Skip to main content

Full text of "The Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society"

See other formats 


till* 


,  ALLEN  COUNTY  PUBLIC  LIBRARY 


,     3  1833  01745  7984 


GENEALOGY 
979.5 
0R3Q 
1904 


THE    QUARTERLY 


Okegon  Histoeical  Society. 


Volume  V.] 


MARCH,     1904 


[Number  1 


CONTENTS. 

Clarence  B.  Sagle)/—"THE  Mercer   Immigration:"  Two   Cargoes  of 

Maidens  for  the  Sound  Country         -      - 1 

T?iomasW.  I*)-osch— The  Evolution  of  Spokane  and  Stevens  Counties  25 
T.  W.  Davenport— Extract  frosi  "Recollections  of  an  Indian  Agent"  34 
Jb/in  J/fwto —Antecedents  of  the  Oregon  Pioneers  and  the  Light 

These  Throw  on  Their  Motives ;^ 

Peter  H.  5wrne<<— "Recollections  and  Opinions  of  an  Old  Pioneer." 

Chapter  III - 64 

PRICE :    FIFTY  CENTS  PEE  NUMBER,  TWO  DOLLARS  PER  YEAR 


THE  Oreck)N  Historical  Society 

Organized  December  17,  1896 


C.  B.  BELLINGER .President 

WM.  D.  FENTON Vice-Pkesidejstt 

F.  G.  YOUNG — Sbceetaky 

CHARLES  E.  LADD Treasurer 

George  H.  Himes,  Assistant  Secretary. 


DIREOl'ORS 

THE  GOVERNOR  OF  OREGON,  ex  officio. 

THE  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION,  ex  officio. 

Term  Expires  at  Annual  Meeting  in  December,  1903, 
C.  B.  BELLINGER,    MRS.  MARIA  L.  MYRICK. 

Term  Expires  at  Annual  Meeting  in  December,  1904, 
H.  W.  SCOTT,    MRS.  HARRIET  K.  McARTHUR. 

Term  Expires  at  Annual  Meeting  In  December,  1905, 
F.  G.   YOUNG,    WM.  D.  FENTON. 

Term  Expires  at  Annual  Meeting  in  December,  1906, 
JAMES  R.  ROBERTSON,    JOSEPH  R.  WILSON; 


The  Quarterly  is  sent  free  to  all  members  of  the  Society.    The  annual  dues 
are  two  dollars.    The  fee  for  life  membership  is  twenty-five  dollars. 

(.Contributions  to  The  Quarterly  and  correspondence  relative  to  historical 
materials,  or  pertaining  to  the  aft'airs  of  this  Society,  should  be  addressed  to 

Eugene,  Oregon.  Secretary. 

Subscriptions   for    The    Quarterly,   or   for   the   other,  publications   of  the 
Society,  should  be  sent  to 

GEORGE    H.    HIMES, 

City  Hall,  Portland,  Oregon.  Assistant  Secretary. 


XT40586 
THE    QUARTERLY 

OF    THE 

Oregon  Historical  Society. 


Volume  V  ]  MARCH,    1904  [Number  1 

"TME  nCECiK  inniQEi^TlOKIf'  TWO 

C/^MQOES  ©r  n;^lBEKIS  POM 

TME  5Qmb  COUiTlT. 

By  Clarence  B.  Bagley. 

The  early  inigrations  to  Oregon  were  nearly  all  of  the  farm- 
ing class  and  composed  of  families.  The  "Donation  Act" 
became  a  law  September  27,  1850,  and  it  proved  to  be  a  domi- 
nant factor  in  the  early  development  of  the  Willamette  Valley. 
Beginning  with  1843,  thousands  of  emigrants  from  the  States 
in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  but  mostly  from  Missouri,  Illinois, 
Indiana,  Ohio,  Kentuclcy  and  Arkansas,  sold  out  their  small 
holdings,  put  their  wives  and  children  into  wagons  and  started 
for  Oregon.  For  this  reason  the  great  disparity  in  the  num- 
bers of  men  and  women  did  not  exist  there  comparable  to 
Washington  and  California. 

California  was  admitted  as  a  State  in  1850,  and  almost  the 
entire  population  was  males,  attracted  there  from  all  over 
the  world  by  the  discoveries  of  gold.  Washington  gained  slowly 
m  population  during  the  quarter  century  following  its  sepa- 
ration from  Oregon.  Until  about  1860  nearly  all  the  increase 
was  on  Puget  Sound  or  west  of  the  Cascade  IMountains.  Most 
of  it  was  composed  of  loggers,  millmen,  sailors,  etc.,  who  were 
unmarried.  The  ratio  of  males  to  females  was  not  less  than 
nine  to  one. 

The  "Donation  Act"  at  first  gave  320  acres  to  each  unmar- 


2  Clarence  B.  Bagley. 

ried  man,  and  640  acres  to  husband  and  wife ;  later  this  was 
reduced  one-half,  and  still  later  again  oue-half.  In  the  division 
of  the  claim  the  wife  had  the  choice. 

As  may  be  supposed  there  were  few  single  women  of  mar- 
riageable age.  During  the  great  Civil  War  it  became  a  saying 
that  tlie  cradle  and  the  grave  were  robbed  to  supply  soldiers, 
and  certainly  the  nursery  was  robbed  for  wives  during  the 
period  the  "Donation  Act"  was  in  force.  Marriages  of  girls 
under  fifteen  years  of  age  were  common.  I  v/itnessed  one  near 
Salem  where  the  bride  was  only  thirteen  years  old  and  the 
groom  more  than  three  times  that  age.  These  early  marriages 
were  almost  all  contracted  that  the  brides  might  get  their 
'  *  claims. ' ' 

On  Puget  Sound  the  scarcity  of  women  was  a  serious  matter. 
It  affected  the  social,  industrial  and  moral  condition  of  the 
several  communities.  It  was  a  subject  of  frequent  discussion 
and  a  matter  of  earnest  regret. 

Charles  Prosch,  then  editor  of  the  Puget  Sound  Herald, 
published  at  Steilacoom,  and  now  enjoying  a  hearty  and  re- 
spected old  age  in  Seattle,  appears  to  have  been  the  first  to 
take  up  the  subject  for  serious  discussion.  As  early  as  October 
22,  1858,  an  editorial  headed  "A  Good  Wife"  appeared,  and, 
after  paying  her  a  glowing  tribute  by  way  of  preparing  his 
bachelor  friends  for  what  was  to  follow,  he  said : 

"Complaint  has  been  made  by  several  esteemed  unmarried 
friends  of  the  great  dearth  of  marriageable  females  in  our 
vicinity,  and  very  truly.  Many  who  are  now  wretched  for 
want  of  comfortable  homes,  with  'heaven's  last  best  gift'  pre- 
siding therein,  would  lose  no  time  in  allying  themselves  with 
the  fair  daughters  of  Eve  if  they  would  but  deign  to  favor  us 
with  their  presence.  There  is  probably  no  connnunity  in  the 
Union  of  a  like  number  of  inhabitants,  in  which  so  large  a 
proportion  are  bachelors.     We  have  no  spinsters. 

The  young  men  here  seeking  life  partners  are  every  Wciy 
fitted  to  assume  the  incidental  responsibilities.  They  already, 
in  many  instances,  have  comfortable  homes,  which  only  lack 
the  presence  of  females  to  render  them  in  the  highest  degree 
attractive.    There  are  probably  not  less  than  fifty  bachelors  in 


The  Mercer  Immigration.  3 

and  near  Steilacooui,  nearly  all  of  whom  are  eager  to  put  their 
necks  in  the  matrimonial  noose.  With  few  or  no  exceptions 
they  are  abundantly  able  to  provide  comfortable  homes,  and 
even  to  surround  themselves  with  the  luxuries  of  life.  For 
iTOod  moral  character  they  rank  high;  indeed,  we  may  safely 
challenge  any  connnunity  of  equal  numbers  in  the  world  to 
produce  the  same  proportion  of  young  men  so  little  tainted 
with  vicious  habits.  It  is  in  a  great  measure  owing  to  their 
freedom  from  vice  that  they  have  now  such  ample  means.  We 
can  and  do  conscientiously  connnend  them  to  the  notice  and 
favor  of  the  fair  sex  abroad.  They  would  be  considered  very 
desirable  matches  in  large  cities." 

Again.  August  26,  1859,  with  "Scarcity  of  White  Women" 
for  a  topic,  he  gave  an  admirable  essay  that  now,  nearly  a  half 
century  later,  seems  to  me  remarkable  as  a  proof  of  the  keen 
insight  into  existing  conditions  and  prescience  of  those  to  fol- 
low evinced  by  its  writer.  AVith  a  few  unimportant  omissions 
it  was  as  follows  : 

"  'The  white  folks  in  Oregon,  having  no  white  women  to 
choose  from,  are  marrying  Indian  squaws. ' 

The  above  is  from  a  paper  called  the  True  Democrat,  pub- 
lished at  Little  Rock,  Arkansas.  How  true  it  is  of  Oregon, 
we  cannot  say;  but  we  have  freciuently  been  assured  that  the 
reverse  was  the  case  there,  and  that  marriageable  white  women 
were  plentiful.  Unfortunately,  it  is  too  true  of  this  beautiful 
territory,  and  is  one  of  the  causes— the  principal  cause,  we 
might  say— that  operates  to  check  its  growth  and  development. 
The  proportion  of  white  men  to  white  women  here  is  about 
twenty  to  one.  This  vast  disproportion  of  the  sexes  injuriously 
affects  this  country  in  various  ways.  The  men  are  unsettled 
in  their  plans  and  discontented  with  their  lot,  though  prosi>er- 
ing  liy  their  industry.  They  feel  that,  without  wives,  they  are 
without  homes,  and  hence  do  not  manifest  that  interest  in  the 
country  which  they,  would  were  the  ties  strengthened  by  t!ie 
presence  in  their  dwellings  of  cheerful  helpmeets,  to  soothe 
their  cares  and  stimulate  their  energies.  With  all  the  comf  ,irts 
of  life  about  them,  or  within  reach,  and  an  independence  from 
toil  in  early  prospect,  they  yet  feel  that  life  has  no  charms  for 


4  Clarkmoe  B.  Bagley. 

them,  and  are,  therefore,  reckless  of  whatever  may  befall  their;. 
This  is  a  state  of  things  not  calculated  to  promote  the  inteicst 
of  any  country,  if  long  continued,  and  here  especially  it  is  to 
be  deeply  deplored. 

The  intermarriage  of  whites  with  Indians  is  fraught  with 
many  and  serious  evils.  It  has  been  asserted  that  it  elevates 
the  Indian  at  the  expense  of  the  white  race.  While  we  ques- 
tion the  fact  of  its  morally  elevating  the  Indian  race,  we  are 
fully  sensible  of  its  demoralizing  influence  upon  the  white. 
The  effect  of  this  species  of  amalgamation,  as  seen  here,  and 
we  believe,  everywhere  else,  has  been  an  almost  instantaneous 
degeneration  of  the  white,  with  no  visible  improvement  of  the 
Indian ;  while  the  offspring  are  found  to  possess  not  only  ^11 
the  vices  inherent  in  the  Indian,  but  unite  with  them  the  bad 
qualities  of  the  whites.  This  mixture  of  the  races  has  pro- 
duced some  of  the  most  noted  outlaws  of  the  Southwestern 
States.  It  will  create  men  of  the  same  stamp  here.  It  is  Ihe 
knowledge  of  this  fact  that  has  led  to  the  enactment  of  laws 
prohibiting  these  unnatural  alliances. 

But  where  there  are  no  white  women  what  are  the  white 
men  to  do?  is  a  question  that  has  often  been  asked  here. 
Occasionally  we  hear  of  a  young  man  going  to  the  States  and 
getting  a  wife,  or  writing  for  one  to  come  out.  But  it  is  not 
every  young  man  who  has  female  acquaintances  in  the  States 
of  suitable  age  or  disposition  for  marriage.  What  are  they  to 
do  who  unhappily  have  no  female  acquaintances  at  all?  AVe 
hardly  know  what  to  advise  except  to  wait  patiently  and  bide 
their  time.  A  very  long  time  cannot  now  elapse  ere  we  shall 
have  marriageable  females  enough  in  our  own  midst.  The  New 
England  towns  are  full  to  overflowing  of  intelligent  young 
women  well  trained  to  household  duties,  with  no  possible 
chance  of  finding  husbands  at  home.  Sooner  or  later  the  tide 
of  female  immigration  will  set  in.  Of  this  there  is  no  uncer- 
tainty ;  it  is  only  a  question  of  time,  but  that  we  would  hasten. 

An  appeal  may,  with  propriety,  be  made  to  the  good  sense 
of  the  large  surplus  of  young  women  of  the  crowded  cities  of 
the  Northern  and  Eastern  States,  where  all  branches  of  female 
labor  are  reduced  to  starving  rates  of  pay,  and  where  thous- 


The  Mercer  Immigration.  5 

ands  upon  thousands  deem  themselves  fortunate  to  avoid 
starvation.  Among  the  female  working  classes  in  the  States 
there  are  some  who  have  means  sufficient  to  enable  them  to 
come  here,  and  we  trust  such  will  come,  and  leave  their  places 
to  those  more  needy.  How  much  better  oft'  they  would  be 
here  as  the  wives  of  wealthy  and  prospering  farmers,  me- 
chanics, professional  men  and  merchants,  than  they  are  in 
their  present  position.  Immediate  employment  can  be  ob- 
tained throughout  the  Territory  at  profitable  wages  by  milli- 
ners, dressmakers,  school  teachers,  seamstresses,  laundresses, 
housemaids,  etc.  These  pursuits  are  all  seeking  heads 
and  hands  to  follow  them  here,  at  higher  compensation  than 
is  obtained  even  in  California. 

Of  the  three  thousand  voters  of  Washington  Territory,  it 
is  safe  to  say  that  two  thousand  are  desirous  of  entering  the 
marital  state.  Give  them  a  chance  and,  our  word  for  it,  they 
won't  make  long  courtships.  By  the  time  these  two  thousand 
are  disposed  of  we  shall  have  two  or  three  thousand  more, 
judging  from  the  large  number  of  bachelors  constantly  set- 
tling among  us.  Here  is  the  market  to  bring  your  charms  to, 
girls.  Don't  be  backward,  but  come  right  along— all  who  want 
good  husbands  and  comfortable  homes  in  the  most  beautiful 
country  and  the  finest  climate  of  the  world. 

Its  view  regarding  the  mixture  of  the  races  has  proved  in 
the  main  correct.  That  has  been  unalloyed  evil,  and  the 
shame  of  it  has  saddened  many  households  all  over  Puget 
Sound.  Half-breeds,  carrying  the  blood  in  their  veins  of  men 
whose  names  are  now  historic,  are  known  to  all  pioneers.  Other 
pioneers,  after  their  dusky  mistresses  had  borne  them  chil- 
dren, cast  them  oft'  and  married  white  women.  Some  of  these 
men  cared  for  their  illegitimate  progeny— others  did  not.  In 
either  case  the  disgrace  of  it  has  darkened  the  lives  of  the 
white  wives  and  their  children  in  all  the  after  years.  The 
half-breeds  have  not  become  vicious  or  depraved,  except  in  a 
few  instances.  Some  of  them  in  youth  showed  talent  that  gave 
much  promise  for  the  future,  but  failed  of  realization.  In  fact 
most  of  them  died  in  early  life. 


6  Clarence  B.  Bagley. 

February  24,  1860,  the  following  appeared  in  the  advertis- 
ing columns  of  the  Herald: 

Attention,  Bachelors  :  Believing  that  our  only  chance 
for  a  realization  of  the  benefits  and  early  attainment  of  matri- 
monial alliances  depends  upon  the  arrival  in  our  midst  of  a 
number  of  the  fair  sex  from  the  Atlantic  States,  and  that,  to 
bring  about  such  an  arrival  a  united  effort  and  action  are 
called  for  on  our  part,  we  respectfully  request  a  full  attend- 
ance of  all  eligible  and  sincerely  desirous  bachelors  of  this 
community  to  assemble  on  Tuesday  evening  next,  February 
28th,  in  Delin  &  Shorey's  building,  to  devise  ways  and  means 
to  secure  this  much-needed  and  desirable  emigration  to  our 
shores. 

D.  V.  K.  Waldron, 
Egbert  H.  Tucker, 
Christopher  Downey, 
Jas.  E.  D.  Jester, 

G.  Ford, 

O.  H.  White, 

J.  K.  McCall, 

E.  0.  Ferguson, 
0.  C.  Shorey, 

And  eighty-seven  others. 

The  following  week  the  Herald  gave  a  short  report  of  the 
meeting  and  of  another  held  a  few  days  later,  but  did  not 
publish  the  full  proceedings,  owing  to  their  great  length. 

June  1st,  following,  the  Herald  had  an  article  more  than  a 
column  in  length,  mentioning  the  call  for  the  meeting  of  the 
bachelors.  It  said:  ''Judging  from  the  number  of  journals 
which  have  bestowed  notices  on  the  object  of  the  meeting 
alluded  to,  it  is  fair  to  presume  that  nearly  every  city,  town 
and  hamlet  in  the  United  States  is  acquainted  with  it.  Our 
attention  has  been  called  to  some  ten  or  twelve  such  notices  in 
papers  published  in  as  many  different  sections  of  the  Union. ' ' 
Nearly  a  column  from  the  Cincinnati  Commercial  was  re- 
printed. That  paper  treated  the  subject  humorously,  but 
fairly,  and  gave  the  proposition  its  approval  in  most  hearty 


The  Mercer  Immigration.  7 

fashion.  I  regret  that  lack  of  space  prevents  the  repul)li('ation 
of  these  remarks  in  fnll. 

From  time  to  time  the  newspapers  mentioned  the  continued 
scarcity  of  \^'omen  here,  but  nothing  practical  was  ever  done 
until  early  in  1861  a  young  gentleman,  Asa  S.  Mercer,  arrived 
in  Seattle,  fresh  from  college.  Besides  having  attractive  man- 
ners and  plenty  of  confidence  in  himself,  he  found  here  am 
elder  brother,  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  influential  pioneers, 
Judge  Thomas  Mercer,  who  numbered  every  man  and  woman 
in  the  county  his  friend.  Also  Dexter  Horton  and  Daniel 
Bagley  had  been  friends  of  the  Mercer  family  at  the  old 
home  in  Illinois.  With  these  three  pioneers  to  introduce  him, 
it  was  not  long  before  young  Mercer  was  one  of  the  best  known 
young  men  on  Puget  Sound.  He  soon  went  to  work  in  helping 
to  clear  the  old  University  site,  and  did  much  manual  labor 
of  different  kinds  during  the  erection  of  the  university  l)uild- 
ing  in  1861. 

