one now thinks of
doing anything for his own education ; and the citizen puts up
an incessant demand for enlargement of the functions of the
state in all conceivable ways, so he may 'get a job,' in which
the duty is but nominal and the salary secure." The great
source of trouble was too much ignorant and irresponsible vot-
ing of taxes and governmental extravagance by citizens who
did not feel the burdens thereby imposed on property. For this
reason — and this reason chiefly — Mr. Scott stood opposed to
woman suffrage — which would double, or more than double,
he said, this sort of voters. Government and property, he as-
serted, were too much harassed by such voters already.

192 LESLIE M. SCOTT

SINGLE TAX ON LAND

Land socialism — "single tax" — Mr. Scott treated in ways
similar to other doctrines of communism, as a scheme of its ad-
vocates to prey upon propertied neighbors through authority of
government. His writings on this subject extended over
twenty-four years. They contain the full argument against
the theories of Henry George and his later followers. A char-
acteristic excerpt of his criticism is the following (July 20,
1909):

"Our Henry George aspostles or disciples, the single-taxers,
who call themselves the landless poor, will not rush off into any
of the new districts, where land is offered practically free and
settle down and work in solitude and contentment, as others
did aforetime to establish themselves and their families. No,
indeed ! They wish to seize the fruits of the labor and privation
and waiting and life-long effort and industry of others — by
throwing all taxes on land values and making the land ob-
tained by the pioneers, through their early efforts and life-long
constancy — valueless to them. Here, in the new aspect are
the modern Huns and Vandals. * * * These people don't
wish to work, are unwilling to work, as others have done
aforetime. They think it easier and therefore preferable to
prey on society and rob others — covering their operations with
assertions of justice and forms of law."

XV EVILS OF LARGE WEALTH

Evils of excessive wealth, glaring as they were and intol-
erable, were not to be remedied, said Mr. Scott, by the social-
istic regime. He considered the propaganda formidable chiefly
as "part of the attack on vast evils that must be cured or
abated" (November 12, 1906). Not forever would the people
allow themselves to be plundered by trust combinations. "Such
transactions in themselves and in their results, are all immoral.
They are on a level with the transactions of the slave trade;
and their fortunes have the same basis (April 7, 1905)." It
was a lazy complacency which assumed that the masses of the

/ft

GEORGE H. WILLIAMS AND HARVEY W. SCOTT

AT LEWIS AND CLARK FAIR GROUNDsjAT PORTLAND IN MAY, 19O4. JUDGE
WILLIAMS WAS 81 YEARS OF AGE, MR. SCOTT 66 YEARS

REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 193

people should submit to these exactions and yield to the "stream
of tendency." Colossal combinations organized for such busi-
ness are inconsistent with principles of social and individual
freedom. "Our people will not believe that the long upward
struggle of the civilized world for centuries, tending ever to
greater freedom of the individual, larger sense of personal
dignity and independence, is to be arrested now or to end now
in the economic overlordship of a few and the contented ac-
ceptance by all the rest, of such favors in the form of char-
ities or educational endowments as these few may see fit to
bestow." July 18, 1903.) And the system of perpetuating
vast fortunes by inheritance made the evils worse. These
estates should be broken up, he said, not be permitted to solidify
into permanent institutions. The power of transmitting such
estates was sure to be limited. And there should be abolition
of protective tariff — greatest agency of special privilege; also
close regulation of avenues of transport and carriage. Social-
ism or social democracy was unthinkable, as a remedy. It
would be inconsistent with individual freedom and personal
dignity ; an economic impossibility ; a despotism. "Great
wealth" could be regulated under existing institutions and
forms of law. The whole system of private property should
not be destroyed in the effort to eradicate the parasite.

XVI THE "OREGON SYSTEM"

In 1904 the initiative and referendum became operative in
Oregon and in 1905 the direct primary. The method of direct
legislation and direct nomination became known as the "Oregon
system." In successive elections the "system" was actively
employed. Mr. Scott was its boldest critic. He was widely
urged to turn the system to his own use to elect himself United
States Senator in 1906-08. These urgings were so numerous
and came from such substantial sources that they convinced
his friends he could make a successful contest for the office.
But they could not move him to approve the system ; it was
destructive of party and of the representative and cohesive
forces of government. He would not pose as a seeker of any

194 LESLIE M. SCOTT

office, however high, against his convictions. He predicted
that the system would break up the Republican party then
dominant in registration by large majority and would elect
Democrats to the chief offices. His predictions were amply
verified, for Oregon has two Democratic Senators at the Na-
tional Capitol and a Democratic Governor, whereas Republican
registered voters have outnumbered Democratic in the state
during eight years past by more than three to one. He asserted
that the "Oregon system" was reversion to pure democracy
and destructive of the centralizing and nationalizing institu-
tions of representative government.

Mr. Scott directed his heaviest batteries against "Statement
One" — a pledge required of candidates for the Legislature,
binding them to elect the "people's choice" for United States
Senator, of the general election. The Editor scored this pledge
as disruptive of party, as an instrument of petty factionalism,
and false pretenses, as a "trap" to force Republican Legislators
to elect Democratic Senators against their own political convic-
tions and agamst heavy Republican majorities on national
issues. By this "trap" Mr. Chamberlain was elected Senator
in 1909 and Mr. Lane in 1913, both Democrats. "Statement
One" is now eliminated by amendment to the national constitu-
tion for electioh of Senators by popular vote — which Mr. Scott
often urged both as an escape from Oregon's troublesome
method and from the evil methods in other states. "The
election should be placed by the constitution directly in the
hands of the people of each of the states, without intervention
of the Legislature thereof (January 27, 1908). It is one of the
absolute needs of our government." Statement One certainly
proved itself a destructive instrument to Republican unity and
a boon to Democrats.

As for direct primaries, Mr. Scott conceded their benefits
in eradicating the "boss" and the "machine" convention, but
held up the evils — such as, loss of leadership of strongest meto,
plurality rule of parties and their resultant disintegration;
elimination of purposeful party effort; false registration of
members of party; spites and revenges of factionalism; bold

REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 195

self-seeking of candidates for office. Mr. Scott's remedy was
an adjustment between the old and the new systems — party
conventions prior to primaries, the platform and candidates of
the former to be submitted to the latter. This plan he was
urging at the time of his death. It was rejected in the sub-
sequent election by defeat of the convention candidates. It
may be remarked in passing that even the original advocates
of direct primaries in Oregon are not all favorable to continu-
ance of the system. They admit the unsatisfactory results and
now urge "preference voting," whereby primaries would be
abolished and nominations and elections consolidated.

Mr. Scott objected not so much to the referendum as to the
initiative. Both,, he pointed out, were designed for occasional
or emergency use, but the initiative had opened the way to
innovators, faddists and agitators, who took the opportunity
to inflict their notions upon legislation at every election. The
initiative, open as in Oregon to such small percentage of
electors, was leading to visionary extremes and — what was
most serious — to unequal taxation. It was a menace to political
peace and security which could not be long tolerated by con-
servative elements of the people. It was supplanting repre-
sentative government — the best known method of democratic
cohesion and safest means of protection for property. It was
superseding the old Oregon constitution — a wisely framed
instrument. It was reverting to "pure democracy" which his-
tory had proved inferior to republican form of government.
"Representative government is the only barrier between an-
archy and despotic monarchy. The whole people cannot take
the time nor give themselves the trouble to examine every
subject or every question. The Polish Diet or Parliament
consisted of 70,000 Knights on horseback. There was no
sufficient concentration of authority. The consequence, need-
less to say, is that Poland as a nation, long ago ceased to exist.
It was the same in Ireland. There was no concentration, no
centralization of authority, under representative government.
There was too much 'primary law/ Ireland, therefore, is
not a nation, except in aspiration, forever unrealizable." An-

196 LESLIE M. SCOTT

other excerpt, June 5, 1908 : "The popular initiative, so-called,
is not a proceeding of representative government. On the
contrary, its distinct purpose is to substitute direct government
by democracy, for representative or republican government.
One of its evils is that it affords no opportunity for discussion,
amendment, or modification of its propositions before their
final adoption." Party, in the Editor's view, was the most
perfect method of carrying out the popular will. "No man,
in a democracy, ever yet succeeded in any wide field of political
endeavor except through the agency of party. . . . It is
common with young persons to lay claim to non-partisan in-
dependence. The notion seldom, perhaps never, holds them
through life. Experience in the long run, dissipates the view
arid judgment prescribes a more effective course of action."
(June 29, 1907.) At this time it was a political fad of many
to decry party and assert "independence." The large revolt
from the Republican party was made even more disastrous by
the scattering influence of direct primaries. The "Oregon
system," the Editor thought, might have protracted duration,
but he felt certain that experience with it would convince the
public of need of modification so as to preserve the repre-
sentative system of lawmaking and of party organization.

"Though The Oregonian does not expect the initiative and
referendum to be abandoned wholly, it does expect considerable
modification of them in time, because such modification will
become absolutely necessary to relieve the strain put on our
system of government by this fantastical method." (July 21,
1909.)

Ought citizens, he asked, who would defend the orderly prog-
ress of society, be thus compelled to stand guard to prevent
ravishment of the constitution and the laws by groups of hobby-
ists and utopists who have nothing to do but sharpen their
knives against society and its rational peace?

"Democracy nowhere yet has ever succeeded except through
representative methods. In this way only ca'n it bring its best
men forward. Democracy makes the greatest of its mistakes
when it sets aside the representative principle. It deprives itself

REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 197

of its most potent method of action. It cuts off deliberation.
It makes democracy merely a turbulent mob." (October 24,
1909.) "Radical and revolutionary methods, reversing first prin-
ciples of government and opposed to human experience through
methods of innovation, are not methods of reform." (July 6,
1909.) 'The whole of this modern scheme of setting aside con-
stitution and laws and of forcing legislation without debate or
opportunity of amendment, turns out badly because it gives the
cranks of the country an opportunity which they have not self-
restraint to forego." (Feb. 18, 1908.) "To say this is not
to dispute nor to question the right of the people to self-gov-
ernment. But all cannot study all questions. Modern life
depends o'n adjustment of the results of experience, or science,
in innumerable departments, to new and growing needs. Here
now is the opportunity, here is the need of representative gov-
ernment as never before. The people are to rule but they should
delegate their power to those whom they deem the most com-
petent to do the things wanted. O'nly thus can they get results.
Representatives betray the people less than many suppose.
There is danger of such betrayal, undoubtedly, for the repre-
sentative may not be much wiser than his constituency nor
always honest. But the people ought to be able to protect them-
selves by exercise of care in the selection of their representa-
tives." (May 16, 1909.) "In all this there is bo distrust of
the people. On the contrary, it is simple insistence that the
people have the right to the best service that their deliberation
and their suffrage can command." (Sept. 10, 1909.)

Direct primaries, said the Editor, negatived the representa-
tive method in party and election, just as the initiative and ref-
erendum did in legislation. Though hot so fundamentally dan-
gerous they made their evil seen in destruction of rational
political effort and of deliberation ; in spites and revenges of
factionalism ; in elimination of men of character, independence,
distinction, and: ability ; in election of men of ambitious medioc-
rity, who never could obtain consideration under any system
that was representative. "Under restraints of the party system,
there never could have been such profligagcy in the Legisla-

198 LESLIE M. SCOTT

ture, such excesses in the appropriation bills, such creation of
additional and useless offices and increase of salaries as are
witnessed now." (Feb. 20, 1909.) The new system repudiated
leadership, threw leadership to the winds. "It suppresses every
man who occupies a place of influence in parties — especially
in the majority party. The object is to get rid of all men of
energy and talents; and it succeeds; to cast out and trample
down every man who has superior powers of persuasion and
combination/' (April 6, 1909.) "The attempt to make party
nominations without some guide to representative party action
always will be a blunder/' (Sept. 14, 1909.)

Mr. Scott fought the onward rush of the "system" with the
old-time courage that had nerved him against many another
movement. But this was a struggle which he knew he would
not live to see won. His life span was too short. But with
the vision of a prophet he looked forward to a time when, after
the strife's fury and passion had spent, the foundation principle
of republican government would again prove itself triumphant.

XVII LOCAL CONTROVERSIES: RAILROAD DISPUTES

As aggressive editor and leader of public opinion,
Mr. Scott found himself forced into many local political con-
tests in the course of his long life. He entered these struggles
hot at all with belligerent desires, but because he had to uphold
principles and policies, many of them of national scope, against
persons who were setting up local opposition. His attitude
on home political issues was always conditioned by the nation-
wide interest, when he thought that interest involved. This
method of his was often misconstrued and falsely represented.
On the issue of sound money, for example, he attacked friend
and foe without quarter, unceasingly and everywhere, in local
and general elections, who advocated "fiat money." And
it is probable that many of his enemies took up the silver idea
in personal antagonism to Mr. Scott.

Early railroad projects in Oregon engendered political feuds
of very bitter intensity. First of these was the fight between

REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 199

the East Side and the West Side companies (Willamette
Valley) in 1869-70. Mr. Scott took no part in the political
fight, urged both projects as needed by the public, but recog-
nised the East Side company (Ben Holladay's15) as equipped
with funds to build, whereas, the West Side company (Joseph
Gaston's) had little or no financial backing. In 1870 occurred
the fight to determine whether the southern connections of
Holladay's road should be via Rogue River or via Eastern
and Southern Oregon from Eugene. On account of the large
interests of Rogue River, which otherwise would have no rail-
road connection, the line was routed that way through influ-
ence of Senator George H. Williams. Mr. Scott supported the
policy of Senator Williams. The Oregon Legislature, by
joint resolution in September, 1870, demanded the Rogue
River route.16

A longer contest was that over the Northern Pacific land
grant in Washington Territory, lasting a decade after
1877. The Northern Pacific had located its route to Puget
Sound and claimed, under act of Congress, its land grant
thither, to be earned by construction of its line. Financial
difficulties delayed construction ; meanwhile enemies of the road,
supposed to be prompted by rival Union Pacific interests, were
clamoring for completion of the Northern Pacific, otherwise,
they demanded that its land grant be forfeited and a substitute
grant be allowed for a rival route connecting the Columbia
River with the Union Pacific at Salt Lake. This competing
effort was headed by Senator Mitchell and W. W. Chapman.17
But the Northern Pacific was too strong m Congress to be
dislodged. Mr. Scott contended that the Northern Pacific
should be afforded every advantage to complete its road (at
one time the company agreed to build the Columbia River
route) ; that the people of Oregon should not quarrel over two

15 Ben Holladay opened the first period of railroad construction in Oregon in
1869. He was succeeded in 1876 by Henry Villard. Holladay came to Oregon in
1868; died at Portland July 8, 1887. "Holladay's Addition," in Portland, was
named for him.

16 Session laws for 1870, pp. 179-80.

17 William Williams Chapman, born at Clarksburg, Va., Aug. n, 1808; died
at Portland Oct. 18, 1892. Came to Oregon 1847, to Portland 1849, in which year
he became one of the proprietors of Portland townsite and one of its most ener-
getic citizens.

200 LESLIE M. SCOTT

railroads when they had neither, but should help the one offer-
ing them the more practicable and the earlier connections ; that
the Northern Pacific was that one ; that, moreover, its interests
were those of the North, as Oregon's were ; that while Oregon
needed the Union Pacific, too, it should not play the uncertainty
of that route against the certainty offered by the Northern line.
Subsequent events sustained this view ; the Northern Pacific
was opened to Portla'nd in 1883, and the rival Union Pacific the
next year.

MORTGAGE TAX

Taxation of credits was an active issue in Oregon during
the decade 1883-93. During most of the period the state was
struggling with a law taxing mortgages. This law (enacted
1882; repealed 1893) attempted to tax land mortgages at the
same rate as the land, in their proportions of value. It had
disastrous effect on credit, made high rates of interest, with-
held capital from the state and imposed undue taxes ori debt-
free land owners. These evils were foretold by Mr. Scott
before enactment of the law and he finally saw public senti-
ment change to hostility toward such tax. Of similar sort was
the popular fallacy after the Civil War, of demanding taxa-
tion of government bonds. Mr. Scott combatted this idea
frequently.

HIGH COST LIVING

It also fell to his lot, in the last five years of his life, to
combat popular fallacies of "high prices." "Cost of living"
greatly increased, following high tide of prosperity in 1900-05.
Among the causes ascribed was large gold production. In
Mr. Scott's view, the chief cause was enlargement or excess
of credit ; with credit reformed, after the inflation period, prices
would fall. A second influence making high prices, he said,
was extravagance in government, following socialistic demands
for wider governmental activities. A third was shortage of
food-production, due to overplus of population outside such
duties, chiefly in cities. "Let those who complain about high

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REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 201

prices of the necessaries of life get into the country and raise
wheat and pigs and potatoes. Then they, too, will want high
prices for everything that grows out of the soil." (June 6,
1909.) A fourth was general organization of means of dis-
tribution yielding excessive profits. A fifth was the general
extravagance of living, use of costly food and clothing and
luxurious habits. "They say the times are changed, and we
can get all these things and must have them. Very well, then ;
but don't complain about the increased cost of living." (De-
cember 20, 1909.) The Editor took such occasions to recall his
readers to economical ways of life, telling them simplicity would
reduce the high cost of living. "Population has outrun the
proportional production of food. Food comes from the land
and men and women don't like to work on the farm." (De-
cember 2, 1909.)

XVIII ETHICS OF JOURNALISM

Mr. Scott wrote on the ethical and moral side of many activ-
ities ; nor did he neglect that side of his profession. And in an
exposition of his opinions, it may be in keeping to note his
cardinal ideas on the work of an editor or newspaper publisher.
He called himself editor rather than journalist, for the latter
name affected refinements that were alien to his char-
acter. His conception of an editor or publisher was one who
was free from all alliances, political and commercial, that might
trammel his service to the public as purveyor of intelligence.
With such alliances, the publisher or editor could not command
the public confidence nor exercise the influence on public
opinion that a newspaper must have to be a virile force in a
community. Independence, he said, is required of a news-
paper, by the public, probably more than any other business.
In 1909, when Mr. Scott declined the Mexican ambassadorship,
tendered by President Taft, he was asked his reasons by a
newspaper reporter in an Eastern city. He replied :

"I did not wish to tangle my newspaper with politics. . . .
I am convinced that the ownership or editorship of a news-

202 LESLIE M. SCOTT

paper is incompatible with political ambition. The people will
not tolerate the idea of a man's pushing himself through his
own paper, and they are right about that. The publisher who
would produce a newspaper which has lasting character and in-
fluence must have an absolutely free hand. His independence
must be maintained. He must stay out of associations that take
from his newspaper interest. . . . The object and purpose
of a newspaper is full and independent publicity and a person
interested in other lines of business, in railroads, banks, manu-
facturing or anything of an industrial character, would better
stay out of the newspaper business. If a man is engaged in
the industries I have named, and also owns a newspaper, he is
constantly beset by his associates to keep out of print this or
that article of news or to shade news so it will not be unfavor-
able to the particular business in which friendly parties or
associates are interested. They will ask that the matter which
might be annoying or unfavorable, be suppressed or that it be
presented in a way that will not carry the whole truth. . . .
The long and short of it is that the newspaper publisher must
not have friends who have such a hold on him that his inde-
pendence is endangered."

A newspaper that sells its support or favor to a candidate
for ah issue for money, Mr. Scott declared, corruptly bargains
away its independence, lowers the tone of journalism, and
injures the public service. A successful newspaper must be
independent of political party, yet use a political party, on
occasion, for carrying an important issue. As an auxiliary to
schemes of capitalists a newspaper becomes disreputable and
never succeeds. "Money may be at command in abundance,
but invariably it is found that money can't make such a news-
paper 'go' (April 22, 1905)." And on December 27, 1897:
"The true newspaper, that earns its support in a legitimate
way, whose business is conducted for its own sake alone, that
never hires itself out to anybody for any purpose, accepts no
subsidies, gratuities or bribes, but holds fast at all times to
the principles and practices of honorable journalism, can alone
command confidence." Once more, March 15, 1879: "A great
journal is a universal news gatherer, a universal truth teller.
It cannot afford to have any aims which are inconsistent with
its telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,
let the truth wound or help whom it may."

REVIEW OF WRITINGS OF H. W. SCOTT 203

Guided by these ideas, it may be seen that Mr. Scott was
devoted wholly to the newspaper business and to none other
even in slightest measure. This policy was the source of his
influence. He was able to fight silver coinage in 1896 with
success because he and the newspaper of which he was editor
were free; otherwise he could not have made the fight, for it
diminished greatly the business of the newspaper and made
heavy losses. "It is an organ of intelligence (September 20,
1883), rather than of personal opinion that it is of the greatest
importance that the press should be free." Mr. Scott realized
fully that "old style" journalism was passing — opinion jour-
nalism, of Greeley's, Dana's, Watterson's — and that the "neu-
tral" was taking its place ; the kind that informs and entertains
and lets the reader draw his own conclusions. The "fighting
newspaper" was disappearing, he said. Mr. Scott made the
confession although his was the "fighting" kind. "Journalism
is a progressive science that must adapt itself to form and
fashiori and spirit, like everything else" (January 13, 1908.)

Ideals should not blind an editor or a publisher to practical
needs of journalism as a business ; in fact, the ideal newspaper
was not practicable nor attainable. "It would be high-priced;
it would have, therefore, but few readers; it would not have
money enough to get the news, pay its writers and do its work.
Advertisements are the basis of all modern journalism and
the best newspapers are those which have greatest income from
advertisements." (October 24, 1906.) Therefore money-
making must be the first object — yet legitimate money-making.
Such revenue must come from advertisements and they should
be of the right kind. A newspaper cannot be run for senti-
merital or theoretical purpose, yet cannot wholly ignore require-
ments of the public in that direction. A judicious newspaper-
man continually adjusts his course between the two necessities.
And in matter of news, the editor is dependent dn public de-
sires ; he cannot follow his own volitions iri publishing daily
events. A strong newspaper must cover all news, within
decent limits, that varied classes of readers demand, even
including prize fight "stories." That is to say, the press is

204 LESLIE M. SCOTT

controlled by public taste and can influence public taste dnly
in small degree. "It is not wholly a missionary enterprise nor a
pursuit of martyrdom. The editor cannot afford to make up
a paper solely for his own reading or to be read in heaven,
and he is subject to the influence of the commo'n observation
that the mass of readers have not the habit of thought or of
mental application to read of those things that tax the powers
of the mind, or that bring any real benefit." (January 14,
1881.)

Newspaper work is, therefore, a business of complications
and adjustments. The editor or publisher who abides by his
ideals as closely as possible, and yet conducts a strong news-
paper is very rare. The success of Mr. Scott was a measure
of his greatness of mind and purpose. It was his fortune to
have the co-operation of two able partners, Henry W. Corbett,18
who during many years was a large shareholder in the busi-
ness, and Henry L. Pittock, who later acquired Mr. Corbett's
share and became controlling owner. Without this support
Mr. Scott knew his long success as editor of The Oregonian
would have been impossible; and he valued above all other
energies in the upbuilding of The Oregonian those of Mr. Pit-
tock as publisher and manager of the business, without whom,
as he often said, The Oregonian would have been insignificant
or would have succumbed.

XIX CONCLUSION

This brings to the conclusion of this article, but by no means
to the end of the subject. For the topics that could be dis-
cussed here, of the newspaper work of Mr. Scott, would ex-
pand to any length. He gave his writing all the energies of his
life and the output was extremely varied in its subject matter,
large in its aggregate. Much of importance has been omitted
from mention here, yet the foregoing outline follows the main
currents of his editorial activity. It was Mr. Scott's lifelong
desire — and the wish was one of pioneer sentiment — to serve
the people of the Pacific Northwest always with the best
thought that was his to give and to have a place, after he was
gone, in the appreciation of his readers.

18 Henry Winslow Corbett, born Westboro, Mass., Feb. 18, 1827; died
Portland March 31, 1903. United States Senator 1867-73. President Lewis and
Clark Exposition 1902-3.

HARVEY W. SCOTT

By William P. Perkins

Now rests the hand that held the trenchant pen,

While from the hearts alike of friend and foe

Spring words of tribute — words that fire the soul

With deep determination so to live

As he has lived, to die as he has died,

In all the glory of his master mind,

Effulgent to the end, without regret,

Serene in faith, that in that upper world

What here seem shadows, there will glow with light,

And all life's mysteries will stand revealed.

My brothers, it is good to live — to feel

Within our coursing veins the fire of life —

But, better still, to die, if, when we go,

In farmhouse, miner's hut, and city street,

Men speak our names in praise, because we strove

Not for ourselves, but for our fellow man.

And he who lived, think not of him as gone,

But rather that his spirit lives and moves

Among us yet, still urging us to strive

For high achievement, for the pregnant life

That comes to him who toils. In years to come,

More lasting than the deeply graven stone

Upreared above the portals of the pile

That, rising heavenward, his labor marks,

Will be the influence of his strong life

That strove for right, that yielded not to wrong.

And oft at night, amid the flaring lights

And swiftly-moving presses' mighty roar,

When eager, sweating men shall proudly toil

To give the world his living monument,

All spent with mighty task, someone will say :

"The Master would have had it thus" ; and so

Shall labor on in love, with high desire

To render his full mead of tribute sure.

We cannot choose the page ; for life's brief span

Marks not the end. The glowing peri may rust

And echo only answer to our call ;

But still his soul lives on, and all the good

He did on earth shall multiply for aye.

Step up, bold spirit, you have heard the Voice

That stirred your soul as with a martial strain ;

Well done, brave Patriot, rest you here a while.

Salem, Oregon, August 12, 1910.

TRIBUTES TO MR. SCOTTS ACHIEVEMENTS
IN JOURNALISM

Newspaper editors, throughout the United States, after Mr.
Scott's death, August 7, 1910, published tributes to his career
in journalism. These appreciations show the universal ad-
miration with which fellow members of the craft regarded him.
So numerous were these expressions that their reprint would
require a publication of large dimensions. A few of them are
subjoined to show the widespread sentiment as to the Oregon
Editor.

New York Tribune: Mr. Scott was an editor who put his
personality into the journal which he directed and made it a
force to be reckoned with in Oregon life. He was a builder and
a counsellor whose services will be greatly missed.

American Review of Reviews : In the death of Harvey W.
Scott, American journalism lost one of its ablest and most virile
leaders.

Brooklyn Eagle: The journalism of the Pacific Coast has
had no superior and probably no equal to him. The journalism
of the United States has had few who were more successful
and none who were more respected.

New York Editor and Publisher : He left a splendid legacy
of ideals to the profession of journalism. He made the Port-
land Oregonian one of the great newspapers of the nation.

Indianapolis Star: The newspaper profession never had a
finer, braver, truer toiler in its ranks. To its duties he brought
full knowledge of the lore of antiquity, profound mastery of
history, intimate acquaintance with the best literature of all
ages and a style whose simplicity, sublimity and cogency are
matched only in the highest models.

Baltimore News : He was one of the big men of the West.
The esteem in which he was held, the character of the paper he
built up, amply testify to the fact that he fully measured up to
the occasion.

Chicago Record-Herald: A real and vigorous personality
has disappeared from the stage of independent courageous jour-
nalism and national thought.

TRIBUTES TO H. W. SCOTT'S ACHIEVEMENTS 207

Indianapolis News : Mr. Scott made his city known by rea-
son of the force, intelligence and political sense which he put
into his paper.

Minneapolis Tribune: To the Oregon country Mr. Scott
consecrated his life. All the states and cities he saw grow up
in it owe a debt to his labors and his ideals. He built up a
giant newspaper to be its servant in all honest service.

Providence Journal: Harvey W. Scott was one of Amer-
ica's great editors and one of its leading citizens. By sheer
force of his personality and his powerful pen he made himself
the leading figure of the Pacific Coast.

Rochester (N. Y.) Democrat-Chronicle: His force of char-
acter, independence of opinion and courage as the director of a
great journal made him a power in the public affairs of the
country.

Boston Transcript : The death of Harvey W. Scott removes
one of the vigorous personalities of Pacific Coast journalism.

Hartford Courant : Harvey W. Scott was one of the strong
men of the Pacific Slope. His paper was built up by him to be
a mighty power and the reason for its influence was the belief
the readers had in the sincerity and wisdom of its managing
spirit.

Detroit News : To the newspaper readers of Oregon, Wash-
ington and northern California, Mr. Scott was what Greeley
and Dana were to Easterners a generation ago.

Omaha Bee : He was a virile, vigorous, dominant personal-
ity. In the national councils of newspaperdom he stood high
and he leaves a clean, enduring monument in his personal ex-
ample as well as public service.

St. Paul Pioneer Press : He left his personal impress upon
every feature of his paper long after the complex system of
modern newspaper work had made it impossible for any one
man to supervise personally all the details of the daily work.

Springfield (Mass.) Union: His paper has been represen-
tative of the highest ideals of the Pacific Coastland — clean, able
and independent.

Minneapolis Journal : His battle against free silver in 1896
was typical. It was the greatest tribute ever paid to the educa-
tional power of a free newspaper.

208 TRIBUTES TO H. W. SCOTT'S ACHIEVEMENTS

Peoria (111.) Transcript: He made his newspaper the most
powerful on the Pacific Coast.

Peoria (111.) Journal: £Te fully deserves the honors that
Oregon will give him.

Atlanta Constitution : His death removes one of the greatest
American journalists, belonging to the school of Greeley, Ray-
mond and the elder Bennett.

Buffalo Express : Perhaps his most notable achievement of
politics was the holding of Oregon to the gold standard when
all the remainder of the West was crazy for free silver.

Philadelphia Ledger: The death of the venerable Harvey
W. Scott removes one of the most picturesque and by all odds
the most forceful figure in Pacific Coast journalism.

Boston Herald: The ablest, most independent and most
widely quoted of Pacific Coast journals, for many years, has
been the Portland Oregonian. The man, Harvey W. Scott, who
has been responsible for this supremacy, has just died.

Pacific Christian Advocate (Methodist) : Oregon has lost its
most noted and influential citizen. His influence must continue
to be one of the most potent forces ever exercised on this Coast.

Portland Journal: In intellect, journalism has known few
men of equal mould.

Portland Catholic Sentinel : The Northwest loses one of its
most commanding figures. Mr. Scott was one of the last sur-
vivors of the old guard that worked arid protested against the
commercializing process in the daily press.

Melville E. Stone, General Manager Associated Press : The
most efficient American editor of the last quarter of a century.

Tacoma Tribune : He enforced respect for his paper a'nd its
policies by the sincere and dignified manner in which his enunci-
ations were put forth.

Tacoma Ledger: No other man has exerted an influence
equal to that of Harvey W. Scott in upbuilding of the Pacific
Northwest. His many years of service as editor of a great
newspaper have left a lasting impression on our institutions.

Bellingham American: Mr. Scott was a great man in all
the senses of greatness.

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TRIBUTES TO H. W. SCOTT'S ACHIEVEMENTS 209

Tacoma Herald: Few men have swayed the public mind
over as large an area as did Harvey Scott and none has main-
tained a dominance through so long a period by the exercise of
purely intellectual force.

Tacoma News : For some thirty years he was the unques-
tioned oracle of a domain that embraced all of Oregon with
numerous outposts extending as far north as British Columbia,
deep into California, and into the Rocky Mountain region.

Portland Spectator : Oregon has lost its greatest citizen.

Pasadena Star : The Pacific Coast has lost its most conspicu-
ous journalistic figure. He gave his paper a national reputa-
tion.

Sacramento Bee : He was one of the most remarkable men
of the Pacific Coast. His newspaper became known all over the
Union as a leading journal.

Spokane Herald: The Northwest has lost one of the most
powerful editors whom American journalism has known.

Spokane Chronicle : He earned a place among the most hon-
ored and most useful pioneers of the great Northwest.

Spokane Spokesman-Review : He was a mighty pioneer in
molding the thought, the institutions, the career of the Pacific
Northwest in its plastic time.

Seattle Times : Mr. Scott was one of the greatest editors
America has ever produced.

Seattle Post- Intelligencer : The country has lost the last of
its great personal editors.

Seattle Patriarch : His spirit will remain with us as a beacon
light, solacing the old with fond memories and stimulating the
youth by the inspiration of his worthy example.

Seattle Coast: A forceful, honest, fearless pen he wielded.
Beloved by friends and feared by foes he lived. Honored and
respected by all he died.

Seattle Register: The immense influence of his newspaper
over a large section of the country was due to Mr. Scott's won-
derful command of language and the forceful and incisive logic
of his editorials.

210 TRIBUTES TO H. W. SCOTT'S ACHIEVEMENTS

Boise Statesman : He was one of those rugged natures that
are typical of the West. He was a soldier in the army of the
common good and was always found i'n the smoke and grime of
battle.

Butte News: If the history of American journalism is ever
written, Harvey Scott will form the subject of a most interest-
ing chapter.

Los Angeles Times : When Harvey W. Scott passed away
one of the great lights of journalism went out. He was a great
editor in every sense of the word.

San Francisco Argonaut: Mr. Scott woh and held leader-
ship in the intellectual and moral life of Oregon by a fortified
wisdom and by an unshrinking courage. His was the journal-
ism of social responsibility, and of the spirit of statecraft.

Idaho Falls Register : He rose to the top as one of the ablest
and foremost journalists of the world.

Salt Lake Republican : No other editorial writer in the
West, and few, indeed, in the whole country, have been read so
closely as Harvey Scott.

Salt Lake News: American journalism has lost one of its
most brilliant lights. The Oregonian is a monument to his
character.

Salt Lake Telegram : His voice has been the most potent
ever raised within her (Oregon's) borders. He has done more
to shape the character of the state thah any other man.

Salt Lake Tribune : Mr. Scott made himself a power on the
West Coast. The whole country will feel poorer because he is
dead

tVL.

THE QUARTERLY

of the

Oregon Historical Society

VOLUME XIV SEPTEMBER, 1913 NUMBER 3

Copyright, 191 3, by Oregon Historical Society
The Quarterly disavows responsibility for the positions taken by contributors to its pages

LETTER BY DANIEL H. LOWNSDALE TO
SAMUEL R. THURSTON, FIRST TER-
RITORIAL DELEGATE FROM
OREGON TO CONGRESS

Introduction by Clarence B. Bagley

In December, 1912, the writer spent several days in the
rooms of the Oregon Historical Society, in Portland, examin-
ing old manuscripts and newspapers. The collection belonging
to that Society is large and of historic value that but few even
of its own members appreciate.

From 1852 to 1860 our family lived; in and near Salem, it
being the capital of Oregon Territory, where nearly all the
notable people of those early days congregated at some time
of the year; thus their faces and reputations were familiar to
me. The reading of these letters and documents bearing dates
of more than sixty years ago from Joseph Lane, James W. Nes-
mith, Asahel Bush, Matthew P. Deady, et al., brought to my
mind hundreds of incidents of my childhood when these men
and their contemporaries controlled affairs in Old Oregon.

Among these papers and docume'nts were several from
Daniel H. Lownsdale to Samuel R. Thurston, Oregon's first
delegate in Congress. The document presented herewith in the
Quarterly is unsigned, but while reading it the handwriting
seemed familiar and after a careful comparison with letters
a'nd documents signed by Mr. Lownsdale, Mr. George H. Himes
and I, both, by the way, expert in deciphering poor chirography
and in the recognition of individual penmanship, unhesitatingly
pronounced it the work of Mr. Lownsdale.

214 LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON

The paper throws many sidelights upon incidents and con-
ditions existing in those early days and has the greatest value
because of the prominence of the writer.

In a recent letter to me from Mr. Himes, he says: —

"The Diary of Hon. Samuel R. Thurston, beginning No-
vember 29, 1849, and ending on August 28, 1850, relating to
his official duties in Washington, D. C, as Delegate in Con-
gress from Oregon Territory, together with a large number
of letters received by him, principally from his constituents,
were secured from the daughters of Mr. A. W. Stowell, whose
wife was a daughter of Mr. Thurston. Mr. and Mrs. Stowell
died several years since.

"My acquaintance with Mr. Stowell began fully thirty years
ago, but ho reference was ever made to the Thurston material
until about 1903 ; then, learning that he had it in his custody,
I urged him to give it to the Oregon Historical Society, which
he promised to do in the near future. But he failed to do so
during his lifetime. Then I took the matter up with his brother
and through his influence with his nieces the material was
finally secured. I have the diary partly copied. It ought to
go into the Quarterly before long."

The rivalries and disputes between the Americans and the
representatives of the Hudson's Bay Company and between
the missionaries belonging to the several church organizations
began in the late thirties, and are familiar to all students of
Oregon history.

A large American Exploring Expedition visited and sur-
veyed Puget Sound and lower Columbia River waters in 1840-
41, with Lieut. Charles Wilkes at its head. Either he or one
of his trusted lieutenants visited all the American settlements
on both sides of the Cascade mountains and an exhaustive re-
port of the expedition was later printed by the United States
Government. Wilkes was in frequent consultation with the
missionaries and the leading men among the settlers, and later
became the object of most acrimonious criticisms, charging
him with disloyalty to American interests and unwarranted
friendship toward the officers of the Hudson's Bay Company.

LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON 215

For many years it has been a puzzle to me as to the reason
for this antagonism toward Captain Wilkes, as it has ever
seemed to me that he exercised good judgment and sound dis-
cretion at all times in his visits to the Oregon people. The
tone of this document is unfriendly to the extreme of bitter-
ness, which seems to have been caused by the report he made
about the difficulties and dangers attendant upon the naviga-
tion of the Columbia river. There were "townsite boomers"
in those days as well as at the present time, and Mr. Lowns-
dale was easily their leader at that time.

Daniel H. Lownsdale was a native of Kentucky and a descend-
ant of an old southern family. For a time he lived in Indiana,
then went to Georgia, and in 1845 came to Oregon. In his
early manhood he acquired a liberal education and then widened
his knowledge and broadened his views by devoting two years
to travel and study in Great Britain and Continental Europe.

The first to lay claim to land on the site of Portland was
William Overton, of whom little is known. A. L. Lovejoy
is credited with being the first to entertain the idea of making
a city there. He came to Oregon in 1842, and in 1843 or 1844
acquired; an interest in Overton's claim. Francis W. Petty-
grove, who later founded Port Townsend, Washington, soon
acquired the remainder of Overton's interest, and Lovejoy and
Pettygrove began work on the embryo city. Its boundaries
were surveyed, a log cabin was put up in 1844, and in 1845
the original plat of sixteen blocks was laid off. Overton's
cabin, put up in 1843, was merely a shed, open in front.

Oregon City was the first place selected as a townsite in
Oregon. In 1843 Linn City was founded by Robert Moore
on the west bank of the Willamette, opposite Oregon City ; and
Hugh Burns soon after laid off a town below Linn City and
called it Multnomah. In 1843 M. M. McCarver, who founded
Burlington in Iowa, Sacramento in California, and Tacoma in
Washington, together with Peter H. Burnett selected a site a
few miles below Portland and called it Linnton, in remem-
brance of Senator Li'nn, of Missouri, one of Oregon's earliest
and most influential friends during its formative period. In

216 LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON

1846 Captain Nathaniel Crosby laid off Milton at the mouth
of Willamette Slough opposite the north end of Sauvie's Island,
and about the same time Capt. H. M. Knighton founded St.
Helens, still further dow'n the river. In 1847 Lot Whitcomb
laid off Milwaukie, which indeed was a rival to Portland for
many years. In the same year James Johns founded St. Johns,
near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers.
Sometime prior to 1850 "Pacific City, Lewis County, Oregon,"
was laid off by Elijah White and he sold lots there. One of
his printed deeds is among the papers of the Oregon Historical
Society. Later, Rainier was established on the west bank of
the Columbia, and in 1870 the land ring of the Northern Pa-
cific Railway Company founded its first "Pacific Terminus" on
the east bank of the river nearly opposite its earlier rival,
Rainier. They called their bantling Kalama, which, by the
way, was the name of a native of the Sandwich Islands that
the Hudson's Bay Company brought over to work for it in the
later thirties. Early in the game of founding cities Astoria
and Pacific City were earnest rivals and for years made faces
at each other across the broad waters of Columbia's mouth.
All of these embryo cities from the ocean to the Falls of the
Willamette were equally affected by Wilkes' report, and they
seem to have made common cause against its author.

'Mr. Lownsdale "took up" a claim back from the river, and
at the same time recognizing the value of the water front pur-
chased Pettygrove's interests. A few months prior to the date
of the document under discussion, Stephen Coffin, W. W. Chap-
man and D. H. Lownsdale became the sole owners of the claim
and the three set to work methodically to make Portland a city.
They combined large capital for those early days. They were
able men, of wide experience, and were courageous and ener-
getic, as, indeed, were nearly all of the pioneers of that period.

In passing, I may call attention to the references to Doctor
Whitman in several places in the document. Those interested
in the "Whitman Myth" will find much to attract their atten-
tion in that connection.

LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON 217

It would not be a matter of surprise if the publication of
this paper should revive many topics for discussion among
those interested in the history of Old Oregon.

SUPPLEMENTARY INTRODUCTORY NOTE

By the Editor of The Quarterly

The first strong impulse with a document like the Lownsdale
letter is to withhold it from publication. But it is a document
contemporary with the public affairs with which it has to do ;
and, moreover, it is in a large measure representative of the
views of those in the ascendant at the time. While it is utterly
worthless as a clear source of abstract facts, it cannot be dis-
credited as an expression of the deeper feelings and of the
attitude of probably a majority of the Oregon community of the
later forties. Every statement in it contains an element of
perverting prejudice, yet it is explicit and it tells what must
largely have been believed and acted upon at the time. It is
saturated with poison but it contains what was no doubt in
the thought and hearts of the majority that elected Samuel R.
Thurston as Oregon's first delegate to Congress. It interprets
the first insurgency of the Oregon demos. It is the first
function of history to understand, so if Oregon history of that
time and throughout is to be fully understood, this letter of
Daniel H. Lownsdale is an absolutely indispensable source.

It will be noted that the writer presents it virtually as the
brief of the American interests when vital conflicting claims
between settlers of American antecedents and those of British
antecedents were about to be brought to an issue before Con-
gress. This Lownsdale letter was calculated to serve the needs
of Thurston as he struggled to realize the purposes for which
he had been sent to Washington. Its resume of the course of
events through which the Oregon situation had been evolved
was just what Thurston had to have in hand as his residence
in and acquaintance with Oregon had been very brief. The
document reflects the basis of the attitude of the dominant
party in the first great marshalling of forces in Oregon's
political history.

Portland, August 10th, 1849.

Dear Sir: Since your departure, I have been writing and
know not whether I shall have time to finish all I had intended
and even what I have has been written without proper revision

218 LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON

and is very imperfect, and perhaps may not, without a great
deal of trouble in preparing it for the press, answer much pur-
pose,— but if it does no more than give you some of the facts
of vital importance to know, it will have accomplished some-
thing,— but it all resolves itself into this, that the Hudson's
Bay interest will represent itself ably, no doubt, during the
next two years and you cannot too scrupulously watch the
American interest, and the treaty gives ample scope for them
to have their rights and also a few which should be turned
over to Americans. As an advocate of holding treaties
sacred, I should give it as my desire to see the treaty fulfilled
but at the same time where there is any matter left to legislate
on, that the American rights should be attended to, and if neces-
sary to comply with the treaty that British claimants should
be paid by the United States Government and not give away
individual rights to fill the stipulations of treaties. This appears
to be the aim of the British interests here ; instead of throwing
themselves on the liberality of their own government, they
think they should seize all in their power and thereby wrong
individual citizens of what they have a right to expect from
our own government. Instead of their surrendering anything
which a preference as an American, they should be entitled to,
the government should give the American the preference and
if the government is indebted to the Hudson's Bay Company,
let them be paid out of the public treasury and 'not from the
dearly earned interest of individuals. I allude particularly
to the interests of the settlements on land claims and the choice
of locations on which a grant or pre-emption may be anticipated.
There has been various instances of American settlers actually
having been driven from their settlements by force and their
houses pulled down and at other times burned ; and other times
on refusal to relinquish their improvements have been put in
prison by this same Hudson's Bay Company. Now if an
American has any preference on American territory, why should
these men be allowed to hold in defiance of that preference?
From the wording of the Organic Act (latter clause of the
14th section : "But all laws heretofore passed in said territory,
making grants of land or otherwise affecting or incumbering
the title to lands shall and are hereby declared null and void,"
etc.) by Congress, that body may have had this thing in view;
but our best judges have given it as worded thus from the
grants by the territorial compact or old organic law of this
territory. It is clear if the latter has been the cause of this
clause being inserted; but that body has taken the same im-

LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON 219

pression as is generally taken by many here. That it is the
fact that the old organic law gave grants of land, this same
thing is plainly the opinion expressed in the memorial to Con-
gress of 1846; but notwithstanding the English-Scotch me-
morial of '46, notwithstanding many of our wise men at home
and our most wise congress should be of this opinion if you
or they look again you will not find any grant given by that
old instrument. It makes certain rules by which any man shall
be governed who was then holding or wishing to hold a claim
of land in this territory ; and not granting either formally or vn*~
formally any right to the soil whatever; but laid down the
rules as above described to keep down strife among the settlers
with each other, but at the same time leaving to the anticipation
of what every American citizen has an undoubted right to ex-
pect from our mother government — a donation o>f land, — and
this too in preference to any occupant of any other nation. If
the former has been the cause of these words of the organic
act of Congress for this territory, then have they taken the
right view of the case ; for by the old organic law the preference
has been in favor of the foreigner, — not as it was dared to be
openly expected by the then tzvo-fold character given to that
instrument, but by the bribery of these monsters who have
dealt in this manner up to the present in Oregon, to the advan-
tage of their masters, the H. B. Co. and foreigners.