In  the  fall  of  1862  he  became  the  first  president  of  the  Ter- 
ritorial University  and  taught  a  five-months'  term.  All  the 
classes  sat  and  recited  in  one  room,  the  one  in  the  southwest 
corner  of  the  building. 

Judge  Mercer  often  made  it  a  subject  of  semi-jocose  com- 
ment that  young  women  should  be  so  scarce  in  this  new  com- 
munity, and  often  suggested  an  effort  to  secure  territorial 
or  governmental  aid  for  bringing  out  from  New  England  a 
party  of  young  women,  who  were  needed  as  school  teachers, 
seamstresses,  housekeepers,  and  for  other  positions  far  i-emoved 
from  that  of  household  servants. 

This  set  young  Mercer  to  thinking  on  the  subject,  and  the 
more  he  thought  o-f  it  the  more  he  favored  it.  He  talked  the 
matter  over  with  William  Pickering,  then  Governor  of  the  Ter- 
ritory, and  with  members  of  tke  legislature,  and  while  every- 
body favored  the  proposition,  the  public  treasury  was  empty, 
and  public  credit  fully  fifty  per  cent  below  par,  so  he  failed  in 
the  effort  to  secure  territorial  aid.  Nothing  daunted,  he  went 
fi-om  place  to  place  and  olitained  quite  a  number  of  generous 
private  contributions  to  a  fund  that  enabled  him  to  go  to  Bos- 
ton, and  there  the  proposition  was  placed  bcfoiv  tln'  piihlw  for 


8  Clarence  B.  Bagley. 

a  lot  of  the  girls  and  young  women  who  had  been  made  or- 
phans by  the  Civil  "War  to  accompany  him  to  Washington. 
Quite  a  large  number  evinced  a  willingness  to  go,  but  when 
the  time  came  to  start  only  eleven  had  found  courage  to  leave 
their  friends  and  make  a  journey  of  seven  thousand  miles  into 
n  wilderness  but  thinly  settled  with  entire  strangers  to  them, 
A  few  of  these  had  to  avail  themselves  of  the  means  provided 
by  Mr.  Mercer,  but  most  of  them  paid  their  own  way. 

They  left  New  York  in  March,  1864,  came  by  way  of  the 
Isthmus  of  Panama  and  San  Francisco.  At  the  latter  place 
quarters  were  secured  for  the  party  on  the  bark  Torrent,  which 
brought  them  to  Port  Gamble,  then  called,  Teekalet,  and  from 
there  the  sloop  Kidder  brought  them  to  Seattle  about  midnight 
of  May  16,  1864. 

Their  names  were  Lizzie  M.  Ordway,  who  never  married; 
Georgia  Pearson,  who  married  C.  T.  Terry  of  Whidby  Island 
— whose  daughter  Blanche  has  for  years  held  a  responsible 
position  in  the  office  of  the  city  superintendent  of  schools, 
and  who  has  jjerformed  the  duties  of  the  position  so  accepta- 
bly to  the  patrons  of  the  school ;  Josephine  Pearson,  who  died 
not  long  after  her  arrival  in  the  Territory,  unmarried ;  Annie 
May  Adams,  who  married  Robert  G.  Head,  a  well  known 
printer  of  Olympia  in  early  days ;  Miss  Cheney,  who  married 
Captain  Charles  H.  Willoughby,  one  of  the  best  known  cap- 
tains in  the  early  United  States  revenue  service,  and  who  held 
many  other  responsible  positions ;  Maria  Murphy,  who  re- 
turned East  a  good  many  years  ago ;  Kate  Stickney,  who  mar- 
ried Walter  Graham,  who  then  owned  and  lived  on  a  beautiful 
farm  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Washington  and  now  known  as 
Brighton  Beach  (she  did  not  live  many  years)  ;  Sarah  J.  Gal- 
lagher, who  became  Mrs.  Thomas  S.  Russell,  and  after  his 
death  was  quite  wealthy,  dying  here  in  Seattle  but  a  few  years 
ago;  Kate  Stevens,  who  married  Captain  Henry  Smith,  well 
known  on  Puget  Sound  and  in  British  Columbia;  Miss  Coff- 
man,  who  married  a  Mr.  Hinckley  of  Port  Ludlow,  and  subse- 
quently moved  to  California ;  Miss  Baker,  who  married  a  mem- 
ber of  the  numerous  and  well  known  Huntington  family  of 
Cowlitz  County. 


The  Mercer  Immigration.  9 

There  were  also  two  male  members  of  this  party,  Daniel 
Pearson,  the  father  of  the  Misses  Pearson,  and  the  other  was, 
I  think,  the  father  of  Kate  Stevens. 

The  Seattle  Gazette  of  May  28,  1864,  says:  "We  neglected 
last  week  to  notice  the  return  home  of  our  highly  esteemed 
fellow  citizen,  Mr.  Asa  S.  JMercer,  from  the  East,  where  he 
has  been  on  a  visit  for  the  greater  part  of  the  past  year.  It  is  to 
the  efforts  of  Mr.  Mercer — joined  with  the  wishes  of  the  dar- 
lings themselves — that  the  eleven  accomplished  and  beautiful 
young  ladies  whose  arrival  was  lately  announced,  have  been 
added  to  our  population.  We  understand  that  the  number 
would  have  been  fifty,  as  at  first  reported,  but  many  were  not 
able  to  prepare  for  the  journey  this  season.  The  thanks  of 
the  whole  community,  and  of  the  bachelors  in  particular,  are 
due  Mr.  Mercer  for  his  efforts  in  encouraging  this  much-needed 
kind  of  immigration.  ]\Ir.  Mercer  is  the  Union  candidate  for 
joint  councilman  for  King  and  Kitsap  counties,  and  all  bach- 
elors, old  and  young,  may,  on  election  day,  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  expressing,  through  the  ballot  box,  their  appreciation 
of  his  devotedness  to  the  cause  of  the  Union,  matrimonial  as 
well  as  national." 

His  efforts  had  been  so  much  appreciated  that  he  had  been 
nominated  unanimously  to  the  upper  house  of  the  Territorial 
Legislative  Assembly.  His  opponent  was  M.  S.  Drew,  who 
then  lived  at  Port  Gamble,  but  has  been  for  a  great  many 
years  a  prominent  resident  of  Seattle.  The  total  vote  in  King 
County  was  148,  and  in  Kitsap  County  about  90.  Mr.  Mer- 
cer was  elected  by  a  considerable  majority. 

He  served  during  the  session  ending  the  last  days  of  Janu- 
ary, 1865,  and  the  first  days  of  March  following  he  was  again 
on  his  way  East  on  the  same  errand  that  had  engaged  him  on 
his  previous  trip.  A  letter,  dated  April  17,  1865,  at  New  York 
City,  to  his  brother  in  Seattle,  aimouuces  that  he  had  just 
arrived,  having  been  much  delayed  on  the  Isthmus.  It  also 
refers  to  the  intense  excitement  existing  over  the  assassination 
of  President  Lincoln,  two  days  previous. 

He  went  to  work  at  once,  and  met  with  encouragement  wher- 
ever he  went.     In  three  months  he  thought  his  plans  were  .so 


10  Clarence  B.  Bagley. 

well  perfected  that  he  could  set  the  date  for  the  return  to 
Seattle,  as  the  following  letter  will  show^ : 

"Lowell,  Mass.,  July  23,  1865. 

Ed.  Gazette:  Through  the  Gazette  and  the  territorial 
papers  generally,  I  wish  to  speak  to  the  citizens  of  Puget 
Sound.  The  19th  of  August  I  sail  from  New  York  with  up- 
wards of  three  hundred  war  orphans— daughters  of  those 
brave,  heroic  sons  of  liberty,  whose  lives  were  given  as  offer- 
ings to  appease  the  angry  god  of  battle  on  many  a  plain  and 
field  in  our  recent  war  to  perpetuate  freedom  and  her  institu- 
tions. I  appeal  to  every  true,  warm-hearted  family  to  open 
wide  the  door  and  share  your  home  comforts  with  those  whose 
lot  is  about  to  be  cast  in  your  midst.  Let  every  neighborhood 
appoint  a  connnittee  of  a  lady  and  gentleman  to  meet  us  at 
Seattle  upon  the  arrival  of  the  ocean  steamer  carrying  the 
party,  with  instruction  to  welcome  to  their  homes  as  many  of 
the  company  as  they  can  furnish  homes  and  employment  for. 
Judging  from  the  known  intelligence,  patriotism  and 
benevolence  of  the  citizens  of  Washington  Territory,  I  feel 
confident  that  a  home  will  be  found  ready  for  each  one  of  the 
three  hundred  young  ladies  I  have  induced  to  migrate  to  our 
new  but  interesting  country.  I  can  cheerfully  vouch  for  the 
intelligence  and  moral  character  of  all  those  persons  accom- 
panying me,  and  take  pleasure  in  saying  that  they  will  be 
a  very  desirable  addition  and  help  to  the  country. 

Will  the  press  generally  aid  us  in  getting  these  facts  before 
the  people. 

Very  truly, 

A.  S.  MERCER." 

The  Gazette  published  the  letter,  remarking  that  the  expedi- 
ency of  bringing  so  large  a  number  at  that  time  into  our  thinly 
settled  country  might  be  questionable,  but  added:  "Be  this 
as  it  may,  they  will  soon  be  here  and  depending  upon  our 
citizens  for  homes.  They  have  strong  claims  upon  our  sym- 
pathies, and  all  who  have  the  least  patriotism  should  extend 
the  hand  of  fellowship  to  welcome,  and  will  do  all  they  can 
to  provide  for  them.  They  come  to  us  the  unprotected  orphans 
of  the  heroes  whose  lives  were  freely  given  for  our  country's 


Thp:  Mercer  Immigration.  11' 

salvation.  The  graves  of  their  natural  protectors  now  roughen 
the  battle  fields  of  Freedom.  We,  on  this  distant  shore,  enjoy 
the  fruits  of  their  valor  and  sacrifices,  but  we  did  not  share 
their  sufferings,  toils,  and  dangers.  We  are  called  upon  by- 
eve  ry  emotion  of  gratitude  and  sense  of  duty  to  protect  and 
provide  for  their  children." 

The  few  papers  then  published  in  Oregon  and  Washington 
gave  shnilar  expressions  of  sentiment. 

Copies  of  ]\Ir.  Mercer's  letter  and  the  editorial  of  the  Gazette 
were  printed  and  sent  out  to  all  the  towns  and  communities 
in  Western  Washington,  with  the  acompanying  circular: 

"Seattle,   Washington   Territory,   September   18,   1865. 

Dear  Sir:  Acting  upon  the  information  inclosed,  a  large 
and  earnest  meeting  was  held  in  this  place  on  the  16th  instant, 
to  devise  ways  and  means  for  the  reception  and  care  of  the 
young  ladies  mentioned.  Committees  were  appointed  in  the 
several  towns  and  places  of  the  territory  for  that  purpose— the 
one  at  Seattle  to  act  as  executive  committee,  with  Mrs.  H.  L. 
Yesler,  president  on  the  part  of  the  ladies,  and  W.  E.  Barnard, 
the  gentlemen.     Hon.  C.  C.  Terry  was  chosen  treasurer  and 

Daniel  Bagley  was  chosen  corresponding  secretary; 

and  yourself  were  appointed  a  committee  for  your 

part  of  the  territory.  The  objects  are,  first:  To  provide 
homes  and  employment  in  families  for  as  many  as  possible. 
Second :  To  secure  places  for  a  time  for  others  until  they  can 
be  permanently  eared  for;  and,  third:  To  collect  funds  and 
articles  to  meet  the  immediate  wants  that  must  of  necessity 
be  pressing  upon  their  arrival.  It  is  thought  a  large  number 
of  blankets  and  of  bed  clothing  of  all  kinds  will  be  in  demand. 
Prompt  and  efficient  action  must  be  had,  or  embarrassment 
and  suffering  be  experienced  by  the  orphans  of  our  departed 
heroes.  Humanity  and  patriotism,  alike,  call  upon  us  to  make 
their  condition  as  comfortal)le  as  i:»ossible.  They  may  be 
expected  here  in  a  few  days,  hence  something  must  be  done 
without  delay.  We  cannot  now  stop  to  question  the  propriety 
of  Mr.  Mercer's  action.  We  trust  it  will  result  in  good  to  the 
territory  and  all  concerned.  Please  report  at  once  how  many 
we  may  send  to  your  care,  upon  their  arrival  here.     'To  do 


>12  Clarence  B.  Bagley. 

good,  and  to  communicate  forget  not,  for  with  such  sacrifices 
God  is  well  pleased. '  Also,  collect  funds  and  articles  and  for- 
wai-d  or  repoi't  to  me  or  the  treasurer,  Mr.  Terry,  of  this  place. 

DANIEL  BAGLEY, 
Corresponding  Secretary." 

The  responses  were  prompt  and  generous,  and  had  the  large 
numl)er  thus  expected  really  made  their  appearance  here,  they 
would  have  received  a  royal  welcome  and  been  entertained  and 
cared  for  most  tenderly. 

About  two  years  ago  a  distorted  account  of  many  of  the 
incidents  connected  with  this  party  came  under  my  attention. 
I  enclosed  it  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Mercer,  asking  that  he  write 
me  an  account  of  his  experiences  in  Washington  and  New 
York,  which  he  did  in  due  time,  but  a  fitting  occasion  for  its 
publication  has  never  before  now  seemed  to  appear.  It  is  as 
follows : 

' '  Mayoworth,  Wyoming,  November  12,  1901. 

Hon.  C.  B.  Bagley,  Seattle,  Washington. 

My  Dear  Sir  :  I  am  in  receipt  of  your  letter  asking  for  an 
account  of  the  voyage  of  the  'Mercer  girls,'  as  they  were  at 
the  time  called,  from  New  York  to  Seattle.  Tempus  fug  it. 
Ah,  how  the  time  has  flown.  It  really  seems  but  a  few  days 
since,  in  the  flush  of  youth  and  the  vigor  of  young  manhood, 
I  started  out  to  do  something  for  the  commonwealth  of  Wash- 
ington, which  I  dearly  loved,  and  incidentally  confer  a  bless- 
ing upon  those  whom  a  presentation  of  facts  might  induce  to 
come  and  abide  with  us.  But  a  reference  to  the  calendar  shows 
that  more  than  thirty  years  have  sped  away,  and  a  glance  at 
present  conditions  reveals  the  fact  that  marvelous  changes 
have  taken  place  in  all  things  Washingtonian,  save  in  God's 
pyramids  that  rise  in  the  Cascade  and  Olympic  ranges.  These 
will  ever  stand  as  proud  tokens  of  inflnite  power  and  smiling 
sentinels  to  guard  the  developments  wrought  by  man. 

Early  in  the  year  1865,  impressed  with  the  future  great- 
ness of  the  Territory,  and  knowing  her  every  need,  I  deter- 
mined to  aid  that  future  by  bringing  to  her  shores  of  few  hun- 
dred good  women.  I  had  been  taught  to  believe,  and  did  be- 
lieve, that  practically  all  tlu^  goodness  in  the  world  came  from 


The  Mercer  Immigration.  13 

the  iutiueiice  of  puro-niinded  women.  At  that  time  there  was 
not  a  sinj^le  woman  of  marriageable  age  on  Puget  Sound  or 
the  inlets  north  of  Olympia,  save  two  or  three  'school 
marms, '  who  had  accompanied  me  from  the  East  the  year 
before,  and  they  were  all  preparing  their  wedding  trousseaux. 
On  the  other  hand,  'the  woods  were  full'  of  single  men — 
strong,  brave  and  true-hearted,  who  had  gone  West  to  help 
subdue  it  and  build  a  home.  There  were  few  families,  and  the 
bachelor  element  was  almost  wholly  beyond  the  reach  of  female 
inlluence  and  its  wholesome  results.  Most  of  these  men  had 
taken  claims  along  the  various  streams  and  commenced  the 
slow  process  of  clearing.  I*rospectively  their  farms  were  valu- 
able, but  at  that  time  unsalable,  save  for  a  pittance.  The  cost 
of  a  trip  by  steamer  to  the  East  was  $250,  not  to  mention  inci- 
dentals. Thus  the  round  trip,  with  the  necessary  expenses  of 
finding  a  wife  and  returning  to  the  'Sound'  would  be  $1,000 
at  least,  and  this  was  more  than  any  claim  in  the  country 
would  sell  for.  So  it  was  evident  that  Mahomet  could  not  go 
to  the  mountains  and  the  mountains  had  to  be  taken  to  Ma- 
homet. 

This  was  just  at  the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  when  thousands 
of  widows  and  orphans  filled  the  East,  many  of  whom,  I  rea- 
soned, would  be  glad  to  seek  a  home  in  the  sunset  land,  then 
terra  incognita.  Hundreds  of  government  vessels  were  lying 
idle  and  thousands  of  seamen  were  still  on  the  pay  rolls,  with 
bunkers  overflowing  with  coal,  at  all  of  the  government 
wharves.  My  thought  was  to  call  on  President  Lincoln,  tell 
him  of  our  situation,  and  ask  him  to  give  me  a  ship,  coaled 
and  manned,  for  the  voyage  from  New  York  to  Seattle,  I  fur- 
.jishing  the  food  supplies.  This,  I  was  contident,  he  would 
gladly  do.  Having  sat  upon  Lincoln's  lap  as  a  five-year-old 
lad  and  listened  to  his  funny  stories,  and  knowing  the  goodness 
of  his  heart,  not  a  shadow  of  doubt  existed  in  my  mind  as  to 
the  outcome. 

The  steamer  arrived  in  New  York  about  noon  and  I  ai-- 
ranged  matters  so  as  to  leave  for  Washington  on  the  morning 
train.  Reaching  the  hotel  office  at  6  o'clock  so  as  to  breakfast 
and  be  off,  crepe  greeted  me  from  all  sides,  and  a  bulletin 


14  Clarence  B.  Bagley. 

announced  the  assassination  of  the  President  at  Ford's  Thea- 
ter the  night  before.    I  was  at  sea  without  a  compass. 

Clearly  nothing-  could  be  done  at  Washington  then.  Wait- 
ing the  passing  of  the  temporary  shock  to  the  people,  I  racked 
my  brain  for  a  way  out  of  darkness.  The  Governor  of  Massa- 
chusetts, John  A.  Andrew,  was  at  the  moment  the  most  talked 
about  and  seemingly  the  most  popular  and  influential  man  and 
politician  in  the  country.  To  him  I  would  go  with  my  story  and 
seek  his  aid.  In  due  time  he  was  approached  and  given  a  full 
statement  of  my  hopes  and  aims,  with  an  honest  but  glowing 
account  of  the  resources  and  prospects  of  the  country  watered 
by  the  American  Mediterranean.  He  took  hold  in  earnest, 
and  introduced  me  to  Edward  Everett  Hale,  who  gave  me 
much  help. 

Passing  over  the  months  of  hard  and  continuous  labor  in 
the  various  departments  at  Washington,  with  the  statement 
that  I  had  seen  everybody,  from  President  Johnson  down  the 
line,  all  of  whom  approved  of  the  enterprise  but  were  afraid 
to  aid,  I  finally  called  upon  General  Grant  and  stated  my 
wants.  Having  been  stationed  for  a  number  of  years  on  Puget 
Sound,  he  knew  the  situation  and  promptly  promised  his  aid. 
Calling  at  his  office  one  morning,  he  said:  'Mercer,  sit  down 
and  read  the  morning  paper  until  my  return.  I  am  going  over 
to  the  White  House  to  meet  the  President  and  his  cabinet  and 
will  bring  your  matter  to  a  head  one  way  or  the  other. '  Half 
an  hour  later  he  returned,  and  as  he  entered  the  door  his  salu- 
tation was :  '  Captain  Crosby,  make  out  an  order  for  a  steam- 
ship, coaled  and  manned,  with  capacity  to  carry  500  women 
from  New  York  to  Seattle  for  A.  S.  Mercer,  and  I  will  sign  the 
same.'  Then,  turning  to  me,  he  explained  that  the  President 
and  all  the  members  of  the  cabinet  approved  the' undertaking, 
but  were  afraid  to  assume  the  responsibility  of  making  the 
order.  They  pledged  themselves,  however,  to  stand  by  Grant  if 
he  would  assume  the  risk.  Half  an  hour's  waiting  and  the  or- 
derly placed  in  my  hands  the  dociiment  that  apparently  settled 
the  Avhole  question.  Naturally  I  thought  the  order  was  good, 
and  instead  of  going  to  the  quartermaster  and  having  a  suita- 
ble vessel  assigned,  went  out  among  the  people  to  gather  up 


The  Mercer  Immigration.  15 

the  women,  even  issuing  nearly  500  tickets  for  the  trip. 

Having-  interested  and  secured  about  all  the  passengers 
necessary  to  fill  the  ship,  I  returned  to  Washington  to  have 
the  vessel  made  ready  and  turned  over  to  me.  Accompanied 
by  Senator  George  H.  Williams  of  Oregon,  I  called  upon 
Quartermaster-General  ]\Ieigs  with  Grant's  order.  Unfortun- 
ately the  man  in  line  first  ahead  of  Senator  Williams  was  an 
individual  who  had  furnished  a  horse  to  our  soldiers  and  taken 
a  receipt  for  the  same.  The  man  had  been  paid  twice  for  his 
animal  already  and  General  Meigs  recognized  him.  The  quar- 
ter-master fiew  into  a  rage,  ordered  the  man  arrested  and  filled 
the  room  with  the  smoke  of  vituperation  and  cuss  words  until 
breathing  was  an  actual  effort.  Presenting  an  order  at  this 
time  was  fatal.  Still  black  in  the  face  from  his  recent  experi- 
ence, General  Meigs  looked  at  the  paper  a  moment,  then  said : 
'  There  is  no  law  justifying  this  order  and  I  will  not  honor  it. ' 

Crestfallen,  I  retired,  ^leigs  was  stubborn  and  the  law  was 
with  him.  AVeeks  passed  and  I  was  ready  to  give  up  the  fight, 
when  one  day  in  New  York  I  received  a  letter  from  General 
IMeigs  saying  that  he  had  ordered  a  special  appraisement  of 
the  propellor  Continental,  a  1,600  ton  ship,  and  that  I  could 
have  her  at  the  appraisement  for  carrying  my  people  to  Seattle 
notwithstanding  the  law  required  the  sale  to  be  at  public  auc- 
tion.   Eighty  thousand  dollars  was  the  price,  cash  in  hand. 

That  was  not  a  price  to  'stagger  the  world,'  but  it  made  me 
tremble.  Sitting  in  my  room  at  the  ^Merchants  Hotel  and  can- 
vassing every  known  avenue  that  gave  the  faintest  hope  of 
leading  up  to  this  sum  of  ready  money.  I  was  surprised  to 
receive  a  card  bearing  the  name  '  Ben  Holladay. '  Inviting  him 
up,  he  began  the  conversation  by  saying:  'I  understand  the 
government  offers  you  the  Continental  for  .$80,000,  and  that 
you  have  not  the  money.  If  you  will  let  me  have  her  I  will  fit 
her  for  the  trip  and  carry  your  people  to  Seattle  at  a  nominal 
figure. 

Drowning  men  catch  at  straws.  I  was  the  asphyxiated  in- 
dividual and  caught  at  the  extended  straw.  The  contest  was 
unequal.  Air.  Holladay  had  two  good  lawA^ers  pitted  against 
an  inexperienced  youth,  over-anxious  and  ready  to  be  saeri- 


16  Clarence  B.  Bagley. 

fieed.  Result— a  contract  to  carry  500  passengers  from  New 
York  to  Seattle  for  a  minimum  price,  in  consideration  of 
turning  over  the  ship  to  him.  Later— too  late— I  saw  where 
the  'little  joker'  came  in.  Had  there  been  a  clause  statini>: 
that  150  passengers  were  to  be  carried  free,  and  $100  for  each 
additional  passenger,  all  would  have  been  well. 

Being  blind,  I  proceeded  to  list  all  of  my  passengers  and 
notify  them  of  the  date  of  sailing,  issuing  many  tickets  to 
the  girls  free.  A  few  days  before  the  time  fixed  for  departure 
a  long,  scurrilous  article  appeared  in  the  Neiv  York  Herald, 
slandering  me,  stating  that  all  of  the  men  on  Puget  Sound 
were  rotten  and  profligate;  that  the  girls  would  all  be  turned 
into  houses  of  ill-fame,  and  apealing  to  them  to  stay  at  home. 
The  old  saying  that  a  lie  will  travel  a  thousand  miles  while 
the  truth  is  putting  on  its  boots  was  true  in  this  case.  Every- 
where the  article  was  copied,  and  before  I  could  get  my  refer- 
ences printed  and  counteract  the  calumny,  two-thirds  of  the 
passengers  had  written  me,  enclosing  the  Herald  article,  or 
clipping  from  it,  and  declined  further  consideration  of  the 
matter. 

Armed  with  a  handful  of  these  letters,  I  called  on  Mr.  Holla- 
day  and  told  him  I  was  unable  to  carry  out  the  contract  as 
to  numbers,  but  would  be  ready  with  perhaps  200  people.  For 
reply  I  was  told  that  the  contract  was  off.  But,  as  the  ship 
was  to  be  sent  to  the  Pacific,  they  would  take  such  passengers 
as  I  presented  at  regular  rates.  Then  I  saw  the  'little  joker' 
of  the  contract. 

Delays  in  fitting  out  the  ship  caused  expense  and  numy  an- 
noyances, but  we  finally  left  New  York  on  January  6,  1866, 
and  after  a  very  pleasaiit  run  of  ninety-six  days  made  San 
Francisco  via  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  touching  at  Rio  Janeiro, 
Lota,  and  Talcahuano,  Chile,  and  at  Charles  Island,  one  of  the 
(Jalapagos  group,  lying  under  the  equator  and  600  miles  out 
from  the  west  coast  of  South  America.  After  some  days'  de- 
lay in  San  Francisco  the  people  were  sent  north  in  luinches  of 
ten  to  forty  on  the  lumber  ships  trading  between  Sound  ports 
and  the  California  metropolis. 

The  voyage  was  a  remarkable  one  in  many  ways,  but  espe- 


The  Mercer  Immigration.  17 

cially  so  in  the  matter  of  health,  no  sickness  of  any  kind 
occurring  after  the  first  few  days  of  debt  paying  to  the  God 
of  the  Storm,  save  one  case  of  child-birth,  a  baby  girl  having 
come  to  the  wife  of  a  gentleman  passenger,  who,  with  his  wife 
and  Continental  baby,  settled  at  Port  Madison. 

The  young  ladies  comprising  the  party  were  selected  with 
great  care,  and  never  in  the  history  of  the  world  was  an  equal 
inimber  of  women  thrown  together  with  a  higher  average 
of  intelligence,  modesty,  and  virtue.  They  are  now  going  into 
the  sere  and  yellow  leaf  of  life  with,  as  a  rule,  sons  and  daugh- 
ters risen  up  to  call  them  blessed.  I  have  drifted  away  from 
them,  but  I  know  that  their  influence  upon  the  State  has  been, 
as  a  whole,  for  good.    God  bless  them  and  theirs. 

You  did  not  ask  for  details  of  experiences  during  the  trip  — 
merel}^  for  what  might  properly  be  termed  the  historic  side 
of  the  venture.  Hence,  I  have  given  you  a  running  outline 
of  the  facts  as  they  occurred.  An  incidental  writing  up  of 
the  trip  and  the  formation  of  the  party  would  be  pleasant 
reading  for  some,  but  it  would  make  too  long  a  chapter  for 
a  busy  newspaper  of  to-day.  There  were  many  trying  and 
some  amusing  incidents  in  connection  with  the  enterprise,  one 
of  which,  no  doubt,  even  the  nervous,  active  reader  of  the 
day  will  appreciate. 

One  of  the  most  enthusiastic  supporters  of  my  contemplated 
'raid  on  the  widows  and  orphans  of  the  East,'  as  he  was 
wont  to  call  it,  was  Governor  William  Pickering.  The  day 
before  I  started  to  New  York  the  Governor  met  me,  shook  my 
hand  warndy,  and  said :  '  God  bless  you,  Mercer,  and  make 
your  undertaking  a  great  success.  If  you  get  into  financial 
trouljle  and  need  money,  do  not  hesitate  to  Avire  me  and  I 
will  give  you  help. ' 

When  I  arrived  in  San  Francisco  I  was  broke — three  lone- 
some dollars  being  my  all.  With  the  hotel  bills  of  the  party 
to  pay  and  transportation  to  Seattle  to  secure,  the  situation 
was  somewhat  embarrassing,  to  say  the  least.  Remembering 
the  Governor's  promise,  I  spent  .$2.50  sending  him  this  tele- 
gram: 'Arrived  here  broke.  Send  .$2,000  quick  to  get  party 
to  Seattle.'     The  next  day  I  received  a  notice  from  the  tele- 


18  Clarence  B.  Baglev. 

^raph  office  to  call,  pay  $7.50  and  receive  a  dispatch  waiting 
for  me.  Having  but  50  cents,  I  could  not  buy  the  message. 
However,  I  called  at  the  office  and  asked  to  see  the  superin- 
tendent. Explaining  my  impecunious  state,  I  lold  him  of  the 
message  to  the  (Jovernor,  and  suggested  that  he,  the  superin- 
tendent, open  the  dispatch  and  see  if  it  contained  an  order 
for  money.  If  so,  I  could  pay— otherwise  it  was  the  com- 
pany's loss.  He  opened  the  envelope  and  read,  then  burst 
into  a  hearty  laugh,  and  passed  the  message  to  me.  It  was 
made  up  of  over  100  words  of  congratulation,  but  never  a 
word  about  money. 

Trusting  that  the  above  may  cover  what  you  desire,  I  have 
the  honor  to  be,  Yours  very  truly, 

A.  S.  MERCER." 

A  correct  list  of  the  names  of  the  party  who  came  out  on 
the  Continental  was  never  published,  so  far  as  I  have  been 
able  to  find,  although  many  attempts  were  made.  The  fol- 
lowing is  nearly  correct,  but  may  err  in  two  or  three  particu- 
lars :  Albert  A.  Manning  and  wife,  W.  L.  Mercer  and  wife, 
John  Wilson  and  wife.  Dr.  C.  F.  Barnard  and  wife,  C.  Board- 
man,  wife  and  child,  J.  Bogart  and  wife,  R.  Conant,  Lewis  A. 
Treen.  E.  A.  Stevens,  W.  Perrigo  and  wife,  Mrs.  J.  S.  Loud 
and  son  James,  Mrs.  M.  Osborne  and  son  Eben  S.,  C.  S. 
Spaulding  and  wife,  Mrs.  Pearson  and  son  Daniel  0..  David 
H.  Webster,  T.  A.  Lewis,  B.  Brady,  F.  Read,  J.  J.  Tingley,  H. 

0.  Hill, Rhodes  and  wife.  Captain  E.  Pettis,  wife  and 

son,  Mr.  Weeks  and  wife,  ]\Irs.  Grinnold  and  two  daughters, 
Mrs.  Wakeman  and  three  children  and  her  mother,  Mr. 
Stephenson,  wife  and  child,  Mat  A.  Kelley,  Mrs.  Parker,  Mrs. 
Chase  and  two  children,  ]\Irs.  Warren  and  two  sons,  Mrs. 
Buckminster,  ]\Ir.  Peterson,  wife  and  three  children,  Mr.  Hor- 
ton,  S.  S.  Tingley,  and  the  Misses  Harriet  F.  Stevens,  Annie 
Stevens,  Annie  E.  Stephens,  Mamie  Stephens,  H.  Stewart, 
Sarah  Davidson,  F.  Collins,  A.  Weir,  M.  Kenney,  Clara  M. 
Lord,  Carrie  Bacon,  E.  Bacon,  Nina  E.  Manning,  M.  A.  Griffin, 
M.  Staples,  M.  J.  Smith,  Annie  Peebles,  Lizzie  Peebles,  Julia 
Guthrie,  Ida  Barlow,  L.  Barry,  A.  Horton,  A.  Miller,  M.  Mar- 


The  Mercer  Immigration.  19 

till,  Sarah  A.  Robison,  and  Misses  Rhodes,  Atkinson,  Lawrence, 
and  Connor. 

Several  engagements  had  l^een  made  during  the  voyage  out. 
The  h)cal  paper  of  June  11,  1866,  makes  the  following  an- 
nouncement : 
]\Iarried— On  the   27th   ult.,   by   Rev.    D.    Bagley,   David   II. 

Webster  to  Miss  Sarah  A.  Robison,  of  King  County,  W.  T. 

Even  the  arch-promoter  of  the  immigration  movement  could 
not  escape  Cupid's  entanglements,  as  the  following  notice  will 
Nihow : 

Married— On  the  15th  of  July,  1866,  at  the  IMethodist  Prot- 
estant Church  in  this  city,  by  the  Rev.  Daniel  Bagley,  Mr. 

Asa  Shinn  Mercer  to  Miss  Annie  E.  Stephens,  of  Baltimore, 

Maryland. 

The  Continental  has  often  been  represented  as  having  been 
captured  by  the  Federal  fleet  while  engaged  in  blockade  run- 
ning during  the  Civil  War.  This  is  not  true.  She  was  built 
for  the  United  States  at  Philadelphia  in  1864.  She  was  con- 
structed of  oak  and  hickory.  Her  length  was  285  feet,  beam 
36  feet,  depth  of  hold  17  feet.  When  turned  over  to  Ben  Hol- 
laday  she  was  practically  a  new  ship  and  worth  fully  $250,000. 
By  the  scoundrelly  trick  he  relates  in  his  letter  Mercer  was 
robbed  of  a  fortune.  Captain  Charles  Winsor  commanded  her 
on  the  voyage  out.  He  was  later  succeeded  by  Captains  Dall, 
Bolles,  Thorn,  Metzger  and  others.  William  Law  and  John 
Farrell,  both  widely  known  Pacific  Coast  engineers,  came  out 
on  her. 

The  Continental  ran  up  to  Portland  and  also  to  other  Pacific 
Coast  ports  for  the  ensiung  four  years,  but  September  27,  1870, 
while  crossing  the  Gulf  of  California,  encountered  a  heavy  gale 
and  foundered,  eight  lives  being  lost  with  her.  She  was  com- 
manded by  Captain  Chris  Dale  at  the  time,  and,  whether  .justly 
or  unjustly,  he  was  greatly  blamed  in  connection  with  the 
affair. 

]\Iiss  Harriet  F.  Stevens  kept  a  record  of  the  trip  and  fur- 
nished it  for  publication  soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  party 
here.     The  following  is  briefly  condensed  therefrom : 

"The  steamer  with  its  lessened  quota  of  passengers,  left  New 


20  Clarence  B.  Bagley. 

Yoi-k  .hiniiary  16,  1866,  and  ran  at  once  into  a  severe  storm 
thai  lasted  two  days,"  after  which  she  says : 

"As  \v(^  i-eeovered  our  normal  condition  we  bey,an  to  look 
about  us.  With  i>reat  satisfaction  Ave  found  that  we  had  a 
parly  of  iutelli,iient,  amiable,  sprig-litly  people.  The  unmarried 
ladies  aiv  mostly  from  New  Enoland,  and  can  boast  a  fair 
share  of  beauty,  grace  and  culture,  which  characterize  the  best 
society  of  that  region.  It  is  impossible  that  the  lovely  girls 
who  are  with  us  should  have  left  the  East  because  their  chances 
of  matrimony  Avere  hopeless.  One  must  look  for  some  other 
motive.  One  need  only  observe  their  lively  appreciation  of  all 
that  is  gj-and  and  novel  in  our  experiences  to  feel  assured  that 
the  love  of  adventure,  the  ardor  and  romance  of  youth  are  suf- 
ficient to  account  for  their  share  of  our  Heg'ira.  But  are  all 
the  unmarried  ladies  young  ladies  ?  Certainly  not !  Besides 
the  humble  writer  there  are  several  equally  venerable.  Their 
bright  faces,  wit  and  sound  sense  are,  however,  such  that  they 
cannot  fail  to  be  desirable  members  of  society  in  a  new  coun- 
try." 

Rio  Janeiro  w^as  reached  February  10,  and,  as  several 
days  were  passed  in  that  beautiful  harbor,  all  had  interesting 
visits  to  all  parts  of  the  city  and  its  lovely  suburbs.  Rev.  Mr. 
Simanton,  an  American  missionary  at  Rio,  came  to  the  ship 
on  the  Sabbath  and  held  religious  services.  They  left  that  city 
on  the  18th. 

The  Straits  of  Magellan  were  reached  March  1st,  and  over 
three  weeks  were  spent  in  making  the  passage  through,  as  they 
called  at  Port  Gallant,  Sandy  Point,  and  Lota.  At  the  latter 
place  they  received  their  supply  of  coal,  which  accounted  for 
much  of  the  delay. 