A law, however, that has in view justice to Americans set-
tled in this country cannot give a more just bearing to dona-
tions or pre-emptions than this same old organic law, for
the simple reason that by this they would secure their claims
as they have laid them ; yet it needs considerable qualifications
to prevent foreigners and those who have not been at any
trouble to settle and improve the country from sharing with
those who have a right to their choice and inalienable right to
what their toil and privations necessarily borne by the first
settlers. I know of no better mode of a donation law than
the following which I extract from a letter from one of my
friends in Missouri; in which he shows the clear necessity of
framing the law with an eye to the rights of the Americans
composed of farmers, mechanics and professional men, all of
which it takes to make a community, and when you fall short
of meeting this community (and not individuals) you fall short
of the spirit of every vital interest of any country in its settle-
ment. There is one thing, however, which should be kept in
view. That is, a course to prevent speculators from retarding
those settlements ; therefore, the more simple, plain and de-

220 LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON

cisive the law can be worded the better. I will here quote his
wording, not as your criterion, but it is not amiss to hear all
that can be said on any subject.

Said he, "I think the wording of any donation or pre-emption
law for Oregon should be in these words, namely, (in the body).
"Every American citizen who has settled permanently in Ore-
gon territory previously to the proclamation of Joseph Lane,
the governor of this territory, declaring the laws of the United
States in force In the said territory, shall be entitled to a grant
of 640 acres of land, laid out as described in the organic law
or compact adopted by the people of Oregon territory on the
twenty-sixth day of July, A. D. 1845, with these qualifications ;
the said donation or pre-emption as above described shall be to
the American citizens who have been the actual settlers or
purchasers from the first settler the improvements made on
the before described donation or pre-emption, who has con-
tinued to reside in this territory for the term of three years
and occupied the same and cultivated the soil during that time ;
and in all cases giving the preference in location to the oldest
occupancy as before described having made permanent im-
provements or purchased the same from the original or as-
sigjnee of the original settlement ; and continued his occupancy
as assignee or purchaser of the former settler or settlers orig-
inal ; in person ; or if a mechanic or professional man contin-
uing to reside in the territory by cultivation by himself or hired
hand or hands, so to occupy ; but this, however, shall not en-
title any to hold but one such location or claim, entitling him
to a donation or pre-emption. No non-resident living in any
other place than this territory shall be allowed a location or
claim entitling him to a donation or pre-emption in preference
to a resident citizen. But in all cases the actual possessor and
settler, original or purchaser of the same from the original,
or his assignee, shall be entitled to the preference in location
and donation, or pre-emption, on which he or his legal prede-
cessors had selected and improved. Nothing, however, in the
foregoing shall be construed as to give any legal claimant as
before described a right to lay his claim on lands covered by
another previously laid and occupied as before described but in
all cases the oldest occupant and claimant shall have the pref-
erence if he has continued to occupy as before described ; and
be it further enacted that any widow, old maid or young girl

over the age of shall be entitled to the same dobation as

before described if such shall occupy previous to the proclama-
tion or shall have resided in this territory three years or con-

LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON 221

tinue to do so after moving into the same and shall have de-
scended from a free white citizen of the United States, and
otherwise be governed by the general stipulation for males."

These wordings may be a little imperfect but I thi'nk, ex-
cept the definition of age and the requiring a proper surveyor
to lay out such claims and report to the proper surveyor-general,
where they are situated, etc., the majority of the people's case
would be heard and their rights respected.

The custom house location is another matter which the people
are interested in. All the objections to the matter being easily
disposed of, are, the assertions of the Hudson's Bay Company
and their clique who, if they cannot run the trade into the
mouth of Clamet river, they will endeavor to gull the people and
Congress with an assertion that Tongue Point Chanell [sic] and
the mouth of the Willamette are impracticable and stop the
trade anywhere but where the people need it, and although
the Tongue Point bar and the mouth of the Willamette always
afford as much water as the mouth of the Mississippi, they
plead it is useless to be at the convenience of having trade in
our vicinity but put as many trammels on it as if we were
obliged to cut our own throats because they wished our death
and could not otherwise kill us. It is well known that at the
mouth of the Willamette (on the narrow bar of thirty yards)
there is never less than 12 feet water at low tide and low
water, and that the tide rises at that place to the height of four
feet and yet it is impossible, as James Douglas, Ogden and
Doct. McLaughlin says, to have the trade come so near the
settlements as Portland.

The obstruction to any depth of water necessary to vessels
of any size would be but a trifling matter to remove and in
the only mo'nth that we have low water in the Willamette dur-
ing the year we would be relieved from paying tribute in a
useless expense where the country profited by this, is but a
speck compared with the upper country, but not so bad, Johnny
Bull, we will not take your advice, nor take your medicine.
At any season of the year except when we have had but little
rain in the fall season ; at full tide we have 17 feet of water at
present and of course every inch the bar is taken off will add
to the depth of water (which is a sand bar) but during the
month of November we sometimes have but 16 feet, but this is
even more than the highest tide gives the mouth of the Missis-
sippi by one foot.

The history of no country now in existence is of more im-
portance at the present to the world at large than that of Oregon

222 LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON

Territory. Up to the present it has been enveloped in mystery
and kept, as the fern among the towering fir groves, shut out
from the sunlight, and in this enchanted condition, for pur-
poses best known to those who have not only fattened from
this seclusion but also gives ground to suppose that there are
sinister motives for the future. At the discovery of the mouth
of the Columbia river by Captain Gray who entered its mouth
and ascended to where Astoria is now situated, in the year
1792, there was no white settlements on this, nor its tributaries.
After this discovery and report by Captain Gray, the Hudson's
Bay Company by their agent, Mr. McKinzie, conceived the
idea of converting the trade of this coast by a chain of trading
posts to the Atlantic and reported accordingly, the probable
interest it might make to the English crown by giving the
United charter to the Hudson's Bay Company and the North-
west Fur Company and we will see how far their designs have
been carried out before we come to the present date.

In the year 1808 John Jacob Astor, after hearing the report
of Lewis and Clark, came to the conclusion to settle a trading
post at this point and sent by land a company of men while his
ship Tonquin sailed around by sea, to their destination, where
they arrived, the Tonquin entering the mouth and ascending
to the station at Astoria, 1811. During the short period of
two years, Astor's establishment flourished amazingly, and,
as requested by the energetic traveler, McKinzie, the Hudson's
Bay Company forced their way westward and commenced their
course of opposition to the Americans, and in 1813 a British
brig entered and captured his station, and in 1814 built a fort
at the place now known by the name of Fort George and re-
tained the same until the present, notwithstanding the required
relinquishing the country by treaty ; they did indeed give up the
site of Astoria but retained their hold at Fort George when
the treaty required the surrender of the trade of the whole
country on its former footing to the Americans.

Thus, cramped by the Hudson's Bay Company and a con-
tinuation of their posts up the river, the company continued
virtually to hold possession of the whole Columbia valley, on
the east and west of the Cascade mountains, Astor relinquished
the trade and, although in direct opposition to justice, England
virtually, by the Hudson's Bay Company, possessed what treaty
had guaranteed to the American citizen. They entered Oregon
territory in the year 1810 ; still continuing westward 1812 they
made another fort still lower on the Columbia, thence down
to Walla Walla in 1811 and where Vancouver now stands,

LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON 223

1825, thus completing their chain, with that at Fort George,
to the Pacific. After having the run of the whole fur trade of
this immense valley and its productions, from the Indian manu-
facture of skins and in their fisheries until the year 1842 when
they became alarmed about the prospect of the country's be-
ing peopled by Americans under the treaty as conveying it
from its original claimants the Spanish. In 1843, Doctor Mc-
Loughlin received orders, as the governor of the western
branch of this company, to dispatch agents to Fort Hall and
order them to stop the emigration who had come on that far,
and if possible prevent them from crossing the Blue Moun-
tains. This can perhaps at this date be denied by the managers
of this band of friends to the American interest, but I will
just cite you to proof of the fact; to Mr. McKinlay of the
Hudson's Bay Company, to Mr. Spalding and Eells, mission-
aries, who were there a'nd know the particulars ; and if that
lamented friend, Marcus Whitman, had not since been mur-
dered as well as his papers burned we should have had that
evidence which they feared to face. When Whitman, who
piloted the emigration of 1843, arrived at Fort Hall, the diffi-
culties of the journey was offered as an objection to their con-
tinuing on their journey ; next the danger of Indians ; and when
they found these men could not be deterred by any other mode
they threatened to bar them by the Hudson's Bay Company
having possession of the country and would not allow them
to settle without coming under their rule. Whitman being a
well informed man at once told the emigrants they should have
no difficulty as they were making assertions which they could
not carry out. Some, however, were deterred, and (by this
stratagem being presented to them). The great traveler Hast^-
ings (Hastings is now in California at the present and takes
sides with the Indians, who have murdered many of the citi-
zens of Oregon, and when those who had relations thus mur-
dered has made exertions to bring them to a summary justice,
he has tried to keep the Indians from being detected and has
ever acted in unison with the Hudson's Bay Company against
the Americans in Oregon, and not only a splendid description
of California given but some say a little golden influence also,
several were induced to turn to California. Nevertheless,
Whitman succeeded in bringing several to the west of the
Blue Mountains, and from thence many into the Willamette
valley. On their arriving, they found the best portions selected
by the Hudson's Bay Company and several trading posts, and
one place in particularly the Willamette Falls, where some ar-

224 LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON

rangements for manufacturing flour and cutting lumber, etc.,
had been made^, and for fear the American government should
not recognize their right to take up the lands, Doct. McLaugh-
lin, or Hudson's Bay Company, for the whole of the company's
business to this day is under his control, fell upon a plan of
adapting himself to the circumstances and give it out he was
going to become an American citizen ; and accordingly, to carry
out his plan of proceeding profitably, looked out who was the
most influential among the Americans and make them his tools
for operation in his new course. Accordingly selected for his
purpose a lawyer, a general, a judge, and some former legis-
lators. These he first made his servants by taking advantage
of their needy condition after their long journey, letting them
have goods to the amount of from five hundred to fifteen hun-
dred dollars on a credit, and continued to let them have goods
as they wished at any time. The next thing to be done was to
set two or three of these men to writing a description of the
country as given by them, or him, and colored everything to
their notion. Four years previous to this settlement in 1843, a
few of the rocky mountain trappers had worked themselves
down into the westward of the blue mountains and commenced
farming on a small scale, and hunted and trapped at intervals ;
and kept up a half-Indian, half-farmer trade with the Hudson's
Bay Company. A Mr. Griffin, also a missionary, had settled in
the Tuality plains during the year 1838 as a missionary, and
had intercourse with the same and was well acquainted with
the proceedings of those of the American navy who had vis-
ited Fort Vancouver. Through him and some seven of the
trappers in the same section of the country, I obtained my in-
formation with regard to their reception and treatment at the
fort. As is usual, they have evinced great hospitality to the
American officers, and made every show of ki'nd feeling for
their country. After this course of treatment, it may be well
understood how it has been possible to so corrupt the reports
to our government, respecting the mouth of the Columbia and
other matters vitally affecting the interests of this territory.
After enjoying a week of leisure and living well, and not in-
frequently a "spree" in which a free use of the wine and brandy
was common, it softened the heart and opened the disposition to
get written statements from the honourable governor of the
Hudson's Bay Company of all the particulars of the trade,
navigation and history of events connected with the country,
and such, I venture the assertion, from good authority, are
the reports sent to Congress as being his official productions

LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON 225

and research. It is a well known fact that the description of
places and circumstances correspond at least, with what they
have made it, and particularly the mouth of the Columbia,
"a nest of dangers," Their leaders even refer to Wilkes' re-
ports with great satisfaction, although at the same time charge
him with having but little "brave seamanship" See the Oregon
Spectator where Doct McLaughlin and Douglas over the
signature of Truth Teller give their views (in Vol. 1, No. 26),
or rather their report to the world. But now comes the secret :
It is well known that their plans and management have always
been to keep out the American trade, and thereby always
have the Americans under their management in trade, and this
is what made the "nest of dangers" at the mouth of the Colum-
bia, and now for facts : first, whether it was manufactured for
the benefit of their plans or not, such is the fact, that there is an
old chart which has been put into the hands of such strangers
as intended sailing to the mouth of Columbia river, by the
Hudson's Bay Company's agent at Honolulu, which has falsely
marked on it the bearings of the various bars, breakers, chan-
nels, etc., and woeful experience has told these same strangers
that there was marked for the channel places where no ship
could ever have run without falling into their "nest of dangers,"
and further that one of these charts has been in the hands of
Nathaniel Crosby, Jr. (the only man who has entirely suc-
ceeded in any great degree to develop the facts.) This same
Nathaniel Crosby has been engaged in the Sandwich Islands
and California trade from this place for the space of four
years, making a voyage to and from each of these places to
Portland about once every 2 months, and without a single
accident in passing out and into the mouth of the Columbia
river — and further gives it as a fact from the depth of water,
the width of channel and everything connected with the passage
to be as easy to pass as any entrance in the United States, and
this you will see by looking over Crosby's chart made from
the year 1845 up to the present.

The ship Main was an example of the effects of the Hud-
son's Bay agents' advice, etc., [ ?] at Honolulu for by this chart
as before described the master sailed. And now for the pro-
ceedings of the Naval officers' reports and proceedings dur-
ing their stay in Oregon.

In 1841, I believe in August, having previously got an old
chart from the Company's agent at Honolulu, Lieutenant
Wilkes made an attempt to come into the river and his re-
ports will show the result. Feeling chagrined that he should

226 LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON

have lost this old vessel taken during the last war with Great
Britain, and fearing to have his "seamanship" and other mat-
ters appear very slack, it can easily be accounted for by our
knowing the circumstances from good authority, why his re-
ports have made the mouth of the Columbia out in accordance
with the Doctor-Governor, and Sir Edward Belcher's reports
"the nest of dangers." And before leaving this subject, will
just say that since August, 1848, the operations of the golden
region of California, we have been without any stationed pilot
at the mouth ; and that during that time we have had thirty-
one departures and 28 arrivals, and not a single (up to August
1849) accident of a serious 'nature happened; and seven of
these arrivals by entire strangers, one of which was the steam
propeller Massachusetts drawing 17 feet water, which not only
came and departed but ascended as far as Portland and took
in a cargo of lumber. And also that these vessels running in
and out have do'ne this without having any pilot to direct their
course, which thing is certified by Crosby and others who have
been constantly in the trade, and all corroborate the statement
that with an efficient stationed pilot there would be no necessity
for more disasters there than any other entrance in the United
States. But to the reception and treatment, etc., of our officers
and their reports after the disastrous wreck of the Peacock.
The then Commodore Wilkes was insisted to go up the river
to Vancouver, where the principal trading post of the Hudson's
Bay Company is situated, and to which post there has been a
messenger sent from Fort George giving intelligence of the
wreck and probability of the officers visiting the Doctor and
Governor. About the middle of the month of August, accord-
ingly, a canoe, with supplies and formal invitation to come up
and spend the leisure time at Vancouver, our officers, Wilkes at
their head, started the next day up the Columbia. Arrived
within 80 rods of the fort when they were saluted for effect
by the guns of the fort (for this and the rest of the forts have
bastions and artillery mounted.) This, however, being only
intended to pay respect to the American Flag, the naval offi-
cers of that proud republic felt a little raised by the token of
respect received from these haughty Aristocrats. The boat's
crew was ordered to pitch the markee on the green and make
ready for their dinner, but at this moment a gray headed,
stout built, athletic appearing personage, bearing in his left
hand a snuff box and in his right an oaken cane, his manner
being on the whole affable yet to an acute observer it was
manifest he felt his aristocratic dignity and at the same time

LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON 227

seemed to consider he should approach Americans with Amer-
ican freedom and ease — on his left hand was a somewhat short
but corpulent man a pace in rear of the former and off to the
right, and several paces in rear, a slender dark complected
individual, whose keen eye appeared to scan the group of Amer-
icans with scrutiny, — but as the leader came up and commenced
the harangue the other two appeared to divide to right and
left, and face inwards to the speaker — comme'nced with these
words, "Ye are Americans, I suppose. I am — — ," etc., etc.,
soon showing by his dialect that he had known in his younger
days the "Highlands of auld Scotland" and with the affability,
mixed with hasty blustering words often repeated, as if to give
them their proper place and bearing, he greeted the American
camp, taking off his hat at the same time, to give effect, but
immediately placing it on his head again. With all his native
warmth he offered the young Americans the accommodations
and any assistance the fort and company could render. A
little fired with the affable manner in which they had been
offered and the desire to obtain what information they might
be able to obtain, after a short consultation on the retiring of
mine host, a messenger was dispatched to the elevated steps
to notify him of their acceptance, not, however, until some
canvass. Lieutenant Wilkes asked the younger officers in con-
sultation if they were satisfied to accept the hospitalities which
had been offered in this characteristic manner. All asserited

but one, Mr. — , about 20 years of age, usually taciturn

and rarely offering but little objections to the apparent wishes
or his fellows. He arose from his seat on a small box con-
taining some spirituous liquors, which had been brought from
the wreck and, gracefully bowing towards the senior officers, at
the same time sayi'ng in a clear but not loud voice, "Sir and gen-
tlemen: I am sorry at any time to differ in the slightest de-
gree from your wishes or sentiment, but in this I do here see
some ground to differ in opinion with you, wherein I feel
called upon by my sense of duty to object to receiving these
hospitalities in the manner in which they are offered. Do 'not
mistake my words as being opposed to the receipt or recipro-
cation but I am opposed to laying myself under obligations
to any nation or their representatives whereby the weakness
of my nature and the very feeling which makes me willing to
receive these ki'nd demonstrations of hospitality, unhinges my
efficiency as an officer of the United States, from reporting
the facts which may exist in the relations we bear as a gov-
ernment to that of Great Britain, of whose interests this same

228 LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON

Hudson's Bay Company are the representatives. This is what
is meant by the presents forbidden to be accepted by any offi-
cers of our government, spoken of in the constitution, but if
I could be certain these kindnesses should cease with the offer-
ing and receiving in person should be accomplished, I should
have no objection but I know by all precepts and example this
will not be the case to the letter." The speaker resumed his
seat, and in a jocular manner one of a more lively tempera-
ment replied, ''Well, Charles, we will give you the task of
making out the reports, while we drink the champagne and
by this we will accomplish the wishes of our government and
use up John Bull's wine at the same time." The witty saying
raised a smile of approbation on the lip of the Co. and of sat-
isfied resignation on the countenance of the former speaker,
the question being carried to accept; and all repaired to the
fort inside the walls or pickets where the lively jokes and
yarns passed for several days in succession. To still add to
the comforts and convenience of the party, runners were
started to various sections of the country where the company's
bands of horses ran to bring in such as were sprightly and
fit for the saddle. Various excursions were proposed and made
to the various places giving a pleasant view and convenient
ride. Until late in the Fall, these amusements and hospitable
recreations and enjoyments, such as now, in this country, al-
though there were a few Americans here, there were none
able to compete with their neighbors in kind treatment of their
countrymen; consequently, the vital influence, or any descrip-
tion of this country which would have any bearing upon Amer-
ican interest, prejudicial to John Bull, was impossible.

All appeared to go off well until just before the gallant com-
pany should leave for their destination, join the exploring
squadron and proceed with their discoveries. But during the

time this party remained, the same before mentioned Mr. ,

who objected to receiving their hospitalities, had kept a journal
of all he had seen and heard, but not taking the Scotch version
of it, but according to facts. Now it was a void of some three
months in the chain of official reports which would make a
gap in the connected chain of glory to which our Commodore
aspired. He now commenced making some arrangements for
recording the facts, and, naturally enough the questions regard-
ing the locality and internal, as well as external, situation of
business and prospects of the country should be put to his
honor, the Doctor, Governor, who, with his clerks, was ready
to give all answers and descriptions in writing, a copy of which

LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON 229

was invariably kept, to answer the purposes of negotiations
hereafter to* be made by the British government, and, accord-
ingly, copied and forwarded to the Minister of Foreign Af-
fairs. These written answers to questions and descriptions of
places so well agree with what has been published and referred
to in common conversation, shows how well these answers
and descriptions suited their purposes. After examination of
these subjects so ably described by the Doctor, this was the
course pursued : to save time for recreation and give a proper
bearing to all the interests concerned, the famed explorer
thought it the shortest and easiest mode to make these written

reports (as the clerk and Mr. can testify) by the famed

doctor and Governor was signed and countersigned as the true
reports. You can see how effectual they have answered the
purpose — as you can see from the orders given to the Com-
mander of the Squadron in the bay of San Francisco in dis-
patches sent by the Collector destined for the mouth of Colum-
bia river, requiring him to convey the collector to be landed
in Latitude 42, the mouth of the Clamett, and furnish an escort
to convey him to Oregon City. Just see the order to the Com.
as aforesaid, and which would have been much easier to have
been accomplished from Slitter's fort on the Sacramento.

But to my history again, and beginning where I left the
company having, after they could not prevent the emigration
of 1843 from coming into the territory, they fell into this
managing course of turning circumstances to good account by
the influence of the writings and action of the lawyer, the judge
and the general with their helpers, the former legislators.
Several letters were accordingly written home and not a few
with the Governor-Doctor's name couched in them ; as a speci-
men of aristocratic Republican and Scotch Democracy; in such
a jumble that I for one came to the conclusion that our people
had been humbugged, or I had formed but a slight idea of how
these Hudson's Bay managers were, but finally thought I was
perhaps prejudiced against them and had taken a former
view through colored glasses. But the result of all told a dif-
ferent tale, for these men, first employed by the company, had
each also a private interest to serve and accordingly when they
came in contact with each other one by one fell off, and, like
the noted Catholic priest, Humbolt, told on the rest, and as
soon as one was found to think more of the American interest
than the company's, they were not only denounced by the fra-
ternity, but the account from the Hudson's Bay Company was
presented showing their indebtedness, with a polite note ap-

230 LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON

pended, saying "We are in much need of the 1500 dollars (or
greater sum, as it might be)." And now comes the tug of war,
and a man in their service (I do not mean industrial) must
become a good Christian, of the Jesuit order, before he could
receive any of these favors (formerly carelessly bestowed) as
the former Governor and Doctor knew best how to use such
being of the same persuasion himself. This is not fancy, for
in reality the o'nly ones who were trusted with their business
and who had labored for them for years joined the Catholic
Jesuits.

At the first establishment of a temporary government, the
way was prepared by these leaders to let in the English sub-
ject with the American citizen on an equal footing, so far as
word was concerned, and having our principal men broken into
their service and so very tractable that for the first two years
they took by storm all the fortification of American principle.
The year forty-five, however, brought a large emigration and
with that crowd many who were aware of the difficulties they
had to encounter, but these same men only opened the way
for greater struggles. At the opening of the second session
of that after the Organic Law was formed, being in the fall
of '46, the former controlling influence presented itself in the
councils of the territory ; first in this shape, that the prospects
being good for the difficulties having been settled between the
two nations as was represented by treaty — least by trickery
former legislation, the company would suffer by any action,
therefore, proposed an adjournment to await the extension of
jurisdiction of the United States. As all legislation was in
their favor formerly and any alteration would likely result
to their injury; accordingly, Robert Newell, the American who
was known to be a professed Hudson's Bay man of the first
water, put in motion, but awful to tell the thing would not
work as they expected, and a rally of all the troops made to
secure their success ; but all in vain — they now fell back onto
the old expedient of using (not the Irish blarney) but Scotch
affability o'n such as resisted their wishes — but it is as awful to
tell as in the first instance. There was a majority fell victims
to their wiles. One had looked at a claim of land adjoining
Fort Vancouver that pleased him and which he wished to
record as an American citizen. But Mr. Douglas, now gover-
nor of the Hudson's Bay Company, peremptorily ordered him
not to do it, and this stirred the American's feelings so that
he had declared vengeance against them and dared say so out
of Douglas' presence ; but now this would come in good play ;

LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON 231

accordingly a letter was dispatched to the Colonel, stating
that "we have concluded to move our lines that you can have
the claim of land where you desired and I herewith send you
the field 'notes of the survey made by your brother who has
surveyed forty of our claims in this vicinity and you have our
consent to have it recorded in the books of the territory." (See
the record of Dec., 1846, made in the name of this Colonel, Sir
-named Lawrence Hall, and with regard to these claims sur-
veyed by them his brother can testify. ) Being spoken to by the
Colonel on the subject, he read the quotation above. The gilded
bait was taken and ere the session closed we found him at
the head of a committee to draft a memorial to Congress from
this legislature, and with his own pen writing the preamble
and leading paragraph of the memorial, as follows, "We, your
memorialists, are Scotch, English, French and Americans," and
after another preliminary remark, continued, "We would re-
spectfully ask your honorable body to grant us our lands as
we have laid them, having laid them in accordance with the
Organic Law." Here would just say I think this is misunder-
stood by many as giving a grant of land when if you will look
at them it is only a requisition of the territory of any person
holding or wishing to hold a claim. Thus was one allured.
Another, who liked to toss the brandy bottle, was glad to re-
ceive their aid to pass a liquor law, and for and in consideration
of which Hudson's Bay Company be the only speculators in
liquor. See the liquor license law of 1846. Importers paid
no duties but the manufacturer paid $100 for the privilege to
make, as they should be charged no duty for importing it but
he that distilled should pay his $100 license for their benefit.
Another wished to have the company enjoy all the privileges
we enjoyed as American citizens, and privileged to throw res-
ervoirs across public roads a'nd prevent them from going to
the only public mill then in the territory that could grind any
quantity of wheat, &c. And during the action of that body the
mill had a notice posted on the door and other places near
but after their friends thot fit to leave this public mill as it had
ever been before, was opposed to grinding the wheat of the
people without they would sell 70 Ibs. wheat for about 60
cents and buy flour at three dols. per hundred. McLaughlin's,
or, as it was then called, by themselves, H. B. Co. mill, never
ground for the people, yet advertised during the time of debate
on obstructing the road the member from Vancouver said this
H. B. Co. mill was a public mill. By the next day, however,
they refused to grind for ind. To conclude the proceedings of

232 LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON

the legislature of '46 and up to the present: there has been
but little change until the extension of jurisdiction when the
company became sheared of a portion of their power, partic-
ularly those of the Hudson's Bay Company's servants, who,
with their half-breed people, were barred from voting. This,
however, being the last struggle, they got up a plan to split
the American interest and throw in by their exertions one as
a delegate who would be under obligations to them, and so have
an advocate to their interest.

I will return to the history of the doctor and the company's
history as far back as '45. On the arrival of the emigration
of '45, those leading the caravan, being twenty in number,
landed in boats from Walla Walla, sending their cattle down
by land. When they arrived at the fort on the 23rd of Septem-
ber, they were asked into the fort and the apparent leaders were
asked into the doctor's reception room where they were ques-
tioned closely as to the numbers of emigration and probable
expectation of donations of land, and in short all that could give
him any clue to his best future course. After he had all the
information he could get the next thing was to act according
to his interest. In his characteristic manner he observed,
speaking very fast, "a host of you Americans coming, ha ! glad
to see it ! Am going to take the oath of allegiance ! Am going
to leave Hudson's Bay Company, move to the falls. Have
bought out the store and mills at the falls of Willamette —
going to move next week." After we had heard all that he
had to say, left for the Willamette valley, ruminating on the
doctor's fanciful Americanism. He, however, did not move
to the falls until about the time the bulk of the emigration
came in, when he took possession of the store, mill and claim
and settled himself as the sole proprietor of Oregon City sta-
tion and mills, apparently entire owner, but from the moves
with regard to ownership as a chess player he changed his
position as to the trading post mill &c. as follows : In 1845,
Doctor McLaughlin was owner of the trading post, mills and
claim ; in the summer of 1846, the company owned all ; during
the session of the legislature in December, 1846, John Mc-
Laughlin owned the mills and claim, but the Hudson's Bay
Company re-purchased their trading post again. To explain
this, you will only have to refer to the propositions of the
treaty to see his moves and you find it corresponds with his
and their changes. These propositions, unfortunately for them,
were as often published as the substance of the treaty expected ;
when the first definitio'n of the treaty came to hand, after he

LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON 233

had thrown all into the hands of the Hudson's Bay Company
(published in a dispatch from the consul at Tepic, the descrip-
tions of the articles or substances being kept from the public
for fear of the cause of the transfer of property had to be made
before it could be seen) ; the purport of the treaty was to give
sixteen miles square to the Hudson's Bay Compa'ny at each
trading post, but during the session of the legislature in Dec.
'46 the company's express was brought over the mountains,
bringing the true treaty. But he was again foiled, if he could
not have time to make the papers correspond with the treaty
before publication — therefore, although the members of that
body insisted to have the favor of looki'ng at the papers brought
by the express, not a single individual American could get
that favor, nor did any publication show the treaty, until an
American vessel brought files by sea, and in the debate concern-
ing the removal of the reservoir, the member from Vancouver
cited in evidence of the facts necessary to carry their point
"the Hudson's Bay Company's mill (not Doctor McLaughlin's)
is a public mill." But the treaty came three days after this,
and the mill and claim of land with that splendid water power
belonged to John McLoughlin. A'nd the member from Lewis,
alias Doct. Tolmie of the Hudson's Bay Company's chief clerk,
fell from his post, and now after the true definition of the
treaty giving special privileges to the Puget Sound Agricul-
tural Society, he fell into the management and head of the said
society but yet returned 'not only to his station in fort Nis-
qually but continues to this day, as does Doctor McLaughlin,
the chief governor of the Hudson's Bay Company's business
as effectually as they ever did, and although the said John
McLaughlin and said Tolmie have said to change positions,
and intend to profit by the treaty after their avowal of their
intentions to apply and take the oath of allegiance to the
United States, I should not be surprised if they refuse. And
the said McLaughlin is selling lots to the people of the United
States, and he at the same time a subject of Great Britain —
the facts have so often been talked over with their admission of
these facts, it is useless to refer to individual testimony, for
they are notorious. How it is that they are permitted to have
such a hold on our government that they should be permitted
even to the throwing houses down and putting the American
occupant into prison is a mystery that is hard to solve — and
it says not a little of the forbearance of an American people,
particularly of those in Oregon.

234 LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON

I will now return to the history of the country in general
from forty-three. After the company found Doctor Whitman
opposed the doctri'ne that the Hudson's Bay Company had
or dared to hold possession of Oregon, it now was their policy
to get him from among the Indians that they might use them
as they had been used by Great Britain during the revolution
and last war, as a check to what they thought dangerous to
their interest, i.e., settling Oregon by Americans or to assist
in a war, if thought expedient, against the United States. Ac-
cordingly the Indians were encouraged in anything that seemed
like opposition to his plans. Doctor Whitman was advised
to sell his station and abandon the missionary enterprise. This
he, however, refused to comply with; then to further annoy
the settlers the prospect of an outbreak of the Indians, (Many
times have we heard this assertion made as if by prophecy
that in case the United States gave no land to all that then
had the right of suffrage (including half-breeds and British
subjects) they would massacre all the whites in Oregon as
the Indians should join the half-breeds a'nd make it an easy
matter to subdue them,) at any time any of the plans which had
been laid were thwarted, particularly those kind of petty thiev-
ings and robberies of emigrants on their journey through the
different tribes east of the Cascade mountains, — and the mat-
ter always known to the Hudson's Bay Company, who, al-
though they said they could not prevent such occurrences,
encouraged such acts by paying for the articles of which the
Americans were robbed, and exacted from those Americans
the amount of the goods so purchased of the Indians, at least
what they said they had paid to the Indians to release the
goods. It is also notorious that they, the H. B. Co., have al-
ways possessed entire sway over the Indians and that they
represented to the Indians that the "King George people" (as
termed the H. B. Co. by the Com.) were not friends of the
"Bostons" (the name by which the Americans were called,) and
that they were not one people, and when they offended the
"Bostons", the "King George people" were not "sylex" (In-
dian word of Chinook language,) or displeased, and would not
"mamoke sylex," that is to go to war with the Siwash (or In-
dians,) but if the Siwash Cochshut icht King George Tilicum,
capshawalla ictas King George hias sylix mamoke poo (or if
any Indian should do harm to the persons or property of the
Hudson's Bay Company's people they would go to war with
and shoot everyone that were guilty.) To explain more fully
here what I mean I will just relate a conversation between the

LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON 235

Chief of the Walla Wallas with Mr. McBane [McBean] on this
subject during the late Cayuse war, in presence of the Commis-
sary General, one of the commissioners to treat with the Indians,
the Ordinance master of the regiment, and a Lieutenant of the
army as they called at Fort Walla Walla on their march to
Wayalatpu, After Mr. McBane, through the interpreter, had
labored some time to keep the impression on the chief that
they (the H. B. Co.) had nothing to do with the war and that
they only should consider the Americans their enemies, and
at the same time they were friends to both Americans and In-
dians— After this harangue to the chief who sat as it were
ruminating for several seconds, after the cessation of McBane,
in rather a spirited manner, he replied to McBane in these
words, "We (the Indians) have always been told by you this
same thing, but I cannot understand what you say — you say
you and the Americans are not friends — you say you and the
Indians are friends — you say you and the Americans are not
friends, and you say you are not afraid of the Americans —
and you say you are afraid of the Americans — you have always
told us that King George was master of all the white people
in this country and when we come to you for powder and balls
you tell us you cannot let us have it because you are afraid
the Boston Tyee (American chief) will be mad and how is
this? I do not understand it that you shall be afraid of the
Bostons if you are masters? And how is it if you are not
friends of the Bostons you will not let us have powder and
lead? For you always bought what the Indians 'capswalla'
(stole) from the Bostons and told us the Americans had come
here to capswalla our lands and horses and kill us. I do not
understand your talk." (Explanatory to this I will just refer
to a law being enacted called the Organic law that was framed
by the people in Oregon, assuming that all in the territory
should be mutually protected and benefited by this compact and
all bound to support the laws enacted by this compact, and a
law under this compact at the time of a declaration of war
against the Cayuse Indians was made, forbidding the Indians
in the territory being furnished with powder and lead. This
brought the Indians and their former allies in contact, and
this was the matter which brought out the former advice and
connivance of the H. B. Co. out), but their opposition to the
furnishing the Indians held a two-fold interest at stake, — first,
the trade, and, second, the destruction of American influence
with the tribes.

236 LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON

All things continued much in the same channel until the
year 1847 when it appeared evident something was wrong.
As Humbolt said would be, there appeared various priests
mixed with the American congregation, — some from Canada,
others from France and as they were in the foremost com-
panies, had time to spread out among the Indians before the
whole of the emigration got into the Willamette valley. Either
from former arrangement as explained by Humbolt, or some
other view, the Hudson's Bay Company's managers at Fort
Hall and Fort Walla Walla (being near Whitman's) made a
proposal to that lamented victim to buy him out and let the
Catholic Jesuits have it. This was refused by Whitman. They
then advised him to leave or the Indians would murder him.
He yet refused to abandon. The priests then, through the in-
fluence of Mr. McBane, chief clerk at the fort, bought and
obtained the privilege of settling for the priests in the Cayuse
nation near the Utilla river, at the foot of the Blue Mountains,
and within a short distance of Whitman's; and commenced
giving lectures to the Indians on religious matters, and at the
same time told the Indians that Doct. Whitman was a heretic
and bad man and ought not to live. This fired their minds
and anything which formerly appeared to them mysterious was
turned into the works of the Devil, and particularly his giving
medicine in sickness. They represented it as dangerous and
that the Indians were punished by the Great Spirit in heaven
with the diseases which had, that fall, been brought with the
emigration, such as measles and whooping cough, and it was
sent to punish them for obeying the American doctor and he
should have said he would poison all the Indians when they
came to him for medicine, and that the Americans only came
into their country to steal and take their land and horses and
cattle. To conclude the whole from good evidence, consider-
able of which has been published in the Oregon-American, the
aim appeared to remove the American and plant the Jesuits
in their stead and we will find how it resulted, when the history
of only about three months will show that Doctor Whitman
was murdered with his whole family and a number of Amer-
icans who had stopped for the season at and near his place,
together with various robberies and such deeds of barbarism
even in the presence and sanction of the biship and priests
who yet remained at his station. These deeds that were done
are here too horrid to appear before the public, not as a truth
that should not be told, but deeds of the most atrocious nature,
to be committed by those Indians on the persons of the young

LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON 237

females taken prisoners and reserved from slaughter only to
glut their brutal passions, and that with the sanction and advice
of these same Jesuitical priests and bishop.

But let us go on with our history : After these were slaugh-
tered like so many sheep, some of which as though it was in-
tended to torture them, others shot down as beeves, and the
women such as were reserved being most of them of single
females under 25 years of age were divided out and the most
shocking course of prostitution forced upon them, one of which
was taken to the bishop and deposited. When the man who
brought her there (being a chief man among the Indians)
asked the bishop how he should proceed to make her submit
to him, when he, the bishop, could coolly give directions on
which the Indian dragged her off to his lodge, and she crying
with supplication entreaties that she might be spared this
dreadful task, but, no, he, the bishop, in an angry manner bid
her to go off with this Indian and not to come back to him
again without having submitted to his will. This and many
other such horrible deeds were committed could be related,
but I will net here take the time as the most have been pub-
lished in the Oregon American.

The legislature met shortly after and on the receipt of the
news declared war against the Cayuse Indians, and passed
the law forbidding any trading establishment or individual
from trading powder and lead to the Indians, but in the face of
the territory P. Skeen Ogden, the chief factor of the Hudson's
Bay Company, and mock governor at Vancouver, passed up the
river into the country of the Indians who had become our
enemies and sold a considerable quantity of powder and balls,
and as had always been their practice when they robbed the
Americans, they took the prisoners (after having become tired
of their brutal sports) to Walla Walla to sell them and their
booty taken at the same time, and receive from him at Walla
Walla powder, lead and guns in exchange. So far as the
return of children to parents, brothers to sister, and property
of the rightful owners, it was well enough ; but this conniving
at such deeds and always having done the same thing, when
the Indians were always subservious to their wishes and fur-
ther, this at the same time when all were pledged mutually to
protect each other. War now having been declared made them
agreeable to all the laws of nations, part and parcel of the
American side of the question. Now see how far they went
with their former agreement of alliance.

238 LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON

Commissioners were appointed by the legislative body who
had declared war to negotiate a loan of one hundred thousand
dollars from the Hudson's Bay Company, — being the only
chance of the kind in Oregon — to carry on the war but will
you be surprised when I say they refused to loan ; but be not
surprised they would not let it go, yet had abundance and to
spare ; neither would they let a single man in their employ go
to the campaign, but, in everything, opposed the going to war.
Doctor McLaughlin being the controlling genius of all the
French and half-breeds forbid them to go, but this stirred up
the American feelings a little and after he saw the Americans
were determined to avenge what had been done by these
merciless bands and what was being said about the part the
Jesuits had taken in the case, he called Peter H. Burnett, one
of his counsellors, and advised with him what should be done ;
he being not only acquainted with the American character but
also hearing, as he was an American, what they said about it,
and as a good Christian of the same order with himself and
the priests, he wished his advice. His advice was : if you can
let a few go, I can fix it so as to have its effect, and they stay
as long as will give the coloring to it, as being favorable to
the American cause, and after a service of about two months
they can return home, and I will do the same myself, for you
know it is necessary for me to not lose my American character.

In accordance, Captain Thos. McKay was ordered by the
doctor to raise a company of men and make as great a show
as possible from among the French Catholics and volunteers
for but two months, for it will take you about three weeks to
march there at this season of the year and three weeks to
come back and unless you get into close quarters you can evade
the fighting our Indians ; and this will entitle the Catholics to
have their land donated to them whether they are citizens or
not.

"Yes," says Peter H. Burnett, "and I will go out home and
make a hue and cry and make believe I shall go to war too."
And sure enough he did for at that time there was a man left
by Colonel Gillam to take up a list of a company in Tuality
plains and Burnett took occasion to make a fiery speech and
proposed to march at once but never would agree to put his
name on the list. (That would bind him.) Yet 45 others
did and he, with about fifteen of the company, started to go
to the rendezvous at Portland when, (whether by design to
flustrate the meeting of the company or whether it was through
fear to face the foe, we cannot say, but one thing is certain,

LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON 239

Peter H. Burnett and his particular friends never went) ready
to leave the plains there was a report started saying the Cayuse
Indians had come to the settlement and were at a certain Indian
lodge in the plains and wonderful to say they met at the lodge
on the morning the troops were to leave Portland for the up
country and found one crippled old woman, t\vo small children
and an old Indian man, but this answered the purpose for
which it was got up, and out of 45 men twenty-eight met at
rendezvous, the rest following Burnett twenty miles the other
way to take by storm this Indian camp as before described.
Thus he foiled this part of the army, at least as far as the 17
men which were reported as defaulters. The balance, 28, left
for the Cayuse country in boats and arrived and was reported
at The Dalles to Col. Gill [i] am ready for service. The band,
at first published in the Spectator (being edited at that time
by a member of the Jesuit order) numbered a full company of
67 rank and file, but when they appeared had to gather some
three of the cultas or trifling Americans to make their number
thirty who did advance with the rest of the army to Wayalatpu.
To suit everything to their wishes, the Hudson's Bay Company
advised what should be done in the progress of the war (this
suited them.) They quickly answered the governor, who by
the by, except being an entire peace man, was not disposed to
bear the insult on the American people without summarily
punishing it. But at this time all were poor and had their
families to supply in a new country and not the means to be
spared for an emergency like the present and but few in-
dividuals could contribute means to sustain the territory. A
few, however, did contribute out of their scanty means enough
to fit out and provision the army of about four hundred for a
short time.

The Hudson's Bay Company still held out against the will
of the people and they having almost all the moneyed business
in the country under their control gave them an influence
on the war that perhaps can now be traced to its defeat, for
by the moves of that party to have a controlling influence they
plead that there was danger of having the whole of the tribes
on this side of the mountains join against us and thereby en-
danger the families of those engaged against the murderers
murdered in their absence until they succeeded in getting our
leaders to give way to their direction, which was to appoint
commissioners to treat with other tribes in the vicinity of the
Cayuse nation which gave them the advantage by the neces-
sity for their servants or men who were under their control

240 LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON

to act as interpreters or literally those commissioners. Accord-
ingly, Robert Newell being well qualified for the purpose,
being acquainted with the Indian character and a firm Hud-
son's Bay man, could rule the interpreters as he pleased, and to
cap the whole with the pointed sheaf, there must be two inter-
preters and they of the doctor's profession, indeed one of them
his own wife's son and the other being his servant.