The  Galapagos  Islands  were  reached  April  7,  and  a  brief 
stay  was  had  while  some  minor  repairs  to  the  engines  were 
made. 

April  24th  they  arrived  safely  in  San  Francisco  harbor. 

In  a  letter  to  a  local  paper,  a  few  weeks  after  their  arrival 
in  Seattle,  she  says: 

' '  I  wonder  if  the  good  people  of  Washington  Territory  have 
any  idea  of  the  discouraging  circumstances  under  which  the 


The  Mp:RrER  Immioration.  21 

handful  of  female  iinmiyi-ants  landed  upon  your  shores!  My 
friend  and  myself,  arriving  in  ISan  Franciseo  in  good  health 
and  high  courage,  wei*e  surprised  to  find  persons  eounuissioned 
bj  friends  in  the  East  to  seek  us  immediately  on  the  arrival  of 
the  Continental,  render  us  all  the  services  of  which  we  stood 
in  need,  and,  if  our  spirits  were  so  crushed  that  we  desired  to 
I'eturn.  secure  a  passage  for  us.  We  had  just  tinished  what 
we  considered  the  happiest  three  months  of  our  lives,  and  it 
woidd  be  dit^cult  to  depict  our  state  of  mind,  on  reading  letters 
fi-om  our  friends  bewailing  our  hard  fate  and  beholding  the 
actual  presence  of  their  agents,  whom  we  had  never  seen 
before,  but  who  evidently  believed  that  we  had  been  led  by  mis- 
representation to  take  passage  with  a  party  of  ignorant,  vicious 
people,  from  whose  presence  we  should  tiy  as  from  a  pestilence. 

There  was  no  end  of  testimony  as  to  the  dismal  character 
of  Washington  Territory ;  the  ignorance,  coarseness  and 
immorality  of  its  people,  and  the  impossibility  of  obtaining 
employment.  It  was  added  that  the  wrath  of  Washington  Ter- 
ritory was  such  that  ]\Ir.  Mercer's  life  was  nearly  in  danger; 
that  its  people  utterly  repudiated  the  whole  thing.  One  lady 
said  in  our  presence :  '  Of  course,  no  respectable  woman  came 
on  the  Continental;'  another  assured  us  that  we  should  n(>ver 
be  respected  on  the  Pacific  Coast  because  we  came  in  that  dis- 
reputable ship.  Friends  assured  us  that  Puget  Sound  was  the 
last  place  in  the  world  for  women,  and  offered  us  all  sorts  of 
inducements  to  remain.  Those  who  felt  warranted  by  relation- 
ship positively  vetoed  leaving  California.  But  Washington 
Territory  had  been  the  land  of  our  dreams  for  many  months. 
]\rany  of  us  could  not  l)e  satisfied  until  we  had  seen  it,  and  we 
determined  to  go  on,  although  our  hopes  were  greatly  de- 
pressed by  such  a  mass  of  testinuniy. 

Shade  of  Falstaff"!  ITow  this  world  is  given  to*  lying!  At 
the  first  sight  of  your  beautiful  little  village  my  spirits  began 
to  revive.  The  fine  structure  occupying  so  grand  a  site,  ami 
devoted  to  education  is  not.  I  reflected,  a  bad  commenlary  on 
the  smaller  houses  Ix'low. 

I  now  ])elieve  that  only  the  most  conscientious  determina- 
tion not  to  awaken  hopes  Ihat  would   not  be  I'eali/ed   has  led 


22  Clarence  B.  Bagley. 

I\rr.  IMoreor  to  give  impressions  of  Seattle  far  below  the  truth. 
There  is  niueh  more  of  comfort  and  retinement  than  I  expected. 
But  the  one  thini>'  above  all  others  with  which  I  am  satisfied 
is  the  complete  justification  of  Mr.  Mercer's  expedition,  which 
I  find  in  the  facts  stated  publicly  by  Rev.  Mr.  Bagley.  It  is 
unfortunate  that  times  have  changed  since  the  beginning  of 
the  entei'pi-ise,  but  surely  that  is  no  fault  of  Mr.  Mercer's.  For 
myself,  1  think  the  party  is  obtaining  situations  quite  as  rap- 
idly as  could  be  expected  under  the  most  favorable  state  of 
affairs,  and  I  believe  that  is  the  opinion  which  the  party  gen- 
erally holds.  I  am  happy  to  say,  also,  that  they  have  experi- 
enced the  same  agreeable  surprises  in  regard  to  the  country 
and  the  people  which  I  have  expressed  above." 

December  18,  1865,  Governor  Pickering  received  a  dispatch 
from  ]\Ir.  INIercer  in  New  York,  asking  for  a  loan  of  three 
thousand  dollars,  and  announcing  that  the  party  would  sail 
on  the  22d  of  that  month.  The  Governor  had  no  private  for- 
tune and  was  unable  to  respond  in  any  sum,  but  at  once  called 
on  the  legislature,  then  in  session  at  Olympia,  to  make  an 
appropriation  from  the  territorial  treasury. 

Accordingly  the  ways  and  means  committee  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  presented  "House  Bill  No.  42 — An  act 
appropriating  certain  moneys  to  aid  Mr.  Mercer." 

The  majority  of  the  committee  recommended  the  appropria- 
tion of  four  thousand  dollars  for  the  following  reasons : 

"1.  The  reputation  of  the  territory  is,  in  a  measure,  at 
stake." 

"2.  The  bare  idea  that  five  hundred  ladies  should  be  left 
in  the  City  of  New  York  disappointed  and  unprovided  for, 
when  they  have  come  from  their  homes  in  good  faith,  is  not 
to  be  entertained  for  a  moment  by  any  man  claiming  to  be 
actuated  by  the  feelings  of  humanity." 

The  minority  submitted  an  adverse  report,  and  after  the  bill 
reached  its  third  reading  it  failed  to  pass  by  a  vote  of  eight 
for  and  eighteen  against  it. 

From  San  Francisco,  besides  the  dispatch  sent  to  Govei^nor 
Pickering,  mentioned  by  Mr.  Mercer,  he  also  sent  the  fol- 
lowing : 


The  Mercer  Immigration.  23 

"To  Daniel  Bagley,  Seattle. 

Will  you  and  Horton  authorize  Phillips  to  sign  indemnify- 
ing bond  with  me  for  two  thousand  dollars  ? 

A.  S.  ]\Iercer." 

The  guaranty  asked  for  in  the  telegram  appearing  above 
was  not  sent,  but  instead  a  dispatch  was  sent  to  Mr.  ]\Iercer 
authorizing  him  to  use  funds  that  had  been  entrusted  to  his 
care  by  Mr.  Bagiey  for  another  purpose.  This  did  not  afford 
the  anticipated  relief,  for  those  funds  had  been  used  by  "Sir. 
^Mercer  months  before.  Right  there  was  the  secret  of  ^Ir.  Mer- 
cer's failure  at  that  time  and  at  other  times  in  his  life.  He 
was  ever  prone  to  take  whatever  he  urgently  hoped  for  as  cer- 
tain of  accomplishment.  When  he  had  been  promised  the  ship 
he  took  all  else  for  granted.  Large  sums  of  money  had  been 
put  into  his  hands  by  his  relatives  and  friends  for  certain  pur- 
poses. All  these  he  diverted  into  this  immigration  scheme, 
and  the  failure  of  the  enterprise  made  it  impossible  for  him 
to  pay  l>ack  these  moneys.  He  broke  up  several  of  his  best 
friends  and  financially  crippled  others,  and  was  made  the  sub- 
ject of  ugly  charges  by  many  of  those  whom  he  had  injured. 
That  he  had  used  these  moneys  for  his  personal  benefit  no  one 
claimed,  but  the  fact  that  their  money  had  gone  toward  the 
accomplishment  of  the  immigration  scheme  did  not  reconcile 
to  their  losses  those  who  felt  they  had  been  robbed  by  ]\Ir. 
Mercer. 

'Sir.  ]\Iercer  became  interested  in  the  matter  of  securing  this 
immigration  to  Washington  Territory  because  he  realized  that 
nuich  public  and  private  good  would  follow,  but  he  did  not 
lose  sight  of  the  financial  profit  that  might  also  be  obtained 
from  it,  as  the  following  contract,  with  names  omitted,  will 
show : 

"I,  A.  S.  Mercer,  of  Seattle,  W.  T.,  hereby  agree  to  bring 
a  suitable  wife,  of  good  moral  character  and  reputation,  from 
the  East  to  Seattle,  on  or  before  September,  1865,  for  each  of 
the  parties  whose  signatures  are  hereunto  attached,  they  first 
paying  to  me  or  my  agent,  the  sum  of  three  hundred  dollars. 


24  Clarence  B.  Bagley. 

with  which  to  pay  the  passag:e  of  said  ladies  from  the  East 
and  to  compensate  me  for  my  trouble. 
Seattle,  W.  T.,  March  1,  1865. 

(Signed)  A.  S.  Merger. 

Names  of  second  parties  to  the  above  contract," 

(Names.) 

In  all  the  earlier  stages  of  his  great  work  he  was  not  actuated 
by  mercenary  motives.  He  believed  that  his  mission  was  one 
of  innuense  benefit  to  the  Territory  and  of  great  good  to  those 
whom  he  might  induce  to  come  out  here.  His  every  action, 
his  whole  attitude  toward  those  who  had  entrusted  themselves 
to  his  guidance  and  care  was  that  of  a  chivalrous,  piTre-minded 
American  gentleman. 

The  years  that  have  elapsed  since  then  have  verified  and 
justified  his  predictions  as  to  the  far-reaching  and  beneficial 
etifects  that  were  to  result  to  the  innnigrants  themselves  and 
to  the  new  land  of  their  adoption.  They  have  proved  a  bless- 
ing to  every  community  from  the  Cowlitz  northward  to  the 
boundary  line.  In  public  and  at  the  fireside  their  teachings 
and  their  example  have  conserved  the  well-being  of  the  people 
of  which  they  a7id  their  children  have  formed  an  integral  part. 


THE  E¥0LyTl©P  ©F  SFOMKIE  iMPB 
STEfEWS  C@«K1T1ES, 

By  Thomas  W.  Pkosch. 

Prior  to  1800  tlie  eoniity  of  Walla  Walla  was  of  vast  area, 
approaching  200,000  square  miles.  It  included  all  of 
Eastern  Washington  except  a  little  strip  along  the  Columbia 
River  known  as  Skamania  County,  in  which  were  a  few  people 
dwelling  at  the  Cascades.  Eastern  Washington  then  meant  all 
that  it  does  now,  and,  in  addition,  all  of  Idaho  and  parts  of 
Montana  and  Wyoming,  reaching  to  the  sununits  of  the  Rocky 
I\Iountains.  In  Walla  Walla  County  at  that  time  were  perhaps 
two  hundred  white  people  and  one  hundred  times  as  many,  or 
about  twenty  thousand,  Indians.  The  Indian  wars  of  1847-48 
and  1855-56-57-58  had  driven  from  this  great  and  magnificent 
region  the  few  white  settlers  who  had  there  endeavored  to  make 
their  homes,  and  the  arbitrary  exclusion  orders  of  the  military 
authoi-ities  generally  prevented  their  return.  A  few  daring 
individuals  were  scattered  about  prospecting  for  gold,  trap- 
ping and  hunting,  trading,  and  occupying  the  country  some- 
what from  the  spirit  of  opposition  and  obstinacy — because 
they  were  not  wanted  by  the  Indians  or  the  Federal  soldiery. 
The  policy  of  the  territorial  authorities  was  the  reverse  of  that 
of  General  Wool,  Colonel  Wright,  and  the  War  Department  in 
this  respect.  It  favored  the  opening  of  the  eastern  lands  to 
settlement  and  the  confinement  of  the  Indians  to  reserved  lands 
set  apart  for  their  exclusive  use.  So  Walla  Walla  County 
was  created  at  an  early  day  with  a  view  to  encouraging  the 
location  of  white  men  and  women  within  its  borders.  The  same 
idea  prevailed  later  in  the  creation  of  other  counties  in  the 
immense  district  referred  to.  The  operation  was  sometimes 
a  slow  one,  requiring  repeated  efforts,  as  will  be  seen  in  what 
follows,  concerning  what  are  now  two  of  the  great  counties  of 
the  State  of  Washington. 

By  act  of  the  Washington  legislature,  approved  January 


26  Thomas  W.  Prosch. 

29,  1858,  the  county  of  Spokane  was  leg-ally  created.  The 
boundary  lines  wei-e  the  Snake  River  from  its  mouth  to  the  46th 
parallel;  thence  east  along  that  parallel  to  the  summit  oC  thi» 
Rocky  jMountains;  thence  north  by  the  mountain  tops  to  the 
49th  parallel;  thence  west  by  that  parallel  to  the  middle  of 
the  Columbia  River,  and  finally  south  by  the  river  to  the  place 
of  beiiiiniing— the  mouth  of  the  Snake.  A  glance  at  the  map 
will  show  the  inquirer  that  the  area  inclosed  was  immense, 
exceeding  that  of  quite  a  number  of  the  States  of  the  American 
Union.  Apparently  there  were  a  few  people  in  the  new  county, 
or  at  least  the  legislators  thought  so,  as  Lafayette  Alexander 
was  appointed  auditor;  Patrick  McKenzie,  sheriff;  Robert 
Douglas,  John  Owen  and  William  McCreary,  commissioners. 
There  being  no  town,  the  county  seat  was  located  upon  the 
farm  of  Angus  McLeod.  The  territory  described  was  made  to 
compose  a  county  for  civil  and  military  purposes,  under  the 
general  laws,  rules  and  regulations  governing  other  counties, 
and  entitled  to  elect  the  same  officers  other  counties  were 
entitled  to  elect. 

Nothing  came  of  this  legislation.  In  the  months  required 
for  printing  the  laws,  the  lack  of  postoffices  and  infrequency 
of  mails,  and  the  impossibility,  perhaps,  of  reaching  the  indi- 
viduals named,  may  be  found  the  reason  or  reasons  for  their 
nonassumption  of  the  offices  and  honors  endeavored  to  be 
thrust  upon  them.  Or  it  may  be  that  they  could  see  inconven- 
iences and  expenses  connected  with  holding  office  under  the 
conditions  surrounding  them,  without  compensating  advjni- 
tages,  and  that  their  inaction  was  of  the  nature  of  declension. 
The  following  legislature  took  notice  of  the  failure  of  the  pre- 
vious appointees  to  qualify  and  organize  the  county.  By  law 
of  the  18th  of  January,  1859,  appointees  were  again  provided 
for  as  follows:  Robert  Douglas,  John  McDugald  and  Angus 
McLeod,  commissioners;  Thomas  Brown,  sheriff;  Patrick 
McKen/Je,  auditor;  Thomas  Sternsger,  probate  judge,  and 
Solomon  Pelkey,  justice  of  the  peace.  As  several  new 
names  appear  among  the  appointees,  it  may  be  inferred  that 
they  were  either  newcomers  to  the  county  or  that  the  legis- 
lators did  not  the  year  before  know  them.     It  is  a  fact  that 


Spokane  and  Stevens  Counties.  27 

difficulty  was  experienced  more  than  once  in  finding  a 
sufficient  number  of  suitable  men  to  fill  the  offices  in  the 
newly  created  counties  of  Washington  Territory.  This  was 
plainly  the  case  in  Spokane  both  in  1858  and  1859,  as  pro- 
vision was  not  made  in  either  year  for  treasurer,  coroner, 
assessor,  constable,  and  other  officers.  The  new  officials  were 
authorized  to  hold  their  offices  until  the  next  regular  annual 
election,  oi-  until  their  successors  were  elected  and  qualified. 
No  election  was  held  in  Spokane  County  owing  to  the  failure 
of  the  newly  appointed  officials  to  qualify,  organize  and  set 
in  motion  the  county  machinery.  There  is  reason  to  believe 
that  the  few  white  people  then  in  that  vast  region,  dwelling 
chiefiy  in  Bitter  Root  Valley,  now  in  Montana,  did  not  give 
unqualified  approval  to  the  legislative  creation.  By  petition, 
signed  in  November  and  December  of  1859,  they  plainly  indi- 
cated their  disapproval  of  inclusion  within  the  counl!y  of  Spo- 
kane. They  then  asked  for  the  creation  of  Bitter  Root  County, 
extending  five  hundred  miles  along  the  western  slope  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  from  the  41st  parallel  to  the  49th.  As  the 
petitioners  were  chiefiy  Hudson  Bay  Company  men,  French 
Canadians  and  half-breeds,  not  at  that  time  in  good  repute  in 
Washington  Territory,  their  request  was  coldly  received  by 
the  legislature,  and  went  unheeded  and  ungranted. 

The  teri'itorial  legislature,  which  then  met  every  year,  was 
determined  not  to  be  balked  and  defeated  in  this  matter.  In 
January,  1860,  it  again  took  notice  of  the  nonaction  of  its 
appointees.  In  an  act  approved  on  the  17th  of  that  month  the 
county  of  Spokane  was  second  time  legally  created.  The  boun- 
daries and  limits  were  as  before,  to-wit :  The  49th  parallel  on 
the  north,  the  Snake  River  and  the  46th  parallel  on  the  south, 
the  Rocky  Mountains  on  the  east,  and  the  Columbia  River  on 
the  west.  This  time  the  seat  of  government  was  fixed  upon 
the  land  claim  of  Dr.  Bates.     James  Hayes,  Faques  Dumas, 

and Leaman  were  named  as  commissioners;    John 

Winn,   sheriff;   R.   K.   Rogers,  treasurer; Douglas, 

auditor ;  F.  Wolf,  coroner,  and  J.  R.  Bates,  justice  of  the  peace. 
A  partial  organization  of  the  county  was  efifected  this  time,  the 
commissioners  holding  their  first  meeting  on  the  9th  of  May, 


28  THO^fAS  W.  Prosch. 

l(SfiO,  wlien  they  estalilished  election  precincts.  July  18th 
they  ordered  the  first  warrant  drawn,  for  $24.50.  August  Sth 
they  fixed  tlie  li(iu()r  license  at  $200  per  annum,  and  billiard 
table  licenses  at  $80.  The  of^cials  reported  in  1861  225  white 
people  in  the  county,  of  whom  only  one  was  of  the  female  sex. 
The  laruer  number  of  men  at  this  time  is  to  be  accounted  for 
by  the  fact  that  jiold  had  been  discovered  in  that  region  and 
a  great  num])ei-  of  miners  and  others  were  then  rushing  there 
from  all  parts  of  the  Pacific  Coast.  The  officials  also  reported 
assessable  property  to  the  amount  of  $142,174,  consisting  of 
horses,  cattle,  farms  and  mills,  upon  which  the  Territory, 
^\•hich  was  then  conducted  upon  a  very  economical  basis,  levied 
a  tax  of  one  null  on  the  dollar,  the  charge  being  $142.17.  Small 
as  it  was,  the  amount  was  not  paid  promptly,  the  first  report 
of  money  received  by  the  territorial  treasurer  from  Spokane 
County  l^ing  that  of  July  11,  1863,  when  $219.03  came  to 
hand :  no  more  money  being  received,  by  the  way,  until  seven- 
teen years  later. 

Notwithstanding  the  remissness  of  the  county  officials,  the 
legislature  proceeded  upon  the  theory  that  things  were  moving 
on  and  that  there  was  a  county  there  with  increasing  popula- 
tion and  political  demands.  Several  new  counties  about  this 
time  were  cut  oft'  from  Walla  Walla  and  Spokane  on  the  east, 
named  Idaho,  Nez  Perce,  Shoshone,  Boise  and  Missoula,  and 
these  new  counties  were  later  included  in  the  territory  of 
Idaho  as  organized  in  1863.  Meanwhile  the  Washington  legis- 
h.ture,  January  27,  1860,  gave  to  the  Walla  Walla  district 
court  exclusive  jurisdiction  in  Spokane  County.  This  arrange- 
ment continued  two  years  when  the  legislature  (January  3, 
1862)  established  the  district  of  Spokane  County,  with  juris- 
diction in  Spokane  and  IMissoula  counties,  and  court  terms 
to  be  held  at  the  seat  of  Spokane  County.  January  2,  1862, 
the  office  of  assessor  of  Spokane  County  was  abolished  and 
the  duties  formerly  devolving  upon  that  official  were  placed 
upon  the  sheriff.  January  19,  1863,  the  treasurer  was  author- 
ized by  law  to  loan  the  school  funds  in  advantageous  manner. 
Why  this  was  done  does  not  become  apparent  from  the  record, 
but  it  was  i)rol)ably  l>ecause  there  being  no  children  there  were 


Spokane  and  Stevens  Counties.  "Ad 

no  schools  and  no  bettor  way  of  using  the  money.  Another 
court  jurisdiction  act  was  passed  in  January,  1863. 

In  conjunction  with  other  counties  Spokane  was  represented 
in  the  legislatures  of  1861-62-63-64:  by  John  A.  Simms,  J.  R. 
Bates,  B.  F.  Yantis,  Daniel  Stewart,  and  Isaac  L.  Tobey. 
Tobey  seemed  to  have  a  grievance  against  his  Spokane  con- 
stituency, for  on  the  13th  of  January,  186-4,  he  introduced  in 
the  house,  bill  No.  59,  which  he  pushed  with  so  much  vig^tr 
that  in  less  than  a  week  it  had  passed  both  houses  and  was  the 
law  of  the  land.  This  bill  declared  "that  the  County  of  Spo- 
kane is  hereby  annexed  to  Stevens,  and  the  two  counties  here- 
after shall  compose  but  one  county  to  be  known  as  the  county 
of  Stevens."  Thus  ended  for  the  second  time  the  county  of 
Spokane,  the  existence  of  which  was  uncertain,  changeful  and 
troublous  from  its  beginning,  or  attempted  beginning,  six  years 
before.  By  the  new  law  Colville  was  made  the  county  seat 
until  otherwise  ordered  by  the  people  of  the  county.  The 
officers  of  Spokane  County  were  continued  as  the  officers  of 
Stevens  County,  and  the  legislative  representation  of  both 
counties  was  given  to  the  one  county  of  Stevens. 

By  act  of  January  20,  1863,  Stevens  County  was  created. 
It  was  cut  off  from  Walla  Walla  and  included  all  that  portion 
between  the  Wenatchee  River  on  the  south,  the  49th  parallel 
on  the  north,  the  Columbia  River  on  the  east,  and  the  Cascade 
Mountains  on  the  west.  It  w^as  named  in  honor  of  Isaac  Ingails 
Stevens,  the  first  Governor  of  Washington  Territory,  1853  to 
1857,  and  delegate  to  congress  from  1857  to  1861.  Stevens 
entered  the  Union  army  at  the  outbreak  of  the  rebellion,  and 
was  successively  colonel,  brigadier  general  and  major  general. 
On  the  first  of  September,  1862,  he  was  killed  in  battle  at 
Chantilly,  Virginia.  The  honor  paid  to  his  memory  on  this 
occasion  by  the  legislature  was  a  deserved  one  which  met  the 
hearty  approval  of  all  citizens.  W.  B.  Yantis  was  made  sheriff 
of  the  new  county;  Charles  H.   Campbell,  auditor;  Richard 

Longfield, Doyle,  and Hill,  commissioners. 

The  seat  was  located  temporarily  at  the  store  of  H.  Young. 
For  judicial  purposes  Stevens  County  was  attached  to  Spo- 
kane.   It  may  be  said  that  though  Stevens  has  been  continued 


30  Thomas  W.  Prosch. 

with  numerous  chant-es  from  that  time  to  this,  it  now  includes 
almost  nothing  of  its  original  area,  it  being  at  this  time  all 
on  the  east  side  of  the  Columbia  River  except  a  small  tract  in 
the  north.  B.  F.  Yantis  introduced  in  the  house  the  bill  cre- 
ating Stevens  County.  Stevens  made  its  first  contribution 
to  the  territorial  maintenance  fund,  $138,  in  the  summer  of 
1864. 

The  legislature  in  January,  1865,  legally  defined  the  south- 
ern boundary  of  Stevens  County  as  connnencing  at  the  eastern 
boundary  line  of  the  Territory  of  Washington,  where  it  is  inter- 
sected by  Snake  River ;  thence  down  the  river  to  the  Columbia ; 
thence  up  the  Columbia  to  the  north  line  of  Yakima  County; 
ami  thence  west  to  the  sunnnit  of  the  Cascade  Mountains.  At 
the  same  session  the  sheriff  was  authorized  to  collect  Chinese 
poll  tax  out  of  his  county,  pursuing  any  person  who  should 
attempt  to  evade  the  same.  This  Chinese  poll  tax  was  a  source 
of  considerable  trouble  and  some  income  to  the  people  of  the 
eastern  counties  in  those  days.  In  November,  1863,  the  com- 
missioners of  Spokane  County  instructed  the  auditor  to  write 
to  Dr.  Isaac  L.  Tobey,  the  representative,  to  get  a  bill  passed 
by  the  legislature  to  tax  Chinamen.  They  suggested  .$1.50  per 
month  as  a  proper  charge,  collectible  quarterly  by  the  sheriff. 
They  also  urged  Dr.  Tobey  to  have  Stevens  County  attached 
or  annexed  to  Spokane,  alleging  that  the  citizens  had  failed  to 
organize  their  county  as  contemplated  by  law.  The  Columbia 
River  was  a  serious  obstacle  to  the  collection  of  the  poll  tax,  as 
the  Chinese  were  chiefly  placer  gold  miners  and  they  only  had 
to  cross  the  river  to  get  from  the  clutches  of  the  officers  on 
either  side.  The  counties  were  consolidated  as  suggested,  ex- 
cept that  Spokane  was  merged  into  Stevens  instead  of  Stevens 
into  Spokane.  By  this  union,  and  by  the  further  law  permit- 
ting the  sheriff  to  chase  and  capture  the  fleeing  Chinese  in 
adjacent  counties,  it  was  hoped  to  either  drive  the  Mongolians 
out  of  the  country  or  get  from  them  substantial  revenue. 
In  1865,  also,  the  judge  of  the  Fii'st  Judicial  District  was 
directed  once  a  year  to  hold  a  term  of  court  at  the  seat  of  Stev- 
ens County. 

In  1865-66  Anderson  Cox  represented  Walla  Walla,  Stevens 


Spokane  and  Stevens  Counties.  3] 

and  Yakima  in  the  council ;  in  1866-67  B.  L.  Sharpstein  repre- 
sented Walla  Walla  and  Stevens  in  the  eomieil,  and  J.  J.  H. 
Van  Bokkelen  represented  Stevens  in  the  house;  in  1867-68 
Stevens  and  Walla  Walla  were  represented  in  the  council  by 
J.  M.  Vansickle,  and  in  the  house  Stevens  by  W.  P.  Winans; 
in  1869  C.  H.  IMontgomery  represented  Stevens  in  the  house, 
and  J.  M.  Vansickle,  Stevens  and  Walla  Walla  in  the  council ; 
in  1871  H.  D.  0  "Bryant  represented  Walla  Walla  and  Stevens 
in  the  council,  and  W.  P.  Winans  in  the  house.  Stevens  being 
in  population  the  lesser  county  the  joint  councilman  was 
always  from  the  other  part  of  the  district.  In  the  election 
of  legislators  the  people  there  had  some  singular  experiences. 
In  1860  they  chose  Hon.  W.  II.  Watson  to  represent  them  in  the 
house.  That  part  of  the  Territory  was  not  entitled  to  a  mem- 
ber according  to  law.  On  presentation  of  his  claim  at  the  capi- 
tol  he  w^as  refused  a  vote,  but  as  partial  compensation  was 
made  doorkeeper.  Watson  seems  to  have  been  a  butt  of  ridi- 
cule among  the  members.  One  conniiittee  suggested  that  His 
Excellency,  the  Governor,  appoint  Judge  Watson  inspector 
of  customs  at  Colville.  with  the  rank  and  pay  of  Indian  agent, 
and  another  connnittee  recommended  to  the  legislature  the 
creation  of  a  new  State  east  of  the  Cascade  ]\Iountains,  with 
Judge  Watson  as  chief  magistrate.  In  1862  Charles  H.  Camp- 
bell was  elected  over  B.  F.  Yantis  by  a  vote  of  48  to  38.  Yantis 
went  to  Olympia  to  contest  the  propriety  of  his  opponent's 
election.  The  latter  was  either  frightened  out  of  the  field  or 
concluded  that  it  was  not  worth  while,  and  made  no  appear- 
ance, Yantis  being  admitted  with  slight  question  and  sei'ving 
out  the  full  term.  In  1864  Isaac  L.  Tobey  was  re-elected  to 
the  House  of  Representatives.  The  pay  of  members  then 
was  $3  per  day  in  currency,  worth  40  cents  on  the  dollar.  As 
he  could  not  get  to  Olympia  on  the  mileage  allowance  and  could 
not  live  there  on  the  pay,  Tobey  resigned.  The  next  year  W. 
V.  Brown  was  chosen  to  represent  Stevens  in  the  house,  but  he, 
too,  refused  the  honor,  and  the  county  again  was  without  a 
champion  in  that  body.  In  1866-67  there  were  no  returns  at 
the  capital,  but  J.  J.  H.  Van  Bokkelen  told  the  members  that 
he  had  been  elected.    Thev  took  his  word  for  it.  and  he  served 


32  Thomas  W.  Prosch. 

as  from  Stevens  County.  It  probably  made  a  difference  with 
the  applicant  for  legislative  honors  in  such  eases  what  political 
party  was  in  power. 

Stevens  County  was  not  of  great  moneyed  assistance  to  the 
'ferritory  in  the  times  under  review.  A  number  of  years  it 
paid  nothing  into  the  treasury,  and  again  only  turned  court 
cost  bills  in  as  an  offset  to  the  regular  Territorial  tax.  In  the 
70 's,  however,  it  became  an  annual  source  of  support. 

By  statute  approved  November  5,  1875,  the  seat  of  Stevens 
County  was  located  temporarily  in  the  town  of  Spokane  Falls, 
on  the  south  side  of  Spokane  River,  and  until  the  qualified 
electors  of  Stevens  County  should  decide  for  themselves  upon  a 
place  for  the  permanent  location  of  the  county  seat,  the  place 
having  the  majority  of  votes  cast  at  the  next  general  election 
to  be  declared  the  permanent  seat  of  Stevens  County.  The  law 
directed  the  commissioners  to  have  all  the  county  records  re- 
moved to  and  properly  housed  in  Spokane  Falls  on  or  before 
May  1,  1876.  In  this  case  the  created  proved  greater  than  the 
creator.  The  county  connnissioners  declared  the  legislative 
act  non-operative,  and  books,  papers  and  officials  remained  at 
Colville  instead  of  going  to  the  then  new  village  of  Spokane 
Falls,  now  the  great  and  grand  city  of  Spokane. 

On  the  30th  of  October,  1879,  the  Governor  approved  a  legis- 
lative act  that  for  the  third  time  created  the  county  of  Spo- 
kane. Probably  no  other  county  in  the  United  States  has  had 
so  many  legal  creations.  The  county  as  created  on  this  third 
effort  included  all  the  country  now  embraced  within  the  limits 
of  Douglas,  Lincoln,  and  Spokane  counties,  and  more  particu- 
larly described  as  follows :  ' '  Commencing  at  a  point  where  the 
section  line  between  sections  21  and  28  in  township  14  north, 
range  27  east,  strikes  the  main  body  of  the  Columbia  River  on 
the  west  side  of  the  island ;  thence  west  to  the  mid-channel  of 
the  Columbia  River;  thence  up  the  mid-channel  of  the  Colum- 
bia River  to  the  Spokane  River ;  thence  up  the  mid-channel  of 
the  Spokane  River  to  the  Little  Spokane  River;  thence  north 
to  the  township  line  between  townships  29  and  30 ;  thence  east 
to  the  boundary  line  between  Washington  and  Idaho  Terri- 
tories ;  thence  south  on  said  boundary  line  to  the  5th  standard 


Spokane  and  Stevens  Counties.  33 

parallel ;  thence  west  on  said  parallel  to  the  Columbia  Guide 
Meridian ;  thence  south  on  said  meridian  to  the  4th  standard 
parallel ;  thence  west  on  the  4th  standard  parallel  to  the  range 
line  between  ranges  27  and  28 ;  thence  south  on  said  range  line 
to  the  section  line  between  sections  24  and  25  in  township  14 
north,  range  27  east;  thence  west  to  the  place  of  beginning." 
W.  C.  Gray,  John  H.  Wells,  and  Andrew  Lafevre  were  ap- 
pointed commissioners  with  directions  to  provide  for  a  special 
election  for  county  officers  to  be  held  on  the  second  Monday 
in  December.  The  seat  was  located  at  Spokane  Falls,  ])ut  the 
people  were  given  authority  to  change  the  location  by  majority 
vote  at  the  next  general  election.  Provision  was  made  for 
revenue  for  the  new  county,  and  for  a  continuation  until 
otherwise  provided  of  all  acts  of  a  local  nature  then  in  force 
in  the  county  of  Stevens.  The  town  of  Chene}^  was  for  a  few 
years  the  seat  of  Spokane  County. 

These  two  counties  of  Spokane  and  Stevens,  and  for  sixteen 
years  the  one  county  of  Stevens,  1864  to  1880,  have  been  carved 
by  the  legislature  into,  at  this  writing,  ten  counties,  namely: 
Chelan,  Okanogan,  Ferry,  Stevens,  Spokane,  Lincoln,  Douglas, 
Adams,  Franklin,  and  Whitman.  Their  combined  area  is  28,- 
548  square  miles.  Their  population  in  1900  was  125,848.  Other 
counties  will  be  formed  hereafter  from  the  ten,  and  the 
inhabitants  will  increase  indelinitely  in  number  as  time 
rolls  on.  As  the  reduced  Spokane  is  today  it  is  of  1,777  square 
miles,  and  the  reduced  Stevens  3,945  square  miles.  Their  com- 
bined population,  as  both  counties  are  increasing  in  this  way 
very  rapidly,  is  probably  not  far  from  100,000.  The  state- 
ments immediately  foregoing  relate  only  to  that  portion  of  the 
two  counties  within  the  present  limits  of  the  State  of  Washing- 
ton. Spokane  County,  as  created  in  1858,  extended  east  to 
the  summits  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  included  an  area 
now  in  Idaho  and  IMontana  greater  than  that  in  Washington, 
and  which,  also,  is  cut  up  into  a  number  of  counties  and  occu- 
pied by  many  thousands  of  citizens. 


'' lECOLLECTlOP J  OF  m 

(  Not  yet  published.) 

'J'lie  clitl'erenees  observable  in  the  various  tribes  and  raees  of 
loankind  are  not,  as  many  suppose,  radical  variations,  that  is, 
so'.uethii'ii'  of  a  different  kind,  but  merely  degrees  of  the  same 
kind.  The  nes;ro  in  his  native  state,  hugging  his  fetish  as  a 
preventive  of  disease  or  other  misfortune,  the  idolaters  bow- 
ing down  to  blocks  of  wood  or  stone  to  appease  the  wrath  of 
their  gods,  as  they  read  it  in  the  earthquake,  tornado,  pestil- 
ence or  famine,  seem  to  strike  us  at  first  as  indicative  of  an- 
other kind  of  creature,  but  upon  more  mature  reflection  we  see 
in  all  such  a  different,  though  a  ruder  manifestation  of  the 
same  human  faculties,  veneration  and  fear  as  modified  by  in- 
telligence, or  rather  by  ignorance. 

Perhaps  the  educated  Christian  wearing  his  crucifix  sus- 
pended by  a  golden  necklace  would  protest  against  being 
linked  with  the  savage,  whose  desire  for  immunity  from  dis- 
ease or  other  calamity  causes  him  to  wear  a  charm ;  and  as  re- 
spects the  beautiful  work  of  art  worn  by  the  former  and  the 
bag  of  stink  worn  by  the  latter,  I  would  think  the  protest  well 
taken,  but  the  actuating  and  basic  sentiment  finding  expres- 
sion in  one  by  enlightened  and  in  the  other  by  barbaric  means 
is  evidently  the  same  quality  of  human  nature.  The  Indians 
of  the  West  Coast  were  given  to  amulets  or  charms,  and  gen- 
erally kept  them  secreted.  They  believed,  too,  in  a  multiplicity 
of  spirits  distributed  among  the  objects  of  nature,  such  as  the 
spirits  of  the  mountain,  the  stream,  and  smaller  things.  That 
is,  the  mountain  had  a  "ta-man-a-was;"  that  was  the  name 
given  by  many.  They  also  believed  in  a  Great  Spirit,  but 
whether  that  idea  was  obtained  from  the  missionaries,  I  cannot 
tell.     When  I  arrived  in  Oregon  in  1851,  the  Indians  everv- 


Recollections  of  an  Indian  Agent.  35 

where  I  met  them  talked  about  the  Soldi  Tyee,  or  God,  though 
they  still  spoke  of  the  spirit  of  things. 