In the only engagement which took place after the arrival
of McKay's company, one of these was sent for by the com-
missioners, who were in advance of the main body, and asked to
interpret for them? to speak with one of the enemy who had
come up to talk and draw the attention of the main force in
front while the Indians were flanking us on right and left. The
commissioners asked what this Indian wanted. The inter-
preter replied that the Indians said they did not want to fight
but wished to be friends. (At this same time the Indians were
advancing in the shape of a half moon and in numbers suffi-
cient to encompass our lines.) The commissioners again said
that the interpreter desired for no firing, that the Indians were
friendly. Orders were given accordingly by the commissioners
not to fire. Thus stood the Americans, while the interpreter
continued to talk with the Indians until they were entirely
flanked and the Indians closed the entire circle of our lines.
As soon as the decoy had galloped out of our reach he fired
the signal gun for the attack. Now it was too late to do any-
thing without breaking and facing from the 'center outwards,
which was done, and the Indians retreated, not until they had
surrounded some eight or nine of our men and, as they had
taken ravines on either side of us and come up within gun-
shot, they had the advantage of being covered from us by the
banks of the ravines, until forced from them by a charge when
they fled and being mounted on fleet horses they easily got
out of our reach. Thus was our first engagement with the
Cayuses, while these friends of the doctor were managers.
After arriving at Wayalatpu, these same commissioners and
interpreters kept us 8 days waiting within twenty-five miles
of the Indians while they treated and talked with other tribes
who were camped with the Cayuses and had daily intercourse ;
and yet the murderers of our friends within twenty-five miles,
their numbers not exceeding ours and they having to take care
of some twenty thousand head of horses and cattle — while be-
fore us lay bleaching the bones of Whitman, wife, family and
many of other Americans who had shared the same fate and yet,
the commissioners must hold the hands of those who had come

LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON 241

to avenge the blood of the innocent, and they in one short day's
march. Thus the H. B. Co. held the cords of vengeance for
the purpose of letting these murderers have time to run off
their stock, women and children, and these alone knew our
horses were not fleet enough to overtake them. After the
ninth day had passed and they had ample time to clear with
the stock and families, the commissioners proclaimed a treaty
with the Nez Perce tribe and started home satisfied. The troop
rallied and on marching to where they had camped during the
8 days while they drove off their stock, but behold they had
departed and without any hope of overtaking them. In fol-
lowing them to Snake river about sixty miles found they had
crossed and left the side of the river we occupied in charge
of a few Indians who professed friendship. They, as
always had been the case when any of the Indians fell into
our hands, professed friendship and through the interpreter
they made the shift to get away and afterwards we could hear
of these same being our most inveterate enemies. With but
little success ended the campaign of '47 and '48 with the Cay-
uses, but not with the Hudson's Bay Company and the Jesuits,
not that I intend to make a crusade against them or any other
denomination, but as the Doctor, the Scotch-English-Ameri-
can, has called them to his aid, I just intend to speak of none
who had kept hands off in the struggle between Americans and
English, or Hudson's Bay interest in Oregon, but if they will
put themselves in the way they must hear what an American
Oregonian has to say in the cause of the free-born American
principles. Shortly after the return of the commissioners from
the Cayuse country, one of the Jesuit priests went to the Fort
Vancouver and bought several boxes of guns and two thou-
sand pounds of lead and one thousand pounds of powder and
shipped them secretly, as they thought, up the Columbia in the
direction of the Cayuse country, but our boatmen, being more
honest than they suspected, instead of landing them as directed
two miles below the fort at The Dalles, or Wascopum, where
the priest had built a new station, carried the arms and ammuni-
tion to the fort at Wascopum ; there gave information to the
officers of the fort who immediately seized; them. It then ap-
peared that the priests before described had continued to
occupy the stations made among the Indians, notwithstanding
the governor had ordered them not to remain among the
Indians. The Doctor in the Free Press, a newspaper, published
in Oregon City, informed the people that the ammunition
was intended for the Flatheads and not the Cayuses, but it is

242 LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON

certain it had to pass the country inhabited by the Cayuses who
at this time were scarce of this useful ingredient of war and
blood shed and how easy to capture it and supply themselves
with more ammunition than could be procured by the Ameri-
cans during the whole war without impressment and then have
a protest entered in writing. This same thing was done during
the before-named war by the before-named Hudson's Bay
Company as can be proven by Major Lee who acted as officer
of impressment, when at the same time this company claimed
to be American in feeling and intend to become citizens of a
country against whom they would enter a protest. They even
went so far at Vancouver as to erect bastions and mount bat-
teries (see Douglas' letter to Governor Abernathy iiTVol 2,
No. 26, Oregon Spectator) to prevent impressment of goods,
etc., as it was expected to be needful to supply the army and
still they hang on for donations of land in preference to these
who bared their own arm and exposed themselves to face the
ruthless massacre ! caused by whom ? Not by Americans, but
rumor pretty well backed by facts that it was those who had
always made it appear that the Americans came here to rob
the Indians of their lands and kill them. The American trap-
pers can answer this question. Up to the present the moneyed
power in Oregon has been in the hands of the Hudson's Bay
Company. None can tell but them who have seen the influence
brought to bear can form the slightest idea of its bearing.
Not a merchant dared put his head into Oregon without the
expectation of losing everything, unless he fell into the track
marked out by the Company; not an officer dared act inde-
pendent in his course, but he had all the opposition could be
thrown in his way (and men cannot live on the wind and could
buy but little until latterly of any but the company and when
he was disposed to act independent he could buy nothing he
wanted from them). And no mechanic could get the raw
material from them to carry on their trade and nothing was
brought by anyone else to supply them. As if they had con-
sulted their wishes, none of our merchants brought anything
like woolen goods — all had to be bought of them, when they
pleased to sell them, but in no case could a man buy anything
which was not kept by other merchants if they knew the man
to be of American principle. Everything has been written and
said to kill the country in a commercial view with American
merchants and as if by magic almost all the American mer-
chants, as well as our government officers, have fallen into
the train and such a description of the trade and navigation,

LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON 243

etc., as cannot best astonish those disconnected with them ; and
future generations will laugh at the idea of our people at
home being so easily humbugged and we submit to this so
tamely. Just now to think that a country capable of sustain-
ing comfortably without even removing a stick of timber except
for roads and fencing, etc., at least four millions of people west
of the Blue Mountains, and then not one-fifth of the land suit-
able for cultivation by clearing, spoken of ; and having a river
affording at the lowest water three fathoms water for one
hundred and twenty miles into this and no' more pretty streams
to navigate, thence spreading east, north and south in streams
navigable for small vessels for hundreds of miles into various
sections of these fertile plains — an entrance from the Pacific
with five fathoms water at any tide and three quarters of a
mile of beating channel in any port; as good water power in
almost all sections of the country as the world can boast of ;
a climate so mild that grass grows green and abundant during
the whole year; a country where stock of every description
flourish well, healthy and salubrious of climate; soil growing
any of the grasses ; growing wheat more prolific than any of
the states ; and yet the Hudson's Bay Company would have it
this country is worthless and no trade can be carried on to
any extent. I will ask if any country on the globe can, with
only our small population, load in and out more vessels than
we, even at a more advanced age, being now only six years
since the first emigrants came here in 1843. Thirty-one cargoes
of produce and lumber have left Oregon by American traders
within twelve months, and four or five by the Hudson's Bay
Company, and yet there is ready for shipment perhaps one-
fourth as many more for which vessels have not been possible
to be obtained to keep down the supply, and still the word "no
trade from Oregon worth attention" sounds in my ears. We
do indeed see some sign that the doctor's people being not dis-
posed to believe his assertions for lately the Barque Morning
Star of Havre (the same that brought in the priests and nuns
of 1847) bringing several priests, and gives the intelligence
that six more emigrant vessels all consigned to the doctor for
the Catholic mission, bringing 400 emigrants, and one hundred
and fifty priests and nuns. (Well we will have priests and
women. Who are these ? Are they those Humbolt prophesied
of two years ago, or are they a new stock for Hudson's Bay
Company, independent?) I will now refer you to what moves
have been made during the last year and what the bent of
Hudson's Bayism is now taking. During the last year up to

244 LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON

the arrival of Governor Lane on the 1st of March last they had
continued to work their usual games of trying to get the Cath-
olic Church in supremacy. This I do not object so much to, for
I am always glad to see the churches keep pace with each other
and thereby one keep the other in check, but whenever one
gets the ascendency it then becomes dangerous to itself and the
government and, in short, to religious as well as civil liberty.
This makes perhaps the influence of the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany at this time able to yet struggle with free principles and
trade and they mutually will assist each other by degrees to
overturn our government if permitted to receive the help of the
United States in their designs. If they obtain what they aim
for at present to receive every privilege of native born citizens
and at the same time go so far as to enter a protest, as to a for-
eign nation, to impressment where necessary, and to arm and
mount forts with cannon avowedly to prevent the government
from taking what they had a just right to have taken from them.
As public supplies when they professed to be part and parcel
of this government, and then share lands with us and take the
first choice themselves — it is preposterous. Hear what Peter S.
Ogden says about the influence the Hudson's Bay Company
has over the Indians among whom they planted the priests
previous to Whitman's murder, when speaking of the purchase
of the prisoners from the Indians, but as I have before said
this has too often been manifest when among the Indians their
property was safe and they (the Indians), well, all tell you
that the Hudson's Bay Company had always told them that the
Bostons came to steal their lands and horses and kill them
and have always encouraged their robbery of the Americans,
buying what they took from the Americans and thus encour-
aged them to do so again, for the sake of the price of what
they took. But hear what he says about the purchase of the
prisoners — "But the mead of praise is not due to me alone.
I was only a mere acting agent of the Hudson's Bay Company,
for, without its powerful aid and influence, nothing could have
been effected, and to them the praise is due." (See Oregon
Spectator, Vol. 3? No. 1.) It sickens my very heart when
I think of the weak condition of Oregon at the time of the
declaration of war with the Cayuses and yet they, after having
encouraged all the continued robberies and finally these mur-
ders, eleven in number, and they with their powerful influence
used for what? — for safety for Oregonian Americans? No!
But to pull us down and give them a chance of a final grasp
of this territory. But to continue our history at the proclama-

LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON 245

tion of Governor Lane: As usual and with their effrontery
everything that could be done in paying attention to him and
the other publick officers was done, every stratagem to interest
him in his course of action as governor in a manner to suit
their views among the rest the asking leave to permit the priest
who had been detected in taking powder and lead to the
Indians, petitioned him to permit him to take and carry the
same to the Indians. This much he granted them, but how
much farther I know not, but I rather think that his as well as
the rest of the publick officers might have sense enough to see
that Doctor McLaughlin and those he can ride are not the
majority of the people of Oregon. The prospect at present
shows their representatives elected to serve them intend to
report matters as they are to the mother country and if their
aim (the publick officers) is to come here to speculate on the
trade of Oregon instead of administering the laws, that they
(the people's representatives) will permit them so to do, but
they (the representatives) will not take the trouble to ask
Doctor Me — to give them a copy for their reports, and yet
we have some who think this lumber business should be kept
out of the hands of our officers. "No odds where they got the
money," and others say "Judges and collectors buying claims
of land might meet a claimant on the bench and in the custom
house ;" others again say "If I was collector and had only to
make my return once and a while I should not feel fearful to
undertake the paying $15,000 dollars for a half of one and to
spend twice as much in building steam saw-mills particularly
when in six months the duties collected would pay the whole."
But then, people will talk, and a man may be a 'man for a' that'/*
After the Hudson's Bay Company found the officers expected
they would be looked to and not them they thought their only
chance was to render it impossible for us to send a man as
delegate to Congress in whom we could confide and if we did
they would dog and harrass such an one as they have ever done
who would not carry their opinions foremost and particularly
if he carried any documents with him bearing on the settle-
ment of matters against them; in some of these cases of
previous occurrence shows how well they have carried out their
plans, for in the year '45 when Doctor White was known (by
Hudson's Bay Company or Doctor Me — ) to have papers
from the legislature favorable to the American side of the
question he was assailed on the way and his papers demanded.
(I do not say whether he was safely clear of the same influ-
ence himself, but he gave them not up.) But this was the

246 LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON

course taken by their managers. They blustered and fright-
ened some ; others they persuaded ; and others perhaps bribed —
I cannot say ; but this much I do know that the same body that
sent dispatches by him also ordered his acts as illegal and not
warranted, and sent these latter documents on as a rebutter
against all his papers proposed. Another man was advised to
go to Washington by the governor to represent to the Congress
the situation of matters in 1847, but when it was found he was
expected to lay some grave things before Congress "such a
sputter as would have astonished the natives," and nothing
could be satisfactorily passed through the legislature against
him ; the only plan was now to frighten him ; or in the failure
to do this to bribe him into the service of the H. B. C. The
former failed and the latter must now be tried, but horrible,
the bait was not swallowed. He had been offered a bribe by
the H. B. Co. agent to give it as his legal decision that H. B.
Co. should be entitled by treaty to more than the American
minister would allow. This H. B. Co. man was a Mr. Sanders
and by his maneuvers no doubt things were kept unsettled for a
time ; and now if they shall let the present delegate go without
attempting to render all his influence powerless or to set on foot
anything that would get things fairly understood (for we fear
nothing at the hands of justice as our enlightened Congress
will act free of the H. B. Co. influence). I say I shall
be surprised and almost thunderstruck. But this cannot
be, for Hugh Burns and various other foreigners and Jesuits
were figuring largely during the election and since the election
they thought at one time that they had in a manner suc-
ceeded by getting themselves into notice by placing the name
of our upright and worthy citizen, Judge Lancaster, who was
then in California, before the publick as a candidate for dele-
gate— unknown to him and without his consent, as favorable
to that party. This they did, not that they wished to elect
him, but this knowledge of his upright character and splendid
talents, if taken up by the Americans, would warrant the idea
of his being elected ; and if so they would be defeated in their
favorite scheme of getting in one of tried faith to the Doctor's
cause, and as the case now stood Lancaster being from home
and none of the Americans had no vouchers for his leaving
California not even if elected whether he would accept, they
knew this would make strong opposition to being served as
Burnett had in his judgeship in California and leave us without
a delegate.

LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON 247

To explain the matter more fully I will just give the journal
of the Doctor's, not as published by him but as related by one
present and the after acts proved he gave the matters pretty
fair. Met the Doctor, his Highness the Bishop, his Honor
Douglas, his thickness Peter Skeen Ogden, his Laqueys Switz-
ler and Burns, with a few others too tedious to mention. The
Doctor presiding with general consent and without a division,
thus commenced the proceedings:

Doctor: "Mr. Burns shut that door — we — we don't want
— don't want people to hear what we talk about."

Burns : "The door is shut, Doctor, and by the Lord Jasus
if the first bloody American shows his pate in rache, ile make
him think it was Patrick Obrine had struck him."

Doct. : "Now, now, gentlemen, I have — have thot best to
ask — to ask what it is best to do — to do — about this election —
this election. We have some grave questions to be settled with
this prating American government and also with bloody
Hooshers in Oregon, and I should like to hear — to hear what
you all will recommend."

Douglas: "We have but little to settle with the American
government except what few definitions are necessary to be
made to the treaty and there is but little hope of our getting a
delegate from Oregon at present. Our people are leaving us
every day and of them that can be made to take the oath of in-
tention are not enough to elect Meek, and no other man ought
to be sent by us for he has nothing to lose as an American
and all to gain by serving us but at present I do not see how
he is to be elected. I think however, that our agent, Mr. San-
ders, will succeed in smoothing some one's conscience, whose
opinion will be taken by the American Government, and we
shall have a fair decision. That flare-up of Thornton's however
may make it necessary to get hold of some other person beside
Sanders for he will be watched by these cunning Americans."

Doctor : " 'Twont do — 'twont do. Must have some body
as delegate from here — must have somebody to see our claims
independent of the treaty — independent of the treaty — and that
must be attended to by the next session or we won't have a
foot of land but what the treaty gives us. These grants have
to come through Congress and these Democrats can't be hum-
bugged as easy as one or two individuals."

Ogden : "I think the doctor is right but then the company
has great influence and our agents will be busy enough to
have considerable bearing on these things among our Amer-

248 LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON

Douglas:"! see the doctor is right and in our situation at
present requires us to have an advocate there who could be
managed by our agents, and Meek is the only man who is out
as a candidate who could be managed. But how to have him
elected is the mistery."

Doctor: "Let's see — let's see — Bishop, how many people
have we that can be made to take the oath of intention? This
gives them privilege to vote if they never mature this intention."

Bishop : "How many sir? I can safely say, sir, all, but stop !
Part of them will leave for California, and — well I will just
count my diocese. In Champoeg country there will be after
striking of one-third who will likely go to California, leaving
one hundred and five voters. From Vancouver and Nisqually
inclusive seventy-three and at the falls of Willamette thirty-
seven and I think twelve that are scattered through other coun-
ties, making in all 227 votes and with what influence these
can have on those who are unsuspecting I think for our people
who may count 250 and I must say they must support the man
who we know to be our friend."

Doctor: "That will do— that'l do— that'l do— this— this
with what Mr. Ogden, he being an American and Mr. Douglas
being a Church of England man can get will make our number
pretty powerful and you know I have lead by the nose many
of these boasted Democrats whenever I wanted their help."

Douglas: "Yes, your ideas are good but it will require a
good deal of management. They now have their officers here
and the course that should be taken more effectually, secure
the help of those who they can influence is to get into their good
graces as much as possible and endeavor to impress on them the
necessity of electing Meek and then make an assault on the
American strength by splitting their votes on various candi-
dates. This will weaken them and give us a chance for
success."

Doctor: "Very good plan — very good plan — very good
plan, Mr. Douglas, and in addition to what you have said
take care to salute the governor from these batteries we built
about the commencement of the Cayuse war to fight of the
American's Colonel — that hotheaded colonel we handled so well
at Waiilatpu when he would have been onto the Indians so
snugly if we hadn't had our good friend Bob Newell and the
interpreters there to hold him back. We will now use these
batteries on their new governor's vanity and perhaps do as
much good in this way as they did on Governor Abernathy's
peace feelings during the war with the Cayuses."

LOWNSDALE LETTER TO THURSTON 249

(Rap-rap-rap at the door.)

"Mr. Burns, see who that is that has any business with me
at this time of night."

(Mr. Burns goes to the hall door and returns.)

Burns : "It is Mr. Newell. Shall I tell him to come in ?"

Doctor: "Yes, yes."

(Enter Robert Newell, in familiar manner.)

Doctor : "Well, well, I'm astonished ! But I've often heard
it said 'speak of the devil and his imps will appear.' I was
just speaking about you. What news?"

Newell: "Nothing of much importance, except I want to
see the Governor and if possible get him to go with me up
the Columbia. Some of our Indians are down and say the
Americans are up there buying horses and horses have become
scarce and I want a few before the troops come on to speculate
on out of Mr. Quartermaster before it is too late."

Doctor : "Capital ! capital ! Just what I want — good opera-
tion. Well, Robert, I will go with you in the morning to see
the Governor and persuade him he ought to see the Indians
and if he is not made of better democracy than Wilkes

(NOTE — From the above abrupt ending it is evident that a
part of the manuscript is missing.)

JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH WHILE WITH
THE FUR TRADERS, VASQUEZ AND SUB-
LETTE, IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN
REGION, 1839-1840

CONTRIBUTOR'S NOTE

Mr. E. Willard Smith was an architect and civil engineer.
He was born at Albany, N. Y., in 1814, and died at Washing-
ton, D. C. He married Miss Charlotte Lansing, of Lansing,
Mich. This interesting account of his expedition to the Rocky
Mountain region was copied from a manuscript belonging to
his daughter Margaret, who married Edwin Forest Norveil,
son of Senator John Norveil of Michigan, and was obtained
through the courtesy of her daughter, Mrs. E. Oliver Belt,
of Washington, D. C.

J. NEILSON BARRY,

Barrycrest, Spokane.

INTRODUCTION

The journal printed below throws new light on the fur
trading situation in the Rocky Mountains in its waning stages.
It touches on the human, or possibly better designated in-
human, rather than on the economic aspects of the operations
of those engaged in the business. Specifically it is a realistic
account of the incidents experienced on one of the later ex-
peditions setting out from St. Louis to the Rocky Mountain
posts and rendezvous. Some eleven months were used in
making the trip out and back, from early August, 1839, to
July 3, 1840.

The expedition was probably capitalized by one of the most
distinguished of the Rocky Mountain fur traders, William L.
Sublette. He was one of the young men in the employ of
William H. Ashley when the Rocky Mountain Fur Company
was organized in 1822. Among those who began their careers
with Sublette were Jedediah S. Smith, David E. Jackson, Rob-

JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH 251

ert Campbell, James Bridger and Thomas Fitzpatrick. William
L. and his brother, Milton G. soon rose to prominence and
took charge of independent enterprises. William's partner in
this undertaking was Vasquez, who seems to have been more
active in personally conducting the expedition which Sublette
had probably the larger share in fitting out.

Their post was located on the upper South Fork of the
Platte. Its site was about fifty miles north of that of the pres-
ent city of Denver.

In the immediate neighborhood there were three other fur
trading forts. Lupton's was above and St. Vrain's and the
other were below. All were within a day's journey of Long's
Peak.

Colonel H. M. Chittenden seems to have had no data at
hand bearing upon the operations in this vicinity, while writing
his "American Fur Trade in the Far West." He is aware only
of the bare fact of the existence of these posts.

The expedition which E. Willard Smith, the author of this
journal, accompanied had probably proceeded up the Missouri
River from St. Louis by boat to Independence. From that
point it set out equipped, as the journal describes, following the
Santa Fe Trail for some four hundred miles to the ford of the
Arkansas, the Cimarron crossing; thence its route was along
the mountain branch of the Santa Fe Trail, on the north bank
of the Arkansas, to Bent's Fort. They of the Sublette and
Vasquez party overtake and pass Lupton's company of a char-
acter similar to their own and having a destination separated
only four or five miles from theirs. But Lupton's oxen were
not as fleet as Vasquez's mules.

Bent's Fort marked a turning point in their course. They
had traveled westward some 530 miles from Independence.
A ten days' march northward was still ahead of them to reach
their fort on the South Fork. Bent's Fort which they were
passing was so situated as to be in touch both with the Santa
Fe trade and with that of the mountains. Chittenden speaks
of this post as "the great cross roads station of the South-
west. The north and south route between the Platte River

252 JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH

country and Santa Fe, and the east and west route up the
Arkansas and into the mountains, found this their most natural
trading point."

Bent and St. Vrain, the firm owning Bent's Fort and St.
Vrain's to the north, is mentioned by Chittenden as the chief
competitor of the American Fur Company at this time. But
of Vasquez and Subletted operations his sources seem to have
afforded him no information as he is certain only of the mere
fact of the existence of their fort.

Turning now to the contents of the journal, we are givon
a very clear picture of the face of the country traversed on this
northward stretch and of the Indians encountered and game
found. After tarrying only three days near the middle of
September at the Vasquez and Sublette fort the expedition
was on its way westward across the Rocky Mountains. Its
route crossed the Cache a la Poudre and the upper North Fork
of the Platte and traversed the new or North Park of the
northwestern portion of the present state of Colorado and the
northeastern corner of Utah. The pass used is some two
hundred miles southeast of South Pass.

The ultimate destination of the expedition and proposed
winter quarters was Brown's Hole. This is an amphitheater-
shaped basin where the Green River emerges from the Wind
River Mountains. The "Snake River" mentioned is a small
tributary of the Green.

The narrative indicates that horse-stealing by both renegade
whites and by the Sioux Indians, and the retaliations, developed
a veritable reign of terror in the early winter of 1839-40 in this
Rocky Mountain fastness. At any rate the fear of attempted
retaliation by the whole force of the Sioux nation caused a
change of plans and the Vasquez-Sublette party instead of re-
maining at Brown's Hole all winter essayed a mid-winter return
across the mountains to its fort on the South Fork of the
Platte. After all but two of their horses had perished and
they had been compelled to scaffold their collection of beaver
skins, they reached the upper North Fork of the Platte, still
one hundred and fifty miles from the shelter of their fort and a

JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH 253

new outfit of horses. From this encampment Smith and two
companions venture to penetrate the wintry wilderness ahead
to secure from the fort the necessary horses with which to
convey the party and its collection of furs to the fort. In-
superable difficulties of travel and signs of proximity of large
bands of Indians ahead of them bring dismay. They return
to the encampment and a more successful venture is made by
their leading trader, Biggs. Resupplied with horses, and their
packs of beaver brought up, they were on their way to the
South Fork about the middle of April. From their fort the
trip to St. Louis was made in a "Mackinaw" boat.

There are interesting references to the I. R. Walker, who
as assistant to Captain Bonneville had in 1833 penetrated from
the Great Salt Lake to California. Smith mentions him as
commissioned to guide another party to California. It is said of
him that he "requested the epitaph on his tombstone record
the fact that he discovered the Yosemite wonderland."

There are also interesting references to the natural won-
ders that have since been included in the Yellowstone National
Park.

JOURNAL

August 6th, 1839. Left Independence. The party at start-
ing consisted of thirty-two persons under the command of
Messrs. Vasquez and Sublette. There were four wagons loaded
with goods, to be used in the Indian trade, drawn by six mules
each. The drivers accompanied the wagons, the rest of the
party riding on mules. These men were French, American,
Spanish and half breeds.

After leaving the boundary line of Missouri State we lost
all traces of civilization. The soil appeared to be very fertile
for about one hundred miles, being well watered by streams
running south into the Arkansas. On the banks of these streams
were many dense groves, while the intervening country con-
sisted of prairies. The grove on the last stream we met with
was called Council Grove, one hundred miles from the state

254 JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH

line, which place we reached on the 15th of August. It had
formerly been a favorite place for the Indian council fires.

On the night of the 15th we had a very severe rain, which
was a pleasant introduction to a life on the prairies. Our food
consisted of bacon and bread baked in a frying pan. The two
gentlemen who had command of the party were old Indian
traders, having followed this mode of life for more than ten
years, there were also with us Mr. Thompson who had a trading
post on the western side of the mountains, and two half breeds
employed as hunters. One of them was a son of Captain
Clarke, the great Western traveler and companion of Lewis.
He had received an education in Europe during seven years.

16th August. Today we saw several antelopes.

17th August. We came in sight of the Arkansas River,
quite a large stream about two hundred yards wide. The banks
were low and sandy, with a few scattered trees. We con-
tinued to travel along its banks for several days at a short
distance from the stream. There were a large species of spider
whose bite was mortal. We had several moonlight nights to
cheer the guard.

21st. Some of the party killed two antelope, an old and a
young one, which were prepared for dinner. We found them
not very palatable, but still acceptable after having lived so long
on bacon alone, our stock of flour being exhausted some days
previous. The meat resembles venison somewhat, though
not equal to it in flavor. This animal is smaller than the com-
mon deer, which it very much resembles in color and quality
of hair, but its horns are different, being smaller and less
branching. It is very fleet, even more so than a deer, and
requires a very swift horse to overtake it. Their great watch-
fulness renders it difficult to approach them.

On this same day we saw seven buffaloes as we were pre-
paring dinner. The sight of them quite enlivened the party,
who were most of them strangers to a life in the prairies. Mr.
Sublette gave chase to one of them, being mounted on a horse
trained for the purpose, and fired several times without effect.

JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH 255

22nd. At noon we saw a large herd of two or three hundred
buffalo cows. Some of the hunters gave chase, but returned
unsuccessful. Several of them were thrown from their horses,
and severely injured, as they were riding over a village of
prairie dogs, the horses' feet sinking into the holes. We
suffered much today from want of water. Saw also the first
village of prairie dogs, which was quite a curiosity. One
of the dogs was killed and eaten. They look somewhat like
a squirrel, being nearly the same size. Sometimes the same
hole is occupied by an owl, rattlesnake and prairie dog. Today
the grass begins to be short, and there is little dew. Before the
dew has been so heavy as to wet us thoroughly during the
night. No buffalo meat today. At evening two of the party
went out to hunt and shot a bull, being much pleased with
their success. They thought they heard the Indians whoop,
but it was nothing more than the howling of wolves. Bulls at
this season are poor and unfit to eat. They are therefore rarely
killed when cows are to be obtained.

August 23rd. Today all the hunters started after buffalo,
and we anxiously awaited their return. Took breakfast this
morning at day break, somewhat out of the usual course. We
generally arose at break of day, traveled till ten or eleven, then
encamped and cooked our breakfast. We then continued our
journey till within an hour of sunset, when we encamped
for the night, prepared our supper and picketed the horses.
This is done by tying a rope, eighteen or twenty feet long, to a
horse's neck, and attaching to it a stake driven into the ground,
which allows them to feed, without permitting them to wander
off. We stand guard by turns at night, each one being on
duty three hours. After the night arrangements were made
we spread our blankets and courted sleep which speedily came
alter the fatigues of the day. The canopy of heaven was our
only covering. There was a severe storm during the night.

At noon of the 23rd the hunters returned with meat, having
killed three cows. All turned cooks, and ate voraciously of the
first buffalo meat we had tasted. I think with most others who
have eaten it, that it is preferable to any other meat. We saw

256 JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH

several thousand buffalo today, two or three herds containing
about three hundred. All feel in good spirits although the water
is extremely bad, indeed we have had good water but twice
since we started. Towards evening we passed a great number
of buffaloes, the prairie being actually alive with them. They
extended probably about four miles, and numbered nearly
two hundred thousand. We were amazed with a scene so
new to us, so strange to one accustomed to cities and civilization.

24th. Today we saw nearly as many buffaloes as yesterday.
So many are not generally met at this season so far East. We
are now about three hundred miles from Independence. We
had grown weary with the monotony of traveling till we met
buffalo, but the excitement of hunting soon revived us.

26th. We have met with nothing very interesting today,
but have seen a great many buffaloes, and at evening en-
camped on the banks of the Arkansas. The river here is pretty
wide, but not more than two or three feet deep. We shall now
continue to travel along the Arkansas for ten or twelve days.
The river here is the boundary between Mexico and Missouri
Territory.

26th. A pleasant day, but the evenings are becoming cool.
We are not as much troubled with mosquitoes as for several
nights previously. This has been a long day's journey. We
now live on buffalo meat altogether, which requires very little
salt. Our party now consists of thirty-six persons, having
been joined by four on the sixteenth.

27th. Another pleasant day. We are getting along rapidly,
traveling about twenty-five miles a day. Our hunters go out
again today for meat. There are two ways of hunting buffaloes.
One called approaching, the other running. When a hunter
approaches he puts on a white blanket coat and a white cap,
so as to resemble a white wolf as much as possible, and crawls
on his hands and knees towards the buffalo, until he gets within
one hundred and fifty yards, then sinks his knife in the ground,
lies prostrate, rests his gun on his knife, and fires at the animal.
It generally requires more than one shot to kill a buffalo, even
if he should be shot through the heart. The way of hunting

JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH 257

by running is on horseback. The man mounts a fleet horse
trained for the purpose, rides full speed toward the herd, and
fires a light fowling piece, which he carries in one hand, while
he guides the horse with the other. The moment the hunter
fires his piece, the horse springs out of the reach of the buffalo
to escape injury from the infuriated animal. This is the most
exciting method of hunting, but it is attended with consider-
able danger, the horse being liable to stumble over the rough
ground. The Indians prefer this mode of hunting, substi-
tuting the bow and arrow for the gun. This weapon they use
with such dexterity as to shoot an arrow entirely through the
animal, piercing the ground on the opposite side. It is very
difficult for a bullet, at the regular shooting distance to pass
through the body. We saw ten antelopes today. Every night
we have a grand concert of wolves, relieved occasionally by the
bellowing of buffalo bulls.

During the last week we passed several places where men
belonging to former parties had been killed by the Indians. The
other day we passed a place where Mr. Vasquez had a narrow
escape. He and one of his men started for his fort in advance
of the party. The man being taken sick, he left him on an
island in the Arkansas. He then went back for medicine, hav-
ing to travel a day and a half. While returning he was chased
by a party of Indians on foot, who overtook him while he
stopped to drink, and were at his side before he could mount
his horse. He presented the muzzle of his gun, and the Indians
stepped back, allowing him time to mount his horse, which
taking fright, ran away with him. The Indians gave up the
pursuit. They were a party of Pawnees. The part of the road
we are now traveling runs through the general war ground
of the different tribes of Indians.

28th. Nothing very remarkable today. The weather still
continues pleasant.

29th. Nothing interesting today. Buffalo have been very
scarce for several days. The hunters went out this afternoon
and could get nothing but antelope meat, which afforded us a
good meal as we were hungry.

258 JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH

30th. We still travel as usual. We had been expecting to
overtake Mr. Lupton every day. He is a mountain trader, on
his way to the trading post on the river Platte. We overtook
him today about noon. His party had stopped to eat dinner
and allow their animals to feed. He had six wagons drawn by
oxen. They had started about twelve days before us. He
mistook us for Indians as we approached, and was somewhat
alarmed. We saw three deer today on an island, one of them
a buck was very large.

31st. This is the last day of August and of summer. We
saw six elk today, one of them being an old one, was quite
large. Mr. Lupton encamped with us today as well as last
night. He is trying to keep in company with us, but probably
will not succeed, as our mules can travel much faster than his
oxen. We had a buffalo hunt today. Our men killed one. Mr.
Lupton's men another. It is a fine sight to see them running
a large herd. This is Saturday. It is difficult to mark the
Sabbath as there are no church bells to remind us of it.

September 1st. Today we came in sight of what is called
Big Timber, sixty miles from Bent's Fort on the Arkansas.
We had no fresh buffalo meat today, and there are no buffalo
to be seen.

2nd. Today we left Big Timber at noon. The prairie here
is more rolling and sandy than we have seen it before. We
had a view of the mountains this afternoon, but they are still
one hundred and fifty miles distant. We are enabled to see
this great distance on account of the clearness of the atmos-
phere. There is no dew at night, the atmosphere being very
dry and clear. The weather is very warm. No fresh meat
today. Buffalo is very scarce.

3rd. Today we passed Bent's Fort which looks quite like
a military fortification. It is constructed of mud bricks after
the Spanish fashion, and is quite durable. Mr. Bent had sev-
enty horses stolen from the fort this summer by a party of the
Comanchee Indians, nine in number. There was a party of
these Indians, consisting of three thousand lodges, a few miles
distant.

JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH 259

4th. Today we passed a Spanish fort about two miles from
Bent's. It is also built of mud, and inhabited by a few Spanish
and French. They procure flour from Towse [Taos], a town
in Mexico, eight days' travel from this place. They raise a
small quantity of corn for their own use. We still continue
along the Arkansas River. Last night we saw the northern
lights very plainly. Three of our party have now left to go
in advance to the fort on the Platte.

5th. Today we came in sight of Pike's Peak, which can be
seen at a very great distance. It has snow on its summit at
present. We have had no fresh meat today. The soil along
the river is very sandy. We still continue on its banks. The
ground here is covered with prickly pears. There is a shrub
growing here called grease wood. It is peculiar to this country.
The Indians use it for making arrows. It is very heavy and
stiff, and burns quickly. There is also here a plant called
Spanish soap plant. The Mexicans use the root as a substitute
for soap. We have been obliged to eat bacon today as the
stock of buffalo meat is exhausted.

6th. Today our hunters killed two buck deer. They tasted
very well. We still keep approaching the mountains, which
have a very fine appearance. The Peak is very high, it was dis-
covered by General Pike when in company with Major Long
on his expedition to the mountains. Pike and his party were
taken prisoners at this mountain by the Mexicans. One of his
companions was kept four years in prison.

7th. We have been going uphill all day and have reached
some high ground, which gives us a splendid view of the plain
below. We can see at least eighty miles in either direction
except where the mountains bound our view at the distance of
forty miles. We ate our dinner beside a stream called Fontaine
qui bouille, boiling spring, called so on account of the manner
in which it boils from the mountains. We found a great quan-
tity of wild plums on the banks of this stream and saw signs
of grizzly bears in this vicinity. This is a famous resort in
the winter for the Arapahoos and Shian Indians. The traders
have houses here for trading with them in the winter.

260 JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH

8th. Today we saw a few scattering buffaloes, we had not
seen any in some time, and, with the exception of a little ven-
ison, had been living on bacon. Towards evening the hunters
came in with some bull's meat, which made our supper, although
rather unpalatable. We had a very severe storm of wind and
rain last night. The wind is always strong on these plains,
like a gale at sea. It is almost impossible to travel here in
winter.

9th. Today we met several large herds of buffalo, and the
hunters succeeded in getting some good meat, which was quite
an agreeable change. We all ate voraciously. It would astonish
the inhabitants of the city to drop in upon us at some of our
meals, after we had been on short allowance for two or three
days. It is incredible what a large quantity of buffalo meat a
man can eat without injury.

10th. Today and yesterday we passed through some strips
of pine timber, the first I have seen in this part of the country.
It is quite a relief after seeing nothing but cottonwood along
the prairie streams. As we were about encamping for the
night we saw some Indians, who proved to be Arapahoos. One
of them immediately galloped off to their village, as their large
encampments are called which was about five miles distant,
and informed the others that we were in the vicinity. At dusk
twenty-two, most of them chiefs, came out to see us. They
were all fine looking fellows, rather lighter colored than our
Eastern Indians. Two or three squaws accompanied them,
pretty good looking. The chiefs seated themselves around the
fire, forming a ring with Mr. Vasquez, and commenced smok-
ing their long pipes, which they passed around several times,
every one smoking out of the same pipe. They were all well
acquainted with Mr. Vasquez, and remained with him two or
three hours. Before leaving we presented them with some
tobacco and knives. Among their number was one Shian and
one Blackfoot.

llth. Nothing new today. We expect to reach the fort
soon. We are still eating bull's meat.

JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH 261

12th. Living nearly the same as yesterday and traveling
pretty fast. Almost out of provisions. In the evening we
arrived at the Platte river and encamped.

13th. Today about four o'clock we passed Mr. Luptoris
Fort. A little after five we reached the fort of Messrs. Sub-
lette and Vasquez, the place of our destination. Our arrival
caused considerable stir among the inmates. A great many
free trappers are here at present. The fort is quite a nice
place, situated on the South Fork of the River Platte. It is
built of adobies, or Spanish bricks, made of clay baked in the
sun. This is the Mexican plan of building houses, and, as
the atmosphere is very dry, and there is little rain, the buildings
are quite durable. This fort is opposite Long's Peak, and
about twenty miles distant. We slept all night at the fort
and supped on some very good meat. This is the first time I
have slept under cover for thirty-seven days.

14th. Today I moved my quarters to Mr. Thompson's camp,
a mile and a half from the fort, and shall remain with him
till we start to cross the mountains, which will be in a few days.
There are a few lodges of the Shian Indians near us. We have
smoked with and embraced two today.

15th. We are still at the camp. Nothing remarkable has
happened. The men at the fort have been carousing, etc., hav-
ing got drunk on alcohol. There are about twelve lodges of
Shians encamped at the fort who have been trading with the
whites. They had a scalp dance in the fort today, dancing by
the music of an instrument resembling the tambourine. They
were armed with short bows, about three feet long.

16th. Today we left our encampment, and started to cross
the mountains. Our party consisted of eight men, two squaws
and three children. One of the squaws belonged to Mr.
Thompson, the other to Mr. Craig. They are partners, and
have a trading fort at Brown's Hole, a valley on the west of
the mountains.

17th. One of our mules was nearly drowned today in cross-
ing the stream, a branch of the River Platte. It was with great

262 JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH

difficulty that he was extricated from his perilous situation.
The middle of the day is quite warm now, but the mornings
and the evenings are cool.

18th. We encamped last night on a small stream cache la
Poudre, called so because powder was hidden there some time
since. Our camp was just at the foot of the mountain, in a
very pleasant place. During the day we passed several pools
and creeks, the water of which were impregnated with salt-
petre.

19th. Today we began to travel among the hills at the foot
of the mountains. The change is very pleasant after the prairies
in hot weather. One soon becomes tired of traveling over a
prairie, all is so monotonous. The road we are traveling now
is surrounded by hills piled on hills, with mountains in the back-
ground. The water in all the small streams is very good and
cold.

20th. Today the road became more rough. We had some
very high and steep hills to climb. One would scarcely think
from their appearance that a horse could ascend them, but we
crossed without any great difficulty. Messrs. Thompson and
Craig went before us and killed three buffaloes. Before this
we had plenty of fat venison. In the afternoon they killed three
deer. At night it was quite cold and frosty.

21st. Today it is quite cold. We have been climbing more
hills. At noon the hunters came to us, having killed six buf-
faloes and a calf. We saw a great many buffalo today. We
are encamped in a beautiful valley. It is probably more than
sixty miles long, as far as the eye can reach. The view from
the surrounding mountains is grand. The valley is surrounded
by high hills, with mountains in the back ground. Large herds
of buffalo are scattered over it. There is a large stream flow-
ing through it, called Laramie's Fork, tributary to the North
Fork of the Platte. It has several small streams flowing into
it. The timber on all these hills and mountains is yellow pine,
some of it being quite large. In this plain there is a very large
rock, composed of red sandstone and resembling a chimney.
It is situated on a fork of the Laramie called Chimney Fork.

JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH 263

22nd. Nothing remarkable today except beautiful scenery.
We travel more than twenty miles a day. The weather is very
pleasant, quite warm at noon while it freezes hard at night.

23d. This morning the road was very rough. At noon we
entered a very large valley, called the Park, at the entrance of
which we crossed the North Fork of the River Platte, a very
fine stream. We saw a great number of buffalo today, prob-
ably about two thousand.

24th. Today we are still traveling in the park and surround-
ed by herds of buffalo. The weather is still pleasant and we
have moonlight nights. It is so cold at night that the water
freezes. A beaver was caught this morning in a trap set last
night by one of the party.

25th. Today we have had a very rough road to travel
over, and at evening encamped on a ridge called The Divide.
It divides the water of the Atlantic from the Pacific, and ex-
tends a great distance north and south. On the west side of
it are the head waters of the Columbia and the Colorado of
the West, the former emptying into the Pacific, and the latter
into the Gulf of California. On the east side are the head
waters of the Missouri and its tributaries, and also the Ar-
kansas. We had a slight shower in the evening. We have
seen no buffalo today.

26th. Today we have traveled only fifteen miles. The
scenery is very rough. We saw only a few bulls and no cows.
Nearly all the hills and valleys, since we came among the moun-
tains, are covered with wild sage or wormwood, which grows
in stiff bushes, seven or eight feet high. The stalks are as large
as a man's arm. There are a great many black currants among
the mountains, also plums and sarvis [service] and hawthorn
berries.

27th. Today we have traveled about twenty miles. The
weather still continues very pleasant. At evening just before
we encamped for the night we passed a place where the Whites
had encamped a few days previous, for the purpose of killing
buffalo and drying the meat. From the signs around us, we
thought they must have had a fight with the Indians, prob-

264 JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH

ably Sioux. We saw the skeletons of four horses killed in
the fight. The Whites had thrown up a breastwork of logs
for a defence. Tonight we put our horses in an old horse-
pen we found at our camping place, which is on Snake River,
a tributary of the Colorado of the West.

28th. Today we had a good road and got along well. We
are still on Snake River. No buffalo have been seen, but the
hunters killed an elk out of a herd of about twelve. The meat
resembles venison very much in taste, though not quite so
tender.

29th. Today we left Snake River and about noon found
Indian signs. We supposed there must have been about forty
Indians, probably a war party of Sioux, that had passed but
two or three hours previous to our coming. If they had seen
us we must have had a fight.

30th. Yesterday afternoon my horse gave out and I was
obliged to lead him three miles. The day was quite warm and
we suffered very much from want of water. We encamped
at some sulphur springs. The hunters shot an old buffalo.
Today I was obliged to walk and let my horse run loose. I
was afraid that he would be unable to travel all day, even in
this way. My boots were torn to pieces and I could procure
no moccasins. I traveled forty miles in this way over a very
rough road, covered with prickly pears. My feet were very
much blistered. The day was very warm. After traveling
forty miles without water I lost sight of the party who were
in advance of me. As it was growing dark and my feet pained
me very much, I concluded to stop for the night and encamp
by myself on a stream called the Vermilion that we had just
reached. I did so and remained there all night alone. I
have never suffered so much from thirst as I did this day.

October 1st. I left my lonely camp early and walked rapid-
ly over the gravel and prickly pears that lay in my path, not
expecting to see my companions until I arrived at Brown's
Hole, but after traveling two miles I discovered them encamped
by a small lake in a valley. My pleasure can be easily imagined.
They were just eating breakfast of which I partook with de-

JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH 265

light, having eaten nothing the day before. At evening we
arrived at Brown's Hole, our place of destination. This is a
valley on Green River in which is a fort.

October 2nd. Today I heard from Kit Carson the partic-
ulars of the fight at the breastworks at Snake River, referred to
a few days since. It appears that the party was composed
of seven whites and two squaws who had come there from
Brown's Hole for the purpose of killing buffalo and drying
the meat. They had been there several days and had dried a
large quantity of meat when they were attackd by a party of
Sioux, about twenty in number. The attack was made toward
morning while it was yet dark. The Indians fired principally
at one man, named Spillers, as he lay asleep outside of the
horse-pen, and they pierced him with five balls without wound-
ing anyone else. This awakened the rest of the men, and they
began to strengthen a horse-pen they had made of logs, to
form it into a breastwork. They digged some holes in the
ground for the men to stand in, so as to protect them as much
as possible. As soon as it became light, they commenced
firing at the Indians, of whom they killed and wounded sev-
eral. After exchanging several shots the principal Indian chief
rode up toward them and made offers of peace. One of the
white men went out, and induced him with several others to
come toward them, when they were within shooting distance,
he fell back behind some trees, and gave the signal to his
companions, who fired and killed the head chief. The Indians
kept up a firing for a short time and then retreated. When
the chief was shot he jumped up and fell down, the others were
very much excited, and raved and tore around. He was a dis-
tinguished chief.

October 3rd. Still at the fort which is situated in a small
valley surrounded by mountains, on Green River, a tributary
of the Colorado. This is quite a stream, about three hundred
yards wide. It runs through a narrow passage or canyon in
the mountains, the rocks forming a perpendicular wall on each
side five hundred feet high.

266 JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH

October 6th. We had a snow storm today. It fell about
six inches deep. I had intended to go to Fort Hall, a fort
belonging to the Hudson's Bay Company, situated at the head
waters of the Columbia, but the party disappointed me.

10th. I have been at the fort since my first arrival, nothing
of importance has occurred. The weather is still very pleasant.
Today we started for a buffalo hunt, to make dried meat. There
were about thirty in the party, about half of them being squaws,
wives of the white trappers. We had sixty horses with us. We
were ten days in reaching the buffalo herds, although we met
a few scattered animals the second day. We made our first
camp for drying meat on Snake River, at the mouth of a creek
called Muddy. We had stormy weather for several days, and
after remaining at this encampment for three days, we moved
farther down the river where we remained several days. Dur-
ing the whole time we were out we killed one hundred buffalo
and dried their meat. Some of the party had also killed six
grizzly bears quite near the camp. The hunters gave me one
of the skins of a beautiful grizzly brown color, and some of
the meat very much like pork.

November 1st. We arrived at the fort the first of Novem-
ber, and remained there until the eighth. On the evening of
the first there were one hundred and fifty head of horses stolen
from the vicinity of the fort by a party of Sioux, as we after-
wards learned. This was very unexpected as the trappers and
Snake Indians had been in the habit of letting their horses
run loose in this vicinity, unattended by a guard, as the place
was unknown to any of the hostile Indians. This event caused
considerable commotion at the fort, and they determined to
fit out a war party to go in search of the stolen horses, but
next morning this project was abandoned. A party of twelve
men went over to Fort Hall, belonging to the Hudson's Bay
Company, and stole several horses from that company, not-
withstanding they had been very well treated by the man who
had charge of the fort. On their return they stopped at a
small encampment of Snake Indians, consisting of three lodges.
One of them belonged to a very old man who invited them to

JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH 267

eat with him and treated them with great hospitality. At eve-
ning the whites proceeded on their journey taking with them
all the old Indian's horses. On returning to Green River, the
trappers remaining at the fort expressed their displeasure so
strongly at this act of unparalleled meanness that they were
obliged to leave the party and go to a trading post of the Eutaw
Indians. The whites in the valley, fearing that the Snake
Indians might retaliate upon them for the loss of their horses
pursued the thieves and compelled them to restore the stolen
property.

8th. We moved up the river a short distance to a log cabin,
built by some young men, who had come to the mountains last
spring, intending to remain there until the following spring.

December 17th. There are here now, and have been for
some time, about twenty lodges of Indians of the Snake tribe.
They call themselves Shoshonies. We obtained a few skins
from them in exchange for trinkets. They are very good look-
ing Indians. The men are generally tall and slightly made,
the women short and stout. There is a large salt lake in
the mountains about four days travel from Brown's Hole. This
lake is a hundred miles long from north to south and thirty
miles wide. There are islands in the midst of it which have
never been explored. These islands have high hills and are
well wooded. The water of the lake is very strongly im-
pregnated with salt. Salt of the best quality is found crys-
talized along the shores in great abundance. There are several
fresh water streams running into this lake, one of which is
Great Bear River. The surrounding country is rocky and
gravelly, and there is considerable timber around the lake.
There is also a salt creek near it, the water of which is very
similar, where the Indians find beautiful salt. There are a
great many salt springs in this vicinity.

Near the headwaters of the Missouri is a valley filled with
mounds, emitting smoke and vapor, the ground composing
this valley is very soft, so much so that a horse will sink to
his girths in the ground.

268 JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH

On the west side of the mountains, are streams that seem to
ebb and flow like the tide. In the mornings their banks are
overflowing, at noon they are perfectly dry, the next morning
flowing again.

The country around the headwaters of the Yellowstone, a
tributary of the Missouri, abounds in natural curiosities. There
are volcanoes, volcanic productions and carbonated springs.
Mr. Vasquez told me that he went to the top of one of these
volcanoes, the crater of which was filled with pure water,
forming quite a large lake.

There is a story told by an Arapahoo chief of a petrified
buffalo standing in the lake on the east side of the mountains.
It was in a perfect state of preservation, and they worship it
as a great medicine or charm. There are also moccasin and
buffalo tracks in the solid rock along the shore of the lake.
Nothing would induce this Indian to tell where this sacred
buffalo is to be found. Great presents were offered to him
in vain.

There is a party, going in boats from this valley in the spring
down Grand River, on the Colorado of the West, to California.
They will be led by Mr. Walker who was with Bonneville in the
mountains. They intend trapping for beaver on the way.

The weather in this valley is extremely pleasant this winter,
with scarcely any snow. It is as warm in the middle of the
day as in June in New York, the latitude of the place is sup-
posed to be forty-two degrees.

We intended to spend the winter in the valley of Brown's
Hole, but soon had reason to fear an attack from the Sioux.
The party before mentioned, who had lost their chief in an
encounter with some whites, had returned to their principal
tribe and intended coming in numbers to attack us in the
spring.

We therefore thought it unsafe to remain until then, but
were fearful of crossing the mountains during the winter, a
thing never before attempted. But some men arrived at our
encampment from the fort on the South Fork and assured us
that there was no snow in the mountain passes. Then we con-

JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH 269

eluded to leave the valley immediately, and to re-cross the moun-
tains, preferring1 the probability of the danger thus before us to
the almost certain contest with the Indians.

We left the valley of Brown's Hole on the twenty-fourth of
January, 1840, to return to the trading- post on the South Fork
of the Platte. The weather when we started, as for some time
previous, was warm and pleasant. Our party consisted of
twenty persons, fourteen men, four squaws, wives of the trap-
pers, and two children. There were two traders in the com-
pany, one, Mr. Biggs, who was a trader for Sublette and
Vasques, the other, Mr. Baker, a trader for Bent and St.
Varian [St. Vrain]. There were also1 three free trappers. The
others were men hired to the two traders.

On the 26th of January we met a party of Eutaw Indians
who had been out hunting buffalo. These Indians are the best
marksmen in the mountains, and are armed with good rifles.

On the 27th of January we arrived at Snake River and re-
mained there four days. While there the snow fell two feet
deep. We had three Indian lodges with us, in which we slept
at night.

On the 2nd of February we encamped at a creek called
Muddy. We found considerable difficulty in traveling through
the snow during the day. Our hunters killed some buffalo
today and provided us with fresh meat.

On the 4th the snow became very deep, and in a few days
we found ourselves surrounded by snow six feet deep, and no
buffalo to be seen, our stock of provisions was nearly ex-
hausted.

On the 17th of February we encamped on a high hill, and
one of the horses gave out, being unable to carry the load any
farther. Here we encountered one of the most severe storms
I ever witnessed. Considerable snow fell, and the wind blew
for two nights and a day. During the night one of the lodges
blew down, and its occupants were obliged to remove to one
of the others to prevent being frozen. We started with thirty-
nine horses and mules, all in good order. Some of them were
now dying daily for want of food and water. We traveled

270 JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH

but three or four miles a day, on account of the depth of snow.
By this time many of us were on foot and were obliged to go
before and break the way for the horses.

Our provisions were being exhausted, we were obliged to
eat the horses as they died. In this way we lived fifteen days,
eating a few dogs in the meantime. In a few days we were all
on foot. We suffered greatly from want of wood. There was
no timber to be seen on our route. We were obliged to burn
a shrub called sage, a species of wormwood, which one could
only obtain in quantities sufficient to keep up a fire for an hour
in the evening. We obtained no water except by melting
snow.

During this time we had some very severe storms of wind
and snow. Often one or two of the lodges were thrown down
in the night. We were now obliged to make a scaffold of
some trees which we found, and leave our beaver skins on it,
with all the furs we had collected. It was made sufficiently
high to prevent the bears from reaching it. We were unable
to carry them farther, as so few horses remained. All had died
except two? and they were so weak as to be almost unable to
drag the tents.

On the 23rd our hunters killed a buffalo which was very
poor, the meat, however, was very pleasant to us, after having
lived so long on poor horse meat.

On the 24th the hunters killed three fat buffalo, which was the
first fat meat we had seen for twenty days. All ate a large
quantity of the raw tallow, having been rendered voracious
by our wretched food and near approach to starvation. On the
afternoon of this day we encamped on the North Fork of the
River Platte, which here runs through a small valley sur-
rounded by mountains. At this place there was scarcely any
snow to be seen, and the weather is quite warm. We were
still one hundred and fifty miles from the trading fort. This
valley was filled with herds of buffalo.

After remaining here four days, three of us started on the
29th of February to go to the fort for horses. We traveled
until noon the first day without finding any snow. In the

JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH 271

afternoon we met pretty deep snow, and towards night it was
two feet deep, covered with a very hard crust. We found it very
difficult traveling, but went, notwithstanding, fifteen miles that
day. About dark we stopped on the summit of a hill which
was bare, the wind having blown the snow off. At this place
we could find nothing with which to build a fire to warm our-
selves. We were very wet, having traveled through the snow
all day. We were obliged to lie down on the bare ground, with
only a blanket apiece to cover us, and were unable to sleep
from the severe cold. Next morning we started by daylight
and found the snow deeper than the day before, the crust
was hard but not sufficiently so to bear one, which made walk-
ing very fatiguing. Notwithstanding the difficulty we traveled
fifteen miles that day. At sundown we came in sight of a
stream, the banks of which were covered with timber. We
hoped to spend a comfortable night beside a large fire but were
again disappointed. Before we had proceeded many steps we
saw Indian tracks in the snow, which could have been made
but a few hours previous. We judged from the number of
these tracks that there must have been a large party of Indians.

One of my companions had traveled this same route before
with two others, and at this same place had been attacked by a
large party of Sioux. One of his companions was killed, while
the others were robbed of everything and obliged to walk a
hundred and fifty miles to reach a trading post.

My companions being both afraid to proceed, we were
obliged to return to our party on the North Fork of the Platte.
We concluded to return that same night, although very much
fatigued. We were near what was called Medicine Bow Butte,
which takes its name from a stream running at its base, called
Medicine Bow Creek. We traveled all night and stopped just
as daylight was appearing, made a fire and rested half an hour.
The next night we found ourselves quite near the encampment
on the Platte.

Our party was very much disappointed to see us return.
Four days afterwards Mr. Biggs and a half breed started for
the fort by another route, where there was very little snow, and

272 JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH

no danger of meeting Indians. They took a horse with them to
carry their blankets and provisions.

In the meantime the party on the Platte were hunting daily,
and supplied themselves abundantly with provisions.

After waiting thirty days for the return of Mr. Biggs with
horses, we began to be fearful that he had been murdered by
the Indians, but on the forty-second day from the time of his
starting, just as we had given up all hope of seeing him, he
and Mr. Vasquez arrived, bringing with them horses sufficient
to carry the furs, but not enough to furnish saddle-horses for
all the party, consequently some were obliged to walk. They
also brought some men with them, increasing our number to
twenty-two.

Mr. Biggs immediately started to return for the beaver that
had been left some distance back, and was absent five days.

When Mr. Biggs started for the fort in search of horses
we built a fort of logs on the Platte to protect us from Indians.
We now left this fort on the 14th of April on our way to the fort
on the South Fork.

On the 16th we ate dinner at the Medicine Bow Creek, and
on the 19th arrived at Laramie Fork, a tributary of the Platte.
At the junction of this stream with the North Fork of the
River Platte the American Fur Company have a large trading
fort, called Fort Laramie. We saw a great many buffalo
every day as we passed along.

On the 22nd we met a small party of Arapahoo Indians
coming to visit their friends the Shoshonies, or Snake Indians.

On the 24th of April, in the afternoon, we crossed the South
Fork of the Platte with considerable difficulty, as the water
was very high. After traveling six miles we arrived at the
Fort of Sublette and Vasquez. We remained at the fort
nearly two days.

April 26th we started in a mackinaw boat, which had been
made at the fort at the foot of the mountains. This boat was
thirty-six feet long and eight feet wide. We had seven hun-
dred buffalo robes on board and four hundred buffalo tongues.
There were seven of us in company. The water of this river,

JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH 273

the South Fork of the Platte, was very shallow and we pro-
ceeded with difficulty, getting on sand bars every few minutes.
We were obliged to wade and push the boat along most of
the way for about three hundred miles, which we were forty-
nine days traveling. We had to unload the boat several times
a day when it was aground, which was very hard work.

May 8th. We saw the body of a Shoshonie squaw which
had been placed on a scaffold in the top of a large tree on the
bank of the river. This is the usual manner of disposing of
the dead among these Indians.

On the 9th, 10th and llth the wind blew violently, accom-
panied with heavy rain. We were unable to proceed. On the
eleventh three Shian Indians came to us. They belonged to a
party which had been out catching wild horses. They had suc-
ceeded in taking two hundred. One hundred of them had died
in a very severe storm a few days previous. The method adopt-
ed by the Indians for catching them is as follows : An Indian
mounts a fleet horse, having a rope twenty feet long, with a
noose at the end, fastened to his saddle. He rides close to
the animal he wishes to catch, and throws the noose, or lasso,
over its head. The horse rinding the noose over his head,
jumps, which chokes him and causes him to stop. As we
found no buffalo, we had eaten all of the four hundred tongues
we had brought.

On the 12th we killed the first buffalo we had seen since we
left the fort.

On the 13th we arrived at the camp of the Shian Indians,
the party mentioned before. They consisted of twenty-five
men and boys and one squaw. They were headed by a chief
called the Yellow Wolf. His brother was of the party having
a name which signified in the Indian language Many Crows.
We gave them some spirits, in exchange for a little meat, on
which they became very much intoxicated.

On the 14th and for many days after we saw a great many
dead buffalo calves strewed along the banks of the river. They
were about a week old and must have been killed by some dis-

274 JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH

ease raging among them, as the wolves would not touch them,
although here in great numbers. There were probably two
thousands of these calves.

On the 18th it stormed all day and night. Toward evening
we saw about three hundred wild horses, who came quite
near us. We have seen several large herds of buffalo for
several days past.

June 12th. We arrived at the fork of the Platte. The water
in the North Fork of the Platte was pretty high, and we were
able to proceed quite rapidly. We sometimes traveled fifty
miles a day. The main Platte is very wide, and has many
islands in it, which were covered with roses as we passed them.
In one place this river is four miles wide. One of its islands
is one hundred miles long. The country from the forks of the
Platte to the Missouri is claimed principally by the Pawnee
Indians.

June 14th. We met five buffalo, the last we saw, as we left
the country in which they range.

18th. In the morning we arrived at a Pawnee village. It
consists of a hundred and fifty lodges, made of poles covered
with mud. Each lodge contains three or four families. This
village is situated on the south bank of the river. These In-
dians raise excellent corn. The squaws perform all the labor
in the fields. We gave them some dried meat in exchange for
corn. This was the first vegetable food we had eaten in eleven
months.

19th. We were obliged to lay by on account of a violent
wind. At night we were much annoyed by mosquitoes.

20th. We passed the Loup Fork and also Shell Creek.

21st. We passed Horse Creek, a large stream coming in
from the north, also Saline, a large stream from the south.
The scenery here is very different from that farther up the
river. The banks of the Platte from the foot of the mountains
to this place have been low and sandy, with scarcely any trees
on the banks, but here the river has bluff banks thickly covered
with timber. There is a village of Pawnees, called the Pawnee
Loups, on the Loup Fork. The Pawnees have their heads

JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH 275

shaved closely, with the exception of the scalping tuft in the
middle, which gives them a very savage appearance. The river
below the Loup Fork is much narrower than above. We are
now in the country of the Otoe Indians.

On the evening of the 21st we arrived at a missionary sta^
tion, about fifteen miles from the mouth of the River Platte.
There are about twenty Otoe lodges near the missionary station.
These lodges are built of mud, in the same manner as the Paw-
nees. We went up to the missionary houses, expecting to find
some whites, and were much disappointed at finding them
deserted, the missionaries having removed to another place.

June 22nd. This morning we arrived at the mouth of the
river Platte. The Missouri, where we entered it, is rather
narrow. This is about eleven hundred miles from St. Louis.
In the afternoon we stopped at a log house on the bank of
the river. Here we saw the first whites who had gladdened
our eyes since leaving the mountains. They were at first afraid
of us. At this place was a small encampment of Pottawattamie
Indians. They had been drunk a few days before, and several
were killed in a fight. This is the part of the country to which
they had been removed. The banks of the Missouri here are
quite hilly. Some of the shores are composed of limestone.

23rd. In the evening we arrived at a settlement, where we
procured some fresh meat, bread and coffee. This place was in
the Iowa country and we saw several Indians of that tribe.

24th. We stopped at another settlement in the State of
Missouri, in Buchanan county. On the south side of the river
is Missouri Territory, and on the north the state of Missouri.
We saw some Sacks and Fox Indians today. We now traveled
rapidly, sometimes eighty miles a day.

July 3rd. We arrived at St. Louis, having come two thou-
sand miles from the mountains in sixty-nine days.

When traveling down the River Platte in our mackinaw
boat, as before stated, we often ran aground on sand bars,
and were obliged to unload the boat to lighten, push it off the
bar, and then reload. This occurred several times in the course
of each day, and of course kept us wading in the water most

276 JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH

of the time. We seldom found it more than waist deep. One
afternoon we tied up our boat about four o'clock, as was our
custom, to hunt buffaloes, as we were in want of provisions.
This would give us time to kill, and get the meat to the boat
before dark. It was usual for one of the party to remain with
the boat while the rest went to hunt. This afternoon it was
my turn to remain, which I accordingly did, and the rest of
the party went off about three miles from the boat in search
of game. This was rather a dangerous practice, as we were
in the Pawnee country, and very much exposed. The day was
quite pleasant with a strong breeze, and I was lounging on
the piles of furs in the boat, with my coat off. Alongside
of me lay a fine buffalo robe, that was damp, exposed to the
sun to dry. The wind blew it off into the river. I jumped off
the boat into the stream, ran down some distance so as to get
beyond the floating robe, which was rapidly going down the
stream, and jumped into the river, which I supposed was not
more than waist deep, but very much to my surprise, I found
the water over my head. This was an awkward predicament,
for I could not swim, but my presence of mind did not for-
sake me, I knew sufficient of the theory of swimming to keep
perfectly still, conscious that if I did so, I would float, and
the result proved that I was right. As I before stated, the
current was quite swift, and I was carried down stream rapidly.
Finding that I floated, I paddled with my hands, keeping them
under water, and found that I could swim quite readily,
I paddled out toward the robe, and secured it with some diffi-
culty, as it had become partly soaked with water and was
quite heavy. At last I succeeded in dragging it on shore, and
crawled out of the water well saturated, and feeling most
grateful for my deliverance. It was rather a lonely adventure,
as all my companions were several miles distant. On their
return they congratulated me on my narrow escape.

As we were coming down the River Platte, and had nearly
gotten out of the range of buffaloes, which they frequent, it
occurred to me that, as I had not yet killed any, I should try
what I could do. On my journey out across the plains, I had

JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH 277

broken my rifle, and had substituted a fusee, or short gun,
from which we fire balls. This was a very rude specimen of
fire arm, and of very litle use for hunting, but useful in case
of an attack from Indians.

This afternoon we had, as usual, tied up our boat and the
hunter, Mr. Shabenare, went out a short distance from the river
bank to shoot a buffalo for his meat. At the time there were
several large buffalo bulls near us. After killing one we
assisted the hunters in butchering it, and in carrying portions
of the meat to the boat. It was at this time that I concluded
to try my luck, so taking up my gun, which was loaded, and
slinging my powder horn and pouch on my shoulder, I start-
ed off toward the range of low hills running parallel to the
shore and about a quarter of a mile distant. Several bulls
were grazing quietly at the foot of these hills. I intended to
walk up stealthily to within five hundred yards of one of
the largest and then crawl up to within one hundred and
twenty yards of him before I fired. For unless you approach
as near as that to them your ball takes no effect. I had reached
to within five hundred yards of him when he noticed me and
becoming alarmed started off up the hill on a run. It was a
damper on my prospects, for they run quite fast, generally as
fast as a horse can trot, but as he had to run up hill, I thought
I would give chase, and I accordingly did so, and after running
a short time I found that I gained upon him and felt quite
encouraged.

After running him about a mile and a half I came to a
valley where I found several buffaloes grazing. The bull I
was chasing finding these buffaloes quietly grazing, stopped
also and began to eat grass. Finding him so quiet I also
stopped to rest for a minute. I examined my gun and found
the priming all right. I then approached cautiously to within
fifty feet of him, which I could not have done if he had not
been very tired from the long chase up hill. I then kneeled
down and resting my ramrod upon the ground to support the
gun took deliberate aim at his heart and fired. He jumped

278 JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH

at me with great ferocity, but I sprang on one side and
avoided him. The ball had evidently taken effect.

I loaded the second time and approached somewhat nearer,
to within about forty feet of him and took deliberate aim in
the same manner and fired. The second ball also took effect
and seemed to weaken him. He jumped at me again with the
same ferocity, and I avoided him in the same way. After
loading my piece the third time I found that my powder was
exhausted and that this must be my last shot.

I approached to within the same distance and took aim and
fired in the same manner as before. Again he jumped at
me ferociously and then laid down panting and apparently in
great pain. Having no powder my gun was now useless. I
did not like the idea of losing my game after all the trouble
I had had with him, I therefore determined to try my knife,
which was a butcher knife six inches long, I crawled up
cautiously toward his hind legs and attempted to cut his ham-
strings with my knife thereby disabling him so that I could
stab him. I had no sooner cut through the thick skin of his
leg when smarting with pain the infuriated animal arose and
plunged at me and would probably have killed me if it had not
been for the miraculous arrival of our bull dog Turk. I had
left him at the boat asleep, but finding that I had gone he
followed me and arrived at the spot just in time to take the
bull by the nose and prevent his injuring me. I now despaired
of being able to secure my game. I took my powder horn
and shook it in desperation and succeeded in obtaining enough
powder from it for half a charge, with this I loaded my gun,
using grass for wadding around my bullet instead of patches,
as these as well as my stock of powder had become exhausted.
The bull was now lying down with his head erect, and panting
violently. I walked up to him, and putting the muzzle of my
gun to his mouth, I fired down his throat. This was too much
for him and he rolled over in his last struggle. I jumped upon
him and stabbed him several times in the heart.

It had now grown dark. A large circle of white wolves
had formed around and were yelling in a most hideous

JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH 279

manner, old Turk keeping them at bay. I cut out the tongue
of the bull, and part of his meat and prepared to return to
the boat, but on looking about I was at a loss which way to
go, in the confusion and excitement I had forgotten from
which direction I had; come. I chose my direction and after
a walk of about twenty minutes came to the river, much to
my relief. I was again at a loss which way to go to find the
boat, but finally walked down the stream, and in half an hour
reached the boat, at which I was very much rejoiced. My
companions had become very much alarmed at my absence,
but knew not where I had gone. We were in the Pawnee
country and I was liable to meet some of them at any time
and I was without ammunition or any means of defending
myself. Old Turk after fighting the wolves off until he could
eat some of the bull, returned, and was ever after considered
the Lion of the party. Thus ended my first and my last
buffalo hunt.

JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK'S SNAKE COUNTRY
EXPEDITION OF 1830-31

SECOND HALF
Editorial Notes by T. C. Elliott

This Quarterly printed in Vol. XIII., No. 4 the first install-
ment of the journal of John Work, a trader of the Hudson's
Bay Company, covering his trapping expedition to the Snake
Country in the year 1830-31, with an editor's introduction;
the second and final installment is now presented. The original
of the first part of this journal was found in London but
curiously enough this latter half comes from quite another
source, namely from the family papers of the late William
Fraser Tolmie of Victoria, B. C. ; Dr. Tolmie married one
of the daughters of John Work. No opportunity has been
afforded for the writer of these notes to compare his copy
with the original but some few apparent errors, chiefly in
proper names, cannot affect its general reliability.

We left Mr. Work with his large party of trappers and their
families on the 18th of March, 1831, at the Portneuf river in
Southern Idaho, probably not far east of the present city of
Pocatello; we now resume our acquaintance with him April
21st, a month later, on the upper waters of the Bannock river,
south of the Portneuf. After very successful trapping here he
follows down Snake river past American Falls to Raft river
( Mr. Work designates this stream both as Raft and as Roche-
Rock-river, but evidently it was the former), and ascending
that river to one of its sources he crosses the divide to the
plain at the north end of Great Salt Lake. He was then not
far from Kelton, Utah, a place which held prominence for a
time after the completion of the Central Pacific Railway as
the eastern terminus of the stage lines from Walla Walla,
which was one of the regular lines of travel for people going
East from Oregon and Washington. This stage line crosses
the Snake river below Salmon Falls.

Mr. Work then proceeds westward across the divide to the
waters of the Humboldt river (called by him Ogden's river)

JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK 281

and for more than a month is upon the waters of the Humboldt
flowing west and south and of the Bruneau and Owyhee
flowing north, in northern Nevada. Late in June he turns
north across Eastern Oregon by way of Malheur lake, Silvies
river and the John Day river to his starting point at Fort
Nez Perce at the mouth of the Walla Walla river. But little
attempt will be made at long range to trace the itinerary
closely. On this his first expedition into this region Mr. Work
followed closely the track of his worthy predecessor, Peter
Skene Ogden, in 1828-29, whose journals published in volumes
X and XI of this Quarterly are now the more intelligible.

Thursday, April 21st, 1831.

Stormy, raw, cold weather.

Moved camp, and marched 10 miles S. E. up the river.1
The river here is a narrow deep stream with steep clayey
banks which have some willows growing upon them, and
appear well adapted for beaver, a good many marks of which
are to be seen. This little stream is not known ever to have
been hunted by whites. Just above our last encampment it
spreads into a kind of swamp which was probably taken by
the hunters to be its source. The valley through which the
river runs here is pretty wide, and seems to have been but a
very short time free of snow, the mountains on each side of
it have still a considerable depth upon them, and banks of it
remain in sundry places along the shores of the river. The
valley seems to produce little else but wormwood. There is
a little coarse, dry grass in some points along the river. Owing
to the unusual lateness of the spring the young grass is barely
beginning to shoot up so that our horses, lean as they are,
can gather very little to eat, which is much against them and
also retards our progress as it is out of power to make such
day's journeys as we would wish. Some of the people went
in pursuit of buffalo but with little success. Nearly all the
people set their traps, only two beaver were taken. Two of
the men, A. Findlay and A. Hoole, who went after buffalo

i Bannock river.

282 JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK

towards the mountains discovered a party of 14 Blackfoot with
8 or 10 horses. The Indians immediately fled, and the men
foolishly pursued them some distance before they returned to
the camp. On their arrival a party immediately went in
pursuit of them but could not overtake them. They had got
across the mountain notwithstanding the depth of the snow.
F. Payette and 4 or 5 of the half breeds ascended the mountains
after them but it was too late to continue the pursuit and they
returned. A mare and colt which they left in their hurry
was brought to the camp. There were the tracks of some
women and children with the party. It is conjectured that
the horses were stolen from the Snakes and that the women
and children were also of that nation and made slaves of by the
Blackfeet. They threw away several cords in their haste. A.
Letender, who was up the river setting his traps, saw three
Blackfeet with a horse, they immediately went off. P. Brinn
and L. Kanottan saw and pursued another party of 5 men,
two of them in their haste to escape them threw away their
robes and cords. It is to be regretted that the two men who
saw the party with the horses did not come to apprise us at
the camp immediately and the whole party with their horses
would probably have been taken.

Friday, April 22nd.

Cloudy, cold weather, some heavy rain and sleet in the
night and fore part of the day.

Did not move camp. The people visited their traps and set
some more. Twenty-five beaver and one otter were taken.
There is the appearance of a good many beaver.

Saturday, April 23rd.

Stormy, cold weather.

Moved camp 5 miles farther up the river in order to find
some feeding for the horses, and even here the grass is very
indifferent and scarcely any of it. Though there are few buffalo
to be seen now they have been very numerous here a short time
ago and eat up the most of what little grass was. The men

JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK 283

visited their traps and took 33 beaver. The river here divides
into two forks and falls in from the other rivers and the Costen
from the south. The former is that which the Indians rep-
resented to be richest in beaver. We are mortified to find
that as far as the men proceeded up it it is choked up with
snow except in small spots here and there, and the valleys
through which it runs, though of considerable extent, still
covered with snow to a considerable depth in places 3 to 4
feet deep and farther up probably much deeper. The men
who went farther up the south branch 15 and 20 miles suppose
they have reached its head, a kind of swamp ; here though the
valley is larger than in the other branch yet the snow lies
equally deep, and farther on through a fine valley appears still
deep. The wormwood is covered with the snow. In this
state of the snow we can neither trap these little rivers in the
mountains nor attempt to cross the mountains without the
risk of losing some of our horses from the depth of snow and
want of food. The only step we can take now is to abandon
this road and seek another pass more practicable. It would
take too much time to wait till the snow melts. Thus are the
prospects of the little hunt which we expected to make of
600 or 700 beaver in this quarter blasted. The unprecedented
lateness of the spring is greatly against our operations. The
oldest hands even in the severest winters never witnessed the
season so late. The men saw some buffalo on the verge of
the snow, probably they had been driven there by the Blackfeet
Indians whom we found here. The people killed some of the
buffalo but they were so lean that they were scarcely eatable.
Three of the men drew a herd of bulls into a bank of snow
yesterday and killed 16 of them.

Sunday, April 24th.

Frost in the morning, clear, cold weather for the season
during the day.

The men visited their traps, 14 beaver were taken. The
water is rising, which is against the trappers. Two of the
men saw 6 Blackfeet Indians high up the river yesterday,

284 JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK

they made to the mountains. Some were prowling about our
camp last night the tracks of two who passed close to in the
night were observed this morning.

Monday, April 25th.

Cloudy, cold weather.

Returned down the river to near our encampment of the
20th. The people visited the traps but only one beaver was
taken. The water in this little river rose several feet in the
night. Though only a day's journey from our encampment of
this morning there is a material difference in the appearance
of the country. Vegetation has here made considerable
progress, and we found pretty good feeding for our horses.

Tuesday, April 26th.

Rained the greater part of the day, bright in the morning
but heavy towards evening.

Moved camp and marched 10 miles S. W. across a point
to Snake river. Here ~we had the satisfaction to find excellent
feeding for our horses. One beaver was taken in the morning.
The men were out in different directions setting their traps.
Some buffalo were seen and two or three of them were killed
in the plains, they are still very lean. The hunters observed
the fresh tracks of some parties of Blackfeet, and thought
they saw one on horseback. One of the party had a few horses
with them which they had probably stolen from the Snakes.

Wednesday, April 27th.

Heavy rain in the night, and stormy with rain all day.

The unfavorable weather deterred us from raising camp.
The people revisited their traps, and set some more. Twenty
beaver were taken, 16 of them in a small rivulet towards the
foot of the mountains, which appear never to have been
trapped nor even known notwithstanding parties of trappers
having so frequently passed this road. C. Plant, M. Plant,
Bt. Dubrille and J. Desland found it yesterday.

JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK 285

Thursday, April 28th.

Cloudy, fair weather.

Moved camp and proceeded 6 miles down Snake river to
near the American falls, here we had good feeding for the
horses. All hands out visiting and setting their traps. Twenty-
two beaver and two otter were taken, 1 1 of the beaver from the
little creek in the plains. Below the rapids there is some
little appearance of beaver notwithstanding the Americans1
passed this way last fall. Some of our hunters had trapped
big river down to near the falls early in the spring.

Friday, April 29th.

Stormy weather, very heavy rain mixed with hail and sleet.

The unfavorable weather deterred us from moving camp but
it did not prevent the people from visiting their traps and
setting several more. 19 beaver were taken.

Saturday, April 30th.

Heavy overcast weather with some rain in the morning.
Cloudy, fine weather afternoon.

The unfavorable appearance of the weather in the morning
prevented us from raising camp. The men visited their traps,
and took 50 beaver in a small creek called the big storm river.
This little stream appears to have been hunted by the Americans
last fall, yet there are marks of beaver being still pretty
numerous. Several of the people's horses became jaded and
gave up by the way, some had to be left behind, and it was
dark by the time others reached the encampment. The poor
horses are still so lean and weak that they are unable to bear
any kind of a hard day's work. They are in much want of a
week's repose and good feeding, but the lateness of the season
will not admit of our allowing them so much.

Sunday, May 1st, 1831.
Heavy, cloudy weather, some showers in the afternoon.

i See note on page 370, Vol. XIII.

286 JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK

Moved camp and proceeded 12 miles S. by W. across a point
to the little creek1 where the people have their traps set near
the mountains, the road, though a little hilly, was good, con-
siderable patches of snow occupying the north side of the
little hills and the bottoms of the deep gullies. This little
river is a narrow deep stream resembling the river Bannock,
running between steep clayey banks. Where we are encamped
is at the entrance of the mountains, the valley is not wide and
no wood but some willows on the banks of the river. There is
pretty good feeding here for the horses, but farther up the
valley, where the snow has but lately disappeared, the men
represent the grass as very indifferent, in many places scarcely
any. All hands visited their traps, 65 beaver and 1 otter were
brought to the camp, but the greater part of them were taken
yesterday and left in cache. The traps this morning did not
yield according to expectation.

Monday, May 2nd.

Cloudy, fine weather, some showers in the afternoon.

Did not move camp in order to allow the horses to feed,
pretty good grass being at this place, and to allow the men
time to take up their traps before we descend again to the
Snake river. Some of the people have been up this river as far
as there is any wood or beaver. 11 beaver were taken. Some
of the men set their traps in the big river.

Tuesday, May 3rd.

Cloudy, fine, warm weather forenoon; stormy with thunder
and some rain towards evening.

Moved camps, and proceeded 10 miles S. W. to the Snake
river, where we encamped among hills on the small crawfish
river. The road very hilly and fatiguing on the horses, many
of whom were much fatigued on making the encampment.
They were recompensed by excellent grazing. The men were
on ahead setting their traps. 12 beaver and 1 otter were
taken.

i Rock Creek.

JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK 287

Wednesday, May 4th.

Cloudy, stormy weather.

Marched 10 miles W. S. W. to Raft river which we fell
upon 10 or 15 miles from its junction with Snake river. The
road good but very hilly the forepart of the journey. Raft
river is now very high and muddy owing to the melting of
the snow. There are some appearance of beaver in it though
this part of it was hunted by the Americans last fall. The
men visited and changed their traps. 11 beaver were taken.
Some tracks of buffalo were seen on the opposite side of Snake
river, and the tracks of some herds ascending the river. We
have, if possible, to procure a stock of provisions as we have
a long way to march through a country nearly destitute of
animals of any kind, and this is the last place where we are
likely to find any buffalo.

Thursday, May 5th.

Cloudy, stormy weather, thunder and some very heavy rain
towards morning.

Marched 5 miles south up the river, when we encamped,
and sent the most of the people after a large herd of buffalo
which was discovered feeding in the mountain. Our horses
have improved a little and are now able to catch them. The
buffalo are beginning to get a little older, and though scarcely
the appearance of fat is to be found on the meat, is tolerably
palatable. The people visited their traps in the morning, 14
beaver were taken. Gave orders for the people not to go
ahead lest they would disturb the buffalo and drive them
farther off.

Friday, May 6th.

Cloudy, fine weather.

Did not move camp in order to allow the people to dry the
meat which was killed yesterday. The buffalo are so lean
now that they scarcely yield as much dry meat, and of an
inferior quality, as one would do in the fall or early part of
the winter. 5 beaver were taken.

288 JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK

Saturday, May 7th.

Cloudy, fine weather.

Marched 12 miles south up the river. The road good, but
very indifferent feeding for the horses. A number of the
people went after a herd of buffalo which was grazing on
the opposite side of the river, and killed several, the meat
of which the women are now busy drying. It is fortunate
we find buffalo here as it saves us the trouble of going a long
day's march to the Eastward, to a place out into the plains
called the Fountain where buffalo are always said to be found.
It would lose at least three days going to this plain. I had
some trouble in preventing some of the men from running
ahead of the camp with their traps and raising the animals.
Some of them want no provisions themselves and are indif-
ferent whether others have it in their power to get any or not.
By missing the opportunity of collecting a little provisions
now the people would be obliged to eat several of their horses
before reaching the Fort,1 as animals of any kind are uncertain.
(?) beaver were taken.

Sunday, May 8th.

Cloudy, fine weather.

Marched 12 miles south up the river. The road still good,
but grass for the horses very indifferent. A number of the
people went in pursuit of a large herd of buffalo which was
feeding on the opposite shore of the river, and killed a number
of them, the meat of which is now being dried. Blackfeet are
still following our camp. Two of the young men, who went
out into the plain yesterday to discover buffalo, saw them, but
were not sure, on account of the haze, whether it was men or
antelopes. Two of the men who went back this morning for
some traps which they had (left) behind saw the Indians
coming to our camp after all the people had left it some time.
(?) beaver were taken.

i Fort Nez Perce.

JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK 289

Monday, May 9th.

Fine weather.

Did not move camp in order to give the people time to
kill some more buffalo. Some large herds were found at the
foot of the mountains on this side of the river, a number of
whom were killed. The most of the people have now nearly
enough provisions, what little a few of the people still want
we expect to find as we advance up the river. Some marks
of Blackfeet were seen near the camp this morning. In the
morning the buffalo were observed flying from the mountains
to the eastward, and it is conjectured they were disturbed
by a band of those marauders.

Tuesday, May 10th.

Unpleasant, stormy weather.

Raised camp, and proceeded 10 miles south up the river,
the Roche,1 where it becomes confined in a narrow valley.
Here we found good feeding for the horses. No buffalo to
be seen today until towards evening when a small band were
observed in the mountain. Some of the people went after
them, but only one was killed. One of the men, M. Plante,
who went after the buffaloes was behind the others when
returning and discovered a Blackfoot Indian on horseback
and fired upon him but missed. The Indian made off towards
the mountain, when five other Blackfeet were observed afoot.
These scamps are still following us seeking an opportunity
to steal.

Wednesday, May llth.

Cloudy, rather cold weather.

Marched 10 miles S. S. W. up the river, the road good.
We deviated a little from our straight road today in order to
send off a party of our men to hunt in another direction
tomorrow. The people visited some traps which were set
yesterday and took 6 beaver. No buffalo nor the marks of
any to be seen today.

i Must refer to branch of Raft, not Rock river.

290 JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK

Thursday, May 12th.

Fine weather in the morning, but heavy rain and snow
and very cold afterwards.

Raised camp and marched 10 miles across the mountains,
and encamped on a small rivulet of snow water. The head
of Raft river appears in a deep valley to the west of us. The
road on the mountains hilly and rugged and some places stony,
and in places very boggy. The snow still lies in banks of
considerable depth, and appears but very recently to have
disappeared off most of the ground. The grass is barely be-
ginning to spring up except on small spots exposed to the
south, which has been some time clear of snow, where vegeta-
tion has made some progress. From the very ruggedness of
the road and the badness of the weather this was a harassing
day both on horses and people. For want of water we could
not encamp sooner. In order that we may make a better I sep-
arated a party this morning and sent 8 men, viz. C. Plante
(who is in charge of the party), J. Deslard, F. Champagne,
L. Rondeau, L. Quenstall, A. Dumarais, Bt. Dubrielle and A.
Longtin to hunt to the Westward on the heads of small rivers
which run into Snake river and on the Eastern fork of Sand-
wich Island River,1 while I with the remainder of the party
proceed to the southward to Ogden's river, and then to the
head of Sandwich Island river.

Plante was directed to push on and make a good encamp-
ment today so that he might get out of the reach of the Black-
feet who are still following our track, but instead of doing so
some of the people who went in pursuit of a horse that fol-
lowed the party found the encampment only a few miles from
our last night's station. If they push on they will in a short
time be out of the reach of the Blackfeet.

Friday, May 13th.
Raw, cold weather, froze keen in the night.

i Owyhce riyer.

JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK 291

Marched 15 miles S. E. to the entrance to the plain1 of
Great Salt Lake. The road very hilly and rugged, numerous
gullies to pass, several of which are still full of snow, through
which the horses sometimes with difficulty dragged them-
selves. Nearly all this day's journey through the mountains
the snow has but recently disappeared even in patches, and
the grass is still so imbedded with water that the horses nearly
bog in it. Except a few spots here and there the grass is
barely beginning to shoot up, and in many places vegetation
is not yet commenced. Where we are encamped there is a
little grass for the horses.

This was a fatiguing day on both men and horses, many of
the latter with difficulty reached the encampment.

Saturday, May 14th.

Cloudy, cold weather.

Marched 12 miles S. along the foot of the mountains, and
encamped on a small river on Mr. Ogden's usual road to
Odgen's river. The road today was good and pretty level
though intersected by several gullies, some of which are still
full of snow. The mountains to the West are still partially
covered with snow, and appear very rugged. To the eastward
lies the great plain thickly studded with clumps of hills. About
this neighborhood we expected to find some buffalo, and that
such of the people as are short of provisions would furnish
themselves with some more, but not the mark of a buffalo
is to be seen. There are a good many antelopes in the plains
and some black-tail chevereau.

Sunday, May 15th.

Cloudy, fine weather. The air rather cool in the neighbor-
hood of the snow-clad mountains.

Proceeded on our journey 8 miles south, when we en-
camped on a small rivulet which barely yields sufficient water
for the horses. No water being found near was the cause of
our putting up so early at this place. The road lay along the
foot of the mountains, and though hilly was good. It was

i Near to Kelton, Utah.

292 JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK

intersected by several gullies, some of which are still full of
snow. Large hills and points of mountains lay below us and
the plains than yesterday. Found an old Snake Indian woman
who said her people were encamped near some of the people ;
also found three men of the same nation with horses. These
people seldom venture from the mountains, they are now
employed collecting roots, none of them have yet ventured to
our camp.

Monday, May 16th.

Cloudy, cool weather in the morning, fine weather after-
wards.

Continued our route 13 miles south to what is called the
Fountain, which is a small spring of indifferent brackish water
in the plain where the soil is mixed with saline matter. Not
only water is scarce here but there is very little grass for our
horses. The road though hilly is pretty good, it lay down a
deep gully and over several hills before we reached the plain.
Ranges of mountains covered with snow ran to the westward,
besides the plain is studded with detached hills, several of
which are still covered with snow. On reaching the plain it
appears to be eastward like an immense lake with black,
rocky hills, here and there like islands large tracts of the
plain appear perfectly white and destitute of any kind of vege-
tation it is said to be composed of white clay. A small lake
appears in it at some distance. To the South E. is the Utah
lake and river, to the southward the ( ? ) is said to be
destitute of water for a long way, yet snow-capped mountains
appear in that direction. We found a few Snake Indians en-
camped here, and a party of 20 men visited us from farther
out in the plain. Some leather and other trifles were traded
from them by the people.

Tuesday, May 17th.

Fine weather.

Continued our march 10 miles W. S. W. to small rivulet
of indifferent brackish water which winds through a salt,
marshy valley. There is pretty good feeding for the horses.

JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK 293

The road pretty good and level though there are detached
hills on each side of us. The rivulet is lost in the plain a little
below our encampment.

Wednesday, May 18th.

Fine, warm weather.

Proceeded 7 miles W. S. W. up the little rivulet, which
continues of the same appearance and about the same size.
We encamped early on account of no water being to be found
farther on. Tomorrow we have a very long encampment to
make.

Thursday, May 19th.

Cloudy, fine, warm weather.