In  either  ease  he  is  not  so  far  removed  from  civilized  man 
and  his  religious  habits  as  some  suppose,  and  if  logical  per- 
ception is  not  sufficient  proof  of  this,  the  conversion  of  the 
savage  to  Christianity  and  the  adoption  l)y  him  of  the  Chris- 
tian symbols  with  entire  satisfaction  of  his  inherited  traits 
ought  to  be  conclusive.  Through  such  manifestations  it  is 
not  hard  to  discover  that  the  Indian  is  a  religious  being  and 
given  to  worship.  He  and  his  white  brother  are  alike  in  seeing 
God  in  the  clouds  and  hearing  him  in  the  wind ;  the  only  differ- 
ence is,  the  red  man's  "soul  was  never  taught  to  stray  far 
as  the  solar  walk  or  milky  way."  In  some  respects,  however, 
I  have  been  inclined  to  think  him  equally  esthetic  and  more  in 
practical  conformity  with  Christian  teaching  than  his  more 
progressed  white  brother. 

In  the  eastern  part  of  Marion  County,  Oregon,  there  stands 
an  isolated  and  most  strikingly  regular  and  beautiful  butte 
some  three  hundred  feet  in  height  and  covering  nearly  a  sec- 
tion of  land.  It  was  fringed  about  its  base,  at  the  time  of 
which  I  write,  with  fir  groves,  but  its  sides  and  well-rounded 
and  spacious  top  were  devoid  of  timber,  except  a  few  old  and 
spreading  oaks,  and  perhaps  a  half  dozen  gigantic  firs,  whose 
weighty  limbs  were  drooping  with  age.  A  meridian  section 
Hue  passes  over  the  middle  of  this  butte,  and  four  sections 
corner  near  its  top.  While  running  this  line  and  establishing 
these  corners  in  1851,  I  observed  many  semi-circular  walls  of 
stone,  each  enclosing  space  enough  for  a  comfortable  seat,  and 
as  high  as  one's  shoulders  when  in  a  sitting  posture,  upc^n 
cross-sticks  as  high  as  the  knee.  And  what  was  the  purpose 
of  these  stone  chairs?  I  was  determined  to  know,  and  the 
older  white  residents  said  the  Indians  made  them,  but  for 
what  purpose  they  could  not  say.  I  became  a  witness  to  the 
use,  and  was  particularly  impressed  with  the  fitness  for  what 
I  saw.  Indians  from  the  North  and  South  traveling  that  way 
generally  camped  upon  the  banks  of  the  Abiqua  Creek,  a  rapid 
stream  of  pure,  cold  water,  just  issued  from  the  mountains 
upon  the  plain.     The  butte  was  near,  and  this  they  ascended 


36  T.  W.  Davkkpokt. 

and,  taking  seats  within  the  stone  sanctuaries,  communed  in 
silence  with  the  Great  Spirit.  Bowing  the  head  upon  the 
hands  and  resting  them  upon  the  knees  for  a  few  moments, 
then  sitting  erect  and  gazing  to  the  West  over  the  enchanting 
valley  interspersed  with  meadow,  grove  and  stream,  who  can 
tell  but  they  felt  as  sacred  and  elevated  religious  emotion  as 
those  who  have  succeeded  them  on  the  butte  ?  The  Catholics 
have  purchased  it  and  erected  upon 'its  summit  an  awe-inspir- 
ing cathedral,  and  there  upon  Mount  Angel,  as  they  have 
named  it,  the  prayers  of  the  religious  ascend.  The  Indians' 
name  for  this  grand  mount,  dedicated  by  them  to  the  service 
of  their  God,  was  Tap-a-lam-a-ho,  signifying  in  our  language 
]Mount  of  Communion ;  the  plain  to  the  West  Chek-ta,  signify- 
ing beautiful  or  enchanting. 

Now,  looking  at  and  comparing  the  two  modes  of  worship, 
could  any  unprejudiced  person  fail  to  give  the  preference  to 
the  so-called  savage — that  is,  if  we  are  to  regaxd  Christ's  pre- 
cepts as  worthy  of  note  f  He  did  not  climb  to  the  top  of  Tap- 
a-lam-a-ho  to  show  off  his  good  clothes,  to  be  heard  of  men,  to 
proselyte,  or  to  increase  his  worldly  gear.  What  was  his  pur- 
pose? Evidently  religious  worship.  What  was  the  burden  of 
his  supplication?  As  to  that  we  can  only  infer  that,  like 
other  human  beings,  he  prayed  for  what  he  wanted.  He  was 
not,  however,  in  want  of  food,  for  the  Abiqua  was  swarming 
with  trout;  the  valley  was  blue  with  the  bloom  of  his  edible 
root,  the  sweet  camas;  from  every  grove  came  the  love  notes 
of  the  grouse,  and  the  mountains  near  at  hand  were  populous 
with  bigger  game.  He  did  not  want  clothing,  for  the  fur  that 
warmed  the  bear  warmed  him.  In  all  that  great  valley  of 
the  Willamette  he  had  not  an  enemy  from  whom  he  sought 
deliverance,  and  being  no  politician  and  not  aspiring  to  place, 
I  have  been  at  my  wits'  end  in  trying  to  fix  upon  a  rational 
subject  of  his  prayer,  except  it  be  that  unrest  of  spirit  which 
seeks  escape  from  the  bonds  of  clay  and  longs  to  rest  in  sub- 
limer  spheres,  a  characteristic  of  all  the  tribes  of  men.  If  not 
so,  why  should  he  ascend  to  the  mountain  top  to  pray  ?  Why 
not  pray  on  low  ground  ?  I  put  this  latter  question  to  the  un- 
ostentatious worshippers;  and  although  they  were  untaught 


Recollections  of  an   Jndlvn  Aoent.  87 

in  history,  had  never  heard  of  Closes'  interviews  with  Jehovah 
ui)()n  jMonnt  Sinai,  or  of  the  earthly  rende/vons  of  the  Gre- 
cian (iods  and  Goddesses  upon  Blount  Olympus,  their  answer 
pi-oved  that  they  are  at  one  with  the  whole  human  race,  viz: 
"Soh-li  Tyee  nut-lite  wake  si  ah  copa  sohli  illahee,"  which, 
ti-anslated  into  our  lauiiuaiie,  means  that  (lod  is  near  to  tlu^ 
mountain  top,  or  God  is  near  hy  in  the  mountains. 


i^iTECEKI^lNlTS  or  TiHE  OiEQOKl  FIO- 

PEERS  mu  THE  imnr  thhese 
rnmw  sp  theim  noiifES. 

By  John  Minto. 

CHAPTER  I. 

THE  MOTIVE  OF  THE  PIONEER  HOME-BUILDERS  IN  OREGON. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  this  paper  to  endeavor  to  give  the  pre- 
vailing sentiment  of  the  heads  of  families  who  crossed  the 
plains  and  mountains  and  made  their  homes  in  Oregon  prior 
to  the  settlement  of  the  Oregon  boundary  question  in  June, 
1846,  on  the  subject  of  which  nationality — that  of  the  United 
States  or  that  of  Great  Britain — they  intended  to  support  by 
their  movement  to  and  settlement  here. 

As  a  means  of  indicating  my  point  of  view,  I  will  say  that 
I  left  England  as  a  member  of  my  father's  family  with  a 
strong  bias  towards  the  United  States  form  of  government,  so 
far  as  it  differed  from  that  of  England  in  recognition  of  per- 
sonal freedom  and  the  individual  right  to  have  a  voice  or  vote 
in  framing  the  laws  to  Avhich  one  should  submit.  I  was  only 
in  my  eighteenth  year,  but  I  had  heard  much  discussion  on  the 
subject,  and  under  the  influence  of  my  father's  teaching  had 
been  led  to  believe  that  under  the  United  States  Government 
that  personal  freedom  and  the  voting  privilege  could  be  at- 
tained as  conceded  rights. 

On  the  passage  from  Liverpool  to  New  York  I  had  oppor- 
tunity to  read  "The  Pioneers,"  by  Cooper,  and  the  picture  of 
life  on  the  frontiers  there  given  was  a  fascination  to  me,  as, 
very  soon  after  landing,  the  name  of  Oregon  became.  Before 
the  end  of  my  first  year  in  America,  I  had  resolved,  if  ever 
opportunity  served,  I  would  go  to  Oregon.  Before  the  end 
of  the  second  year  I  had  answered  the  question  of  an  American 
much  more  intelligent  than  myself  as  to  "which  side  I  would 
take  in  case  I  went  to  Oregon  and  war  arose  between  the 


Motives  and  Antkcedents  of  Pioneers.  39 

Britain  and  United  States  governments  for  dominion  over 
the  country. "  With  rising  indignation  at  the  doubt  implied, 
I  replied:  "The  United  States,  of  course!"  and  was  let  down 
with  the  exclamation:  "That's  loyal,  my  friend."  Between 
this  occurrence  in  1842  and  November,  1843,  I  had  more  in- 
formation as  to  life  on  the  Western  frontiers.  I  declared  my 
intentions  of  citizenship  in  Washington  County,  Pennsylvania, 
in  that  month,  and,  in  February,  1844,  started  from  Pittsburg, 
Pennsylvania,  to  reach  the  frontiers  of  Iowa  by  the  river  sys- 
tem of  the  ]\Iississippi,  and  at  St.  Louis  fell  into  the  human 
tide  setting  towards  Oregon.  Every  other  plan  of  life  was 
forgotten. 

Before  noon  of  the  day  succeeding  that  on  which  I  learned 
there  was  a  chance  for  me,  by  my  labor,  to  get  to  Oregon,  I 
had  as  complete  an  outfit  for  the  trip  as  my  means  could  pro- 
vide. AVith  least  possible  delay  I  made  my  way  to  the  ren- 
dezvous of  Gilliam's  Company,  about  twelve  miles  west  of  the 
present  city  of  St.  Joseph.  Here  I  first  met  the  leaders  of 
this  movement,  and  next  morning  I  was  under  verbal  en- 
gagement to  give  my  labor  in  exchange  for  bed  and  board 
from  the  Missouri  River  to  Oregon.  I  had  a  fair  outfit  of 
clothing,  arms  and  ammunition  for  the  trip.  During  the  first 
hour  I  was  at  the  camp,  I  learned  of  a  proposed  donation  of 
land  to  encourage  emigration  to  Oregon.  It  had  little  interest 
for  me.     I  was  too  young  to  properly  value  it. 

Two  of  us,  who  had  come  from  St.  Louis  on  the  same  boat, 
and  as  comrades  by  land  part  way,  M^ere  being  entertained 
by  Colonel  M.  T.  Simmons,  when,  in  conversation  with  the 
late  W.  H.  Rees,  the  land  question  came  up,  and  Colonel  Sim- 
mons said:  "Well,  the  Donation  Bill  pas'-ed  the  Senate,  but 
failed  to  reach  a  vote  in  the  House,  but  I  believe  that,  or  a 
law  like  it,  will  pass,  and  I  am  going  to  Oregon  anyhow. ' ' 

Simmons  and  Rees  were  the  first  two  of  Gilliam's  Company 
who  attained  legislative  honors  after  arrival  in  Oregon,  ami 
from  Simmons,  Rees  and  I  got  information  which  led  to  oui- 
engagement  to  help  R.  W.  Morrison,  a  highly  esteemed  settlei- 
near  by.  to  get  his  family  and  effects  to  Oregon.  Simmoir>  w- 
ceiv(M]  his  title,  as  did  (iilliaiii,  hv  the  election  which  foniicd 


40  John  Minto. 

their  followers  into  a  rude  military  and  civic  organization  for 
our  trip;  and  Morrison  was  the  first  Captain  of  four  elected, 
Rees  was  the  First  Sergeant  with  the  duties  of  Adjutant,  and 
I  was  elected  as  Corporal.  Honors  were  easy,  but  the  proceed- 
ings were  conducted  in  serious  earnest. 

The  family  men  of  the  body  were  almost  all  frontier  settlers 
in  ]\Iissouri,  sons  and  grandsons  of  frontier  settlers  of  Ken- 
tucky and  Tennessee,  tracing  back  to  Virginia  and  North  Caro- 
lina. From  Captain  Morrison  I  learned  that  most  of  them 
(himself  included)  had  been  influenced  in  their  determination 
tvj  go  to  Oregon  by  a  series  of  addresses  delivered  at  various 
points  in  1842  in  Missouri,  then  known  as  "Platte  Purchase 
by  Pete  Burnett,"  as  they  called  him.  Personally,  Morrison's 
reasons  for  the  trip,  given  to  his  family  relatives  and  friends, 
in  my  hearing  the  day  before  leaving  his  Missouri  domicile, 
and  which  I  fully  endorsed,  were :  First,  he  believed  that 
Oregon  of  right  belonged  to  the  United  States,  and  he  was 
going  to  help  make  that  right  good.  Second,  he  supposed 
there  were  many  of  the  native  race  in  Oregon  who  needed 
instruction  to  a  better  condition  of  life  than  was  then  theirs; 
and,  though  no  missionary,  he  had  no  objection  to  help  in  that 
work.  Third,  he  was  unsatisfied  to  live  longer  so  far  from 
the  markets,  that  there  were  few  products  he  could  raise  whose 
value  in  the  world's  markets  would  pay  cost  of  production 
and  shipment — especially  when  the  producer,  who  would 
neither  own  nor  be  a  slave,  had  to  compete  with  breeders  and 
owners  of  slaves.  For  these  reasons  he  was  "going  to  Oregon 
where  there  would  be  no  slaves,  and  all  would  start  in  life 
even. ' '  In  this  declaration  Mr.  Morrison  was  a  representative 
of  the  class  of  anti-slavery  frontiersmen  who  came  in  1843 
and  1844  and  took  dominion  over  Oregon  as  American  citizens 
from  the  British  occupancy  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  who 
had  held  trade  dominion  over  the  country  for  twenty-five 
years.  I  was  not  only  glad  but  proud  to  be  an  assistant  to 
this  family  I  had  joined.  My  declared  intent  of  citizenship 
was  carried  inside  my  vest  as  my  most  precious  possession. 

Most  of  the  families  marshaling  under  Gilliam  as  a  leader 
were  animated  by  sentiments  so  closely  akin  to  those  annunci- 


Motives  and  Antecedp:nts  of  Pioneers.  41 

ill  I'd  by  j\Ir.  ]Morris()ii  that  my  feelings  went  out  towards 
thtMii  closely  to  the  relations  of  father  or  mother 
o!  bi-other  or  sister  to  me,  according-  to  age.  I  be- 
came "John"  to  old  and  young,  and  was  pleased 
with  it,  and  it  lightened  the  monotony  of  the  journey 
to  me.  Many  of  the  older  men  besides  General  Gilliam  had 
seen  service  against  the  Indians  and  against  the  British  at 
New  Orleans,  but  more  interesting  to  me  than  the  talk  of  these 
men,  even,  was  the  camp  tire  traditions  of  Gilliam's  sister  (Mrs. 
Sallie  Shaw,  wife  of  our  second  elected  captain).  Among  her 
ancestry  five  brothers  and  their  friends  had  fought  against 
the  British  as  far  back  as  the  Revolution. 

The  historian  who  settles  to  the  belief  that  the  movement 
to  Oregon  was  "a  blind  and  unintelligent  action,  performed 
by  ignorant  men,  groping  for  exciting  adventure,"  makes  a 
grave  mistake  against  the  truth.  It  was  not  by  chance  that 
Thomas  Jefferson  interested  himself  for  long  years  on  the  pos- 
sible nature  and  condition  of  the  western  slope  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  It  was  not  by  accident  that  he  selected  Meri- 
wether Lewis  to  explore  that  country.  It  was  not  by  accident 
Lewis  chose  as  his  associate  in  the  work  William  Clark — 
younger  brother  of  General  George  Rogers  Clark — the  winner 
of  the  Northwest  territory  from  the.  British.  It  was  not  by 
chance  that  a  generation  after  Lewis  and  Clark's  exploit,  one 
of  the  members  of  the  United  States  senate  was  named  Lewis 
F.  Linn  and  became  devoted  to  the  occupation  of  Oregon  by 
American  citizens,  and  it  was  from  Jefferson  himself  that 
Thomas  H.  Benton — Linn's  associate  senator— received  the 
conception  of  planting  30,000  rifles  in  the  valley  of  the  Colum- 
bia as  good  American  statesmanship.  No!  Aided  by  informa- 
tion slowly  filtered  from  the  campfires  of  adventurous  men  en- 
gaged in  the  fur  and  j)eltry  trade  from  St.  Louis  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains  and  beyond,  the  character  of  the  Oregon  Country, 
together  with  its  rightful  ownership,  was  the  theme  of  thought 
with  leading  frontiersmen  passing  from  fireside  to  fireside, 
more  by  social  intercourse  than  a  multiplicity  of  books  or 
papers.  The  few  of  these  in  use,  especially  on  the  southwestern 
frontiers,  were  more  influential  in  producing  the  Oregon  fever 


42  John  Minto. 

than  ten  times  the  number  of  publications  of  the  same  charac- 
ter in  the  Eastern  seaboard  States  or  the  eastern  portion  of 
the  then  "West. 

East  of  the  Alleghanies  Irving 's  "Astoria"  was  read  as  lit- 
erature mostly.  On  the  frontiers  of  ^Missouri,  Iowa,  Illinois, 
and  Indiana,  Lewis  and  Clark's  journal  was  read  and  passed 
from  hand  to  hand  for  information  till  worn  out. 

The  intluenee  of  this  was  indicated  hy  the  fact  we  had  ma- 
ture members  in  our  company  bearing  the  Christian  names  of 
Lewis  and  of  Clark,  Crockett  and  Boone.  One  of  the  youngest 
and  favorite  boys  of  the  family  I  served  on  the  way  w^as 
named  for  Senator  Benton  of  Missouri,  another  for  Jefferson. 
These  were  not  accidental  facts.  They  prove  a  kinship  of 
spirit — often  of  blood — to  my  mind. 

On  the  way  from  St.  Louis  to  Gilliam's  camp  the  writer 
received  a  very  correct  outline  of  Irving 's  "Astoria''  from 
Willard  H.  Rees,  who  was  born  and  schooled  in  Hamilton 
County,  Ohio.  After  starting,  the  only  books  I  could  find 
in  Gilliam's  train,  except  the  Bible,  were  Lewis  and  Clark's 
journal  and  the  "Prairie,"  by  J.  Fennimore  Cooper.  This, 
while  the  influences  of  social  gatherings  of  the  young  on 
the  rough,  stony  clearings  of  the  west  slopes  of  the  Alleghanies 
after  the  labors  of  raising  house  or  barn,  a  log  rolling  or  corn 
husking  was  ended,  would  still  introduce  a  parlor  play  with : 

"We'll  inarch  in  procession  to  a  far  distant  land, 
We'll  inarch  in  procession  to  a  far  distant  land, 
Where  the  boys  will  reap  and  mow, 
And  the  girls  will  knit  and  sew. 
And  we'll  settle  on  the  banks  of  the  pleasant  Ohio." 