Continued our journey at an early hour and marched 25
miles S. S. W. to a range of mountains which we crossed, and
then across a plain to a small rivulet which we found un-
expectedly in the middle of it. The road good but hilly crossing
the mountains. Not a drop of water to be had all the way.
We found water near two hours march sooner than we ex-
pected, yet several of the horses were much jaded, some of
them nearly giving up. That and the dirt were more oppres-
sive upon them than the distance they came. The mountains
round this valley1 and plain are not very high, yet in places
still covered with snow. The track of elk, black-tail deer are
seen in the mountains but could not be approached. Cabins
( ? ) are seen in the plains, but all very shy. The hunters
saw some Indians; the naked wretches fled to the mountains.
None of them visited our camp.

Friday, May 20th.
Fine, warm weather.

Continued our course 12 miles S. S. W. across the plain
where we encamped on a small stream of brackish water
which runs through salt marsh, and in a short distance is lost
in the plain.

Saturday, May 21st.
Fine weather, a thunder storm and a little rain.

i Grouse Creek Valley.

294 JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK

Proceeded on our journey 16 miles W. S. W. over a rough,
stony though not high mountain, and then across a plain
to a lake, where we had the satisfaction to find good water.
The road over the mountains stony and rugged, but across
the plain very good. A range of high mountains covered with
snow appear ahead of us. Some antelopes are seen in the
plains, but no appearance of any other animals.

Sunday, May 22nd.

Sultry, warm weather.

Marched 20 miles W. N. W. to the W. end of a steep snowy
mountain, there we encamped in a small creek which rises
from the mountain, the waters of which are lost in the plains
below. This morning we left Mr. Ogden's track to Ogden's
river in hopes to reach the river sooner and fall upon it a
few day's march higher up than the usual route. Our road
good, lay through an extensive plain. From the heat of the
day and the distance marched the horses were much jaded and
4the people fatigued on nearing the encampment. However,
we have good water and excellent feeding for the horses. Sev-
eral naked starved looking Indians visited the camp. We have
been seeing the tracks of these people every day, but seldom
any of them venture to approach us.

Monday, May 23rd.

Warm weather.

Continued our journey at an early hour and marched 16
miles W. N. W. through a small defile across the end of the
mountain and down a plain to the E. fork of Ogden's1 river.
This branch river runs through a low part of the plain which
is now a swamp owing to the height of the water, the river
having overflowed its banks. Several of the people were
ahead both up and down the river with their traps. No ves-
tiges of beaver are to be seen on the fork where we are en-
camped, though some of the people ascended it to near the
mountains. In the middle or principal fork the water is so
high that the river can only be approached in places the banks

i Humboldt.

JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK 295

being overflowed and the low ground in its neighborhood
inundated it is difficult to discern any marks of beaver, never-
theless, several traps were set at a venture.

Tuesday, May 24th.

Warm, sultry weather.

Marched 15 miles W. N. W. across the plain to the middle
fork of the river. We had some difficulty crossing the E.
fork, several of the horses bogged in its swampy banks. The
road across the plain pretty good; the low ground through
which the river runs is nearly all flooded. The river here has
a good deal of willows on its banks. Only three beaver were
taken. The people begin to apprehend there are but few
beaver in the river, and from the height of the water these
few cannot be taken. This part of the river was hunted two
years ago by a party of hunters which Mr. Ogden sent this
way, they found a good many beaver and supposed the river
was not clean trapped.

Wednesday, May 25th.

Overcast, thunder and heavy rain afternoon.

Proceeded 10 miles up the river which here runs from N.
to S., the road good, the banks of the river everywhere over-
flowed. Four beaver and 1 otter were taken. The part of
the river we passed today is well-wooded with willows, and
appears well-adapted for beaver, yet few appear to be in it.
A party of Indians visited our camp this morning and ex-
changed two horses with the people. Some of the people
were out hunting. F. Payette and L. Kanotti killed each an
antelope. These are the only animals to be seen here, and
they are so shy that it is difficult to kill any of them. Several
of the people are getting short of provisions, and not finding
beaver here as was expected is discouraging the people.

Thursday, May 26th.

Overcast weather, blowing fresh.

Did not raise camp in order to allow our horse to feed and
repose a little, of which they are in much want, they have
been nearly 16 days without one day's rest, they are all very

296 JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK

lean and many of them much jaded. I was still expecting to
find some beaver that we might allow the horses to recruit
a little and hunt at the same time, and was induced to push
on even to the injury to some of the horses. The people
visited their traps but only four beaver were taken. Those
who went farther up the river bring no better accounts of the
appearance of beaver. The water is falling a little above.
A party of Snake Indians visited us. They inform us that
there are a few small streams in the mountains where there
are a few beaver.

Friday, May 27th.

Cloudy, fine weather.

Continued our journey 12 miles up the river to a small
branch which falls in from the north, the main stream
running here from the west. The head of this small fork is
close to the head of the Big Stone1 river which falls into Snake
river. The road pretty good till we reached the fork, where,
on account of the water, it is a perfect bog and we had much
difficulty in crossing it, several of the horses bogged and
some of the things were wet. 4 beaver were taken. No better
signs of beaver. Some of the people were hunting antelopes,
which are the only animals to be seen here, but only one was
killed.

Saturday, May 28th.

Stormy, cold weather.

Proceeded on our journey 16 miles up the river west to
above where it is enclosed between steep, rocky hills. The road
part of the way very hilly and rugged and so stony that the
horses ran much risk of breaking their legs. Here we found
a place where the river is fordable. The water has subsided
a little within these few days. During this day's march the
river is well wooded with poplar and willows, yet there is
very little appearance of beaver, only three were taken today.
Four of the young men who left the camp on the 25th arrived
in the evening. They struck across the country to the W.

i Probably Salmon river.

JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK 297

fork of the river which they ascend to the mountains, and
did not find a mark of a beaver to induce them to put a trap
in the wet. That branch, like the one we are on, has over-
flowed its banks. The young men on the way here passed
two small streams which run towards Snake river.

Sunday, May 29th.

Stormy, raw, cold weather.

Crossed the river in the morning and proceeded across the
mountains 10 miles S. S. W. to a small stream which falls
into Bruneau river. The road hilly and rugged and very
swampy on the banks of the little river which we crossed.
There is still a good deal of snow in large banks in the moun-
tains, it appears not to have been long since it disappeared
in the valleys as the grass is still very short and vegetation
but little advanced. A few of the people who imagined the
river was not fordable above remained at a narrow part in
the rocks yesterday evening and made a bridge by felling
trees so that they fell across the river over which they car-
ried their baggage but in crossing their horses one belonging
to G. R. Rocque was drowned.

Monday, May 30th.

Mild weather in the morning, which was succeeded by a
violent thunder storm which continued a considerable time.
Stormy, cold weather during the remainder of the day. The
unfavorable weather deterred us from raising camp.

Thursday, May 31st.

Stormy, cold weather, some showers in the morning, and
a heavy snow storm in the evening, keen frost last night.

Continued our journey 13 miles across the mountains to
a small stream which we suppose falls into Sandwich Island
river. The road very hilly and rugged, being over a number
of deep gullies. There is also a good deal of snow on the
mountains, some bars of which we had to cross. The country
has a bare appearance. Not an animal except a chance
antelope to be seen.

298 JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK

Friday, June 1st.

Keen frost in the night, stormy, cold weather during the
day.

Continued our route 12 miles W. across the mountains
and down into the valley where a number of small branches
fell in from the mountains and formed the head of the E. fork
of Sandwich Island river. This little valley is about 20 miles
long and 15 wide. A small fork falls in from the S., 2 from
the eastward, one from the W., all of which form one stream
which runs to the N. W. through a narrow channel bordered
by steep, impassable rocks. The different forks in the valley
have some willows on the banks and seem well adapted for
beaver, yet the men who have been out in every direction
setting the traps complain that the marks of beaver are scarce.
The water has been lately very high and all the plain over-
flowed, though this valley has not been known ever to have
been hunted, but is now subsiding. To the southward there
is a small height of land which separates the waters of this
river from a fork of Ogden's river, to the westward there is
a high rugged mountain covered with snow. Our road today
was very rugged and hilly, and in many places boggy, the snow
having but very recently gone off the ground, indeed, we
passed over several banks of it.

Saturday, June 1st.

Fine weather.

We are like to be devoured by mosquitoes. Did not raise
camp that we might see what beaver might be taken. The
people visited and changed their traps. Only 12 beaver were
taken, which is nothing for the number of traps, 150, which
were in the water, and what is worse the men complain there
is little signs of any more worth while being got. Several of
the people were out hunting, but with little success, which I
regret as provisions are getting pretty scarce in the camp. Not
an animal to be seen but antelopes and but few of them, and
even these are so shy that it is difficult to approach them.
There are some cranes in the valley but almost as difficult to

JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK 299

be got at as the antelopes. The hunters observe the tracks
of some sheep in the mountains, but they appear to have been
driven off by some straggling Indians whose tracks are seen.
Altogether this is a very poor country. Owing to the late-
ness of the Spring the Indians who frequent these parts to
collect roots have not yet assembled so that even a few roots,
bad as they are, are not to be got to assist those who are
scarce of food.

Sunday, June 3rd.

Qoudy, fine weather.

Continued our journey 12 miles S. S. W. to a branch of
Ogden's river where it issues from a steep, snow covered
mountain. This stream is well wooded with poplar and wil-
lows, and appears well adapted for beaver, yet the people found
only one solitary lodge in it and scarcely a mark of beaver
either old or new, though they examined it for a considerable
distance. One man set a few traps. Seven of the men : A.
Findlay, P. Findlay, M. Findlay, M. Plante, A. Plante, Bt.
Gardipie and Soteaux St. Germain, separated from the party
this morning in order to proceed down the river, if practicable
and thence by the usual road to the fort by Snake river, and
endeavor to pick up a few beaver by the way, but principally
to procure some animals to subsist on. These men are all half
Indians, some of them with large families, and placing too
much reliance on their capacity as hunters did not take so
much precaution as the other men to provide a stock of food
previous to leaving the buffalo, they are, therefore, now en-
tirely out of provisions, and it is expected they will have a little
chance of killing antelopes and cheveau when only a few
than when the camp is all together. 7 beaver were taken this
morning, making 19 in all in this valley where we expected
to make a good hunt.

Monday, June 4th.

Very stormy, cold weather.

Crossed the mountains a distance of 18 miles S. S. W. to
a small stream which falls into the W. branch of Sandwich

300 JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK

Island river. The road very hilly and rugged and in places
stony; we had several banks of snow to pass. The road
was in places nearly barred with burnt fallen wood. The
little fork, where we are encamped, is well wooded with
poplar and willows, yet only in two places are the marks of
beaver to be seen. Some of them men have proceeded on
to the main branch and set 22 traps where they saw the ap-
pearance of some beaver.

Tuesday, June 5th.
Stormy, cold weather.

Continued our route 9 miles S. S. W. to the main branch of
the river, road hilly and rugged. Crossed a small stream
with a number of hot springs on its. banks, some of them near
a boiling temperature. The river here has been lately very
high, and overflowed its banks, but the waters are subsiding,
and river about 10 yards wide. Have fallen a good deal.
The traps which were set yesterday produced only 6 beaver.
This seems to be a miserably poor country, not even an ante-
lope to be seen on the plains. The tracks of some sheep are
to be seen on the mountains, but they are so shy there is no
approaching them. Some Indians visited our camp this morn-
ing and traded a few roots, but the quantity was very small.

Wednesday, June 6th.
Stormy, cold weather.

Did not raise camp. The men out in different directions
with their traps. Those which were in the water yesterday
provided 14 beaver. The men begin to have a little more
expectations. The Indians stole two traps in the night, one
from Kanota and one from A. Hoole. There is no means
of pursuing or rinding out the thief as they ran to the moun-
tains. There is no doubt they came to attempt stealing the
horses, but not finding an opportunity they fell in with and
carried off the traps.

JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK 301

Thursday, June 7th.

Still raw, cold weather, blowing fresh.

Did not raise camp. 10 beaver were taken. Some of the
people went with the traps to some small streams which fell
in from the eastward which was not hunted by Mr. Ogden's
people when they hunted here two years ago. They saw the
appearance of a few beaver.

Friday, June 8th.

Weather mild these three days past.

Moved a few miles down the river to a better situation for
the horses and where we will be a little nearer the people
with their traps. 17 beaver were taken. Some of the people
moved their traps a little farther down the river. The road
is very hilly, rugged and stony. Some Indians visited our
camp this morning with a few roots.

Saturday, June 9th.

Did not raise camp. The people visited and changed their
traps. 7 beaver were taken. Some of the men have not re-
turned from the traps.

Sunday, June 10th.

Cloudy, cold weather. Did not move camp. 18 beaver
were taken. 2 traps stolen from Pichetto. The men who went
farthest down the river returned and report that there are
but small signs of beaver. Those from the forks to the east-
ward say there are a few there. Some Indians visited us
with a few roots to trade. Miserably poor as these wretches
are and the small quantity of roots they bring yet it provides
several people with a meal occasionally which is very accepta-
ble to them as provisions previous to the late supply of beaver
was becoming very scarce among us.

Monday, June llth.
Warm, fine weather,

302 JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK

Did not move camp. Several beaver were taken. There
is still a chance beaver in the little forks to the eastward and
down the river towards the rocks where the river bears so
rapidly that no beaver are to be found, but not enough to
employ all the people or worth while to delay for the season
being so far advanced. We, therefore, intend to move up the
river tomorrow and hunt the head of it.
Tuesday, June 12th.

Cloudy, sultry weather in the morning, which was succeeded
by thunder and heavy rain and hail, raw, cold weather after-
noon.

Raised camp and moved 7 miles up the river, where we had
to encamp with the bad weather. 6 beaver were taken, two
traps stolen from Pichette and 1 from Royer.
Wednesday, June 13th.

Overcast, blowing fresh towards evening.

Proceeded up the river1 11 miles S. S. W. to opposite a
a branch which falls in from the eastward. Here the trappers
with Mr. Ogden crossed the mountains from Ogden's river
to this plain two years ago. I meant to have taken the same
road but have altered the plan by its being represented to me
that several days will be saved and some bad stony road
avoided by crossing the mountains farther to the southward,
and falling upon Ogden river farther down. In this part of
the river we will miss the few beaver to be expected. Some
of the men visited the head of the river to the mountain, and
two forks that fall in from the eastward to near the same,
and though they are well-wooded and apparently well adapted
for beaver, yet scarely a mark of them is to be seen.
Thursday, June 14th.

Fair weather.

Continued our journey 18 miles across the mountains, viz.:
S. W. 9 miles to the top of the mountains and S. 9 miles down
the S. side of the mountains, the road hilly and uneven and
in places stony. The mountains, though not high, have still

i Head of Owyhee river.

JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK 303

patches of snow here and there upon them. Some of the
people are out hunting but without success. A chance ante-
lope is the only animal to be seen, and these are so shy that
it is very difficult to approach them. The hunters saw three
Indians, and the men who were on discovery yesterday saw
some more, and their tracks are to be seen in every direction,
yet none of them visit our camp.

Friday, June 15th.

Fine, warm weather.

Did not raise camp on account of one of the women being
brought to bed. Some of the people were out hunting but
without success.

Saturday, June 16th.

Fine weather.

Continued our route 12 miles S. over a number of hills and
valleys to a small river where we encamped for the night.
The road good, but here and there stony and generally
gravelly and hard, which much wears down the horses' hoofs
and renders their feet sore. These nights past we have had
sharp frost, but here the weather is sultry, and we are annoyed
with mosquitoes, which will neither give ourselves peace nor
allow the poor horses to feed.

Sunday, June 17th.

Fine, warm weather.

Marched 21 miles S. S. W. along the side of an extensive
plain to near Ogden's river. The plain here is partially over-
flowed and become a swamp, we can scarcely find a spot to
encamp. Among the lodges the horses are nearly bogging,
and to mend the matter we are like to be devoured by innumer-
able swarms of mosquitoes which do not allow us a moment's
tranquillity, and so torment the horses that notwithstanding
their long day's march they cannot feed. All hands are ahead
of the camp with their traps, but found the river so high,
having overflowed its banks, that they could not approach it
except in chance places. Three of the men set 9 traps, which
were all that could be put in the water. I much regret finding

304 JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK

the river so high that it cannot be hunted as the people's last
reliance was upon the few beaver which they expected to take
in it in order to make up the hunt, but, more particularly, for
food. The most of them are becoming very scarce of pro-
visions, and they have now no other recourse but to kill horses.
Some of the people nearly devoured their horses crossing the
swamp on their way to the camp. They saw a small herd of
antelopes in the plain, but they could not be approached. A
few wild fowl were killed, of which there a good many in
the swamp.

Monday, June 16th.

Cloudy, warm, sultry weather.

Pursued our journey 14 miles S. S. W. and 7 miles W. down
the river. Marched longer today than was intended not being
able to find a place to encamp in consequence of the swamping
of the banks of the river, which are almost everywhere over-
flowed. The men were sent along the river with their traps,
but not one could be set. Only one beaver was taken in the 9
which were set yesterday. It is the opinion of the more ex-
perienced hunters that there are a few beaver still in this part
of the river, but owing to the height of the water they cannot
be taken. People passed twice this way about this season of
the year before but never saw the water so high as at present.
We expected to have found some Indians here and obtained
some eatables from them, either roots or anything or another,
but none are to be seen in consequence of the height of the
water; they cannot remain on the river but are off to the
mountains.

Tuesday, June 19th.

Clear, very warm weather.

Continued our journey 16 miles down the river which here
runs to the N. W. The river is still full to the banks and all
the low plains overflowed. The men again visited the river
but could not put a trap in the water. Both people and horses
are like to be devoured by innumerable swarms of mosquitoes
and sand flies. The horses cannot feed they are so much

JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK 305

annoyed by them, the banks of the river are so swampy
that they bog when they approach to drink.

Wednesday, June 20th.

Overcast, thunder and very heavy rain afternoon.

Continued our journey 19 miles to the N. W. along the
river and then to the foot of the mountains, where we found a
little water and some grass for the horses. These three days
the river runs through an extensive plain, the mountains
approach close to it. The farther we descend the river it be-
comes more difficult to approach on account of its banks being
overflowed. Two of the men, J. Toupe and G. Rocque, killed
a horse having nothing to eat, the provisions being all done.
On leaving the buffalo the people calculated on getting a few
beaver and did not lay in such a stock of provisions as they
otherwise would have done. This is really a miserable, poor
country, not even an antelope to be seen.

Thursday, June 21.

Cloudy, fine weather, blowing fresh in the morning.

Proceeded across the mountain, and then across an extensive
plain 20 miles W. to a small fork which falls into Ogden's
river. By this route we saved two days' journey besides going
round by the river. To our great disappointment and contrary
to our expectations we found the little river had overflowed its
banks and the plain in its neighborhood in a swamp so that
we could not approach it ; it is to be apprehended we will have
much trouble crossing it. The different parties which formerly
passed this way found this little creek with very little water in
it. Several of the people were out hunting but did not see an
animal. They expected to find some antelopes in the hills.

Friday, June 22nd.

Warm, sultry weather.

Proceeded up the river three miles N. N. W. and succeeded
in crossing it by means of a bridge of willows. The river
here is narrower but very deep with clayey banks so steep and

306 JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK

soft that the horses could not get out of it were they thrown
in to swim across. Too, near this plain its banks were so over-
flowed that it could not be approached. This was a hard day's
work both on people and horses. The horses, as well as people,
are like to be devoured by swarms of mosquitoes and gadflies.
The river here is well flooded, and seems remarkably well
adapted for beaver, yet there is not the least mark of any to
be seen in it.

Saturday, June 23rd.

Fine, warm weather.

Continued our journey 15 miles W. N. W. across the plain to
the foot of the mountains. We crossed two other forks of
the same river we left in the morning, one of them much larger
than it, but we found a good ford. Some Indians were seen
along the mountains, but they fled on our approach.

Sunday, June 24th.

Clear, fine weather.

Crossed the mountain 19 miles W. N. W. Road very hilly
and stony. From the steepness and highness of the mountain
and the badness of the road this was a most harassing and
fatiguing day on both men and horses. We find tracks of
Indians but none of them approach us. The best hunters of
the party were out in the mountains, which have still a good
deal of snow on them, in quest of sheep, but without success.
They saw the tracks of some, but could not find them.

Monday, June 25th.

Clear, warm weather.

Marched seven miles N. N. E. along the foot of the moun-
tain, and 15 miles across the plain to a little river which runs
to the southward, and which we found impassable, its banks
having been lately overflowed, and remain still like a quag-
mire. The best hunters are out, but as usual did not see a
single animal of any sort. One of the men, P. O'Brien ( ?) , was
under the necessity of killing one of his horses to eat. Thus
are the people in this miserable country obliged to kill and

JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK 307

feed upon these useful animals, the companions of their labors.
We passed a small Indian camp, but the poor, frightened
wretches fled on our appearance and concealed themselves
among the wormwood. Only two men who were on ahead
saw any of them.

Tuesday, June 26th.

Very warm, sultry weather.

Marched five miles N. up the river to a place where we
crossed one of its forks with little trouble, but the other which
was close, too, was very difficult, the men had to wade across
it with the baggage, its banks are like a morass, and several
of the horses bogged so that they had to be dragged out.
Crossed a plain five miles N. N. W. to another fork, which
we crossed without further difficulty than bogging a few of
the horses. This was a most harassing and fatiguing day
both on men and horses.

Wednesday, June 27th.

Blowing fresh, yet very warm weather.

Continued our march 15 miles N. W. along the foot of the
mountains to a small rivulet which falls into the river we
passed yesterday. The road good but in places stony and
embarrassed with wormwood. The hunters were out today
but without success. Two antelopes were seen yesterday,
which was a novelty.

Thursday, June 28th.

Very warm weather, though blowing fresh the after part of
the day. Proceeded on our journey 23 miles N. W. along the
foot of the mountains, crossed the head of the river we left
two days ago, and over the hill to a small rivulet, which is
said to be a fork of the Owhyhee river. The road good, but
in places stony. The hunters were out. F. Payette had the
good fortune to kill a male antelope. One of the men saw four
sheep on the plain, but did not kill any of them.

308 JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK

Friday, June 29th.

Blowing fresh, which rendered the weather a little cool and
pleasant.

Marched 28 miles N. N. W. first across a plain and salt
swamp and over a range of hills and across another valley,
part of which has the appearance of the bed of a lake, but is
quite dry and hard, and encamped near the foot of a mountain
covered with snow. The road in some places stony, and from
the length of the encampments very fatiguing both on horses
and people, neither of which have a moment's quietness either
to feed or repose, they are so annoyed with immense swarms
of mosquitoes. The hunters were out, but without success.
They saw the tracks of some antelopes and sheep. Some
Indian tracks were seen, but none of them approach us, some
of them had horses.

Saturday, June 30th.

Warm and very sultry in the morning, a breeze of wind
afterwards.

Continued our journey along the foot of the mountains1 18
miles N. by W., the road good. Passed two small lakes, in
one of which the people found a good many eggs. S. Kanota
killed an antelope, and F. Payette a young one. A. Letendre
had to kill one of his horses to eat.

Sunday, July 1st.

Fine weather.

Our road lay along the foot of the mountains 12 miles N. W.
Part of the road very hilly and very stony. The stony road
and continual mounting wearing out the horses' hoofs and
rendering them lame. Though the mountains in our neigh-
borhood have still patches of snow on them, the little creek
where we are encamped barely affords sufficient water for the
horses to drink. The hunters killed nothing today. J. Despard
killed one of his horses.

i Stein's Mountains.

JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK 309

Monday, July 2nd.

Fine weather.

Continued our journey N. W. 19 miles to Sylvalle's Lake.1
The road part of the day stony. The lake is unusually high,
and the water brackish and so very bad that it is like a vomit
to drink it. The hunters were out but without success. There
are a number of wild fowl in the lake, but they are so shy
that they cannot be approached.

Tuesday, July 3d.

Warm, sultry weather, a thunder storm in the evening.

Our road lay along the lake and across a point to Sylvalle's
River2 in rather a circuitous road, nearly W. N. W. 20 miles.
The road good. Some of the men set a few traps, they saw
the appearance of a chance beaver.

Wednesday, July 4th.

Very warm, but blowing fresh afternoon.

Continued our journey up the river 15 miles N. N. W. to
the first rocks. The horses like to be devoured by gad-flies.
F. Payette went to hunt yesterday and returned today with
two antelopes. L. Kanota also killed two. The traps which
were set yesterday produced four beaver.

Thursday, July 5th.

Very warm weather.

Did not raise camp in order to allow the horses to repose,
of which they are in much need, they having marched 19 days
successively without stopping a day to rest. They have been
becoming lean for some time back and their hoofs are so much
worn that some of them are becoming lame. The most of the
people set their traps yesterday, 13 beaver were taken. The
hunters were out. A. Houle killed a chevereau and the boy,
Prevost, an antelope. Four Indians paid us a visit; they had
nothing with them to trade; they received a few trifles, and
promised to return with some roots to trade.

1 Malheur Lake.

2 Silvies' River.

310 JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK

Friday, July 6th.

Fine weather.

Marched about 18 miles N. N. W. across a point, and fell
again upon the river, by this road it is shorter than by following
all the turns of the river. The people out with the traps, five
beaver and one otter taken. In the morning one of the men
arrived with a load of young herons, he found a place where
they were very numerous. Some more of the people who are
short of food immediately went to get a supply. These birds
are very fat. Some of the people say they are very good, others
say that they are scarcely eatable. Some of the people went
off to hunt and have not yet returned.

Fine weather.

Saturday, July 7th.

Continued our journey 20 miles up the river N. N. W. Road
stony, hilly and uneven. Five beaver were taken. The hunt-
ers arrived. A. Houle killed one elk and three black-tailed
chevereau, and the boy, Prevost, one young elk. The men with
the camp caught a wounded deer out of the river.

Sunday, July 8th.

Fine weather.

Proceeded up the river 15 miles N. N. W. to the head of
the second valley. Three beaver were taken. Some antelopes
seen crossing the valley, but none taken.

Monday, July 9th.

Fine, warm weather, blowing fresh afternoon.

Left the river which is enclosed by steep hills, and struck
across the hills and fell upon the river at the head of the upper
valley at the foot of the mountains, a distance of 13 miles N. W.
The road good. The hills we passed in the morning well
timbered with lofty pines, the valley is clear of wood except
some willows along the different forks of the river. Two
hunters were out. A. Hoole killed an antelope, and T. Sen-
atoen a chiveau.

JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK 311

Tuesday, July 10th.

Very warm weather, still a breeze of wind in the afterpart of
the day. Crossed the mountains to Day's River,1 a distance of
22 miles N. W. The road very hilly and steep, particularly
the N. side of the mountain. The mountain is thickly wooded
with tall pine timber. Both people and horses much fatigued
on nearing the camp, part of the road stony. Day's River
is well wooded with poplar and willows. Two Indians visited
our camp this morning and traded five beaver.

Wednesday, July llth.

Very warm sultry weather.

Proceeded down the river 16 miles W. Parts of the road
hilly and stony and very fatiguing on the horses, several of
whom gave up on the way and with difficulty reached the
camp. Some of the men set a few traps yesterday and took
two beaver this morning.

, Thursday, July 12th.

Very warm weather.

Continued our route down the river, which still runs to the
westward 11 miles, when we stopped near a camp of Snake
Indians who have the river barred across for the purpose of
catching salmon. We, with difficulty, obtained a few salmon
from them, perhaps enough to give all hands a meal. They
are taking very few salmon, and are complaining of being
hungry themselves. No roots can be obtained from them, but
some of the men traded two or three dogs, but even the few
of these animals they have are very lean, a sure sign of a
scarcity of food among Indians. We found two horses with
these people who were stolen from the men which I left on
Snake River in September last. They gave up the horses
without hesitation, and said they had received them from an-
other band that are in the mountains with some more horses
which were stolen at the same time. It appears from the ac-
count that early in the spring some Snakes stole 13 horses from

i John Day river.

312 JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK

these men at the same time, and immediately made their way
to this quarter with them. The uncertainty of rinding the
Indians with the rest of the horses in the mountains, the
fatigued state of our horses, the advanced state of the season,
and above all the scarcity of food among the people deters
me from sending some men in search of those horses. I have
offered the Indians a reward if they will go and bring them. I
also offered them a little remuneration for the two they had
here. Part of the way today the road lay over rugged rocks
on the banks of the river, and was very hard on the already
wounded feet of the horses. Five beaver were taken in the
morning.

Friday, July 13th.

Fine weather.

Did not raise camp in order to repose the horses for a little.
Only three or four salmon could be obtained from the Indians.
They complain of being starving themselves. One beaver
was taken.

Saturday, July 14th.

Cool, pleasant weather.

Continued our journey down the river 25 miles W. The
road very hilly and stony. The horses jaded and the people
exhausted on reaching the encampment. Only three or four
salmon could be obtained from the Indians in the morning
before we started.

Sunday, July 15th.

Fine, cool, pleasant weather.

Continued our course W. eight miles down the river to an-
other fork1 equally as large, which falls in from the N., up
which we proceeded seven miles. The road continued hilly
and stony. These two days the people found great quantities
of currants along the banks of the river.

Monday, July 16th.
Fine weather.

i North fork of John Day riv*r.

JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK 313

Proceeded eight miles N. E. up the river, then we took a
northern direction for eleven miles across the mountains, which
was here thickly wooded, the road in places very stony and
very hilly and uneven, and very fatiguing both on men and
horses. The hunters were out, but without success except one
deer which F. Payette killed. Unfortunately we have but
very indifferent feeding for the horses after the hard day's
work.

Tuesday, July 17th.

Fine weather.

Continued our journey across the mountains 25 miles N. W.
The country the same in appearance as yesterday until we got
out of the woods in the after part of the day, when the road
lay over a number of naked .stony hills.1 The length of the
day's journey and the badness of the road rendered this a
harrassing day both on men and horses. Some fresh tracks
of red deer were seen in the course of the day, but they could
not be come up with.

Wednesday, July 18th.

Cool in the morning but very sultry, warm weather after-
wards.

Proceeded ahead of the camp early in the morning accom-
panied by seven men and arrived at Fort Nezperces in the
afternoon. Mainly through there being soft sand during the
heat of the day was excessively oppressive on the horses as
well as the riders.

Thursday, July 19th.

Stormy but warm weather.

The different parties who separated from the camp have
arrived, Plante and party yesterday, the others some time ago.
The party whom I left in September had the misfortune to
lose the whole of the horses, nearly 30 in number, early in the
spring. They imprudently allowed them to stray a short
distance from the camp where there were a few Indians in
the evening about sunset. The loss was the result of a great

i Southwest of Pendleton.

314 JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK

degree of negligence on the part of the men. They also put
what few skins they had with other articles in cache which
the Indians found and carried off, from a pack to a pack and
a half of the few beaver they had. The half breeds lost two of
the horses by theft, and made but very few skins. Plant and
party also found very few beaver, but they lost no horses.

Friday, July 20th.

Fine weather.

The people whom I left two days ago arrived safe. Since
our spring journey commenced we have traveled upwards of
1000 miles, and from the height of the water and scarcity of
beaver we have very little for the labor and trouble which we
experienced. Previous to taking up our winter quarters last
fall we traveled upwards of 980 miles, which, with the different
moves made during the winter makes better than 2000 miles
traveled during our voyage.

Total loss of horses during the voyage, 82, viz. : Stolen by
the Blackfeet when P. L. Clay was killed, 3; stolen by the
Snake Indians from A. Case and party, 22 ; stolen by the Snake
Indians from my party during winter, 3 ; stolen by the Snake
Indians from the half-breeds in summer after leaving me, 2;
died or gave up on the way previous to reaching the three
hill plains in the fall, 1 by Toupin, 1 by Dumas, and 3 by
the half breeds when they left the party on Salmon River, 5 ;
died or left crossing the plain in the fall, 26; died during the
winter, 1 1 ; killed for food by A. Carson and party, 3 ; killed
for food by my party during summer, 5 ; killed for food by
C. Plante's party during summer, 1 ; drowned crossing a river
by Royer, 1 ; total, 82.

WHY NOT A FOLK FESTIVAL IN THE ROSE
FESTIVAL?

The readjusting of the character of the Portland Rose
Festival, offers an excellent opportunity for transforming it
into a real folk festival for the Pacific Northwest. It would
not thus be less a rose festival, for in the rose it has a most
appropriate designating symbol — one exquisite in beauty and
matchless for its distinctive fitness. This charming emblem
would still serve to designate and to decorate, but in making
it a folk festival it would become an occasion intent on
suggesting through music and pageantry the inmost spirit,
power and purpose of the people here.

The festival would become an experience instead of a show.
With increased depth and volume of meaning the festival would
have perpetual youth and become a joy forever.

In a folk festival the people of the Pacific Northwest obtain
a new view of their past-making and their traditions. It would
be a medium of culture for all. Out of its past alone can a
people obtain an inspiration for genius and future greatness.
On the past alone must the enduring achievements of a people
be built. Vividly interpreted, that past becomes the vehicle to
convey to the social mind and heart its working ideals.

That a folk festival of the right kind is an indispensable
factor in the making of a people is suggested by the fact that
no great peoples have been without it, and those like the He-
brews and Greeks, whose world contributions have been most
illustrious, have had festivals most expressive of their peculiar
national genius. And if we care to go farther back we find
credited to the folk festival the origin of language, music and
poetry — those cultural joy-inspiring powers and possessions
that made the race human.

Before Christianity there were the midwinter holidays ex-
pressive of the joy of returning warmth and longer days; and
Easter, too, celebrating the fresh glow of life in grass and
tree ; and Thanksgiving and Harvest Home, as a grateful rec-
ognition of accumulated Winter store. Christianity could only

316 F. G. YOUNG

enrich the meaning with which these were already fraught. The
heart of man of the Western races expresses his responsive
glow in them. As a nation, we have our Lincoln and Wash-
ington birthdays, our Memorial day and Fourth of July to
appeal to the best in us. But in this Pacific Northwest there
are traditions peculiar and environment that is unique.

These antecedents and these resources entrusted to us in-
volve rare advantages and responsibilities. A Pacific North-
west folk festival would serve as a conscious, collective and
joyful espousal of them. It is only as a community "gets onto
itself" by "getting onto" what is significant in its past that it is
able "to get onto its job."

This Western land has been the scene of great improve-
ments that have left their impress upon the character of its
people and have given them their cue and inspiration and even
here and now as great or greater movements are in progress.

The folk festival in illuminating the past, in doing over
before our eyes the things that inspire, would give us our
bearings and the spirit with which to meet the issues of the
present and future. Each dweller within our borders, having
experienced such a festival occasion, would return to his little
round of duty enlightened and sustained, with a clearer vision
of the growing whole of which he is an integral factor. This
consciousness would be as an inner well-spring of peace, con-
tentment and joy, giving strength and purpose.

Our history thus utilized would become vital, revealing our
essential self as a community. The complex social process in
which now we are dazed and confused would become visualized.
We could each and all then find our ways and take the courses
that lead to the up-building of the community.

In a crude way the following illustrates some of the ma-
terial from which the Northwest may draw for its folk festival :

First — -Did not this realm for centuries lie .in the shadow
of the unknown, as venturesome European mariners were
moving all around it, peering wistfully for the water passage
to the Orient?

FOLK FESTIVAL IN ROSE FESTIVAL 317

Second — Was not this "Far West" held up as a prize for
some three centuries, and did not valiant representatives of
Spain, France, Russia and England enter the lists for the
winning of it only to be worsted by those hailing from the most
youthful member in the family of nations?

Third — Did we not have set up here a veritable feudal
regime for the exploitation of its resources in fur-bearing ani-
mals?

Fourth — Of the pioneer era of Oregon too much cannot be
made. The pioneer conditions of no other people have so
much of the dramatic in them. Those annual incoming migra-
tions at the end of a long Summer's trek across a continental
waste always will be surcharged with interest.

Fifth — The long decades, with the problem of remote and
virtually inaccessible markets, were periods of blight and the
relief afforded by the arrival of the transcontinental railways
was most joyful.

Sixth — There has been the unique in the development of
our grazing, our grain and our fruit industries that challenges
admiration.

Seventh — Now our almost untouched forestry and power
resources glitter in the eyes of the people of the Nation at large.

Eighth — Our isolated and remote pioneer situation naturally
selected the daring and resolute for our population. This dom-
inant temperament of our people almost inevitably exhibited
itself in venturesome social experiments with pure democracy,
political equality and along all lines of social betterment legis-
lation.

The above listed epochs indicate poorly some of the inci-
dents and situations that call for the work of the poetic im-
agination for personification and dramatic setting. Annual
folk festivals would become the grand medium for interpreting
all and getting all into the consciousness of our people to equip
them as masters of their destiny here.

F. G. YOUNG.

DM
THE QUARTERLY

of the

Oregon Historical Society

VOLUME XIV DECEMBER, 1913 NUMBER 4

Copyright, 1913, by Oregon Historical Society
The Quarterly disavows responsibility for the positions taken by contributors to its pages

REMINISCENCES OF CAPTAIN
WILLIAM P. GRAY

By Fred Lockley

"My father, W. H. Gray, came to Oregon in 1836," said
Captain William P. Gray, of Pasco. "I was born in Oregon
City in 1845. My father named me William Polk Gray. I
remember when I was about four or five years old some one
asked my father what my middle initial stood for. Father said,
'I named him after President Polk. When I named him the
president had taken a strong stand on 54-40 or fight. Polk
reversed his attitude on that question and I have been sorry
I called my boy after him ever since. Sometimes I have a
notion to wring the youngster's neck, I am so disgusted with
President Polk/ I was about five years old, and when I heard
my father say that he sometimes had a notion to wring my
neck, it scared me pretty badly. My father was a man who
usually meant what he said and always, did what he said he
was going to do, so every time I saw him look stern I ran like
a rabbit and hid, for fear he might be about to wring my neck.

"My father was one of the early day expansionists. He was
really the prime mover and originator of the agitation for
making Oregon American territory. He got one or two others
together and first discussed the advisability of holding the
Wolf meeting that led to the movement to organize the pro-
visional government at Champoeg on May 2, 1843.

322 FRED LOCKLEY

"He was greatly in favor of our owning not only Alaska, but
all of Canada. He thought the United States should take in
all the continent of North America. When Secretary Seward
went up to Alaska he took my father with him, on account of
father's familiarity with the Indian customs and languages.

"Father came back from Alaska greatly impressed with
Seward's statesmanship. He said Seward was a high type of
American. At that time Thomas Nast and others were car-
tooning Seward and showing Alaska as an iceberg with a
solitary polar bear guarding it. I remember hearing father
say when some one criticized Seward's purchase of Alaska:
'The only criticism I have to make of Seward's purchase of
Alaska is that he didn't also buy British Columbia at the same
time/

"I guess few families are more typically western than our
family. My oldest brother, John Henry Dix Gray, was born
in 1839 at Lapwai, while father was building the mission build-
ings there for Dr. Spalding.

"The next child, my sister, Mrs. Caroline A. Kamm, now of
Portland, was born at Whitman mission when father was
building the flour mill for Dr. Whitman. Father was one
of the most resourceful men I ever saw. If he wanted to
make something and had no tools, he would make the tools
and then go ahead and make what he wanted. After he had
built the mill for Dr. Whitman, though he had never in his
life attempted making mill stones, he quarried them out suc-
cessfully, shaped them up and installed them.

"My father's father died when my father was only eight years
old. His older brother was a Presbyterian minister. He
bound out my father to a cabinet maker.

"The next child to be born was Mary Sophia, who later be-
came Mrs. Frank Tarbell. She also was born at Whitman
station, and died in Portland in 1895. Her husband at one
time was the treasurer of Washington Territory.

"The next child to be born was Sarah Fidelia, who married
Governor Abernethy's son. She was born at Salem when

REMINISCENCES OF CAPT. W. P. GRAY 323

father was organizing the Oregon Institute. Mr. and Mrs.
Abernethy are now living at Forest Grove.

"My father took up a donation land claim where the town of
Salem now stands, but traded it to J. L. Parrish for a location
on Clatsop Plains not far from Astoria.

"I was the next child to be born, being born in Oregon City
in 1845.

"The next child, Albert Williams Gray, was born on their
Clatsop Plains farm. He is now captain of a steamboat on the
lower Columbia.

"The next boy was Edwin Hall, who died when he was
eight years old, and the next child, Truman Powers, died
when he was two years old.

"The next child, James T. Gray, now has charge of the
Tanana division in Alaska for the Northern Navigation Com-
pany. He married General O. O. Howard's daughter, Grace.
Their home is near Milwaukie.

"When I was four years old we were living at Clatsop Plains,
so my father decided I had better go to school. I had to walk
two miles each morning and night to school. My first teacher
was Miss Rebecca Ketchum. I went to this school for two or
three terms.

"When we were at Clatsop Plains the first Presbyterian
church in that whole district was organized at our house.
After the church was organized one of the people there donated
the ground and my father built the first church in Clatsop
county.

"When I was eight years old my parents moved to Astoria.
I went to school there to a Scotchman named Sutherland. The
only part of the Bible that he knew well was the part where it
says, 'If you spare the rod, you will spoil the child.' There
was no danger of any of us getting spoiled, for he put in the
major part of his time using the rod.

"Our next teacher was Miss Lincoln, who later married
Judge A. A. Skinner.

"When I was ten years old, I took my first contract. Father
had a theory that it was a pretty good scheme for his boys to

324 FRED LOCKLEY

get to work as early as possible and as a matter of fact, we
never had much time to get into mischief. General John Adair,
the collector of customs, had enough pull to move the custom
house and the postoffice to upper Astoria. Lower Astoria
had the sawmill, the stores and the bulk of the population.

"Dr. C. J. Trenchard fixed up a subscription paper and I went
around to all of the stores and residences of lower Astoria and
got the people to agree to pay me to deliver their mail before
I said anything to my father about it. I was to go twice a week
for the river mail and make two extra trips a month for the
steamer mail that came from California and brought the mail
from the East. The stores paid from 75 cents to $1.50 a month,
while the private individuals paid 25 to 50 cents a month. I
guess that was about the first city mail delivery in Oregon,
as that was back in 1855. I started for the mail in the morning,
summer and winter, at 5 :30 o'clock. It kept me busy until
school time distributing it. I often had from twenty-five to
forty pounds of mail, and! for a ten-year-old boy, climbing
around the cliffs, that was a pretty good load. How I used
to hate the people who took papers. Some of them took bulky
papers, and to bring four or five bulky papers to some one, and
only get 25 cents a month for it, I thought was pretty tough.
I made from $30 to $35 a month. My mother wanted me to
save my money. Father said, 'It is Willy's money. Let him
spend it as he pleases. He will have to learn for himself.'
Peaches in those days were ten cents and oranges 25 cents
apiece, and I was the most popular boy in school with all of
the big girls. I never was much of a hand at saving, and
when a pretty girl or two or three of them wanted oranges,
and I had the money, they generally got the oranges.

"When I was 13 years old we moved to British Columbia.
This was in 1858. I began working with canoes and bateaux
on the Fraser river. A good many people got drowned on the
Fraser river, as it is a dangerous stream, but father used to
say that danger was all in a day's work, and one must take what
comes. We ran from Hope to Yale. Father was an expert
woodworker, having learned the cabinet maker's trade, and
I worked with him in the building of sloops and river boats.

REMINISCENCES OF CAPT. W. P. GRAY 325

"In the summer of 1860 we crossed the mountains to the
Similkameen river to prospect for gold. We found gold on
the south fork. Father built two rockers, and for the next two
months we kept busy. At the end of that time our supplies
were running very short. I was 13 years old, and father de-
cided I was old enough to assume responsibility, so he sent
me to Fort Hope to secure supplies. There was only an Indian
trail, but I knew the general direction. I had to ford streams
and cross rivers, but I had learned to swim when I was 8 years
old, so that didn't bother me. As we were short of provisions, I
only took two sandwiches, thinking I could make the 140 miles
within two days. I had a good riding horse, and I was going
to ride from daylight to dark. I had not gone over 20 miles
when a rather hard character in that country called 'Big Jim*
met me in the trail. He stopped me and said, 'Have you got
anything to eat ?' I told him I only had two sandwiches. He
said, 'I haven't had anything to eat for two days. Hand me
those sandwiches.' I looked at him and concluded that it was
safest to give him the sandwiches. He bolted them down, and
grumbled because I had no more. He was on his way out to
Fort Hope, but his horse was almost worn out. I wanted to
go by, but he wouldn't let me. He said, 'Oh, no you don't —
we will stay together for company. Your horse is a good deal
fresher than mine, and I may need him.'

"As we made our way across a high cliff, his horse lost its
balance and fell, striking the rocks more than 200 feet below.
He made me get off my horse and mounted mine. We rode
and tied from there on in to Fort Hope. It took us four and
a half days, and all we had to eat during that time was a fool-
hen that he knocked down. My clothes were almost torn to
shreds."

"When I got home, I went in the back door. My mother
saw me. She raised her hands above her head and said, 'Oh,
Willie, what has happened to your father?' I told her my
father was all right, but I was nearly starved. I secured two
horses and loaded them with bacon and beans, rice and other

326 FRED LOCKLEY

supplies, and started back for our camp. When some pros-
pectors in town learned that we were making $10 a day to the
man, they followed me to our camp.

"When I returned father thought that he could strike richer
diggings, so he left a man and myself to work with the rockers
while he went down to Rock Creek, now the site of Roslyn, B.
C. I averaged $8 a day while father was gone. The bedrock
was a white clay. We threw the clay out on the tailings. A
few years later some Chinamen came to our old abandoned
diggings and made $15 to $20 a day apiece from our old clay
tailings. The clay had rolled back and forth in our rockers
and the gold had stuck to it. When it had weathered and
disintegrated the gold was released and the clay washed away
in the Chinamen's sluice boxes.

"While father was on his trip he looked over the country,
and decided to locate on Asoyoos Lake, at the head of the
Okanogan River, across the British Columbia border in Amer-
ican territory. He went back to Fort Hope, and, securing
riding horses and pack horses, my father and mother, my two
sisters and two brothers and myself started for our new home.
This was in October, and winter had begun. We traveled day
after day through the rain or snow, camping at night, usually
in the snow. Timber was scarce where father had selected his
ranch, so we hkuled logs down the mountains, split them and
built our cabin by standing the split logs on end. We chinked
the cracks with moss and mud.

"After looking over the ranch more carefully, father found
that it was not as good as he had thought, so he decided to
build a boat, go down the Okanogan and Columbia river to
Deschutes Falls, now called: Celilo, and bring supplies up the
river for the miners. We had practically no tools, and of
course no nails. We went into the mountains, whipsawed out
the lumber, hauled it down to the water, and father, with the
help of us boys, built a boat, fastening it together with trun-
nels or wooden pegs. We could have secured nails possibly,
but the freight from Fort Hope was $1 a pound, and father
decided that the wooden pegs would do equally well. We built

REMINISCENCES OF CAPT. W. P. GRAY 327

a boat 91 feet long with 12-foot beam, drawing empty 12 inches
of water. The next thing was caulking her, but I never saw
my father stumped yet. He hunted around and found a big
patch of wild flax. He had the children pick this and break it
to use as oakum to caulk the cracks in the boat. We also hunted
all through the timber and found gum in the trees, which we
melted up for pitch to be used in the caulking. He had no
canvas for sails, so he made some large sweeps. Father chris-
tened her the Sarah F. Gray, for my youngest sister. He
launched her on May 2, 1861, and started on his trip down the
river on May 10.

"To give you an idea of the determination; of my father, he
sent that boat, without machinery, sails or other equipment ex-
cept the sweeps, through the Rock Island rapids and through the
Priest rapids, both of which he negotiated successfully. He
arrived on the Deschutes on May 23. He left me to bring the
family down, and I certainly had a very exciting time doing so.

"Father left Asoyoos Lake, at the head of the Okanogan
river, with the boat we had built there, for his dangerous trip
through the Rock Island rapids and the Priest rapids, on May
10, 1861.

"A. J. Kane had joined our family to go with us from our
ranch to The Dalles. My mother, sisters and brothers, with
Mr. Kane and myself, started July 4, 1861. The first day out
Mr. Kane's horse became restive and threw him against the
saddle horn, rupturing him badly. We bound him up, but for
the rest of the trip he could hardly ride and was practically
helpless. This threw the responsibility of bringing the family
through safely on me, but I was 16 years old and felt quite
equal to it.

"We swam the Columbia at the mouth of the Okanogan,
came through the Grand Coulee and arrived at what is now
White Bluffs. We planned to go to The Dalles by way of
the Yakima and Simcoe valleys. We crossed the Columbia
and camped on the Yakima side. That night a cattleman came
to our camp. He said that a man and his wife had just been
killed at Moxee Springs the night before and that it would be

328 FRED LOCKLEY

almost certain death for us to go by way of the Yakima and
Simcoe valleys. We at once recrossed! the Columbia and
started down the east bank. We camped opposite the mouth
of the Yakima.

"During the day we had met a couple of prospectors who
warned us to look out for the Indians at the mouth of the
Snake river. The Indians had charged them $20 to take them
across in a canoe, while the three horses swam the river.

"That night I staked my riding horse as usual, near camp,
and turned the others loose to graze, knowing that they would
not wander away. During the night the Snake River Indians
drove our horses off. We were stranded with my one saddle
horse and no way of continuing our journey unless I could
recover the horses. Mr. Kane, the only man in the party, was
helpless with his injury. My mother was greatly alarmed, but
she realized as I did that the only thing to do was to follow
the trail of the stolen horses and try to get them back.

"I followed their trail for 12 miles, when the trail was cov-
ered by the tracks of several hundred Indian horses. I fol-
lowed the new trail to near where Pasco now stands. There
was a big Indian camp with many tepees near the river. I
rode up to the big tent where I heard the tom-tom and the
sound of Indians dancing.

"Some years before General Wright had inflicted severe
punishment upon the Indians by killing a large band of their
horses. On the spur of the moment I decided to put on a bold
front and demand the return of my horses. I rode up to the
tent, dismounted, threw the tepee flap back and stepped into
the entrance. The Indians stopped dancing and looked intently
at me. I talked the Chinook jargon as well as I did English,
so I said, 'Some of you Indians have stolen my horses last
night. If they are not back in my camp an hour after I get
there I'll see that every horse in your band is shot/ There was
utter silence.

"I dropped the flap of the tent, mounted my horse and started
back for camp. I had not gone far when I heard the thud of
running horses. Four Indians were plying the quirt, riding

REMINISCENCES OF CAPT. W. P. GRAY 329

after me. They were whooping and howling and just before
they got to me they divided, two going on each side. I never
looked around. One of the Indians rode his horse square
across the trail in front of me. I spurred my horse and raised
my quirt. The Indian gave way, and I rode on. I knew the
Indian character well enough to know that the only way I
could carry my bluff out was by appearing perfectly fearless.

"When I got back to camp my mother was crying and said
she had been praying for me all the time I was gone. I had
started out for the horses without breakfast and had ridden
over 30 miles, so I was pretty hungry. As I sat down to my
delayed breakfast we heard the thud of running horses and our
horses charged into camp covered with lather. I hurried out,
caught the horses and staked them, came back, finished my meal
and then saddled up, packed the pack horses and went down
to the mouth of the Snake river. I again rode up to the large
tent, opened the flap and said in Chinook, 'I want one canoe
for my women and children to go to Wallula and three canoes
to swim my horses across. You have delayed us by driving
my horses off, so I want you to hurry.' The Indians looked
as impassive as wooden statues. One of the chiefs gave some
command to the others. Several of the younger men got up,
went down to the water and got out the canoes. My mother
and the children got in and the Indians put in our packs to
take to Wallula, 11 miles distant. My brother Albert went in
one canoe and I went in the other, while one of the Indians
went into the third canoe, and! we swam our horses across the
river. When I got to the other side I said to the Indian in
charge, 'How much?' He answered, 'What you think?' I
handed him $5, which he took without a word, got into the
canoe and started back. Albert and I rode on toward Wallula,
where we arrived at 10 o'clock that night and rejoined the
rest of the family.

"Having brought my mother and the children to Wallula,
on horseback from Asoyoos Lake, I put them aboard the steamer
Tenino in charge of Captain Leonard White, and they pro-
ceeded to Portland.

330 FRED LOCKLEY

"I stayed at Fort Wallula, living in the adobe fort. I herded
stock for J. M. Vansyckle until father returned from the
Snake river. Father had gone to Deschutes in the Sarah F.
Gray, the boat he had built on the Okanogan, with the idea
of securing some machinery for her. He found, however, that
he was unable to raise the money to purchase the machinery,
so he rigged her with a mast and sail and secured a load for
the nearest landing to the newly discovered mines at Oro Fino.

"The nearest point by boat to the new mines was the mouth
of the Clearwater, now the site of the city of Lewiston, Idaho.
On father's return on board the Sarah F. Gray, I joined him
at Wallula and we went to Deschutes, a point which at that
time seemed to have the making of a city but which is now
merely a memory. I stayed in charge of the boat while father
went to Portland to secure a cargo for Lewiston. It was now
late in the summer and the rumor had gone about among the
merchants that it was impossible to navigate the Snake river,
even by small boats. Father was unable to secure a cargo. As
you know, my father was a very determined man and if he
once set out to do a thing he would not stop short of its ac-
complishment. He had decided to take a cargo of goods to
the mines and1 if the merchants would not give him the freight,
he determined to take a cargo of his own. He mortgaged his
horses, his Astoria property and his boat and with the assist-
ance of personal friends who advanced him money, he bought
a stock of goods for the mines.

"The goods were shipped to the Cascades, hauled around
the Cascades by the portage tramway on the Oregon side,
reshipped to The Dalles and from The Dalles hauled to Des-
chutes by wagon. We were loaded and ready to leave Des-
chutes in the latter part of August. We arrived at Wallula
on September 15. When we got to Wallula our entire crew
deserted. They declared it was too dangerous to attempt to
navigate the Snake river.

"Father finally secured a new crew of seven men and on
September 20, 1861, we left Wallula. It took us three days
to reach the mouth of the Snake river, a distance of only 11

REMINISCENCES OF CAPT. W. P. GRAY 331

miles. The prevailing winds were directly across the current,
so that it was necessary for us to cordell the boat almost the
entire way.

"Another boy and myself took ropes in a skiff up the stream,
found a place where the rope could be made fast. We would
then come down stream bringing the rope to our boat where the
rope was made fast to the capstan and the rope would be slowly
wound up. We had a difficult trip to Lewiston and before we
got there my comrade and myself in the skiff had demonstrated
that there was not a single rapid in the Snake river that could
not be swum. We were both strong swimmers and perfectly
at home in the water. Our boat was overturned in the rapids
scores of times in cordelling up to Lewiston. Our skiff was
small and we had to carry a full coil of rope an inch and a
half in diameter as well as a coil of smaller rope and oftentimes
when the line was wet we had a bare two inches of free board
to go through the rapids in. Not content with being wet all
day long and being tipped out of our skiff, Jim Parker, my
comrade, and I would dare each other to swim dangerous
places in the river.

"Jim Parker was from Parker's Landing where Washougal,
Wash., now is, and like myself, was raised on the water. I
remember one place in the five mile rapids that was not only
very dangerous but it seemed impossible for us to find a place
to make a fastening. My father thought we could find some
rock in mid-current to which we could attach the rope. I said,
'It can't be done.' Father turned to me and said, 'My son,
can't isn't in my dictionary. Anything can be done if you want
to do it badly enough/ I told him the rapids were full of
whirlpools and that we would certainly be overturned in making
the attempt to make a fastening. He said, 'If you are over-
turned, you and the skiff will both come downstream. You
may not come down together, but you will both come down.
You will then go back and make another attempt and continue
to do so until you have succeeded.

"After that experience there never has been any combination
of wood, iron or water that has ever scared me, though I will
acknowledge I was scared upon that particular occasion.

FRED LOCKLEY

"We took the rope up and succeeded in getting a loop over
a rock. No sooner had we done so than the skiff was caught,
dashed against a rock nearby, overturned and Jim and I were
in the water. We went through that rapid at a terrific rate,
sometimes under water, sometimes on top. We finally got
through, swam to the overturned skiff and succeeded in get-
ting back to the boat. We had fastened a piece of wood to
the end of the line so that it floated down the river. We clam-
bered aboard the boat, chilled through and pretty badly scared.
Father said, 'Where are you going?' I told him I was going
to get some dry clothes on. He said, 'There will be time enough
for that when you have gone and secured the end of the line.'
So Jim and I got into the skiff again, recovered the end of the
line and brought it to the boat.

"It was October 30 when we finally arrived at Lewiston.
Many a time on the trip up I had been so worried I didn't know
what to do, for fear that we would wreck the Sarah F. Gray,
for we took some desperate chances and I knew that if it was
wrecked my father would not only lose his boat but he would
lose all of his property and be in debt to his friends.

"Provisions were getting short in the mines and father sold
his flour for $25 a sack or 50 cents a pound. Beans also brought
50 cents a pound. Blankets were eagerly bought at $25 a pair
and we sold all of our bacon at 60 cents a pound. Father had
made a very profitable voyage and had not only carried out his
plan but came out with a handsome profit.

"We left Lewiston on November 2 with several passengers,
and came down the river to Deschutes in seven days.

"I spent the winter of 1861-2 in Portland. I attended public
school in Portland that winter. The school was located where
the Portland Hotel now stands. Professor George F. Boynton
was the principal.

"The winter of 1861-62 was one of the most severe the west
has ever seen. The Willamette was frozen over at Portland
so that teams could cross on the ice between Portland and East
Portland, and of course the mule ferry was out of commis-
sion. Possibly an adventure I had that winter on the Willam-

REMINISCENCES OF CAPT. W. P. GRAY 333

ette helped to impress the severity of the winter upon my mem-
ory. My brother, J. H. D. Gray, and my cousin, P. C. Schuyler,
and myself were skating on the river at what was called Clinton
Point in those days. It is just about where the new O.-W. R.
& N. steel bridge crosses the river now. We were playing tag
and I took a short-cut across the thin ice near an airhole. My
skates cut through, tripped me and down I went into the water.
The thermometer was standing at about zero. My brother
and my cousin could not come near me on account of also
breaking through the thin ice. I finally broke the thin ice with
my fist until I got to where the ice was so thick I could not
break it. My brother and cousin lay down, one holding the
other and tying the sleeves of their coats together, threw me one
end. I caught the end of the coat sleeve and they pulled; me
out. The instant the air struck me my clothing froze and by
the time I had got to the river bank near Ankeny's dock my
trousers were frozen stiff, and when I bent my knees my
trousers broke off at the knee. I walked to the corner of
Third and B streets (now Burnside), where we lived, and got
thawed out.

"Portland in those days was a pretty small town, all of the
business being on the streets near the river. Mr. Robert Pittock
had a store on First street, between A and B streets (Ankeny
and Burnside), where we traded.

"I had to quit school in April of 1862, as father needed my
help on the river. We began boating, carrying freight between
Deschutes and Wallula, operating our boat by sail. There
were several other competing sailboats, steamboats at that
time not being very numerous. After making a few trips
father decided he would build a steamboat. He picked out
Columbus, on the Washington side, a few miles above Celilo,
as the best point at which to build his boat. The reason he
picked out Columbus was that it was the landing for the entire
Klickitat valley, and it was the point through which all of the
pine timber growing on the Simcoe mountains came to the river.

"I was sixteen years old at this time and father wanted some-
one who knew the river and some one whom he could trust

334 FRED LOCKLEY

to take charge of the Sarah F. Gray, our sailboat. He put me
in charge. In the latter part of June he sold the boat, but the
purchasers, Whittingham & Co., of Wallula, stipulated that I
must remain in charge of the boat or they would not buy it.
Father told them he needed my help to build a boat, but they
insisted and told him they would pay me $150 a month for
my services.

"They told me that what they wanted was to make as
many trips as possible while the prevailing winds were good.
They gave me a mate, two deckhands and a cook. They paid
big wages, paying my father $150 for my services, paying the
mate $90, the cook $75 and the deckhands $60 a month each.

"This was the first boat that I ever had command of and you
can imagine how anxious I was to make a record. During the
month of July I didn't get very much sleep, as I was on deck to
take every advantage of the coast breeze which swept up the
Columbia. During the month of July I made five round trips
between Deschutes and Wallula, which was not only a record
up to that time, but has never been broken by sailboats on the
river since. I took up from 25 to 28 tons each trip. We had
the boat in operation for the full 24 hours each day. Father
had sold the boat for $1200. Not only did I take advantage of
the wind by night or day, but I rigged up a water sail to
help us drift down the river with the current against the up-
river wind. In that one month that boat not only paid the
wages of myself and all the crew, but cleared in addition more
than the price of the boat.

"To give you an idea of what we did to make five round trips
within a month, I not only personally took charge of the boat
at every bad rapid we came to, either by day or night, but
I crowded on all sail, even when more cautious captains were
reefing their sails. Three times during the month I had my
main boom carried away. The crew soon were inspired by my
enthusiasm and worked just as hard as I did to make a record.

"In the early part of August the coast breeze failed us entire-
ly and we came pretty near making a record for the slowness of
a trip. It took us 39 days to make one trip. Father was

REMINISCENCES OF CAPT. W. P. GRAY 335

anxious for me to join him and hurry forward the work of
building the Cascadilla, and after running the sloop for five
months the owners laid it up for the rest of the season and I
joined father and helped finish the Cascadilla. She was 110
feet long, 18 foot beam and drew 20 inches.

"Our family moved from Portland to The Dalles in the fall
of 1862. We lived in The Dalles that winter. Father launched
his steamboat, the Cascadilla, in December, 1862. Next spring
we took the Cascadilla up to Lewiston, plying on the Clear-
water and the Snake rivers. We carried wood from Lapwai and
lumber from Asotin to Lewiston.

"That spring father had trouble with A. Kimmell, his purser.
He found the purser was not turning in all the money. Father
put him off the boat and told him what he thought of men who
were crooked. What he told him was plenty. Shortly after
the purser had been put ashore, we were laid up cleaning the
boilers. The Cascadilla was a half deck boat. Father was
lying on his back on a pile of cordwood repairing the steering
wheel ropes. I was in the cabin aft. Looking out I saw Kim-
mell take an axe from the wood block and start towards father,
whose head was toward him. Father had both hands in the
air splicing a rope. Kimmell drew back the axe and as he
brought it down to split father's head open, I jumped for him.
I had no time to do anything but to launch myself at him. I
struck him like a battering ram in the back and shoulders. The
axe's blow was deflected and the axe missed father's head.
It also overbalanced Kimmell and he fell overboard. Kim-
mell, wild with anger, clambered ashore, pulled a pistol from
his pocket and began shooting at us. The first shot he fired
struck me in the hand, cutting the flesh on my third and fourth
fingers. The second shot struck me in the foot. I did the only
thing possible under the circumstances. I ran down the gang-
plank and stooping, I picked up several rocks and threw them
at him as I closed in on him. By good fortune I hit him with
one of the rocks, in the stomach, and knocked him breathless.
He grabbed his stomach with both hands. I closed in on him
and hit him in the chin. The blow knocked him down and I

336 FRED LOCKLEY

took the pistol away. Some of the crew came ashore, tied
him up and turned him over to the authorities at The Dalles.

"Father was always a peaceful man when it came to the law.
He said he was able to settle his own troubles. When the trial
came, father refused to appear against him, so he was turned
loose.

"Kimmell bought a sailboat. It got loose from the bank at
Celilo and went over the falls. Kimmell could have gotten
ashore, but he had money in the cabin and while trying to re-
cover the money the boat went over the falls and Kimmell
was drowned.

"Father sold the Cascadilla in the summer of 1864.

"I went on the river as a cub pilot with Captain Charles
Felton on the steamer Yakima. At that time, the steamer
Yakima was the most palatial boat on the river. It plied be-
tween Celilo and Lewiston. Umatilla Landing, which had been
started by Z. F. Moody, was growing rapidly. There was an
active demand for lumber which sold for $55 a thousand.
Alonzo Leland, with a man named Atwood, owned a sawmill
10 miles from Asotin. He could find no market for his lum-
ber. It was worth only $15 per thousand at Lewiston, while
if he could deliver his lumber at Umatilla he could readily
sell all he could deliver at $55 a thousand. This market was
worth trying for. They tried repeatedly rafting the lumber
down the Snake river, but each time the raft was broken up
in the rapids, and the lumber was a total loss. As we were
going up the river Atwood hailed me from what is now called
Atwood's Island. He had landed there with a raft in the at-
tempt to go down the river. We took Mr. Atwood and the
crew aboard. We asked him how he had happened to come
to grief. Atwood said, 'It is impossible to raft lumber down
the Snake. We will have to give it up. We have never
succeeded in taking a raft down yet.' He turned to me for
confirmation of his statement. I said, 'You can take a raft
through all right if you will get the right man.' He said, 'Can
you take one down?' I told him that I could. He made no
comment of any kind but turned on his heel and went below.

REMINISCENCES OF CAPT. W. P. GRAY 337

About half an hour later he came up to the pilot house and said,
'I am willing- to risk the loss of another raft if you will agree
to take it down. If we can once get a raft down the Snake
river and get it to Umatilla Landing it will pay for the loss of
all the others.1 I told him I was willing to take charge of the
raft but I doubted whether Captain Felton would let me go.
He said he thought he could arrange it with Captain Felton, as
he knew him well.

"He said, 'I realize it is dangerous work. Tell me what you
are going to charge me.' I told him I would charge $10 a day
while running the raft and $5 a day for any time we had to
lay at the bank. He saw Captain Felton, who came to me
and said he was anxious to accommodate Atwood, and he
would spare me for a trip.

"Atwood and I went to his mill at Asotin, where he built a
raft containing 50,000 feet of lumber. ***** When
we came to the big eddy above Lewiston (where Atwood had
always had trouble, and had missed landing at that place with
several rafts and as a consequence lost the lumber as there was
no market farther down the river), I threw the raft into the
center of the eddy. Atwood protested, believing that we cer-
tainly would miss the Lewiston landing, but the raft returned
up the eddy and shot out towards the Lewiston shore, his face
was wreathed with smiles.

"We took on 10,000 additional feet of lumber here. Next
morning at 2 o'clock I cast loose and started down the river.
Whenever we came to a rapid I sent the raft into the center
of the rapid. The rapid would give the raft such impetus
that it would carry us through the slack water. Atwood said,
'The very thing we have been trying to avoid — getting the
raft in the rapids, seems to be the reason for your success/
We were averaging nine miles an hour. I told him we would
get along all right until we came to the Palouse rapids and
we were going to have a serious time of it there. The water
pours through a narrow chute and empties into the eddy, which
boils back toward the current from the south shore.

338 FRED LOCKLEY

"When we got to the Palouse rapids I sent the raft into the
center of the rapids. The current was so swift it shot us into
the eddy. The forward part of the raft went under water and
the current from the chute caught the back end of the raft and
sent the raft under water. We stayed on the raft until the
water was up to our knees. The skiff which he had on the
raft started to float off, but I caught the painter and we got
aboard the skiff. We brought the skiff over where the raft
had been and felt down with the oars but we could not touch
the raft.

"We floated down with the current. All I attempted to do
was to keep the skiff in its course. Atwood said, 'I knew you
couldn't do it. With such rapids as the Palouse it was fool-
ish to expect we could.' I felt pretty serious for I was afraid
the eddy had broken the fastenings on the raft and we would
soon run into the wreckage of floating boards. About
half a mile below the rapids our skiff was suddenly lifted out
of the water by the reappearance of the raft. Our skiff and
the raft had both gone with the current and, oddly enough, it
had appeared directly under us, lifting the skiff out of the
water. This may sound 'fishy', but it is a fact.

"You never saw a man more surprised or delighted than
Atwood, for the raft was uninjured. As a matter of fact, be-
fore leaving, I had taken special pains to see that it was strongly
fastened, for I knew what kind of treatment it would get in the
rapids.

"We went through the Pine Tree rapids without accident,
but a little ways below there we struck a wind strongly up-
stream, so we had to tie up. Next morning at 3 o'clock, just
before daybreak, we started again, arriving at Wallula at 10
o'clock in .the forenoon.

"The steamer Yakima was just pulling in from below. From
Wallula to Umatilla was plain sailing, so I left Atwood to go
the rest of the way alone and rejoined the Yakima.

"In the past they had tried to manage the raft by side sweeps,
while all I had used had been a steering oar at the rear. At-
wood paid me $20 for carrying the raft successfully through

REMINISCENCES OF CAPT. W. P. GRAY 339

the rapids. He told me that he would have been just as glad
to pay me $500 if I had asked that much. This was the first
lumber raft ever taken down the Snake river, but it was the
forerunner of scores of other rafts.

"For this lumber, which was worth only $900 at Lewiston, he
got $3300 at Umatilla, or in other words, he made a profit of
$2400 on the $20 investment in my services.

"That, by the way, is a fair sample of my financial ability,
but what could you expect of the son of parents who thought
so little of money that they made a trip across the desert and
gave up all prospect of financial returns, to become missionaries
among the Indians with Dr. Whitman? An indifference, too,
and a disregard for money is bred in my bone.

"After working for three months as cub pilot with Captain
Charles Felton on the steamer Yakima in the upper river,
I secured a position as assistant pilot with the O. S. N. Com-
pany. I was eighteen years old at the time. That summer —
the summer of 1864 — the Oregon Steam Navigation Company
made an effort to take a steamboat up the Snake river canyon
to ply on the upper waters of the Snake between Olds Ferry
and Boise. Olds Ferry is just above where the present town
of Huntington is located.

"Boise in those days was a wonderfully prosperous mining
camp. Olds Ferry was also a good point as most of the emi-
grants crossed the Snake river by that ferry. The steamer
Colonel Wright was selected to make the attempt and Captain
Thomas J. Stump was chosen to take her through. I was as-
signed to her as assistant pilot. Alphonso Boone was the mate.
Peter Anderson was the chief engineer. John Anderson was
the assistant engineer and my father, W. H. Gray, and J. M.
Vansyckle, of Wallula, went along as passengers. We went
up the river to about twenty-five miles above Salmon river. In
attempting to make a dangerous eddy at this point, the boat
was caught in a bad eddy, thrown into the current and upon
a sharp rock reef jutting out from the Idaho shore. It carried
away eight feet of her bow, keel and sides to the deck. Things
looked desperate for a moment. Captain Stump gave an

340 FRED LOCKLEY

order from the pilot house to get out a line on shore.
You never saw such a universal willingness to get on
shore with that line. Every deckhand, the mate, the
chief engineer, the fireman and our two passengers, who were
standing forward watching the boat, seized the line by both
ends, the middle and wherever they could get a hold of it and
jumped ashore. The only people left on the boat were Captain
Stump and myself in the pilot house, the second engineer, who
was below, and old Titus, the cook. Before they could make
the line fast the boat was caught by the current and went
down the river half a mile. Here Captain Stump succeeded in
beaching her. We were joined here by the ambitious line-
carriers who walked down the shore to where we were beached.

"Captain Stump set the mate and crew to work to repair the
forward bulkhead which had been strained and showed signs
of leaking. While the boat was being worked upon, Captain
Stump, Mr. Vansyckle, my father and myself crossed the
river in a small boat and started to climb the hill in an effort
to see what the back country was like. We expected to be
back at the boat within two hours, but it was a steady climb of
four hours before we reached the crest of the hill. It was just
sun-down when we looked over into the beautiful Wallowa Val-
ley. Darkness overtook us before we could go very far down
the bluff. The rocky slopes were too dangerous to try in the
dark, so we stayed all night long on the side hill without blank-
ets or food. Father was an old campaigner, however, and he
showed us how to sleep with our heads downhill resting on a
rock. This prevented our working downhill while asleep.
Natural inclination is to wiggle forward and the rock at our
head prevented us going down hill and we could wiggle all we
wanted up hill — we wouldn't wiggle very far.

"When the bulkhead was finished, we ran back to Lewiston,
covering the distance it had taken us four and a half days to
come up, in three and a half hours.

"In the summer of 1865, when I was 19 years old, I secured
a job as watchman on the steamer John H. Couch, running
from Astoria to Portland. I was young and ambitious, and

REMINISCENCES OF CAPT. W. P. GRAY 341

did not like to complain. I had to sit up all night as watch-
man, and then was made to work as a deckhand during the day.
After a week or so of almost continuous night and day serv-
ice, I finally rebelled and stretched myself out on the boiler
and went to sleep. I was reported for being asleep while on
duty. The captain had taken a dislike to me, so when he re-
ported the matter Captain Ainsworth suggested that, in place
of firing me, the captain had better take a vacation. It hap-
pened that Captain Ainsworth was acquainted with the cir-
cumstances through having asked some one else about it. Snow,
the mate, was promoted to captain, and I was made mate.

After being the mate of the John H. Couch for a short time,
Captain Ainsworth sent for me and told me he wanted me to
go on the upper river as a pilot. I could not leave the Couch
without securing another man to take my place, so I hired a
horse and rode to the Red House tannery near Milwaukie and
secured Granville Reed to take my place as mate on the Couch.
Later, both Snow and Reed became captains of river steamers
and later branch pilots on the lower river between Portland
and Astoria. I went to the upper river and acted as pilot on
the boats plying between Celilo and Lewiston. I served as
pilot on the Nez Perce Chief, the Owyhee, the Tenino, the
Webfoot, the Spray, the Yakima and the Okanogan.

"I stayed on the upper river as pilot until 1867, when I was
engaged by Colonel R. S. Williamson, of the United States
engineers, to act as captain of a sailboat employed by the gov-
ernment in taking a party under Lieutenant W. H. Heuer to
make a hydrostatic survey of the Columbia river rapids be-
tween Celilo and the mouth of the Snake river. My duty was
to navigate the boat, a 40-ton schooner, but at the very first
rapids the men engaged in the hydrostatic survey, who were
deep water sailors and who were unused to swift water,
made so bungling a job of the work that I volunteered to take
charge of the small boats in the swift water. I had been so
accustomed to being tipped out of the boats and swimming out
and taking all sorts of chances that the deep water men were
scared nearly to death when I would make straight runs
through the rapids or across dangerous places in the river.

342 FRED LOCKLEY

"The government paid me $150 a month in gold. At this
time greenbacks were worth 37 cents on the dollar, so I was
getting big wages for a boy. We surveyed that year as far as
the Umatilla rapids. We did a job that I was proud of, too,
for we made an accurate and thorough survey.

"We laid up that winter. Next spring I ran on the U. S.
Grant between Astoria and Fort Stevens and Canby, for my
brother, J. H. D. Gray, who had shot his ramrod through his
hand. An army surgeon named Sternberg, who was stationed
at Walla Walla at that time, amputated his hand. There was
no necessity whatever for doing so, but it was the easiest way
to do it. Sternberg stayed with the army, and under the
seniority rule, finally reached the position of chief surgeon.

This accident to my brother incapacitated him for further
service on the upper river in the opinion of the authorities
of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company. They considered
that it required a perfect body as well as mind to guide steam-
boats safely through the dangerous and intricate channels and
rapids. J. H. D. Gray, however, was not the man to give up
because of this physical handicap. He secured a contract in
a short time to carry government supplies and mail between
Astoria and Forts Stevens and Canby, oysters and mail from
Shoalwater Bay, and purchased the steamer U. S. Grant for
that purpose. Later he purchased the Varuna on Puget Sound
and brought her around to Astoria.

"After running the Varuna for a while, I was asked to take
charge of the sail boat again and complete the government
survey. We spent that summer and finished the survey to the
upper end of Hummely rapids near Wallula. When the survey
was completed I again went to work for the Oregon Steam
Navigation Company on the upper river. After about a year
or so on the upper river I went to Astoria, where I ran the
Varuna, whose work was to take the mail and supplies to the
forts at the mouth of the river. During the time I was there
with my brothers, we made private surveys of the bar and
piloted ships across the bar. One incident of this time I re-
member very distinctly. We picked up a brig whose captain

REMINISCENCES OF CAPT. W. P. GRAY 343

had been in the lighthouse service and who had surveyed
the bar.

"The channel was familiar to him but he was unfamiliar
with the fact that the channel had changed a week before and
that my brother and I had just surveyed the new channel in-
side the breakers and just outside Sand island. We knew
there were six feet here at low water. We started through
this new channel with a long tow line on the brig. It was high
tide and there was a strong east wind beginning to blow.
Knowing it would be impossible to tow the brig up the main
channel against the east wind on a strong ebb tide, I signaled
to the pilot that I was going across the sands. I squared away
for Cape Disappointment. Captain Sherwood, who was in
charge of the brig, went down into the cabin, got his rifle and
came on deck. He told the pilot that if that crazy fool on board
the tug struck the brig on the sands he would never turn another
wheel nor wreck another ship. It didn't give me a very com-
fortable feeling to look across to the brig and see the captain
with a rifle trained on me. He kept it pointed at me until we
had crossed the sands and run up above Cape Disappointment
and were safely anchored in Baker's bay. Then he sent me a
handsome apology and complimented me on my seamanship.

"I stayed on the lower river as a captain and pilot until 1873,
when I engaged in business in Astoria. In July, 1875, Frank T.
Dodge, who had been the purser on the upper river and was
later agent of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company at The
Dalles and who was later superintendent of the Portland water
system, but who was at that time the superintendent of the
Willamette Transportation & Locks Company, gave me a job
with that company. My run was from Portland to Dayton on
the Yamhill. I had charge of the old steamer Beaver, whose
machinery had been brought from the Enterprise, which had
been wrecked on the Umpqua bar. I later had charge of this
same steamer, the Beaver, on the Stikeen river in Alaska.
While on the Willamette river run I was captain of the Ori-
ent, the Fannie Patton and the Governor Grover, the latter
boat running from Portland to Corvallis.

344 FRED LOCKLEY

"In 1877 I went to Victoria, B. C., as captain of the Beaver.
I took the Beaver from Victoria to Fort Wrangel, Alaska. I
ran on the Stikeen river between Fort Wrangel and Telegraph
creek, a distance of 165 miles.

"In the spring of 1878 I came back to the upper Columbia
as captain of the Annie Faxon. I stayed on the upper river,
having charge at different times of the John Gates, the Al-
mota, the D. S. Baker, the Spokane and the Harvest Queen.
The Harvest Queen had been built at Celilo a short while be-
fore. She ran for three years on the upper river and then was
taken over the Celilo falls by Captain James W. Troup, now
general superintendent of the water lines of the Canadian Pa-
cific. I know this is a feat requiring some skill, as I myself
during the extra high water of 1866 took a sail boat over
Celilo falls.

"I was married on October 27, 1868, at Portland, Oregon.
My wife's name was Oceana Falkland Bush. She was the
adopted daughter of Mrs. Hawthorne, of Portland, a pioneer
family after whom Hawthorne avenue and Hawthorne Park
are named.

"My wife was born on her father's brig, the 'Rising Sun,'
just off of the Falkland Islands while on a voyage around
the Horn. I met her for the first time at the celebration over
the driving of the first spike in the Oregon and California
railroad in East Portland, April 16, 1868.

"I came down one trip and was staying at 'Muck-a-Muck'
Smith's hotel, The Western,' on the corner of First and Mor-
rison. In those days it was a high class hotel. Captain Ains-
worth sent a messenger to find me with word to see him at once.
The messenger located me at 10 o'clock in the forenoon. I
went to see Captain Ainsworth and he offered me a much better
position than I had, with a year's contract on a steamer on the
upper river. 'You will have to go at once,' he said, 'as the
steamer is waiting to make a trip and every day's delay means
loss/ I told him that I would take the job, if I could have a
couple of days, as I was planning to get married. 'You can
have all of the rest of the day to get married1 in,' he said.

REMINISCENCES OF CAPT. W. P. GRAY 345

"I went to the river to take the ferry. I happened to meet
my wife's adopted mother, who had just come over. I told her
that I was going over to see Ocea and asked her to save me
the trip by having Ocea get ready as soon as possible, so
that we could be married that evening. She said it was im-
possible. I told her I was used to doing the impossible and I
would make all arrangements and be there that evening. The
ferry quit running at 8 o'clock. I arranged with them to make
an extra trip for us and promised them ten dollars an hour
for whatever time it took after 8 o'clock. I hurried down town
where I bought a wedding ring, hired the necessary cabs, se-
cured a license, arranged with a preacher to be there and got
Bob Bybee to stand up with me as best man. I went out to
see how Ocea was getting along. I asked her if she was all
ready to be married that night. I never saw any one more sur-
prised. Her mother had thought it was a crazy notion of mine
and decided not to tell Ocea anything about it. At first
she said she couldn't possibly be married that night, but when
I told her that the preacher would be there, the cabs were
hired, the ferry would take us over and it would be very awk-
ward to stop the proceedings, she decided we had better be
married at once. She got Hannah Stone, who is now Mrs. Dr.
Josephi, to act as bridesmaid.

"I had worked all summer at $150 a month and I never have
had any use for money except to spend it. I always look at it
in the same light as the manna that the Israelites had in cross-
ing the desert, 'that it will spoil if you keep it.' I gave the
preacher twenty dollars for tying the knot. I gave each of the
hack men a five dollar tip. I saved enough money to pay our
hotel bill and next morning- we started at 5 o'clock on the
steamer Wilson G. Hunt, for Celilo. When we got to The
Dalles, I discovered I had just $2.50 left. The Umatilla House
ran a free bus, but I didn't think it would look well for a newly
married couple to go in the free bus, so I called a hackman and
when he let us off at the Umatilla house, I gave him the $2.50.
There I was with a new wife and absolutely not a cent in my
pocket, but the absence of money has never bothered me any

346 FRED LOCKLEY

more than the presence of it, so I signed the register and en-
gaged a room at the Umatilla House for my wife at $60 a
month.

"I at once reported to my steamer and for the next year I
plied on the upper river.

'Thirty-three years ago the Northern Pacific R. R. Co. built
a transfer boat to carry their cars across the Snake river at
Ainsworth. They built a craft 200 feet long with 38 foot
beam, having a square bow and stern, with a house 25 feet
high and 165 feet long. They called the craft the Frederick
Billings. Ten cars could be carried across at one time. Her
huge house made her very unwieldy. When she had no load
aboard she drew nothing forward and two and a half feet aft.
She was a curiosity to all of the pilots and captains on the river.
They commented on the ridiculous lines and the unnecessary
deck house, 165 feet long. It was the consensus of opinion
that it would be impossible to handle her in strong winds. No
one was anxious to tackle the job. The very difficulty of
handling such a Noah's ark of a boat appealed to me and I
applied for the position, and was given the job before I could
change my mind.

"The boat took the cars from Ainsworth to South Ainsworth,
where the Northern Pacific Snake river bridge is now located,
about three miles from Pasco. The Billings had two 20-inch
cylinders with a 10-foot stroke, and in spite of her unwieldiness,
I have transferred as high as 213 cars in one day. The Snake
river bridge was completed in 1884. I took the Billings to
Celilo to be overhauled. It was planned to use her between
Pasco and Kennewick. They gave me permission to make
whatever alterations I though best, so I had her big deck house
cut down and a small house put up just large enough to cover
her pipes, boiler and engines.

"While the Frederick Billings was being repaired, I made
a recognizance of the Columbia river from the mouth of the
Snake river to Rock Island rapids. In my report, which I
sent to C. H. Prescott, president of the O. R. & N. Co., I said
I thought it was possible to run a boat through the Rock Island

REMINISCENCES OF CAPT. W. P. GRAY 347

rapids. My report was forwarded to the chief of the board of
engineers of the United States army.

"I went up with the Billings and continued to run between
Pasco and Kennewick, transferring freight and passenger cars
until the Columbia river bridge was completed.

"When I went to Pasco to begin my work there I decided to
have a home. D. W. Owen had homesteaded a tract of land
where now the city of Pasco is located. He offered to relin-
quish a fraction containing 19 acres on the bank of the Colum-
bia for $100. I thought $100 for 19 acres of sagebrush land
was highway robbery, but as I needed some ground for a home,
I accepted his offer and built a home. Though I was born in
Oregon City and brought up in the West, and though my father
was one of the earliest pioneers of Oregon, I had never before
owned land. I became quite enthused with the idea of owning
land. I secured a relinquishment from Henry Gantenbein of 80
acres, which extended from the river to the railroad section
where Pasco is located. I filed a pre-emption upon it. I paid
$2.50 an acre for it and as soon as I had secured the receiver's
receipt I platted 50 acres of it as an addition to Pasco.

"I remember they thought it very peculiar to file an addition
to Pasco before the plat of Pasco itself was filed. I never was
much busier than I was then. I was the local land agent for
the Northern Pacific. I had charge of the selling of their lots
and acreage. I was county commissioner, I had a dairy with
10 cows, I had 100 hogs, and had over 200 horses, and was
feeding over 400 of the Northern Pacific employes. In addi-
tion to this I was attending every Republican state convention.
My purpose of attending the conventions was to be appointed
on the resolutions committee. That was all the office I wanted.
Each time I secured the adoption of a resolution demanding of
Congress the immediate opening of the Columbia river to un-
obstructed navigation.

"The railroad wanted to cross my land. I told the graders
they could not cross without my permission. They sent their
attorney, who told me if I didn't let them cross I would lose
my contract for feeding the Northern Pacific employes and

348 FRED LOCKLEY

would also lose my position on the transfer boat. I told him
where he could go, but it wasn't a health resort that I recom-
mended. In fact, it was a place where the climate was pretty
tropical. I demanded $500 for permission to cross my place.
The graders were instructed to go ahead, any way. I took my
shotgun and went out and had a little talk with the foreman
and he decided not to do anything. He telegraphed to the
officials and by return wire they telegraphed they were send-
ing me a draft for $500. I would have been glad to let them
go across, but didn't like the way they went about it.

"By the summer of 1886 I had 45 different kinds of trees
growing on my place at Pasco, without irrigation. In addition
to a large number of vegetables usually grown in the North-
west, I successfully matured peanuts, cotton and sugar cane.
That will give you some idea of the possibility of fruit grow-
ing and the growing of vegetables in this district.

"You remember I told you about reporting that I believed
the Rock Island rapids could be successfully negotiated? On
the strength of my report the O. R. & N. Co. fitted out an ex-
pedition consisting of two boats to go as far as the Priest
rapids. The Almota and the John Gates were the two boats.
The Almota was to accompany the John Gates to Priest rapids
and the John Gates was to endeavor to go to the head of navi-
gation on the Columbia, the Almota's part of the contract be-
ing to act as tender and carry fuel and extra equipment as far
as Priest rapids. C. H. Prescott and some of the other offi-
cials of the O. R. & N., as well as General Gibbon, commander
of the Department of the Columbia, with his staff and 120
soldiers from Fort Vancouver, were taken along on the trip.
The soldiers were to assist the boat in overcoming the rapids
by lining the steamer through the rapids. The ascent of Priest
Rapids was made without much difficulty. This gave to the
steamer John Gates the honor of being the first steamboat to
pass over the rapids. The Almota remained below Priest
Rapids. The formation of the Rock Island Rapids consists of
a number of dangerous reefs through which the current makes
short and difficult turns, making navigation of the Rock Island

REMINISCENCES OF CAPT. W. P. GRAY 349

Rapids a matter requiring care, skill and making the rapids dan-
gerous unless the navigator thoroughly understands his work.
After working nearly all day to lay lines to get the boat safely
around Hawksbill Point, night overtook them. The line was put
ashore and the boat was tied where it was so that it would not
lose what way it had already made. The turbulent currents
and eddies dashed and pounded the boat all night. It bobbed
around as if it were a cork in rough water. The officials of
the railroad as well as the military officials didn't get much
sleep. Next morning one of the head officials came to the
captain of the boat and said: 'Let go your lines and get out
of this hell-hole as quickly as you can.' The trip was aban-
doned and Rock Island Rapids was reported unnavigable.

The steamer John Gates was named after John Gates, the
chief engineer of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company. He
succeeded Jacob Kamm in that position. He was born in Maine
and came to California in 1849. In 1853 he came to Oregon.
He is the inventor of the Gates hydraulic steering gear as well
as many other valuable inventions. He supervised the build-
ing of both the Almota and the John Gates as well as the
Harvest Queen, the Henry Villard, the Occident, the Orient,
the Hassalo, and many other boats. He started his career in
Portland as engineer of a sawmill at the foot of Jefferson
street. He died 35 years later while mayor of Portland.

"The Almota was launched at Celilo, September 27, 1876!
Captain E. W. Baughman was her first master. Captain Sam-
son was her next commander and he was followed by myself,
George Gore and John F. Stump and a number of other well
known river captains. The Almota was one of the greatest
money makers that ever plied the Columbia. She cleared over
$14,000 on one trip upon one occasion, the bulk of the freight
being government supplies to be used by the soldiers under
General O. O. Howard, who were engaged in the pursuit of
Chief Joseph and his horde of Nez Perces.