The  writer  participated  in  such  plays  in  Armstrong  County, 
Pennsylvania,  in  1842. 

The  actual  historical  frontier  had  reached  Western  Missouri . 
A  rkansas,  Iowa,  Texas,  Wisconsin,  and  ]\Iinnesota,  and  the  tide 
of  frontier  homebuilding  enterprise  had  set  definitely  without 
ir.uch  regard  to  prospects  of  personal  gain,  to  Oregon.  As  one 
fired  with  the  desire  to  participate  in  this  movement,  it  shall 
be  my  aim  in  a  succeeding  chapter  to  give  my  estimate  of  the 
most  intelligent  men  in  Oregon  in  advance  of  the  immigration 


Motives  and  Antkoedents  of  Pioneers.  43 

of  1844,  and  of  tliose  prominent  in  that  year's  movement  !u 
the  next  chapter. 

CHAPTER  II. 

ESTIMATES  OP  LEADERS  OF  1843  AND  1844. 

Believing-  no  other  single  individnal  exerted  as  large  an  in- 
Unenee  in  swelling  the  number  of  home-building  emigrants  to 
Oregon  in  the  years  1848  and  1844  as  Peter  H.  Burnett,  I 
would  ask  the  reader  to  refer  to  Burnett's  statement  of  the 
considerations  that  impelled  him  to  migrate  to  Oregon.  (This 
statement  is  found  in  the  opening  pages  of  the  following 
paper,  pages  64  and  65. 

His  motives  were  patriotic  as  well  as  personal  and  pecuniary. 

]\Ir.  Burnett  received  the  full  consent  of  his  creditors  and 
set  to  work  most  vigorously  to  organize  a  company,  visited  sur- 
rounding counties,  making  speeches  wherever  he  could  get  an 
audience,  and  succeeded  beyond  his  own  expectations. 

Without  any  disparagement  of  many  able  men  who  became 
Mr.  Burnett's  fellow  emigrants  to  Oregon  in  1843-44,  it  is,  I 
believe,  true  that  he  was  all  round  the  best  equipped  man  for 
the  work  to  be  done  in  organizing  American  dominion  over  the 
Columbia  River  Valley.  There  were  five  other  men  who  rose 
above  the  average  of  the  emigration  of  1843  to  cope  with  the 
conditions  they  were  to  meet  and  overcome— the  three  Apple- 
gate  brothers,  Daniel  Waldo,  and  J.  W.  Nesmith.  Another  man 
whose  patriotic  zeal  for  the  settlement  of  Oregon  had  sped  him 
on  his  way  from  Oregon  to  Washington  and  Boston  during  the 
time  when  Mr.  Burnett  was  engaged  as  he  tells,  was  feeding  a 
fever  of  enthusiasm  for  the  settlement  of  Oregon.  Dr.  Marcus 
Whitman  was  making  his  wonderful  winter  journey  to  convey 
his  personal  knowledge  of  the  feasibility  of  reaching  Oregon 
with  wagons  to  the  national  administration,  handicapped  by 
his  obligation  to  missionary  association  whose  ignorant  action 
did  much  to  blight  the  just  fame  of  this  most  patriotic  mis- 
sionary.    (Note  1.)     It  was  natural  for  Peter  H.  Burnett  to 


Note  1.— Doubtless  the  discovery  by  Captain  Gray  of  the  mouth  of  the  Co- 
lumbia, and  the  founding  of  Astoria  and  its  history  by  Irving  ["Astoria"  by 
Irving  was  not  published  until  18:16],  animated  Hall  J.  Kelley  and  indirecUy 
brought  to  and  left  in  Oregon  a  few  Americans  who  were  here  as  permanent 


44  John  Minto. 

recognize  the  spirit  and  value  of  Dr.  Whitman  and  seek  his 
counsel  for  the  journey  before  starting  at  Fitzhugh's  Mill,  to 
trust  his  statements  at  Fort  Hall  as  to  the  possibility  of 
getting  thence  to  the  Columbia  River  with  their  wagons 
and  to  defend  him  against  the  unreasonable  complaints  of 
his  fellow  travelers  when  receiving  the  benefit  of  the  sup- 
plies from  his  store.  It  was  natural  also  for  J.  W.  Nesmith, 
after  many  years,  to  see  the  basis  of  humor  in  the  florid 
speech  of  Mr.  Burnett  at  Fitzhugh's  Mill,  as  well  as  his 
serious  and  high  estimate  of  the  effect  of  Whitman's  coun- 
sel at  Fort  Hall,  to  trust  his  (Whitman's)  guidance  and 
cling  to  their  wagons  placing  himself  with  the  foremost 
of  the  working  force  clearing  the  way.  Each  of  these  men 
were  students  of  the  human  tide  setting  toward  Oregon. 
Burnett,  much  the  most  advanced,  seeking  to  swell  the  tide 
as'  a  possible  means  of  giving  him  ultimate  opportunity  of 
paying  off  the  heaviest  monetary  obligations  any  man  is  sub- 
ject to,  crossed  the  plains  and  mountains  with  view  to  the 
settlement  of  the  Oregon  boundary  question,  which,  strange 
to  say,  he  did  while  continuing  to  lead  the  way  in  Americaniz- 
ing the  Pacific  Coast  from  lower  California  to  British  Colum- 
bia. Always  a  close  student  of  men  and  things,  and  using  his 
personal  influence  by  wotd  and  pen  for  peace,  freedom  and 
justice,  Peter  H.  Burnett  carved  a  first  place  as  an  American 
pioneer  to  the  Pacific  Coast.  He  should  stand  next  to  Whit- 
man in  that. 

In  several  respects  the  life  and  service  of  Peter  Henderson 
Burnett  typifies  the  best  spirit  of  early  Oregon's  army  of 
occupation.  Ever  watchful  to  effect  his  public  object  peace- 
fully, yet  keeping  constantly  in  \\ew  his  business  obligations, 
he  was  generous  in  the  extreme  in  preferring  other  men  to 

setUers  prior  to  March,  1843,  but  at  that  date  the  proceedings  of  forming  the 
Provisional  American  Government  would  have  failed  except  for  the  pres- 
ence of  a  free  trapper  class  represented  by  Russell,  Newell,  Meek,  and  Eb- 
barts,  Virginians,  and  a  very  few  ex-Canadian  patriots  like  F.  X.  Matlliieu; 
and  this  only  began  the  contest  for  power,  terminated  by  the  homebuilders  ar- 
riving in  1843  and  1844,  whose  knowledge  of  legal  forms  and  diplomacy  caused 
the  officers  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  to  accept  the  cover  of  the  local  laws  of 
Oregon  for  the  property  in  their  care. 


Motives  and  Antecedents  of  Pioneers.  45 

positions  they  could  fill  more  siieeessfully  than  he  could  him- 
self. This  spirit  of  "in  honor  preferring-  one  another"  he 
began  on  the  way  to  Oregon  by  resigning  the  captaincy,  to 
which  he  had  been  elected,  so  that  the  company  could  be  di- 
vided and  the  "cow  column"  of  loose  cattle  move  forward 
separate  from  the  family  wagons  and  the  patient  work  oxen 
have  a  better  chance  to  feed.  This  was  for  the  general  food  on 
Uie  way.  There,  perhaps,  nevei-  was  a  community  interest 
established  as  a  governing  power  in  which  better  fitted  men 
were  given  the  places  than  during  the  period  of  the  Pro- 
visional Government  of  Oregon,  continuing  so  until  it  was 
superseded. 

In  two  particulars  P.  II.  Burnett  was  not  sustained 
by  those  coming  latei":  First,  the  law  to  discourage  ne- 
groes from  coming  or  being  brought  to  Oregon.  Second, 
the  law  forbidding  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  ardent  spirits. 
It  is  to  the  honor  of  the  citizenship  of  Oregon  that  no  man  has 
ever  been  molested  on  account  of  his  race. 

In  drafting  this  law  forbidding  negroes  and  mulattoes  com- 
ing to  or  settling  in  Oregon  the  Hon.  P.  H.  Burnett  was  repre- 
senting a  class  rarely  considered  in  legislation — the  mother- 
hood of  the  southwestern  frontier.  I  remember  distinctly 
C'aptain  Morrison  saying,  "In  Oregon  there  will  be  no  slaves 
and  we'll  all  start  even,"  on  hearing  Mrs.  Morrison  say  that 
the  only  living  creature  of  which  she  ever  felt  fear  was  a  fugi- 
tive slave.  Mrs.  Morrison  at  the  time  she  said  that  was  the 
most  complete  embodiment  of  the  gentleness  of  womanhood  and 
the  courage  of  manhood  I  have  ever  seen  in  one  personality. 
P.  H.  Burnett  in  his  law,  which  yet  remains,  though  never 
used,  represented  the  just  fears  of  girlhood  and  womanhood 
of  slaves  fleeing  for  life  and  liberty.  His  being  a  true  repi-e- 
sentative  of  the  Oregon  pioneers  was  clearly  demonstrated  by 
their"  votes  even  as  late  as  1862  when  General  Lane  retired 
from  his  high  estate  as  a  public  man  and  representative  of 
Oregon.  At  the  election  of  1862  only  one  man  known  to 
sympathize  with  slavery  and  secession  was  elected. 

The  Applegate  brothers,  next  to  Burnett,  claim  attention 
for  effectiveness  in  Americanizing  Oregon.     The  Hon.  Jesse 


46  John  Minto. 

Applegate  was  the  i)ldest  of  the  three  brothers,  and  from  a 
})eeiiliar  pei-sonal  inainier  and  mode  of  thought  had  more  per- 
sonal intlueiiee  among-  men  than  his  brothers,  Lindsey  and 
Charles,  though  jierliaps  both  exceeded  him  in  energy  of  char- 
acter as  men  of  action.  They  agreed  as  a  family  to  put  their 
means  into  live  stock,  a  i>hm  in  which  they  had  been  joined 
by  Diiniel  Waldo,  with  whom  Jesse  Applegate  had  been  a  part- 
ner in  the  ownership  of  a  sawmill  near  St.  Louis.     (Note  2.) 

Of  the  Applegate  lirothers  I  think  it  may  be  safely  said 
the  winning  of  Oregon  for  the  United  States  was  to  them  even 
more  a  tirst  oliject  than  it  was  of  Mr.  Burnett,  and  they  were 
more  pasturalists  than  agriculturalists,  as  was  Daniel  Waldo. 
All  of  these  left  land  unsold  in  Missouri. 

In  public  atfairs  Jesse  Applegate  was  the  natural  leader 
upon  the  highest  plane  of  thought  for  the  future  of  Oregon 
as  an  American  community.  He  united  in  his  character  and 
acquirements  in  a  remarkalile  degree  the  talents  of  statesman- 
ship, civil  engineer  and  a  professional  teacher  by  oral  methods. 
The  writer  was  under  his  influence  for  more  than  a  month 
through  much  danger  and  toil,  as  a  soldier,  but  the  campfire 

Note  2. — The  ignorance  of  the  mission  board  Doctor  Whitman  enlisted 
under,  the  zeal  for  personal  notice  of  some  associated  with  him,  and  cold-blooded 
critics  who  judge  hiin  after  his  heroic  death  at  his  chosen  post  (maintained  for 
eleven  years  as  a  school  for  the  natives  and  seven  years  as  a  place  of  rest  and 
relief  for  the  way-worn  immigrant)  may  detract  from  this  self-devoted  man  all 
they  please.  To  me  who  never  saw  him,  but  got  my  impressions  of  his  public 
spirit  from  fireside  converse  with  other  missionaries,  he  stands  in  first  place  as 
an  American  hoinebuilder,  Burnett  next,  among  iiumigrants  of  1843,  Apple- 
gate,  Nesmith,  Waldo,  and  others  following. 

The  origin  of  the  Applegate  family,  according  to  a  brief  sketch  given  the 
writer  by  a  daughter  of  Jessie  Applegate,  was  English.  Arriving  in  New  Eng- 
land as  early  as  1635;  from  thei'e  to  New  Jerse.v,  then  to  Maryland,  and  from 
Maryland  to  Kentucky  in  1781.  Fighters  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  heredi- 
tary enemies  of  British  power.  Waldo's  father  was  from  New  England  to  Vir- 
ginia in  his  youth.  Nesmitli  was  of  the  Scotch-Irish  colony  of  New  Hampshire 
—called  his  Oregon  home  Derry,  and  naturally  affiliated  with  the  Scotch-Irish  of 
Western  Virginia,  who  filtered  through  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  Missouri  to 
become  the  advance  wave  of  the  opposing  force  against  the  spread  of  British 
dominion  in  America.  Jesse  Looney  was  from  Alabama.  T.  D.  Keiser  from 
North  Carolina  through  Arkansas.  A  critical  analysis  of  the  origin  of  heads  of 
families  in  Oregon  prior  to  the  settlement  of  the  Oregon  boundary,  will  show 
much  the  largest  number  to  have  been  born  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line,  op" 
ponents  of  Great  Britain,  and  to  slavery.  The  leading  men  coming  in  1844  were 
frontiersmen  also,  and  would  average  with  the  last  three  names  mentioned  above 
in  character,  but  not  with  Burnett,  Applegate,  and  Nesmith  in  nbility  as  legis- 
lators in  a  formative  period. 


Motives  and  Antecedents  of  Pioneers.  47 

iiisti'iu'tioii  yiven  out  to  the  younger  men  of  the  company  of 
sixteen  by  Mr.  Appk^gate  was  amply  worth  the  cost  of  facing 
the  danger  and  enduring  the  toil.  From  my  point  of  view 
the  abilities  of  P.  II.  Burnett  and  Jesse  Applegate  supple- 
mented each  otlier. 

Daniel  Waldo  was  of  a  different  mold  than  either  of  the  fore- 
going. Self-i-eliant  in  mind  and  aims,  brusk  in  speech  to  blunt- 
ness,  a  lover  of  truth  and  justice,  he  had  the  saving  grace  of 
common  sense  in  such  a  degree  as  made  his  selection  as  justice 
of  his  district  a  happy  choice  for  the  time  and  place.  His 
residence  amid  the  hills  bearing  his  name  was  more  the  seat 
of  government  in  1845-46  for  the  east  side  of  the  Willamette 
Valley  than  was  Green  Point  below  Oregon  City— the  resid- 
ence of  Governor  Abernethy.  Industrial  thrift,  public  spirit 
and  hospitality,  and  a  quick  perception  of  justice  often  enabled 
Daniel  Waldo  to  settle  differences  between  men  without  forms 
of  law.  As  justice  of  the  peace  under  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment of  Oregon  Mr.  Waldo  conducted  his  office  much  as  his 
father  had  conducted  that  of  judge  of  his  county  in  Virginia. 
There  were  other  heads  of  families  who  came  in  1843  who  were 
men  above  the  average  as  leaders.  Jesse  Looney,  James  Waters, 
]M.  M.  McCarver,  and  T.  W.  Keiser,  and  to  these  past  middle 
life,  may  be  added  J.  W.  Nesmith  and  H.  A.  G.  Lee,  all  except 
Nesmith  frontiersmen  from  southwestern  States.  Looney  and 
Keiser  were  general  farmers.  Waters  seemed  to  give  his  atten- 
tion mostly  to  defence  against  the  Indians  and  assisting, 
as  much  as  his  time  and  means  allowed,  arriving  immigrants.- 

General  McCarver  w^as  a  singular,  if  not  an  eccentric  man. 
His  chief  aim  as  a  pioneer  seemed  to  be  the  location  of  towns, 
being  concerned  in  locating  Linnton  on  the  Willamette,  The 
Dalles  on  the  Columbia,  and  Tacoma  on  Puget  Sound.  .  He 
was  an  almost  incessant  talker,  and  although  I  never  heard 
a  word  against  his  integrity  I  never  have  been  able  to  think  of 
^[•dvk  Twain's  "Colonel  Sellers"  without  bringing  to  mind 
my  impression  of  General  IM.  M.  McCarver. 

As  to  Nesmith  and  Lee,  they  were  both  natural  leaders. 
Of  the  former  it  is  sufficient  to  say  he  made  his  own  standing 
amongst  men,  though  often  rough  and  domineering.     He  filled 


48  John  Minto. 

every  one  of  the  many  positions  of  honor  and  trust  worthily 
and  well. 

H.  A.  G.  Lee  was  a  man  of  different  temperament  froiu 
Nesmith.  Quite  as  ambitious  to  serve  he  attracted  young  men 
whom  Nesmith 's  tendency  to  domineer  repelled.  Lee's  room 
in  the  chief  hotel  at  Oregon  City  in  1845-46  was  almost  a 
common  rendezvous  for  young  men  looking  upward,  and  he 
had  nuich  of  the  gentle  teacher's  talent  characteristic  of  Jesse 
Applegate,  leaning  more  to  military  service.  His  dropping 
out  of  Oregon  life  was  a  loss  to  the  young  community.  That 
occurred  after  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California  when  we 
lost  many  good  citizens  by  murder  and  by  reckless  exposure  in 
placer  mining,  with  a  general  result  to  Oregon  of  almost  sus- 
pended industries  for  a  few  years. 

The  leaders  of  the  emigration  of  1844,  were  mostly  a  second 
installment  of  frontiersmen  from  the  South  rather  than  the 
East,  who  had  been  largely  induced  to  make  the  venture  by 
addresses  delivered  by  Mr.  Burnett,  and  by  the  publication  of 
Whitman's  winter  journey.  There  were  a  few  more  men  of 
mature  age  among  them  from  east  of  the  Ohio,  and  of  single 
men  also. 

,The  whole  of  both  years'  emigration,  so  far  as  the  writer 
knew  them,  were  conspicuous  for  individuality  of  character 
and  measure  of  acquirement.  Even  in  business  grasp,  the  dif- 
ference between  Peter  H.  Burnett  and  Daniel  Delaney,  though 
both  Tennesseeans,  was  innnense.  Burnett,  always  a  student 
of  books  and  men,  and  always  working  upwards,  a  failure  in 
his  first  efforts  as  a  merchant  he  became  a  good  success  as  a 
lawyer,  a  leader  of  people,  a  lover  of  freedom,  and  a  statesman 
ardent  in  his  convictions  as  to  the  value  of  the  movement  to 
Oregon,  he  used  his  pen  freely  to  his  fellow  citizens  east  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  yet  lost  no  opportunity  to  mend  his  personal 
fortune,  paying  off  principal  and  interest  of  his  debts;  in  a 
word,  lived  in  high  endeavor  and  died  in  high  honor. 