"A number of friends of mine from Ellensburg were inter-
ested in the development of a mine in the Okanogan district
some years ago. They conceived the idea of establishing a

350 FRED LOCKLEY

line of communication between Ellensburg and their mine.
This required a trip across the mountains from Ellensburg to
Wenatchee. They thought if they could haul their supplies
to Wenatchee they could put a boat on the river and take their
supplies from Wenatchee to the Okanogan much more cheaply
by boat than to haul by team. They looked the matter up and
found I had reported it feasible to take boats over Priest
Rapids, and also Rock Island Rapids. Acting on my report,
made some years before to the O. R. & N. Co., they built a
boat at Pasco to navigate the Columbia from Point Eaton at
the mouth of Johnson's canyon, to the site of their mines
in the Okanogan. They secured the services of Captain Jones,
a Mississippi steamboat man, to plan and build a boat suitable
for use on the upper river.

"Shortly before the boat was completed, I had a talk with
him and urged him to make a personal examination of the
Rock Island Rapids. He told me he was able to navigate
water, no matter how swift it was. However, in a rather lofty
way, he consented to go up and look at the rapids before mak-
ing the trip. He visited the Rock Island Rapids and by a
roundabout way he got back to the railroad and went back to
the Mississippi. Neither the stockholders of the boat com-
pany nor any one else in this part of the country ever saw him
again.

"This left the Ellensburg miners in a rather bad way. They
were out the expense of the boat and had no one who would
tackle the job of operating it. They came to me, but I told
them I could not afford to neglect my own interests for the
sake of running their boat.

"They put it up to me, however, that it was on the strength
of my report the boat had been built, so, to the neglect of my
own interests, I agreed to take charge of their steamer, 'The
City of Ellensburg,' and demonstrate for them the rapids could
be overcome.

"In July, 1888, we left Pasco with 45 tons of freight and
several passengers on board for the Okanogan. The steamer
was a stern wheeler, 120 feet long, 22 foot beam and drew four
feet when loaded.

REMINISCENCES OF CAPT. W. P. GRAY 351

"After sizing up the boat and its equipment, I didn't blame
Captain Jones for disappearing. However, I had promised
them to make the attempt, and I did n't intend to back out. You
know they say, 'A poor workman always quarrels with his
tools/ so I decided to do the best I could under the circum-
stances.

"At Priest Rapids we attempted to lay a line along the shore
and fasten it above the lower riffle and attach it to the boat
below. I found we couldn't carry the line clear of submerged
reefs. The only thing I could do was to sink a dead man to
fasten to, so as to pull the steamer over the lower riffle. To do
this it was necessary to lay the line down through a rough
channel between the reefs. It was a dangerous proposition,
and if the small boat was encumbered with the extra line the
probability was that the men who were not experienced would
be drowned. I decided to make a test trip. I put men enough
in the boat to weigh about the same as a line. I had the mate
put out extra boats to pick us up below the rapids if we cap-
sized. Naturally, I didn't tell the crew of the boat I expected
to capsize. After completing the placing of the dead man I
ordered the crew I had selected into the small boat, telling them
I wished to make a trip across the channel to see if there wasn't
a better place to ascend on that side. After ordering the men
to take their places, I took the bow of the skiff, shoved it into
the current, stood on the shore myself, and held to the stern
until it swung across the current, and then jumped in and
caught up the steering oar. I ordered the men to row hard,
and I headed her for the rapids.

"A Dane named C. E. Hanson, who was one of my deck-
hands, but who has since been made captain of a steamer on
the upper Columbia, and who is now in charge of the gov-
ernment work of improving the Okanogan river, gave me a
steady and resolute look, braced himself and began to pull at
his oar. I had picked out a Frenchman who was used to raft-
ing driftwood, and who I thought had unlimited nerve. He
dropped his oar and began praying and crying: Trenchy will
surely die. He is going over Priest Rapids.' It seems that his

352 FRED LOCKLEY

custom had been to let the raft go through by itself and take
his skiff around by portage. I was steering. Frenchy had the
midship oars, big John Hanson had the after oars, the other
two men, who were deckhands, were in the bow of the boat.
Hanson pulled out into the current, giving Frenchy, who was
kneeling in the bottom of the boat praying, a contemptuous
look. We passed over the break and I swung the skiff quar-
tering into the swell. In a moment we were in the midst of the
turmoil of waters. Big John kept at the oars, and I watched
like a hawk with my steering oar. For a moment the waves
were higher than the boat but we went through safely.

"My experiment proved the boat would carry a line through,
so we came down with the line and negotiated the Priest
Rapids successfully. As we lined the steamer into the raipds
the water poured over the buffalo chocks. Next day we ar-
rived at Rock Island Rapids.

"The only point at which Rock Island Rapids is really
difficult or dangerous is at Hawksbill Point. It juts into the
river at an acute angle from the island, on the left hand side
of the island as you go up the river. It required delicate calcu-
lation to overcome this difficulty. I put out three lines at the
same time. One to line her up and the others to keep her from
swinging either way. It took us two hours to pass Hawksbill
Point. We had another cluster of reefs near the head of the
island to pass. Here the current turns in strongly toward the
bluff, 40 feet high, which projects from the mainland on the
right hand side at an acute angle. We had no line long enough
to fasten to the right point to take us around this bluff. The
boat's power was insufficient to hold it in place, let alone mak-
ing headway across the current. The current drew the boat
in at the head. We bucked the current for over an hour with-
out success. I finally decided a desperate remedy must be
taken. I threw her head across the current toward the island
and swung almost against the island. It was necessary that I
should let the stern wheel of the steamer go within four feet
of the rocks and directly above them, to get out of the main
strength of the current. If the current here was too strong the

REMINISCENCES OF CAPT. W. P. GRAY 353

boat would go on the rocks, break her wheel, and leave us dis-
abled in the current. For a moment the boat hung where she
was. It was a mighty anxious moment for me, for, with all
steam on, she seemed only able to hold her own. She was
neither going forward nor back, but slowly, inch by inch, she
pulled away from the rapids and out into the open river. That
was the first time a steamboat had ever been through Rock
Island Rapids.

"The president of the company owning the boat was on board.
His enthusiasm had ranged from fever heat to zero on most of
the rapids. When I swung the boat over in the last effort,
he wrung his hands and sobbed, 'You'll wreck her, you'll wreck
her sure!' But when we began to gain headway and he was
sure we were over Rock Island Rapids, he threw his arms
around my neck and yelled, 'You've saved us — I knew you
would !' Then I thought, what a narrow line divides failure
and success. Failure is 'I told you so' ; and success is, 'I knew
it!'

"We continued on up the river, gathering driftwood for fuel,
using lines to help us over Entiat, Chelan, Methow and other
rapids, and ran six miles up the Okanogan river to Lumsden's
ford and stuck on the bottom of the river. Then we unloaded
freight and passengers and went back through Rock Island and
the other rapids to Port Eaton at the mouth of Johnson's canyon,
where the people of Ellensburgh had constructed a wagon road
to the river in order to avoid the Wenatchee mountain. The
road descended to the Columbia river over a cliff where the
teamsters were obliged to cut large trees and hitch them by the
tops behind the wagons to keep them from sliding on to the
teams. The trees were left at the bottom of the cliff, and when
the accumulation became so great as to obstruct the way they
were burned. The use of the timber for brakes in the manner
indicated had denuded the summit of the mountain for quite a
distance.

"I made four more trips up and down through Rock Island
and the other rapids between Port Eaton and the Okanogan
river ; but when the water fell Rock Island rapids became im-

354 FRED LOCKLEY

passable, and a route was established from above that point to
Bridgeport, ten miles above the Okanogan. When the Great
Northern Railway was built the lower end of the route was
established at Wenatchee and steamboat service has continued
there since."

BURR OSBORN

LETTERS BY BURR OSBORN, SURVIVOR OF

THE HOWISON EXPEDITION

TO OREGON, 1846

REMINISCENCES OF EXPERIENCES GROWING OUT OF WRECKING

OF THE UNITED STATES SCHOONER SHARK AT MOUTH

OF COLUMBIA ON EASTWARD VOYAGE

OF EXPEDITION

Edited by George H. HJmes

Since the report of Lieutenant Neil M. Howison, of the
United States Sloop of War Shark, was published in The
Quarterly for March, 1913, a survivor of that ill-fated vessel
has been found in the person of Mr. Burr Osburn. The fol-
lowing letters from him, throwing additional light upon that
disaster, together with the naval record of Lieutenant Howison,
form a valuable supplement to what has already been published :

Union City, Michigan, Feb. 17, 1913.
Postmaster, Astoria, Ore.

Dear Sir: Would you please hand this letter to some old
pioneer that you think might answer it. I would like to know
how many inhabitants Astoria has, and I would like a map of
the river coast from Astoria down to Clatsop Beach.

In 1846 I belonged to the U. S. S. Shark, and we kedged,
sounded and buoyed the channel from Cape Disappointment to
Vancouver, and on our return, coming out of the mouth of the
river, we were driven with adverse winds upon the breakers,
and the quicksands soon put us out of commission. Subse-
quently, with a great deal of suffering, we landed upon Clatsop
Beach without the loss of a single man. Neil M. Howison was
commander. After landing at Clatsop Beach we made for
Astoria, which had three log houses and one small frame house.
There were seventy-six of us sailors besides the officers. Two
of the log houses were not occupied ; the third one was occupied
by the Hudson Fur Company1 officers. Us sailors occupied

i Hudson's Bay Company.

356 GEORGE H. HIMES

the two empty houses. The frame house was occupied by a
Baptist Missionary. 2 We sailors were soon detailed down the
river about one mile to a place called George's Point, where
we cut and hauled the logs by hand about a half mile and
built a double log house.

I would like to know if any of the remains of that house are
extant today. We built a small frame house near the log
house. Us sailors named the place "Sharksville." Wonder if
any one in Astoria of today ever heard it called "Sharksville ?"

Thanking you for any favors you may show in the above
matter, I beg to remain, Yours very truly,

BURR OSBORN,

The postmaster of Astoria sent the foregoing letter to
Judge J. Q. A. Bowlby, a pioneer of 1852, long a resident of
Astoria, who responded to Mr. Osborn's request by sending a
number of publications relating to Astoria and vicinity, to
which the following reply was received :

Union City, Michigan, March 24th, 1913.
J. Q. A. Bowlby, Esq., Astoria, Oregon,

Dear Sir : On thoroughly examining the chart you recently
sent me, I am convinced that we struck the breakers south of
the channel, the wind at the time being westerly and on the
flood tide. We landed on Clatsop beach several miles down
the river from Astoria, between nine and ten o'clock in the
evening, the tenth of September, 1846, and our first landing of
half of the crew was about daylight. The first fire that was
built was made out of the wreck of the sloop of war Peacock,
U. S. N. The boats returned for the balance of the crew and
landed about four o'clock A. M. Our boats consisted of the
Captain's gig, a whale boat, first cutter and launch. The gig
was the first boat loaded with the ship papers and the sick
with the surgeon. The roll of the vessel brought the flukes of
the anchor in contact with the boat and stove her all to pieces,
but through the precaution of the captain in ordering all the ends
of the running rigging to be thrown overboard, the boat's crew

2 Rev. Ezra Fisher, who came to Oregon in 1845.

BURR OSBORN, SURVIVOR HOWISON EXHIBITION, 1846 357

and the sick managed to get hold of a rope and were all saved.
During this time, every breaker broke clear over the vessel and
continued doing so until ebb tide, when we lowered our other
boats without damage.

You inquired where the original Fort Astoria stood. I never
heard of but one fort while there, and that was Fort George.
Fort George was situated on a point down the river called
one mile from the Hudson Bay Company's store house. The
location of the store was called 3 Astoria. This sto-re was a log
house, and with the two log huts was situated at the junction
of the bluff and the incline land! running down the river (as I
remember, not to exceed five rods from the bluff and the in-
cline). The location of the store and huts remains quite vivid
on my mind for the reason that, within a week of our landing
at Astoria, three-fourths of the crew were taken down with a
fever and the rest of the crew were not much better. In con-
nection with the store that I speak of, the stock consisted of
goods thought necessary for the use of the trappers and the In-
dians, and in the stock was quantities of salts and quinine, so
the doctor dosed us with the same for about three weeks, when
we began to recuperate. These fevers were probably brought
on by the exposure and excitement and sleeping on the ground,
also being scantily clad. We subsequently secured clothing
from Vancouver. At that time blankets cost $10 each and other
clothing in proportion. The store had what sailors call a
medicine chest, and as soon as we got this chest emptied —
about the middle of October — we were detailed down the river
to Fort George and set to hauling logs from the neighboring
forests to build a log house. When the house was completed,
we moved in and sent a boat to Vancouver for provisions, that
being the nearest place to purchase goods of any kind. The
completion of the house brought us well into November, but
we had not occupied it long when Captain Howison chartered
the 4Catborough, a schooner of about seventy-five tons burden,
belonging to the Hudson's Bay Company, commanded by Cap-

3 Later known as Upper Astoria. At this place Gen. John Adair, the first
customs collector of the Port of Astoria, had his residence in 1849-50.

4 Cadboro.

358 GEORGE H. HIMES

tain Scarborough. About the latter part of November, we
boarded this vessel and sailed for San Francisco. We ran
down to Baker's Bay and lay there about six weeks windbound,
but eventually arrived in San Francisco, the sixth day of Jan-
uary, 1847.

I have two reasons for giving you so detailed an account of
my peregrinations around the mouth of the Columbia River:
One is, I have nothing much else to do, only sit by the fire
and nurse the "rheumatics" and to muse on past events of my
life ; and the other is to show you that our time was limited in
procuring many land-marks of that country, for our liberty was
curtailed to a great extent on account of running a-foul of
the Indians.

I never saw or heard of McTavish tombstone nor the Con-
comly grave. There was a head-board near the large tree, but
do not recollect the name. I also forget the officer's name
that attended to the store. He was one of the Hudson Bay Com-
pany's officials. Never heard of any Fort Astoria ; there was,
as I have described it, a double log house with the two log
huts near by. These three houses, with the missionary's house
situated some twenty-five or thirty rods back near the forest,
were the only sign of any house that was in this vicinity until
we built the log house at Fort George's point, unless it was an
Indian tepee east of the store about forty rods.

I am sending you a sketch of Astoria under separate cover,
as it looked to me when I was there, and the surroundings. I
did not know John Shively or Jim Welch. Your postoffice
picture has no resemblance to the Baptist missionary house.
His house was about 18x24, one and one-half stories high,
without any sort of a veranda or addition.

Point George or Shark's Point was what they called Fort
George. The main camp of Indians was back through the for-
est near the hills, but I never visited their village. The land-
ing place, as I stated before, was at the junction of the bluff
and the beginning of the incline, as you will note on the sketch.
I do not know of any other survivor of the Shark. I never
heard of General Warren. There was a sloop-of-war Warren
in San Francisco.

BURR OSBORN, SURVIVOR HOWISON EXHIBITION, 1846 359

The big pine tree was located' about as indicated on the
sketch.

Again thanking you for your recent favors, I beg to remain,

Respectfully,

BURR OSBORN.

Union City, Michigan, March 5th, 1913.

J. Q. A. Bowlby, Esq., Astoria, Oregon,

Dear Sir : Your kind favors of the 25th inst. at hand, and
find them very interesting, although it will perhaps be difficult
for me to repay you for your kindness. The two letters, chart,
postcards and pamphlets, etc., all arrived in good condition.

If you can locate the place where the wreck of the sloop-of-
war Peacock drifted ashore on Clatsop Beach, on the south
side of the river, you will find where the schooner Shark's
crew landed after being wrecked on the breakers, on the south
side of the channel. Nearby this landing there was an old
shanty, about 12x25 feet, without any floor, where the Shark's
crew stopped for two nights. Half of the ship's crew were in
their hammocks when she went on the breakers, on the flood
tide, which proved that they were thinly clad. All I had on
was an undershirt and a pair of drawers. The weather was
rainy, so we were soaked with water from nine o'clock on the
tenth night of September until the morning of the twelfth, when
two Indians put in an appearance and informed the Gap-
tain that there was a white man's5 ranch located inland
twenty miles, and that they had cattle. So the captain dis-
patched the Indians to the ranch with orders to bring in a
couple of oxen, for we were in a starving condition. In the
evening of September 12th, the oxen arrived, and they were
soon slaughtered and laid on some driftwood, and everybody
helped himself, and soon about eighty half-starved men, each
with a chunk of beef, were roasting it over about as many
fires (for there was plenty of wood) ; some of the men merely
warmed their meat, for it had been about fifty-two hours since
we had broken our fast.

5 Probably Solomon Howard Smith, he being the first white settler in Clatsop
County in 1840.

360 GEORGE H. HIMES

The next morning-, the 13th, we started for Astoria, then
about twenty miles from the mouth of the river.

This shanty that we stopped in on Clatsop Beach, we learned
subsequently had been built by some of Lewis and Clark's men,
some forty years previous.6

On arriving at Astoria, we found the village situated on a
bluff, as near as I can remember about twenty or thirty feet
high, and consisted of three log houses and one frame house.
The log houses belonged to the Hudson's Bay Company,
with their headquarters located at Vancouver, ninety-six miles
above the mouth of the river, where they had a large store
house and a few dwelling places. There were not many whites
there, only what were in the employ of the company. One of
the log houses in Astoria was a double one, used by the com-
pany as a branch store house and was kept by one man (I
forget his name) ; he received the furs from the trappers and
paid for them in dicker, such as guns, traps, ammunition, beads
for the Indians, whisky, etc. The other two smaller log houses
were for the use of the trappers, when they came in with their
furs.

These three log houses were situated within a few rods of the
bluff and within a few rods of the landing, the landing being
close to the beginning of the bluff, west of the log houses, which
were built in a cluster, there soon commenced an incline toward
what they called Ft. George, where us boys built the log house
and named it Sharks ville, after our lost ship. As I remember,
after going down this incline from the houses, there was no
bluff to speak of, to Ft. George, it being a gravelly beach some
of the way. They called it one mile from the stores to Fort
George.

The store house was situated east of the other two huts,
about three rods, as I remember. The man that kept the store
and the missionary were the only white men that I saw there,
besides our own crew — do not remember the names of either
of these men. As I remember, the missionary lived about

6 Near sJte where Lewis and Clark's men distilled salt from sea water in
January, 1805.

BURR OSBORN, SURVIVOR HOWISON EXHIBITION, 1846 361

thirty rods back of the store near the forest. There was a strip
of cleared1 land, or had been cleared, but grown up to black-
berry bushes and brush more or less, about thirty rods wide,
beginning about forty rods east of the store and running down
to Ft. George.

There was no sign of there ever being any fort anywhere on
this strip of land, not even a stockade.7

The Shark was 'fore an' aft schooner of about three hundred
tons burden. She carried ten carronades and two "Long Toms"
— all thirty-two pounders. When she struck the breakers, we
threw overboard some of the guns and shot and cut away the
masts, to lighten her.

It was told to us that we were sent up there to offset a
British mano'-war. The two governments were trying to set-
tle the boundary line between Washington and the British
possessions. At that time it was the cry, "54-40 or fight." But
they fought it out in Washington, D. C.

No, I never heard of Concomly's grave, back of the mis-
sionary house. There was a monstrous fir pine that had been
blown up by the roots, and it looked as if it had been down for
many years. Some of the boys measured it and reported that
it was twelve feet in diameter at the butt and three hundred
and thirty feet in length to where it had been sawed off to
make a roadway. It was eighteen inches in diameter where
it had been sawed off ; so the boys concluded that it must have
been about four hundred feet high.

About all the names of places we heard about was Cape
Disappointment, Baker's Bay, Clatsop Beach, Astoria, Fort
George and the Columbia River. We might have heard of
some Indian names, but have forgotten them. The Indians
claimed about three hundred "bucks," but us boys were never
allowed to mingle with them. Their main settlement was back
from the coast; as you know they were the Flathead tribe.
Their way of making a flat head was to place the papoose in
a box and lash a board over the forehead in a slanting position
and keep the papoose there for twelve months. The forehead

7 The original Fort Astor was destroyed by fire in 1818.

362 GEORGE H. HIMES

would become flat and the head run up to a peak. The box
was fastened to a pole about six feet long, and when they wanted
to sit the kid down, they would stand it up against a tree. I
am wondering if there is any of this tribe left, and if they still
continue this method.

When a lad of seventeen years, I went to sea and sailed
around the world twice, and visited the five grand divisions
of the world and hundreds of islands. I was in the merchant
service, the whaling service, and in the navy, and now in
Michigan. I was born near Bridgeport, Conn., the 25th of
April, 1826.

Again thanking you for your kind favors and interest you
have shown in answering my inquiry, I beg to remain,

Sincerely,

BURR OSBORN.

Upon calling on Judge Bowlby in Astoria September 24th
last, he gave me the foregoing correspondence. I then wrote
to Mr. Osborn for his portrait, asking a number of questions
as to the names of his fellow seamen, to which the following is
a response :

Union City, Mich., October 6, 1913.
George H. Himes, Portland Oregon.

Dear Sir : Yours of the 26th inst. at hand, and wish to thank
you for enrolling my name as a member of the Pioneer So-
ciety, and for your interest in writing.

I remember of several of the Shark's crew cutting their
names on some stones above high water mark, but do not re-
member any of their names — in fact I do not remember many
of the names of the Shark's crew; my memory is very poor
when it comes to remembering names, and then I was only
with the Shark's crew about four months. Captain Neil M.
Howison was Lieutenant Commander, First Lieutenant Schank
(he was a brother to Ambassador Shank,8 to Great Britain, a
number of years ago), Second Lieutenant Bullock, Dr. Hud-
son, surgeon. I remember one James McEver, on account of

8 Doubtless Robert C. Schenck, who was a minister to Brazil in 1851-53, and
a general officer in the Union army in 1861-63.

BURR OSBORN, SURVIVOR HOWISON EXHIBITION, 1846 363

his heading a gang with a crow-bar to break open the "Spirit
Room" for whisky, when Captain Howison leveled a six-
shooter at his head and told him if he made a single stab he
would blow his head off. McEver and his followers claimed they
wanted to die happy. Joe Cotton, I remember as being cox-
swain on the boat that I belonged to, and when the schooner
struck the breakers, we were sounding for the channel in a
whale boat. I met Cotton some thirty years ago, at a reunion
at Grand Rapids ; he then lived in Saranac, Michigan, but he
is dead now. George Getchel, who was my particular chum,
hailed from Belfast, Maine.

The schooner Shark was a U. S. surveying vessel. Like the
Peacock, we started out of Baker's Bay with a good favorable
breeze, when all of a sudden the wind died out and. we drifted
on to the breakers. We had sounded and buoyed the channel
from Cape Disappointment to Fort Vancouver, kedging the
vessel all the way. The Shark drew thirteen feet of water, so
that we could not get over the bar at the mouth of the Wil-
lamette River until we placed her guns on a lighter. The
Shark's crew landed on Clatsop Beach. The first fire we built
after landing was out of some of the wreck of the U. S. Sloop-
of-War Peacock, that had drifted on the beach.

There were seventy-six men in our crew besides the offi-
cers. I have told Mr. Bowlby all I could think of about As-
toria, and the river to Vancouver. Vancouver was a Hudson's
Bay trading post for furs taken in from the Indians — so was
Astoria.

I first met the Shark in Honolulu. I had made the passage
from New Zealand to the Sandwich Islands in a whale ship,
got stranded in Honolulu and shipped on the Shark, us "Jack-
ies" being informed that we were being sent up to the Oregon
territory to settle a dispute about the boundary line between
B. C. and Oregon. Great Britain wanted the Columbia River
for the boundary, but Uncle Sam said "54-40 or fight," but
we did not see any fight with the British for the matter was
settled in Washington, D. C., and us "Jackies" were set to
work finding the channel of the river to Vancouver to keep
us out of mischief, I suppose.

364 GEORGE H. HIMES

I enjoyed the cards and your interesting letter very much,
and thanking you for the same, I remain,

Respectfully,

BURR OSBORN.

In a subsequent letter to me, dated Oct. 13th, Mr. Osborn
says: "I remember two more names of the Shark's crew —
John Powers and Past Midshipman Gillespie. I did not give
you the name under which I enlisted on the Shark. It was
John Burr Osborn. The reason for the additional name was
that the clerk thought that 'Burr' was a nick-name, and hence
added 'John.' "

After securing the foregoing from Mr. Osborn, an attempt
was made to obtain a portrait of Lieutenant Howison and an
account of his life. To that end a letter was addressed to the
Superintendent of the Naval Academy at Annapolis; but as
that institution was not established until 1845 the record there
was very meagre. Then a letter was sent to Hon. Harry Lane,
United States Senator from Oregon, Washington, D. C, and
he took the question up with the Bureau of Navigation of the
Naval Department and the following was supplied :

RECORD OF SERVICE OF THE LATE LIEUTENANT
NEIL M. HOWISON, U. S. NAVY

Born in Virginia.

1823 — Feb. 1. Appointed a midshipman.

Dec. 6. Ordered to Norfolk to Peacock.

Dec. 20. Accepted appointed.

1827 — Oct. 24. To Court Martial, Philadelphia.

Oct. 27. Leave unlimited.

1828— Sept. 5. To the receiving ship, New York.

Oct. 13. Permission to attend Naval School.

Oct. 24. Attend examination.

Dec. 4. Be ready for orders to the expedition.

1829 — Dec. 23. Be ready for orders to the Brandy wine.

Dec. 26. To the Brandywine as Sailing Master.

1830 — July 12. Leave unlimited.

Aug. 20. To the Brandywine.

BURR OSBORN, SURVIVOR HOWISON EXHIBITION, 1846 365

1831— July 19. Warranted to rank from the 23d of March,

1829.

1832 — July 18. Commissioned as Lieutenant to take rank

from the 13th of July, 1832.

1834 — Feb. 5. Leave three months.

1835— Feb. 19. To the Peacock.

Mar. 9. Previous order revoked.

1836— Mar. 10. To the Grampus.

1838— July 11. Leave 3 months.

1839— Feb. 26. To Navy Yard at Pensacola.

1840— Sept. 24. To the Consort.

1841 — Aug. 13. Leave 3 months.

Dec. 3. Leave 3 months.

1842— Apr. 13. To Ordnance Duty.

1843 — May 1. To Norfolk to apply for a passage to Pacific

for duty on that Station.

1847— July 22. Returned from Pacific, 1847.

Aug. 10. Leave 3 months.

Nov. 13. To Naval School.

Nov. 23. Previous order revoked.

1848— Feb. 23. Died at Fredericksburgh, Va.

JOURNAL OF ALEXANDER ROSS-SNAKE
COUNTRY EXPEDITION, 1824

EDITORIAL NOTES BY T. C. ELLIOTT

Alexander Ross, whose day-to-day experiences in 1824 ap-
pear in this journal, did service in many parts of the Old Ore-
gon country. As a member of the Pacific Fur Company he
arrived on the Columbia in March, 1811, and assisted in the
building of Fort Astoria, and in the fall of the same year as-
sisted in the building of the first Fort Okanogan, at which post
he was stationed for several years; from there he made trips
south to the Yakima country, west to the summit of the Cas-
cades, north to Thompson river and beyond, and east to the
Spokane country. Later, while staff clerk of the Northwest
Company at Fort George, he ascended the Willamette, and in
1818 assisted Donald McKenzie in the building of Fort Nez
Perce at the mouth of the Walla Walla river, of which fort
he was in charge until 1823. That summer he started to cross
the mountains and quit the service, the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany having succeeded the Northwest Company, but was
stopped at Boat Encampment by a letter from Deputy
Governor George Simpson, asking him to take charge of the
Snake Country Expedition that fall. This appointment he ac-
cepted and returned to Spokane House and thence proceeded
to the Flathead Post in what is now Montana, where this
journal begins. Returning from this expedition he spent the
winter at the Flathead Post and in April, 1825, joined Gov-
ernor Simpson at the mouth of the Spokane river on the way
east to the Red River settlements, where he resided until his
death in 1856.

Mr. Ross is one of the four writers upon whom we depend
for much that is known about the early exploration of and
fur trade in this vast Columbia river basin. In 1849, more
than twenty years after his active experiences here, he pub-
lished a book entitled "Adventures of the First Settlers on the
Oregon or Columbia River," and in 1855 he put out another
book entitled, "Fur Hunters of the Far West." It is related that

JOURNAL OF ALEXANDER Ross 367

Mr. Ross first left his paternal home in Scotland in 1804, from
which it may be estimated that he was more than sixty years of
age when completing these books, which, from their context,
evidently were based upon some journal or memoranda then at
hand. There has been and probably always will be a question as
to how closely he followed any such original memoranda and
how much he drew from memory. The publication of this
journal is therefore valuable to the extent that it assists in
answering that question, and it should be read in immediate
comparison with the first 160 pages of Vol. II. of "Fur Hunt-
ers of the Far West," Smith, Elder & Co., London, 1855. It
may be noted also that the preface of Mr. Ross' first book was
dated in 1846 and that pages 154-5 of Vol. II. of his "Fur
Hunters," contains a footnote suggesting that at least a part
of it had been written much earlier.

The original of this journal is to be found in the possession
of the Hudson's Bay Company at their head office on Lime
street, London, but this text has been carefully copied from an
original copy belonging to the Ayers Collection in the New-
berry Library at Chicago, 111. ; that original copy was made
by Miss Agnes C. Laut in preparation for writing her "Con-
quest of the Great Northwest," and was by her transferred to
the Newberry Library. To the writer of these notes, it seems
possible that this is not the journal that Mr. Ross had when
writing his books and that he had other papers than those
formally turned over to the Hudson's Bay Company. This
suggestion is based upon the fact that other personal
journals have been found among the family archives of
contemporaneous fur traders, also upon other deductions. The
reader will regret that seemingly Miss Laut did not find it
necessary to copy the entire text of the original in the H, B.
Co. House at London.

Referring to the journal itself it will be found that from
Eddy, in Montana, Mr. Ross' party followed very closely
the present route of the Northern Pacific Railway as far
as Missoula, which is at the mouth of Hell Gate Canyon
and River (Porte d'lnfer, as the French half-breeds first

368 T. C. ELLIOTT

named it) ; thence he proceeded south up the Bitter Root Val-
ley, along the stream which is the original Clark's Fork of
the Columbia named by Captain Lewis when at its source in
1805. On a small mountain prairie of the easterly fork of this
stream he was snowbound for a month, and that prairie has
very properly been known ever since as Ross' Hole. Finally
he succeeded in forcing a way across the continental divide by
what is now known as the Gibbon Pass (but which Olin D.
Wheeler rightly says should be called Clark's Pass), over to
Big Hole Prairie, where a monument now stands commemo-
rating the battle between General Gibbon and Chief Joseph
during that memorable Nez Perce retreat in 1877. Mr. Ross
now crossed the various small source streams of the Big Hole
or Wisdom river and passed over the low divide to the Beaver-
head, which is another of the sources of Jefferson's Fork of
the Missouri. Thence he again crossed the continental divide
southwest into Idaho, using perhaps the same pass that Lewis
and Clark had in 1805 and was upon the waters of the Lemhi
river, and then spent the entire summer and early fall upon
the mountain streams of central Idaho, including the Snake
river from the Weiser southward a considerable distance. He
returned by practically the same route and arrived at Flathead
fort the last of November.

As the Lewis and Clark party in 1805-6 traveled over a part
of this same route it is very interesting in this connection to
compare with the careful and voluminous notes of Dr. Elliott
Coues and Mr. Olin D. Wheeler, both of whom personally fol-
lowed the path of those explorers through these mountains.

But the really beautiful as well as valuable portion of this
journal is the brief and vivid picture of the grand assembly
of the Indians at their customary council ground, Horse Plains,
in December, 1824, and the ceremonial opening of the annual
trading period at the Flathead Post, followed by the outfitting
of the next Snake Expedition under Mr. Peter Skene Ogden,
the brief mention of the holiday season at the fort, and of the
closing up and departure of the trader in the spring. Here
are facts and figures useful to the writers of poetry and ro-
mance, as well as to the historian.

JOURNAL OF ALEXANDER Ross ; SNAKE COUNTRY
EXPEDITION, 1824

(As COPIED BY Miss AGNES LAUT IN 1905 FROM ORIGINAL IN HUDSON'S BAY
COMPANY HOUSE, LONDON, ENGLAND.)

Tuesday, 10th of February.

Our party was as follows:

Thyery Goddin 1 gun 3 [traps 2 horses

Joseph Vail 1 gun, 3 traps 2 horses

Louis Paul 1 gun 3 traps 2 horses

Francois Faniaint 1 gun 3 traps 2 horses 1 lodge

Antoine Sylvaille 1 gun 3 traps 2 horses

Laurent Quintal 1 gun 3 traps 2 horses

Joseph Annance 1 gun 3 traps 2 horses

Jean Bapt Gadaira 1 gun 3 traps 2 horses

Pierre Depot 1 gun 3 traps 2 horses

Francois Rivet, interp. .. 2 guns 6 traps 15 horses 1 lodge

Alexander Ross 1 gun 6 traps 16 horses 1 lodge

11 men 12 33 (?) 50 (?) 3

1824, Feb. 10. Every preparation for the voyage being made
I left Flat Head House1 in the afternoon in order to join the
Free Men who were encamped at Prairie de Cheveaux.2 Joined
the Free Men and encamped. Snow 18 inchs deep. Weather
cold. General course east, 8 miles. Statement of Free Men
Trappers, Snake Country.

1 Flathead House or Fort or Post was then located almost exactly at the
present railroad station of Eddy (Northern Pacific Ry.)> on north bank of Clark
Fork River, in Sanders County, Montana; this was about ten miles southeast and
further up the river from the site of David Thompson's "Salish House," which
was established in 1809 and used by the Northwest Company traders while that
company continued in business.

2 Horse Plains, now designated by the single word "Plains," a famous council
ground of the Salish or Flathead Indians; the freemen were probably camped
near the railroad station of Weeksville.

370 JOURNAL OF ALEXANDER Ross

On the
Men Traps Guns Horses Books

Mr. Montour 3 15 3 10 2

Vieux Pierre 3 15 4 11 3

Martine 4 14 5 20 3

Charles Gros Louis 3 16 4 10 2

13 60 16 57(?) 10

Jacques _1 5 3 7 2

Antoine Valles 17182

Clements 2 8 2 22 2

Prudhomme 2 12 4 10 2

Cadiac 4 11 4 7 2

Creverss 3 8 3 8 2

Geo. Louis Gros 3 12 3 9 2

John Grey 27272

Charles Loyers 26252

Antoin Paget 2 12 2 7 2

Robas Cass 4 16 4 13 2

Francois 2 9 2 11 2

Indian 2 9 2 10 2

43 173 ( ?) 50 181 34

Engages 11 33 12 50

Total 20 lodges 54 206 62 231

Many of these people are too old for a long voyage and very
indifferent trappers. Iroquois, though good trappers, are very
unfit for a Snake voyage, being always at variance with the
whites, too fond of trafficking away their goods with the
natives. More harm than good to our expedition.
1824, February, Wednesday llth.

All hands being assembled together and provisions scarce,
we lost no time leaving Prairie de Cheveaux. Proceeded till
we reached Prairie de Camass3 and put up for the night. Sev-

3 Camas Prairie, to the eastward from the Horse Plains; the Indian trail
went across the hills by way of this prairie, instead of around by the river as
the railroad now runs. This trail is clearly shown on map in Stevens' Report,
Pac. Ry. Report, Vol. 12, Part i, also an engraving showing this prairie.

SNAKE COUNTRY EXPEDITION, 1824 371

eral deer seen. Weather cold. Snow 15 inches, wind east.
General course east by south, distance 12 miles.

Thursday 12th. Remained in camp on chance of killing
deer — people badly off for provisions. Murmuring among the
Iroquois, but I could not learn the cause. High wind, heavy
snow, wind east.

Friday, 13th. Early this a. m. the Iroquois asked to see their
accounts. I showed them article by article and told them their
amounts wh. seemed to surprise them not a little. Some time
after leaving camp I was told that the worthy Iroquois had
remained behind. I therefore went back, and true enough, the
whole black squad, Martin excepted, had resolved to leave us,
old Pierre at their head ! On being asked the cause Pierre spoke
at length. The others grumbled, saying the price allowed for
their furs was so small in proportion to the exorbitant advance
on goods sold them, they were never able to pay their debts
much less make money and would not risk their lives any
more in the Snake Country. Old Pierre held out that Mr.
Ogden last fall promised there would be no more N. W. cur-
rency ; this they construed to be but paying half for their goods.
I told them whatever had been promised would be performed.
Although I had balanced their accounts, they could be altered
if required. It was at headquarters accounts would be settled.
They grumbled and talked, and talked and grumbled and at
last consented to proceed. Thinks I to myself — this is the be-
ginning. Having gained the blacks, we followed and camped
at the Traverse4 plain covered with but 10 inches of snow —
weather fine, course S. E. Distance 10.

Saturday 14th. Early on our, journey except four lodges
hunting deer. Proceeded to fork called Riviere aux Marons,5
where many wild horses are said to be. Our horses are lean.
Seeing the Iroquois apart from the whites I suspected plot-
ting and sent for Pierre and Martin. Gave them a memo, im-

4 At Perma station of the No. Pac. Ry., where the trail again struck the
Flathead River and crossed it; known later as Rivet's Ferry because a son of old
Francois Rivet settled there.

5 A small stream entering the Flathead from the south near McDonald station
of the No. Pac. Ry.

372 JOURNAL OF ALEXANDER Ross

porting that N. W. currency was done away with and their ac-
counts would be settled with Quebec currency or sterling. This
pleased. All is quiet. S. E.

Sunday 15th. Remained in camp on account of bad weather
and for hunters who brought in four wild horses and seven
deer. These horses are claimed by the Flathead tribes; those
who kill them have to pay four skins Indian currency. Wind
high.

Monday 16th. On our journey early. Delayed by a pour,
rain, sleet, snow. Passed the Forks, left main branch Flathead
River followed up Jacques Fork6 till we made a small rivulet
on the south side which our people named Riviere Maron.
Country is pleasant, animals small and lean. Traps produced
nothing. Course S. E., distance nine miles.

Tuesday 17th. Left camp early, the people grumbling to
remain. Passed three lodges of Tete Pletes. Francois Rivet7
caught a beaver ; but the wolves devoured it, skin and all.
Course S. SE., distance twelve miles.

Wednesday 18th. Remained in camp to hunt and refresh
horses before entering the mountains. I appointed Vieux
Pierre to head the Iroquois, Mr. Montour8 the Ft. de Prairie9
Half Breeds, and myself the remainder so the sentiments of
the camp may be known by a council : among so many unruly,
ill-tongued villains. Four elk and twenty-five small deer
brought to camp. Louis killed nine with ten shots.

Friday 20th.10 Detained in camp by sleet and rain.

Saturday 21st. Antoine Valle's boy died.

Monday 23rd. Passed the defile11 of the mountains between
Jacques and Courtine forks. End of defile had a view of noted
place called Hell's Gate, so named from being frequented by

6 The Jocko, which flows into the Flathead at Dixon, Montana; this stream,
so named after Jacques Raphael Finlay, an intelligent half-breed and one of
David Thompson's men, in 1809.

7 Afterward a settler on French Prairie in the Willamette Valley.

8 Mr. Ross' clerk; doubtful whether the Nicholas Montour of David Thomp-
son's time.

9 A general term meaning the prairie forts of the company on the Saskatchewan
River.

10 See page n of "Fur Hunters."

n Coriacan Defile through which the No. Pac. Ry. now passes; the view of
Missoula and the Bitter Root Valley is as fine now as it was in 1824.

SNAKE COUNTRY EXPEDITION, 1824 373

war parties of young Blackfeet and1 Piegans. We were met
by eight Piegans and a drove of dogs in train with provisions
and robes to trade at the Flathead post. At Courtine's Fork,
the country opens finely to view clumps of trees and level
plains alternately. The freemen in spite of all we could say
like a band of wolves seized on the Piegan's load, one a robe,
another a piece of fat, a third a cord, a fourth an appichinon,
till nothing remained and for a few articles of trash paid in
ammunition treble the value. These people put no value on
property. It would be better to turn these vagabonds adrift
with the Indians and treat them as Indians.

Tuesday 24th. Remained in camp to hunt. Traded seven
beaver from the Piegans. As they were going off we saluted
them with the brass gun to show them that it at least makes
a noise.

Wednesday 25th. Passed Piegan River12 the war road to
this quarter. Here the road divides to the Snake country, one
following the Piegan River, the other Courtine's Fork13 both
to the Snakes S. E. We followed the latter, a continuation of
S. fork of Flathead River. Elk and small deer in great plenty.
Flocks of swans flying about. Was informed that two Iro-
quois, Laurent and Lazard, had deserted. Assembling a small
party, I went in pursuit of the villains. After sixteen miles
we came up with them, partly by persuasion, partly by force,
brought them along after dark. Old Pierre behaved! well.
Lazard had disposed of his new rifle and ammunition for a
horse. Lazard had sold his lodge. Though encamped in a
most dangerous place, not a freeman would guard the horses.

Thursday 26th. The general cry was for remaining to hunt.
I assented. It may be asked why I did not command. I answer
— to command when we have power of enforcing the command
does very well ; otherwise, to command is one thing ; to obey,
another.

Friday 27th. Hunt yesterday, twenty-seven elk, six deer.

12 The Hell Gate or Missoula River.

13 The Bitter Root River of today. Our Clark Fork River was then called the
Flathead River clear to Lake Pend d'Oreille, and below that even.

374 JOURNAL OF ALEXANDER Ross

Sunday 28th. All this day in camp to wait those laggard
freemen who arrived in the evening and camped on the opposite
side of the river to show contrary.

Tuesday March14. There fell seven inches of snow; south
wind soon dispelled the gloom. This being a good place for
horses, we resolved to pass the day to prepare for passing the
mountains between head waters of the Flathead and Missouri
Rivers. Killed eleven elk, four sheep, seven deer. They're
very fat here.

Thursday llth. Proceeding over slippery stony road, at
every bend a romantic scene opens. The river alone prevents
the hills embracing. Our road following the river crossing
and recrossing. Here a curiosity called the Rani's Horn15 —
out of a large pine five feet from root projects a ram's head,
the horns of which are transfixed to the middle. The natives
cannot tell when this took place but tradition says when the
first hunter passed this way, he shot an arrow at a mountain
ram and wounded him ; the animal turned on his assailant who
jumped behind a tree. The animal missing its aim pierced
the tree with his horns and killed himself. The horns are
crooked and very large. The tree appears to have grown
round the horns. Proceeded over zigzag road.

Monday 15th16. Early this morning thirty men, ten boys,
fifty horses set off to beat the road through five feet of snow
for twelve miles. Late in the evening all hands arrived well
pleased with day's work having made three miles. The horses
had to be swum through it, in their plunges frequently dis-
appearing altogether. Geese and swan seen in passage north
today.

Thursday 18th. This morning sent off forty men with
shovels and fifty horses to beat the road. Weather bad with

14 Now seem to be near 'the forks of the Bitter Root, above the town of
Darby, Ravalli County, Montana.

15 See pages 18 and 19 of "Fur Hunters"; they follow the trail through the
gorge of Ross Fork of the Bitter Root. This Rams Horn tree was a common
sight to Montana pioneers who traveled that trail in the fifties and sixties. It is
yet known as the Medicine Tree, because so revered by the Indians. The trunk
still stands in Sec. 22, Tp. 30 N., R. 20 E., B. M.

1 6 He is now in Ross' Hole, his "The Valley of Troubles," as described on
page 20 of "Fur Hunters." Lewis and Clark were here September 4, 1805; also
consult Pac. Ry. Report, Vol. 12, Part i, page 169, for description and engraving.

SNAKE COUNTRY EXPEDITION, 1824 375

snow and drift, they returned to camp. The crust is eight (?)
inches thick lying under two feet of snow. Owing to crust
the horses made no headway. There are now eight miles of
the road made, oft the prospect is gloomy, people undecided
whether to continue or turn back.

Friday 19th. We did not resume our labors today owing
to the drift. This country abounds with mountain sheep
weighing about seventy pounds. Late today John Grey, a
turbulent leader among the Iroquois, came to my lodge as
spokesman to inform me he and ten others had resolved to
abandon the party and turn back. I asked him why? He
said they would lose the spring hunt by remaining here, were
tired of so large a band, and did not engage to dig snow and
make roads. It told him I was surprised to hear a good quiet
honest fellow utter such language, God forgive me for saying
so. I said by going back they would lose the whole year's
hunt, and here a sudden change in weather would allow us
to begin hunting. Danger required us to keep together for
safety. John answered he was neither a soldier nor a slave;
he was under the control of no man. I told him he was a
freeman of good character and to be careful not to stain it.
In my heart I thought otherwise. I saw John in his true
colors, a turbulent blackguard, a damned rascal. He said fair
words were very good but back he would go. "You are no
stronger than other men" said I, "stopped you will be ! I will
stop you," and he said he would like to see the man who
could stop him. I said I would stop him. If his party walked
off the expedition would fail. Vieux Pierre interrupted by
coming in. John went off cursing the large band, the Snake
country and the day he came to it ! So another day ends.

Saturday 20th. Stormy, John as he swore, did not turn
back nor any of his gang. I suspect he is plotting to raise a
rebellion. If he succeeds, it will injure our prospects if not
stop us altogether.

In the evening the cry of "enemies, enemies, Blackfeet!
Piegans" was vociferated in the camp. All hands rushed out
when the enemies proved to be six friendly Nez Perces sepa-

376 JOURNAL OF ALEXANDER Ross

rated from their camp on the buffalo ground and in snow
shoes made way to us across the mountains. They have
been five days on this journey. They told us the Blackfeet
and Piegans had stolen horses out of the Flathead and Nez
Perces' camp nine different times and they were preaching
up (!) peace and good fellowship. The Blackfeet had made a
war excursion against the Snakes, killed eight, taken some
slaves and many horses. That the buffalo were in great
plenty but the snow very deep. The Piegans were seen in
seven bands. Cannot these outlandish devils disturbing the
peace be annihilated or reduced?

Sunday 21st. Finding John at the head of a party, I sent
for the intriguing scamp and agreed with him to hunt me
animals, whenever I should want any, from which source his
debt of 4,000 livres is to be reduced 400 livres or about twenty
beaver. To this he agreed. All quiet once more. It is im-
possible to proceed without these hunters.

Tuesday 23rd. Early this a. m. thirty persons went on
snow shoes across the mountains to the buffalo. I feel anxious,
very anxious, at our long delay here. The people grumble
much. The sly deep dog Laurent who once already deserted
left camp today and turned back. He was off before I had
any knowledge of it and told his comrades he was going to
the Nez Perces' camp to trade meat, but would come again.
Our camp abounds with meat. The dog has no thought of re-
turning unless the Indians cast him out as he deserves. A
more discordant, headstrong, ill-designing set of rascals than
form this camp God never permitted together in the fur trade.

Wednesday 24th. All quiet in camp today.

Thursday 25th. All the women went off to collect berries.

Sunday 28th. The buffalo hunters came back today, buf-
falo in plenty; thirty killed, six of the men brought over 140
pounds of dried meat but becoming snow blind could not
secure ( ?) the meat left behind. Grass began to appear through
the snow.

Tuesday 30th. A meeting today to decide whether to make
the rest of the road or not. It was agreed to wait seven or
eight days, another party to go buffalo hunting.

SNAKE COUNTRY EXPEDITION, 1824 377

Friday 2nd (April) Today I was surprised by the return
of Laurent. He says he went as far as Hell's Gate but finding
no beaver came back. The truth is, he saw the Piegans, got a
fright and came back.

Monday 5th. Were visited by fifty Nez Perces just arrived
from buffalo country loaded with provisions. Our people com-
menced a trade with them so brisk that hardly a ball was left
among the freemen nor a mouthful of provisions amongst
the Indians. When these people meet Indians, a frenzy siezes
them. What madness in them, and what folly in the company
to be furnishing such people with means. It was now we
learned the truth of Laurent's trip back. He was sent by
the Iroquois to get these Indians to trade with us. This visit
has left our people almost naked and cost 100 balls to send our
visitors off pleased.

Wednesday 7th. Nez Perces went off.

Friday 9th. After a pause of twenty-six days we shifted
quarters two miles ahead.

Saturday 10th. This morning none of the freemen would
work on the road except old Pierre, who alone went and alone
worked. A novel trick brought about a change. Old Cadiac
dit, Grandreau having made a drum and John Grey a fiddle,
the people were entertained with a concert of music17. Taking
advantage of the good humor, I got all to consent to go to the
road tomorrow.

Wednesday 14th. This morning on going to my lodge in
camp, I could muster only seven persons with twenty horses to
finish the last mile of the road. In the evening we raised
camp and moved to the foot of the mountain at the source of
Flathead River, 345 miles from its joining the Columbia. The
river is navigable for 250. miles.

Thursday 15th. This day we passed the defile18 of the
mountains after a most laborious journey both for man and
beast. Long before daylight, we were on the road, in order
to profit by the hardness of the crust. From the bottom to

1 7 The first vaudeville performance in Ravalli County, Montana, of which
we have record.

1 8 Gibbon's Pass across the continental divide.

378 JOURNAL OF ALEXANDER Ross

the top of the mountain is about one and a half miles. Here
is a small creek, the source of the Missouri, in this direction
between which and the source of the Flathead River is scarce
a mile distant. The creek runs a course nearly S. SE. fol-
lowing- the road through the mountain till it joins a principal
branch of the Missouri beyond the Grand Prairie19. For
twelve miles, the road had been made through five feet deep
snow but the wind had filled it up again. The last eight miles
we had to force our way through snow gullies. At 4 p. m. we
encamped on the other side of the defile without loss or acci-
dent. Distance today, eighteen miles. This high land is a
horn of the Rocky Mountains, called the Blue Mountains. It
is the dividing ridge20 between the Nez Perces and Snake Na-
tions and terminates near the Columbia. The delay has cost
loss of one month and to the freemen 1 ,000 beaver. Two men
should winter here and keep the road open at all seasons.

Friday 16th. Encamped here to make lodge poles for the
voyage.

Saturday 17th. Proceeded to the main fork21 of Missouri
hobbled our horses and set watch. It was on this flat prairie
400 Piegans came up with Mr. McDonald22 last fall and a
freeman named Thomas Anderson from the east side of the
mountains was killed.

Monday 19th. As we are on dangerous ground, I have
drawn up the following rules :

(1) All hands to raise camp together and by call.

(2) The camp to march as close as possible.

(3) No person to run ahead.

(4) No persons to set traps till all hands camp.

(5) No person to sleep out of camp.

These rules which all agreed to were broken before night.

Wednesday 21st. Thirty beaver today. The freemen will

keep no watch on their horses but to tie them and sleep fast.

19 Big Hole Prairie, Beaverhead County, Montana, well described and illus-
trated in Stevens' Pac. Ry. Report already cited.

20 Very nearly correct. The Blue Mountain Range of Eastern Oregon and
Washington really is a continuation of the mountain range that crosses Idaho
and joins the continental divide at the head of the Bitter Root Valley of Montana.

21 Meaning the Big Hole or Wisdom River.

22 Finan McDonald, who led the Snake Expedition in 1823.

SNAKE COUNTRY EXPEDITION, 1824 379

Thursday 22nd. Thirty-five beaver taken, six feet left in the
trap. Twenty- five traps missing. Boisterous weather today.
The freemen left their horses to chance, nor did they collect
them during the storm at night.

Discordant people fill up the cup
Indifference and folly will soon drink it up
But loss and misfortune must be the lot
When care and attention are wholly forgot.

Friday 23rd. Bad weather keeps us in camp. That scamp
the Salteux and worthless fellow his nephew threaten to
leave because I found fault with them for breaking the rules.
If they attempt it, I am determined to strip them naked.

Saturday 24th. Crossed beyond the boiling fountain23,
snow knee deep. We encamp in the spot where the Flathead
and Nez Perces fought a battle four years ago. Herds of buf-
falo grazing here : sixteen killed. The camp is now under
guard. Half the people snow blind from the sun glare.

Monday 26th. Crossed to Middle Forks24 of the Missouri,
smaller than the first fork with which it unites ten miles from
here. A large herd of buffalo here ; upwards of twenty killed,
two young calves brought to camp alive. This is a Piegan
trail where three years ago, the freemen had battle with the
Piegans and a Nez Perces' lad was shot last year.

Tuesday 27th. After camping, we mounted the brass gun
and shot it three times for practice.

Wednesday 28th. Forty-four beaver to camp today.

Thursday 29th. Leaving the Missouri, crossed over to the
Nez Perces River called the Salmon River25. It is a branch of
the river on which Lewis and Clarke fell in leaving the Mis-
souri for the Pacific. Followed up the middle fork of Missouri
to its source, then ascending a hill fell on the waters of the
Salmon. Passed a deserted Piegan camp of thirty-six lodges.
This place is rendered immemorial as being the place where

23 The warm springs near Jackson P. O., Beaverhead County, Montana.

24 That is, he crossed the low divide to Grasshopper Creek near Bannock;
the Beaverhead River would be his Middle Fork of the Missouri.

25 He has now crossed over to the Lemhi River, a branch of the Salmon
River, which flows into the Snake, and is in Idaho. See page 53 of "The Fur
Hunters."

380 JOURNAL OF ALEXANDER Ross

about ten Piegans, murderers of our people, were burnt to
death. The road in the defile we passed from the Missouri
to this river is a Piegan and Blackfoot pass of most dangerous
sort for a lurking enemy; and yet all the freemen dispersed
by twos and twos. The rules are totally neglected. Here
birds are singing and spring smiles. All traps out for the
first time since we left the fort.

Friday 30th. Only forty-two beaver. Remain in camp
today. Three people slept out in spite of rules and I had to
threaten not to give single ball to them if they did not abide
by the rules. All promised fair and all is quiet.

May, Saturday 1st. Fifty-five beaver today.

Thursday 6th. On a rough calculation all the beaver in
camp amount to 600 skins, one-tenth of our expected returns.

Monday 10th26. This morning I proposed that a small
party should go on a trip of discovery for beaver across the
range of mountains which bounds this river on the west in
the hope of finding the headwaters of Reid's River which
enters the main Snake River below the fall, on which a post
was begun by Mr. McKenzie in 1819. I might say begun by
Mr. Reid in 1813. For this trip, I could get only three men.

Tuesday llth. Took fifty beaver and shifted camp.

Wednesday 12th. Caught fifty beaver. Went up to head-
waters of the river. This is the defile where in 1819 died
John Day27; a little farther on the three knobs so conspicuous
for being seen.

Monday 17th28. Resolved to make a cache here. Hiding
furs in places frequented by Indians is a risky business.

Wednesday 19th. Got a drum made for the use of the camp.
It is beat every evening regularly at the watch over the horses
and to rouse all hands in the morning.

Wednesday 26th29. Again at Canoe Point on Salmon River.

26 The party is now probably at the junction of the Salmon and the Pah-
simari Rivers, in Custer County, Idaho; see page 59 of "The Fur Hunters."

27 Evidently the John Day of the Astor party, who became a Northwest Com-
pany trapper under Donald McKenzie. See page 62 of "Fur Hunters."

28 Now about to start on a profitless trip across the ridge of Salmon River
Range directly west. See page 64 of "Fur Hunters."

29 The party has returned from the trip to the westward; see page 67 of
"Fur Hunters."

SNAKE COUNTRY EXPEDITION, 1824 381

Saturday 29th. Crossed over height of land which divides
the waters of the Salmon and the Snake descended to Goddin's
River30 named in 1820 by the discoverer Thyery Goddin. The
main south branch of the Columbia, the Nez Perces, the main
Snake River and Lewis River, are one and the same differently
named. I have determined to change my course and steer for
the source of the Great Snake River near the Three Pilot
Knobs (Three Tetons) a place which abounds both in beaver
and Blackfeet. I told the people danger or no danger, beaver
was our object and a hunt we must make.

Monday 31st. Left eight to trap Goddin's River and raised
camp for head of the Salmon.

Sunday 6th (June). The two men ( ) and

Beauchamp who went off yesterday were robbed by the Pie-
gans, had a narrow escape with their lives and got back to
camp a little after dark having traveled on foot forty miles.
On their way to the place to meet our people they discovered
a smoke and taking it to be our people advanced within pistol
shot when behold it proved to be a camp of Piegans. Wheel-
ing, they had hardly time to take shelter among a few willows
when they were surrounded by fifteen armed men on horse-
back. Placing their horses between themselves and the
enemy, our people squatted down to conceal themselves. The
Piegans advanced within five paces, when our people raising
their guns made them fall back. The Indians kept capering
and yelling around them cock sure of their prey. The women
had also collected on a small eminence to act a willing part,
having on their arrow finders and armed with lances. During
this time, the two men had crept among the bushes, mud and
water a little out of the way and night approaching made their
escape leaving behind horses, saddles, traps. They saw the
tracks of our people near the Piegan camp and that is all we
know of them. We fear they have been discovered but little
hope of their escaping as they had little ammunition.

30 According to Arrowsmith's map this would be Big Lost River, and Day's
or McKenzie's River would be either Birch Creek or Little Lost River on present
day maps. Ross seems to have ascended Pahsamari River to source and crossed
the divide to Birch Creek, where he left his main party and himself made four
days' trip to Snake River near St. Anthony's. He is back again on the 6th. See
pages 68, 69, 70 of "Fur Hunters."

382 JOURNAL OF ALEXANDER Ross

Coison said the Piegans were the rear guard of a large war
party, from the great quantity of baggage, the men not ex-
ceeding twenty-five.

I called the camp together and proposed to start with
twenty men to find our people and pay the Piegans a visit,
the camp to remain till my return. The general opinion over-
ruled my wishes, thinking it safer to move the camp more
distant, than go- for the men.

Monday 7th. At an early hour saddled our horses. The
road proved short to Goddin's River S. W. After letting our
horses eat a little, I fitted out a party of twenty men well
armed to go in quest of our people. They set off at sunset,
old Pierre in command, with orders to find our people and
observe peace unless attacked.

Tuesday 8th. All hands in camp; a park enclosed from
horses. The big gun mounted and loaded.

Wednesday 9th. Five of the twenty men back tired out;
no news.

June 10th, Thursday31. All arrived safe this afternoon. The
Blackfeet taking to flight. Since they separated from us, the
eight trappers had taken fifty-two beaver. The party lost my
spyglass.

Friday llth June. Twelve men fitted out for Henry's Fork
to meet at the fork on 25th Sept., our party go up Goddin's
River.

Wednesday 16th June. Took twenty-five beaver, the first
of our second thousand, low indeed at this advanced season.
The signs for beaver are very fine ; in one place I counted 148
trees large and small cut down by beaver in the space of 100
yards. Last night eight feet and seven toes left in the traps.
Fifteen traps missing, making loss of thirty beaver.

Saturday 19th. Had a fright from the Piegans. This
morning when almost all hands were at their traps scattered
by ones and twos only ten men left in camp, the Blackfeet to the

31 See page 72 of "Fur Hunters," where Mr. Ross misnames the three buttes
in the desert southeast of Lost River by calling them the Trois Tetons. He now
proceeds up Goddins or Big Lost River to its source and crosses to the source of
the Malade or Big Wood River near Ketchum, Idaho, where the next Indian scare
occurs. See pages 75-80 of "Fur Hunters."

SNAKE COUNTRY EXPEDITION, 1824 383

number of forty all mounted descended at full speed. The
trappers were so divided, they could render each other no as-
sistance so they took to their heels among the bushes throwing
beaver one way, traps another. Others leaving beaver, horses
and traps, took to the rocks for refuge. Two, Jacques and
John Grey, were pursued in the open plain. Seeing their horses
could not save them, like two heroes wheeled about and rode
up to the enemy, who immediately surrounded them. The
Piegan. chief asked them to exchange guns; but they refused.
He then seized Jacques' rifle but Jacques held fast and after
a little scuffle jerked it from them saying "If you wish to kill
us, kill us at once ; but our guns you shall never get while we
are alive." The Piegans smiled, shook hands, asked where
the camp was and desired to be conducted to it. With pulses
beating as if any moment would be their last, Jacques and
John advanced with their unwelcome guests to the camp eight
miles distant. A little before arriving, Jacques at full speed
came in ahead whooping and yelling "the Blackfeet! the
Blackfeet!" but did not tell us they were on speaking terms.
In an instant the camp was in an uproar. Of the ten men in
camp, eight went to drive in the horses. Myself and the others
instantly pointed the big gun lighted the match and sent the
women away. By this time the party hove in sight but seeing
John with them restrained me from firing and I made signs
to them to stop. Our horses were secured I then received
them coldly well recollecting the circumstances of the two men
on the 6th and not doubting it was the same party. All our
people except two came in and the camp was in a state of de-
fense. I invited them to a smoke. Their story was : We left
our lands in spring as an embassy of peace to the Snakes, but
while smoking with them on terms of friendship, they treacher-
ously shot our chief; we resented the insult and killed two of
them. We are now on the way to meet our friends the Flat-
heads." They said the camp was not far off and the party 100
strong. They denied any knowledge of the 6th inst. After
dark they entertained us to music and dancing all of which
we could have dispensed with. Our people threw away

384 JOURNAL OF ALEXANDER Ross

thirty-two beaver; twenty were brought in. A strong guard
for the horses. All slept armed.

Sunday 20th. Again invited the Piegans to smoke ; gave
them presents ; and told them to set off and play no tricks for
we would follow them to their own land to punish them. They
saddled horses and sneaked off one by one along the bushes
for 400 yards then took to the mountains. The big gun com-
manded respect.

Monday 21st. Decamped. Found a fresh scalp; sixty-five
beaver today.

Thursday 24th. This is the spot where Mr. McKenzie and
party fell on this river in spring of 1820 on the way to Ft.
Nez Perces.

Saturday 3rd July32. We left River Malade and proceeded
to the head of Reid's River33. In 1813 during the Pacific Fur
Company, Mr. Reid with a party of ten men chiefly trappers,
wintered here ; in spring, they were all cut off by the natives.

After Mr. Reid this river was named. At its mouth an
establishment was begun by Donald McKenzie in 1819. It
was burned and two men killed. In spring 1820, four men
more were destroyed by the natives. This river has already
cost the whites sixteen men.

August 24th. Number of miles traversed to date, 1,050;
number of horses lost, 18.

Saturday, Sept. 18th34. While our people were crossing the
height of land, I left the front and taking one man with me
ascended the top of a lofty peak situated between the sources
of River Malade and Salmon River, whence I had a very ex-
tensive view of the surrounding country. Both rivers were
distinctly seen. The chain of mountains which for 150 miles
separates the waters of the Salmon River from those which
enter the Great Snake lie nearly E. W.

32 Descending the Malade (Big Wood River) to the mouth of Camas Creek,
the party turns west across Camas Prairie and the divide to the head of the Boise

River; see pages 80-89 of "Fur Hunters.'

33 Consult Irving's "Astoria"
Pacific Fur Company.

3 Consult Irving's "Astoria" for account of the death of Mr. Reed of the

34 This journal omits entirely all mention of Mr. Ross from the time he
reached the Boise until he returns on September to the rough mountain pass
dividing Blaine and Custer Counties, Idaho; for this interim see pages 90-118 of
"The Fur Hunters." His lofty peak now mentioned may be Boulder Peak of
today, but he named it Mt. Simpson.

SNAKE COUNTRY EXPEDITION, 1824 385

Wednesday 6th Oct.35 Our cache of May is safe. Length
of Salmon River covered this year, 100 miles.

Oct. 7th. Beaver taken out of cache, counted and packed
and carried along with us.

Tuesday, 12th Oct. This morning after an illness of twenty
days during which we carried him on a stretcher died Jean
Ba't Boucher, aged 65, an honest man.

Thursday, 14th Oct. Today Pierre and band arrived pillaged
and destitute. This conduct has been blamable since they left
us. They passed the time with the Indians and neglected their
hunts, quarrelled with the Indians at last, were then robbed
and left naked on the plains. The loss of twelve out of twenty
trappers is no small consideration. With these vagabonds ar-
rived seven American trappers from the Big Horn River but
whom I rather take to be spies than trappers. Regarding our
deserters of 1822 accounts do not agree. It is evident part
of them have reached the American posts on the Yellowstone
and Big Horn with much fur. I suspect these Americans
have been on the lookout to decoy more. The scalp furs and
horses carried last year to Fort des Prairies by the Blackfeet
belonged to this establishment. The quarter is swarming with
trappers who next season are to penetrate the Snake country
with a Major Henry36 at their head, the same gentleman who
fifteen years ago wintered on Snake River. The report of
these men on the price of beaver has a very great influence
on our trapprs. The seven trappers have in two different
caches 900 beaver. I made them several propositions but they
would not accept lower than $3 a pound. I did not consider
myself authorized to arrange at such prices. The men accom-
panied us to the Flatheads. There is a leading person with
them. They intend following us to the fort.

Saturday 16th. Sent our express to Mr. Ogden at Spokane
house.

November 1st, Monday. Got across the divide.

35 The party is now back at Canoe Point; see previous note on May loth.
The party sent off on June nth joins them a little further along on their
way to the headwaters of the Missouri.

36 Major Andrew Henry, the first American trader to cross the continental
divide (in fall of 1810), and at this time partner of General Wm. H. Ashley in the
fur business. The desertions of the H. B. Co. freemen to the Americans mentioned
in this text took place before General Ashley personally ever came to the Rocky
Mountains; see page 356 of Vol. 11 of Or. Hist. Quart, for discussion of this.

FLATHEAD POST, 1825

Alex Ross

1824. November, Friday 26.37 — From Prairie de Cheveaux
myself and party arrived at this place in the afternoon, where
terminated our voyage of 10 months to the Snakes. Mr.
Ogden38 and Mr. Dears39 with people and outfit from Spokane
reached this place only a few hours before us. Statement of
people both voyages (?)

Engaged party with their families, including gentlemen,
and 43 men, 8 women, 16 children. Freemen and trappers with
families, 34 men, 8 lads, 22 women and 5 children. Total,
176 souls.

To accommodate people and property we use a row of huts
6 in number, low, linked together under one cover, having
the appearance of deserted booths.

Saturday 27. All hands building. Mr. Ogden handed me
a letter from the Governor appointing me in charge of this
place for the winter. Mr. Ogden takes my place as chief of
the Snake expedition.

Monday 29. Kootenais joined Flatheads at Prairie de
Cheveaux. Indians are now as follows there :

Men and
Lodges Lads Guns Women Children

Flatheads 42 168 180 70 68

Pend' Orielles 34 108 40 68 71

Kouttannais 36 114 62 50 48

Nez Perces 12 28 20 15 23

Spokanes 4 12 6 7 11

128 430 308 210 221
and 1,850 horses.

37 From the heading it would appear that Mr. Ross now begins a new part
of the journal, covering his residence at Flathead Post or Fort.

38 Peter Skene Ogden, well known to Oregon pioneers; see Oregon Hist.
Quar., Vol. n, pp. 247-8.

39 This was Mr. Thomas Dears, who was a clerk of the H. B. Co. on the
Columbia at this time.

SNAKE COUNTRY EXPEDITION, 1824 387

We sent word to the camp to come and begin trade as fol-
lows : First, Flat. ; 2d P., etc., as in order above.

Tuesday 30. About 10 o'clock the Flatheads in a body
mounted, arrived, chanting the song of peace. At a little
distance they halted and saluted the fort with discharges from
their guns. We returned the compliment with our brass
pounder. The reverbating sound had a fine effect. The head
chief advanced and made a fine speech welcoming the white
man to these lands, apologizing for having but few beaver.
The cavalcade then moved up. The chiefs were invited to the
house to smoke. All the women arrived on horseback loaded
with provisions and a brisk trade began which lasted till dark.
The result was, 324 beaver, 154 bales of meat, 159 buffalo
tongues, etc.

December, Wednesday 1. The Pend' Orielles arrived in
the manner of those of yesterday and traded as follows : 198
beaver, 8 muskrat, etc.

Received 2000 of the Snake Freemen's40 beaver today and
sent off canoe to Spokane House.

Thursday 2d. Employed with Freemen and Indians all day.
At night we had received 2000 more of Snake beaver.

Friday 3d. The Kootenais accompanied by 10 Piegans
came up, with the same ceremony and traded as follows : 494
beaver, 509 muskrat, 2 red foxes, 3 mink, etc. The Kootenais
do not belong here but are driven from fear of the Piegans
and Blackfeet.

The trouble of this part is now over till spring as the In-
dians have gone home. In all we have traded 1183 beaver,
14 otter, 529 muskrat, 8 fishers, 3 minks, 1 martin, 2 foxes,
11,072 pounds dried meat, etc. (Buffalo meat.)

The trade hardly averages 3 skins per Indian.

Sunday, December 5. Began to equip the Freemen today.
Mr. Ogden settling their accounts. Mr. Dears in the Indian
shop with Interpreter Rivett, and myself with Mr. McKay41
in the equipment shop.

40 That is, the skins taken by the free hunters that were a part of the expedi-
tion in distinction from the engaged men or employees of the company.

41 Probably Mr. Thos. McKay, son of Alex. McKay, of the Pac. Fur Co., whose
widow became the wife of Dr. John McLoughlin.

388 JOURNAL OF ALEXANDER Ross

Saturday, December 11. Finished equipping the Snake
hunters. Mr. Kittson42 from the Kootenais arrived..

Monday, 20th. Statement of men under Mr. Ogden to go to
the Snake Country: 25 lodges, 2 gentlemen, 2 interpreters, 71
men and lads, 80 guns, 364 beaver traps, 372 horses.

This is the most formidable party that has ever set out for
the Snakes. Snake expedition took its departure. Each
beaver trap last year in the Snake country averaged 26 beaver.
It is expected this hunt will net 14,100 beaver. Mr. Dears
goes as far as Prairie de Cheveaux.

Wednesday, 22d. Statement of people at this fort : 2 gen-
tlemen, 14 laborers, 4 women, 7 children. Set the people
squaring timber to keep them from plotting mischief.

Saturday 25th. Considerable Indians; the peace pipe kept
in motion. All the people a dram.

Sunday 26th. No work today. Ordered the men to dress
and keep the Sabbath.

January 1, 1825. At daybreak the men saluted with guns.
They were treated to rum and cake, each a pint of rum and
a half pound of tobacco.

March 1. Tuesday. The winter trade from December 4
has amounted to 71 beaver, 2 otter, 15 muskrat, 3 foxes, etc.

Saturday, 12 March. 43After breakfast embarked 4 canoes
in sight of 1000 natives for Spokane House. 1644 large beaver,
378 small beaver, 29 otter, 775 muskrats, 9 foxes, 12 fishers,
1 martin, 8 mink, also leather and provisions.

(At Spokane House) Friday, 25th March. — Of all situa-
tions44 chosen in the Indian country. -Spokane House is the
most singular: far from water, far from Indians and out of
the way. Spokane (Forks) on the west, Kettle Falls on the
north Coeur d' Alene on the south, Pend' Oreille on the east
would be better.

42 William Kittson, who was in charge of the trading post among the
Kootenais for many years; he died at Fort Vancouver about 1841. His brother,
Norman, was one of the early millionaires of St. Paul, Minn.

43 The trading post is now left in charge of some half-breed or entirely
abandoned until fall, as the Indians spent their summer hunting buffalo.

44 Mr. Ross indulges in his usual disgust as to the site of Spokane House,
which feeling he elaborates at length in his "Fur Hunters." And this post was
abandoned the following year for the new one at Kettle Falls, called Fort Colvile.

INDEX

INDEX TO VOL. XIV

ABERNETHY, GEORGE, characterization of,
by Lieutetnant Neil M. Howison, 27.
ASTORIA, 1846, 41-2; 357-6o.

B

BAGLEY, CLARENCE B., introduction to
Lownsdale Letter by, 213-17.

BARRY, J. NEILSON, author of Contrib-
utor's Note, Journal of E. Willard
Smith, 250.

BAILLIE, Captain of British ship "Mod-
iste," relieves distress of Lieutenant
Neil M. Howison when shipwrecked,
10; letter to Howison, 56.

Blackfeet Indian marauders pursued,
281-2.

BIGGS, fur-trader with Sublette and
Vasquez, 269; 271.

British flag, presence of, in Oregon
waters a source of irritation in 1846, 7.

Buffaloes, two ways of hunting, 256-7.

California draws off immigrants, 28.
Canadian voyagers settled in Oregon,

1846. 24.
Catholic missionaries in Oregon, 1846,

Columbia River? conditions of bar of,
in 1846, 7; sailing directions for mov-
ing vessel safely into Baker's Bay,
16-18; channel of, 1846, 19; recipro-
cal current with Willamette, 19.

COMAN'S ECONOMIC BEGINNINGS OF THE
FAR WEST, Review of, 71-79-

Commerce in Oregon, 1846, 36-40; in-
adequate means for commercial ex-
change in Oregon, 1846, 39-40.

CORBETT, HENRY W., co-operates as
partner of Harvey W. Scott and
Henry L. Pittock in upbuilding of
Oregonian, 204.

DOUGLASS, JAMES, characterization of,
by Lieutenant Neil M. Howison, 31-2.

ELLIOTT, T. C, editor of Journal of
John Work, 280-314; editor of Jour-
nal of Alexander Ross, 366:88.

English residents in Oregon jealous of
American advance into northern por-
tion of the territory of Oregon, 7, 20.

Flour trade from Oregon to California,
1847, 13-

GATES, JOHN, chief engineer Oregon
Steam Navigation Company, 349.

GRAY, J. H. D., accident to, but he
continues seamanship, 342.

GRAY, W. H., an expansionist, 321-2;
family of, 322-3; moves to British
Columbia, 324; mines gold on the
Similkameen River, 325: builds boat
and conducts it down the Okanogan
and Columbia Rivers to the Des-
chutes, 326-7; takes cargo from Port-
land to Lewiston, 330-2; builds Cas-
cadilla and uses her on Clearwater
and Snake Rivers, 333-5.

GRAY, CAPTAIN WILLIAM P., REMINIS-
CENCES OF, 321-54; mail carrier in As-
toria in 1855, 353-4; adventures of on
trip from Similkameen to Fort Hope
on Fraser River, 325-6; conducts his
folks from Asoyoos Lake to the Des-
chutes, 326-9; aids in passage up
Columbia and Snake Rivers to Lew-
iston, 330-2; in command of the
Sarah F. Gray, 334; protects father
from assault by A. Kimball, 335-6;
takes raft of lumber from Asotin to
W/allula, 335-8; watchman and mate
on steamer John H. Couch, 340; pilot
on Columbia between Celilo and Lew-
iston, 341-2; in command of Beaver
on the AVillamette and on the Stikeen,
343-4; is married, 344-5; in charge of
the Frederick Billings, transfer boat
of the Northern Pacific Railroad Com-
pany, 346-7; locates at Pasco, 347-8;
takes the Tohn Gates through Priest
Rapids and Rock Island Rapids, 349-
54-

H

HEUER, LIEUTENANT W. H., makes hy-
drostatic survey of Columbia River
rapid's between Celilo and Snake
River, 1867, 341-2.

HOWISON, REPORT OF LIEUTENANT NEIL
M. ON OREGON, 1846, 1-60; learns of
formation of Peacock Spit, 4; enters
the Columbia, 4-5 ; vessel is run ashore
on Chinook Shoal, 5; proceeds up the
Columbia, 7; vessel grounds on the
bar in endeavoring to ascend the
Willamette, 7; visits Governor Aber-
nethy at Oregon City, and takes a
week's ride through the Willamette

INDEX

Valley, 8; visits Tualatin plains, 8;
high price of mechanics' labor causes
ten of Shark's crew to desert, only
two are returned, 8; sells Peacock's
launch, 8-9; descends the Columbia,
9; suffers shipwreck in attempting to
cross bar on Sept. iq, 9-10; puts up
log houses for sheltering crew, 10-11;
charters the Cadboro, 11-12; receives
intelligence of Oregon treaty, Mexican
war and occupation of California, 12;
is pent up in Cadboro anchored in
Baker's Bay from Nov. 17 to Jan. 18,
12-13; crosses bar and proceeds to
California Jan. 18, 13; narrates role
of Dr. John McLoughlin in Oregon,
21-3; comments on population and
politics of Oregon, 21-35.

HOWISON, LIEUTENANT NEIL M., U. S.
Navy, record of service of, 364-5.

Hudson's Bay Company, landed posses-
sions and agricultural operations of,

(2) Hudson's Bay Company factors
give Lieutenant Howison friendly and
considerate relief, 10; accept bills on
Baring & Bros, at par, 10.

(i) Hudson's Bay Company agents har-
assed by intrusive Americans, 33-4.

I

Idaho, gold discoveries cause organiza-
tion of territory of, 61.

Indian agent's experience in the war
of 1886, 65-7.

Indian population in Oregon, 1846, 46-8.

Indian uprising of 1886, the last in the
Pacific Northwest, 65.

Linn City, founded by Robert Moore,
1843, 215.

Lmnton, 1846, 42; 215.

LOWNSDALE, DANIEL H., Letter by, to
SAMUEL R. THURSTON, 213-49; bio-
graphical data on, 215.

LOWNSDALE LETTER, historical import-
ance of, 217; urges preference be
given Americans in conflicting pre-
emption rights, 218; old organic law
of Oregon did not grant any right to
soil, 218-19; suggests wording for
land law, 219-221; custom house lo-
cation, 221; resume of British opera-
tions in Oregon country from author's
point of view, 221-4; source of "nest-
of-dangers" reputation of the mouth
of the Columbia, 224-6; Commodore
Wilkes and his officers "taken in" at
Fort Vancouver, 226-9; how the "law-
yer, the judge and the general with
the helpers, the former legislators,"
were handled, 229-30; how the insur-
gency of 1846 was subdued, 230-2; the
terms of the treaty and the ownership
of the Hudson's Bay Company station
and mill at Oregon City, 232-3; the
Indians used as pawns, 224-44; trust
methods used by Hudson's Bay Com-
pany authorities, 242-4; "friends at
court" and delegate to Congress be-
come the issue, 245-9.

LUPTON, fur trader, 251-258; his fort,
261.

M

MCCARVER M. M., with Peter H. Bur-
nett, selected site of Linnton, 215.

McCLURE, COLONEL JOHN, has pre-emp-
tion claim to Point George, 12.

MCLOUGHLIN. DR. JOHN, role of, in
Oregon narrated by Lieutenant Neil
M. Howison, 21-3.

MCLOUGHLIN, DR. JOHN, cost of im-
provements made by, at Willamette
Falls to January i, 1851, 68-70.

Methodist missionaries in Oregon, 1846,

Milton laid off at mouth of Willamette,

216.
Multnomah laid off below Linn City by

Hugh Burns, 215.

N

Northern Pacific Railroad Company's
transfer boat, the Frederick Billings,
at Ainsworth on the Snake River and
later at Pasco, 346-7.

OGDEN, PETER SKEEN, characterized by
Lieutenant Neil M. Howison. 31-2.

Oregon, rapid development of, in early
forties causes a statistical account two
years old to be out of date, 9; winds
and weather affecting conditions of
navigation, 14-15; portions of occupied
in 1846, 21 ; people of, in 1846, 21-6;
political conditions in, 1846, 26-7;
wretched plight of incoming pioneers
soon relieved, 28-9; Hudson's Bay
Company and missionaries, through
credit given and assistance afforded,
lighten hardships of pioneers, 29-30;
company's officials seek political in-
fluence through credit extended, 30-1;
strong patriotic feeling among the
Americans, 32-3; commerce in, 36-40.

Oregon in 1863, 61-4; population, 61-4;
political directory of, 1863, 62-3; tax-

discoveries in,

able property in, 64.

Oregon, Eastern, gold di
cause filling up of, 61.

Oregon City, 1846, 43; first place se-
lected as townsite in Oregon, 215.

Oregon Defenses, 54-5.

Oregon flocks and herds, 1846, 52-3.

Oregon flora, 51.

Oregon meteorology, 50.

Oregon Steam Navigation Company
makes effort in 1864 to take steamboat
through Snake River canyon to ply
between Old's Ferry and Boise, 339-
40.

OSBORN, BURR, SURVIVOR OF HOWISON
EXPEDITION TO OREGON IN 1846, Rem-
iniscences of experiences growing out
of wrecking of United States schooner
Shark at mouth of Columbia, 355-64.

Pacific City, laid off by Elijah White,
216.

Peacock's launch left by Captain Wilkes
in charge of Dr. McLoughlin, sold by
Lieutenant Howison, 8-9.

PITTOCK, HENRY L., part, of, in the up-
building of the Oregonian, 204.

Portland, 1846, 42; claims to land on
site of, 215; in 1862, 333.

INDEX

ROSE FESTIVAL, WHY NOT A FOLK FESTI-
VAL in the, 315-17.

Ross, ALEXANDER, Journal of, on SNAKE
RIVER EXPEDITION. 1824, 366-88; ac-
tivities in Pacific Northwest fur trade,
365; his books, 365-6; course traced
in Snake River expedition, 1824, 367-8.

St. Helens, founded by Captain H. M.
Knighton, 216.

St. John, founded by James Johns, 216.

Salem, 1846, 44.

Salmon fisheries in Oregon, 1846, 47-8;
superstitious ceremonies and practices
of Indians regarding, 47-8.

SCHENCK. LIEUTENANT W. S., is dis-
patched up the Columbia as high as
The Dalles, 8.

SCOTT, ANNE ROELOFSON, pioneer condi-
tions impose "a long agony of self-
sacrifice upon, 94-5.

SCOTT, HARVEY W., EDITOR — REVIEW OF
His HALF-CENTURY CAREER AND ESTI-
MATE OF His WORK, 87-133: the Ore-
gon of his youth and of his maturity
and his relation to it, 87-89; external
record of his life, 89-91; ancestry of,
91-92; domination of pioneer vision,
temper and spirit in life of, 92-5; his
self-reliance and individualism, 95-6;
his first writing for the Oreeoman,
96-7; times and conditions had much
to do with his spirit and methods, 97;
encourages assistants in all depart-
ments of Oregonian, 97-8; his interest
centered in editorial page, 98; funda-
mental motive was social responsibil-
ity, 98; an autocrat, but dominated by
demands of social conditions and fun-
damental principles, 99-101; felt that
he alone could pledge the Oregonian,
101-2; maintains integrity of the news,
adhering strictly to commandment,
"Thou shalt not bear false witness,
102-3; occasionally, however, used a
"smashing headline," 103-4; loyalty to
principles and abstract ideal combined
with course shaped by necessities of
working relations, 104-6 Oregon af-
forded vantage ground for interpreta-
tion of national tendencies, 107-8;
championship of cause of sound money
representative, 108-9; summary of his
professional character, 109-10; his
prodigious reading and wonderful
memory, 110-12; theology his deepest
interest, 113-14; his style a reflection
of his mind, 114-15; delights in the
literature of the imagination, 115-16;
nature has profound fascination for
him, 116-17; solidity the characteristic
quality of his thought and expression,
117-18; his consideration as an em-
ployer, 118-19; delights in companion-
ship of those of understanding and
sympathy, 119-20; friendships with
men of native and genuine quality,
120-3; ne.w relationships formed in
the East in later years, 124-5; secret
of this exemplified in the Archbishop

Corrigan dinner, 124-5; has little sym-
pathy with personal incapacity and its
consequences, 125-6; his tenderest
feeling for childhood, 126-7; the ap-
peal of the United States Senate to
him, 127-9; his indifference to appear-
ances, 129-30; the home interest of his
life, 130-1; the sentiments that were
the spiritual guides of his life, 131;
the large issues in which he had a
leading part, 135; list of events in
lief of, 133.

MR. SCOTT'S LIBRARY AS A GAUGE OF
His BROAD SCHOLARSHIP AND LITERARY
ACTIVITY, 134-9; early and continued
interest in history, 134-5; large famil-
iarity with ancient classics, 135; an-
cient and biblical history deeply
studied by him, 136; wide reading of
publicists, Burke and Hamilton, 136-7;
exponents of liberal thought, of meta-
physics and of philosophy appreciated,
137; the fiction that stood the test of
time a part of his reading, 138; an as-
tounding memory of poetry, 138-9.
REVIEW OF WRITINGS based on ten
thousand articles written by him, 140-
204; dominating idea in his editorial

£ reductions — individual functions and
uty, 141 ; mode of life of pioneer West
inculcated self-reliance, 142; senti-
mental interest in Oregon history, 143;
his reading and social intercourse,
144; the editor of practical affairs,
of idealistic sense and of scholarly
attainment, 145; belief in war as the
nursery of national unity and strength,
145; has many friends among theo-
logians of divergent sects, 146-7; held
religious feeling to be a permanent
force in nature of men, 147; his opin-
ions on religion epitomized, 148-9; his
perennial fight for sound money, 149;
the beginning and the culmination of
it, 149; though a Westerner, he com-
bats financial and monetary delusions
bred under Western conditions, 150-1;
resists repudiation, 152-4; points out
"fundamental error" in our monetary
system to be "fiat money," 154-5; free
coinage of silver fought as a later
phase of fiat money, 155-6; mainte-
nance of gold standard no more open
to debate than multiplication table,
156-7; contrasts Cleveland's firmness
with vacillating policy of McKinley,
159; the silver issue counted by him
as gravest crisis in our industrial his-
tory, 160-1; the course of history set
awry by assassination of Lincoln, 162;
his Nationalist idea grew with his man-
hood, 162-3; indiscriminate negro suf-
frage a mistake, 163-4; Southern fear
of negro and Northern prejudice a
nightmare dispelled, 164; the national
idea the main line of demarcation be-
tween the two chief political parties,
165; the tendency of democracy to
subdivision, but this more than coun-
terbalanced by forces making for na-
tional unity, 166-7; Jefferson the "evil
genius of our national and political
life" and the "glory of Hamilton the
greatness of America," 168-0: his in-
terpretation of national expansion
across the Pacific, 169-71; took issue

INDEX

with the Republican party with regard
to its protective policy, but affiliated
with that party because of his agree-
ment with it on more serious ques-
tions, 171-4; deprecates violent expul-
sion of Chinese, but holds that social
need of exclusion outweighs indus-
trial need of Chinese labor on the
Pacific Coast, 174-8; expressions
evoked from him by agitations, chal-
lenges and experiences in the hard
times of 1894, 178-82; out of sympa-
thy with progressive socialization of
industry, 182-3; minimized efficacy of
social legislation, placed all responsibil-
ity upon home, 183-6; "industry is the
first of the influences of right living,"
186-9; goal that socialistic teachings
would lead to pointed out, 189-90; ex-
tension of governmental functions op-
posed, 190-1; advocates of single tax
doctrine criticised, 192; trust methods
scored, 192-3; modification of Oregon
system urged that representative sys-
tem of law-making and of party organ-
ization might be preserved, 193-8;
participations in some railway rival-
ries, 198-200; combatted mortgage tax,
200; influences specified that contrib-
ute to high cost of living, 200-1 ; inde-
pendence the prime requisite for right
functioning in journalism, but legiti-
mate money-making must be first
object, 201-4.

TRIBUTES TO MR. SCOTT'S ACHIEVEMENTS
IN JOURNALISM, 206.

Sioux Indian depredations in Rocky
Mountains, 265-8; 271.

SMITH, E. WILLARD, Journal of, while
with fur traders, Sublette and Vas-
quez, 250-79; biographical note on,
250.

SUBLETTE, WILLIAM L., probably one of
the leaders of the expedition into the
Rocky Mountains, 1839-40, 250-1.

THURSTON, SAMUEL R., history of, pa-
pers of, 214.
Toulon, voyage of, 1847, 13.

Vasquez and Sublette expedition into
the Rocky Mountains, 1839-40, course
of, 251-3; in council with the Arapa-
hoes, 260.

w

WALKER, I. R., leader of expedition to
California, 253 ; discoverer of Yosemite
wonderland, 253; 268.

WILBUR, REV. J. H., experiences of, as
Indian agent in 1886, 65-7.

WILKES, LIEUTENANT CHARLES, cause
for criticism of, by early Oregonians,
214-16.

Willamette River freezes over at Port-
land in Winter of 1861-2, 332-3.

WORK, JOHN, JOURNAL OF, ON SNAKE
COUNTRY EXPEDITION, 1830-1, 280-314;
course of expedition, 280-1; summary
of travels and disasters during expe-
dition, 314.

YOUNG, F. G., author of supplement-
ary note to Lownsdale letter, 217;
author of introductory note to journal
of E. Willard Smith, 250-3; author of
"Why Not a Folk Festival in the Rose
Festival?" 315-17.

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