Mr.  Delaney,  understood  to  be  the  man  who  came  from  East 
Tennessee  and  defined  the  locality  he  left  as  "High  upon  Big 
Pigeon,  near  K.  Bullen's  Mill,"  was  a  remarkably  close  econo- 
mist in  rearing  live  stock  as  well  as  in  getting  the  produce  of 


Motives  and  Antecedents  of  Pioneers.  49 

the  soil.  He  brought  to  Oregon  a  shive  woman  and  three  of  his 
five  sons.  He  rarely  purchased  anything,  living  as  much  as  pos- 
sible on  what  the  farm  furnished.  He  planted  a  large  orchard 
on  a  very  rocky  piece  of  land  and  got  fine  results  from  it  oy 
thickly  covering  the  surface  with  crops  of  straw  produced 
on  the  level  land  which  was  chosen  more  for  keeping 
stock  through  the  winter  without  feed,  than  for  grain.  His 
custom  was  to  begin  with  so  many  breeding  animals  and 
keeping  them,  increase  up  to  the  line  of  overstocking,  sell 
for  cash,  reserving  a  certain  number  to  start  again,  hide 
his  money  and  keep  on  towards  another  sale.  He  did  little 
labor  himself,  leaving  that  for  the  slave  woman  and  his 
sons,  who  were  all  industrious  and  some  of  them  very  worthy 
citizens.  ]\Ir.  Delaney's  exercise  was  to  go  with  his  hounds 
and  rifle  wherever,  in  the  near  vicinity,  beasts  of  prey  might 
hirk,  and  depend  on  his  dogs  to  bring  them  within  range 
of  his  rifle.  He  must,  in  this  way,  have  destroyed  very 
many  panther,  lynx,  and  wild  cats,  as  well  as  some  bears, 
and  so  was  a  benefactor  to  his  neighbors.  He  seemed  to 
read  his  bible  chiefly  to  find  in  it  support  for  his  dominion 
over  the  soul  and  body  of  his  female  slave.  His  sales  and 
expenditures  having  been  watched  by  a  neighbor  and  pro- 
fessed friend  for  over  a  period  of  twenty  years  he  was  mur- 
dei-ed  for  his  treasures.  Such  was  the  end  of  a  pioneer  of  1843, 
whose  life  action  in  nearly  every  respect  was  the  very  opposite 
to  that  of  Peter  H.  Burnett,  who  wielded  the  largest  influence 
ajj  leader  of  immigrants  of  1843-44,  and  was  the  most  complete 
representative  of  the  motive  of  the  enterprise  of  Americaniza- 
tion of  Oregon  and  California,  of  which  latter  State  he  was 
the  first  elective  Governor. 

It  should  not  be  understood  leadership  is  claimed  for  Mr. 
Burnett  over  all  his  brother  pioneers  in  every  respect.  Some 
(I  think  a  large  number)  would  have  fought  for  dominion 
after  arriving  here  more  readily  than  either  he  or  Jesse  Apple- 
gate,  his  able  co-laborer,  in  getting  the  leading  men  in  charge 
of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  property  to  place  it  and  them- 
selves under  the  protection  of  the  Provisional  American  Gov- 
ernment. 


50  John  Minto. 

It  was  coiiiiiioii  rcpoi't  that,  in  answer  to  a  direct  (^nestion  of 
Lieutenant  William  Peel  to  Hon.  Jesse  Applegate  at  the  home 
of  the  latter,  "If  he  believed  his  neighbors  wonld  fight  for 
possession  of  Oregon?"  "Fight,  Lieutenant,  yes;  they  would 
not  only  tight  you  Britishers,  but  their  own  eounnanders  also 
if  they  did  not  eonnnand  to  suit  them."  I  eannot  vouch  for 
the  truth  of  this.  l)ut  it  sounds  like  Mr.  Applegate,  though  he, 
hi  in -elf,  was  always  for  peaceful  methods,  if  the  object  could  be 
so  attained,  as  were  Burnett,  H.  A.  G.  Lee,  General  Palmer, 
Kobert  Newell,  and  James  Watei's,  I  believe.  A  strong  indica- 
tion that  this  (juestion  and  answer  between  Tjieutenant  Peel 
and  i\Ir.  Applegate  did  occur  is  the  fact  that  within  fifteen  or 
twenty  miles  of  the  Applegate  residence,  from  wdiich  Mr. 
Peel  and  his  party  w^ere  traveling  northward,  the  wa-iter,  lis- 
tening to  ^Ir.  Daniel  ]\Iatheny's  question  to  Peel  as  to  how  he 
liked  Oregon,  heard  the  latter  deliberately  reply,  "Mr. 
]\Iatheny,  it  is  certainly  the  most  beautiful  country  in  its 
natural  state  my  eyes  ever  beheld,"  then  after  a  slight  pause, 
continued  :  "I  regret  to  say  that  I  am  afraid  we  (the  British) 
are  not  going  to  be  the  owners  of  it."  This  occurred  wdthin 
a  month  after  the  arrival  of  Lieutenant  Peel  and  Captain 
Parks  in  Western  Oregon  as  emissaries  of  the  British  Gov- 
ernment at  the  head  of  wdiich  was  Peel's  father,  Sir  Robert 
Peel.  At  that  tiine  the  open  discussion  of  this  question 
was  often  raised  and  sometimes  hotly  debated  by  the  parties 
confined  together  in  a  single  chinook  canoe.  The  writer 
remembers  having  to  take  some  very  rough  comments  made 
by  a  Scotch  sailor  named  Jack  McDonald  for  the  shame- 
fulness,  as  he  termed  it,  of  my  preferring  the  American  cause 
against  the  country  of  my  birth.  I  had  to  endure  Jack's 
tongue,  he  being  in  one  end  of  the  canoe  and  I  in  the  other,  but, 
on  landing  he  declined  to  support  his  right  to  question  my 
right  of  choice. 

Early  in  1846  the  finishing  of  Doctor  McLoughlin's  flouring 
mill  at  Oregon  City  was  made  the  occasion  of  a  ball  by  the 
young  Americans,  many  of  whom  had  assisted  in  the  building. 
Lieutenant  Peel  and  officers  of  the  Modeste  and  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company  at  Vancouver  were  invited.     It  was  a  good 


Motives  and  Antecedents  of  Pioneers.  51 

opportunity  for  :\Ir.  Peel  to  poll  the  attendants  as  to  their 
national  predilection,  and  by  the  aid  of  Robert  Pentland,  an 
Englishman,  the  poll  was  made  with  the  result  that  the  ma- 
jority present  were  Americans.  A  bet  of  a  bottle  of  wine 
between  Peel  and  Newell  afforded  excuse  for  the  poll.  Peel 
manifested  chagrin  at  the  result,  pointed  across  the  mill  floor  to 
a  man  who  might  easily  be  guessed  to  be  an  Englishman,  and 
offered  Newell  another  bet  that  that  man  would  fight  on  the 
side  of  Great  Britain  in  case  of  war  over  Oregon.  Newell  took 
the  bet  and  Mr.  Pentland  went  straight  across  the  floor  and  said 
to  the  man :  ' '  Sir,  which  side  would  you  support  in  case  of  war 
over  the  Oregon  boundary?''  The  man  without  hesitation 
replied :  "I  fight  under  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  myself ! ' '  The 
man  was  Willard  H.  Rees,  a  neighbor  of  Newell  and  elected 
with  the  latter  in  the  general  election  of  1847.  Robert  Newell 
was  the  ablest  man  of  the  American  mountaineers. 

As  to  Lieutenant  Peel,  he  spent  nearly  a  year  in  Oregon  and 
used  all  the  means  in  his  power  to  increase  pro-British  senti- 
ment, to  be  very  generally  gently  defeated. 

There  was  probably  no  leader  in  the  settlement  at  that  time 
who  more  certainly  would  have  been  ready -to  take  the  field 
for  the  American  side  than  Cornelius  Gilliam.  As  leader  of  the 
largest  following  of  the  immigration  of  1844,  Gilliam  was  by 
nature  and  prejudice  most  intensely  opposed  to  British  rule 
over  Oregon.  He  was  met  at  The  Dalles  with  a  liberal  present 
of  food  sent  by  Dr.  John  IMcLoughlin.  Wliile  partaking  of 
this  some  of  his  family  connection  (one  of  his  sons-in-law, 
pro])ably)  saw  a  chance  to  have  a  joke  at  his  expense,  and  said : 
"General,  they  are  trying  to  buy  you  up  in  advance."  This 
raised  a  laugh,  but  Gilliam,  who  always  took  himself  seriously, 
said,  "Well,  I  have  no  objections  to  living  in  good  neighbor- 
hood with  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  as  long  as  my  rights  are 
respected,  but  if  they  cut  up  any  rustics  with  me,  I  will  do  my 
best  to  knock  their  stockade  down  about  their  ears."  This 
story  in  different  versions  was  campfire  gossip  while  the  writer, 
with  Daniel  Clark  and  S.  B.  Crockett,  Avere  engaged  with  a 
boat  loaned  by  Doctor  McLoughlin,  probably  the  very 
boat  which  carried  this  present  to  Gillicm  and  his  friends, 


52  John  Minto. 

wlio  uscmI  it  to  help  others  of  his  company  down  to  Linnton. 
Original inti'  thus  in  family  fun,  the  incident  kept  in  circula- 
tion till  the  Whitman  massacre,  when  on  Gilliam's  appointment 
as  connnander  of  the  volunteers  to  go  against  the  Cay  uses,,  it 
took  the  shape  of  a  rumor  that  Colonel  Gilliam  intended  to 
levy  contribution  on  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  property 
and  occasioned  an  exchange  of  letters  between  Chief  Factor 
Douglas  and  Governor  Abernethy.  (See  Brown's  History  of 
Oregon,  pp.  333-9.) 

From  the  writer's  point  of  view  to  settle  Oregon  as  citizens 
of  the  United  States  was  a  prevailing  sentiment  among  those 
who  came  before  the  year  of  the  Whitman  massacre,  and  if 
war  had  come,  the  Provisional  Government  would  have  put  out 
even  greater  energies  to  fight  the  British  and  Indians  combined 
than  were  exerted,  as  many  of  the  heads  of  families  besides 
General  Gilliam  had  been  suckled  on  stories  of  the  Revolution 
of  1776  and  the  war  of  1812.  This  influenced  men  from  the 
East  and  North  as  well  as  those  from  the  South  and  western 
frontiers,  but  the  latter  were  in  a  greater  degree  under  fireside 
and  campfire  tuition  as  books  were  less  common  and  much  less 
read.  In  Gilliam's  trains  the  only  two  books  I  was  able  to 
borrow  were  Cooper's  "Prairie"  and  Lewis  and  Clark's  jour- 
nal— the  first  showing  little  usage  and  the  latter  in  tatters  from 
much  use. 

To  say  that  to  save  Oregon  as  rightful  territory  of  the 
United  States  is  too  high  a  motive  to  be  ascribed  to  the  early 
pioneer  homebuilders  who  crossed  the  plains  and  mountains 
to  Oregon  between  1842  and  1847  is  unjust— as  Daniel  Clark, 
my  traveling  companion  into  Western  Oregon,  tersely  put  it 
in  answer  to  the  question  of  a  British  ship  captain  (who  had 
just  reached  Vancouver  with  a  cargo  of  goods  for  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company)  ,of  where  he  came  from  and  his  purpose  in  com- 
ing here, replied, "We've  come  from  Missouri  across  the  Rocky 
Mountains ;  we  've  come  to  make  our  homes  in  Oregon  and  rule 
this  country."  The  writer  was  struck  by  this  reply,  received 
from  Clark  the  evening  of  the  day  after  it  was  made,  as  a 
concise  statement  of  the  general  object  of  Gilliam's  companies 
of  the  1844  movement.     This  was  the  first  motive  given  in  the 


Motives  and  Antecedents  of  Pioneers.  53 

writer's  heariug  l)y  R.  W.  IMorrison  before  leaving  his  Mis- 
souri residence,  which  knit  nie  to  his  service  on  the  way  to 
Oregon  with  his  family  and  his  effects.  He  was  the  first  of 
Gilliam's  captains  chosen  by  election.  His  sentiments  per- 
vaded Gilliam's  following  and  those  of  Colonel  Ford  and 
Major  Thorp,  and  to  deny  them  that  motive  as  one  of  the  most 
impoi-tant  of  their  lives  is  to  ])ronoiince  them  in-atioiial  men 
wliich  th(^y  certainly  were  not. 

CHAPTER  III. 

THE   MEN    THAT   SAVED    OREGON. 

The  boat  on  which  I  had  taken  passage  from  St.  Louis  to 
Western  jMissouri  had  bai'ely  cast  off  and  got  into  the  stream 
when  I  found  myself  among  men  who  were  talking  of  Oregon, 
some  with  means  to  make  their  way,  and  others,  like  myself, 
seeking  opportunity  to  work  their  way.  The  large  majority 
of  heads  of  families  who  crossed  the  plains  in  wagons  in  1843 
and  1844  were  from  the  southern  rather  than  eastern  and 
northern  States.  There  were  some  of  the  single  men  from  the 
Middle  West  and  even  a  few  from  Europe.  But  the  largest 
numl)er,  both  of  heads  of  families  and  single  men,  traced  their 
oi-igin  to  the  Scotch-Irish  who  had  been  pioneers  inland 
from  the  caravans  of  Virginia,  INIaryland,  and  the  Cai\)- 
linas,  and  breaking  over  the  Alleghanies  became  pioneers  in 
Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  Missouri,  keeping  with  them  family 
traditions  of  battles  against  the  English  on  such  fields  as 
King's  ]\Iountain  and  New  Orleans  and  with  the  native  race. 
They  were  not  a  reading  people,  and  were  far  from  being  a 
money-seeking  people,  a  prevailing  ambition  among  them 
was  to  be  the  most  western  members  of  their  respective 
families  and  to  call  no  man  master.  They,  in  many  cases, 
were  the  sons  of  sons  of  frontiersmen  for  generations  back. 
l\Ien  who,  from  choice,  would  rather  struggle  with  and  oV(>r- 
come  natural  obstacles  than  jostle  with  men.  They  had  gi'cat 
and  varied  individuality  and  used  many  words  (not  negi'o- 
isms)  different  from  the  yeoman  class  of  New  York  or  Pennsyl- 
vania. As  they  left  the  frontier  of  ^Missouri  for  Oregon,  they 
showed   little  sign   of  atlrilion   with   recent   European    immi- 


54  John  Minto. 

g-rants.    Their  freedom  from  that  was  perhaps  caused  by  their 
lack  of  school  and  post  office  facilities  common  to  frontiers- 
men, but  bearing  hardest  against  anti-slavery  family  life  in 
slave  States,  so  much  so  that  the  emigration  movement  was  at 
this  time  rather  away  from  than  into  the  frontier  slave  States. 
These  very  families  gathering  to  follow  Cornelius  Gilliam  to 
Oregon  had  the  getting  away  from  the  institution  of  slavery 
very  generally  as  a  motive.    Yet,  while  they  remained  in  Mis- 
souri, they  had  demonstrated  their  determination  not  to  submit 
to  organized  power  which  to  their  minds  was  more  repulsive 
than  African  slavery.     Many  of  the  very  men  who  in  1843 
selected  P.  H.  Burnett  as  their  leader  to  Oregon  had  followed 
Gilliam's  lead  in  the  trouble  arising  between  the  Mormon  set- 
tlement at  Far  West,  Missouri,  and  the  pioneer  settlers  pre- 
viously located.    As  it  is  an  admirable  illustration  of  the  char- 
acter of  the  men  who  followed  Burnett  and  Gilliam  to  Oregon 
later,    I    quote    from    Burnett's    "Recollections    of    an    Old 
Pioneer,"  page  59.     Mr.  Burnett,  then  residing  at  Liberty, 
Missouri,  practicing  law,  was  a  member  of  an  independent 
militia  company  at  that  place  called  the  Liberty  Blues,  who 
were  ordered  to  the  battle  ground,  where  Captain  Bogard's 
company  and  Patton's  company  of  the  Mormon  Danite  band 
met.    Mr.  B.  says :    ' '  We  were  ready  and  were  off  before  night, 
and  marched  some  ten  miles  under  General  Doniphan.     The 
next  day  we  reached  the  scene  of  the  conflict,  and  encamped 
in  open  oak  wood  next  to  the  prairie  that  extended  from  that 
point  to  'Far  West.'     *     *     *     Among  those  who  had  fallen 
in  with  us  was  a  lad  of  about  eighteen,  quite  tall,  green  and 
awkward.    He  was  dressed  in  thin  clothing,  and  when  put  on 
guard  was  told  by  the  officer  not  to  let  any  one  take  his  gun. 
He  said :  '  No  one  would  get  his  gun. '    When  the  officer  went 
around  to  relieve  the  guard  this  boy  would  not  permit  him  to 
come  near,  presenting  his  gun  with  a  most  determined  face. 
In  vain  the  officer  explained  his  purpose;   the  boy  was  in- 
flexible and  stood  guard  the  remainder  of  the  night,  always 
at  his  post  and  always  wide  awake.     The  second  night  Doni- 
phan's command  were  aroused  from  their  sleep  by  the  guards 
reporting  the  approach  of  a  body  supposed  to  be  Mormons. 


Motives  and  Antecedents  of   Pionreks.  55 

Doniphan  called  for  twenty  volnnteers  to  go  ont  to  recon- 
noitre and  bring  on  the  action."  Of  these  volunteers  Mr. 
Burnett  was  one,  mounted  on  a  mare  that  had  been  trained 
to  race  and  carried  him  in  front  in  spite  of  himself,  the  steed 
thinking  itself  in  a  race.  "I  was  about  twenty  yards  ahead, 
when,  sure  enough,  we  saw  in  the  clear  moonlight  a  body  of 
armed  men  approaching.  We  galloped  on  till  within  some 
hundred  yards,  then  drew  up  and  hailed  them,  when,  to  our 
great  satisfaction,  we  found  it  was  a  body  of  militia  U7ider 
Colonel  Gilliam  from  Clinton  County,  coming  to  join  us. 
Thus  ended  the  alarm.  *  *  *  During  all  this  hubbub 
the  boy  who  had  persisted  in  standing  guard  the  pi'(^- 
vious  night  slept  until  some  one  happened  to  think  ot' 
him  and  asked  where  he  was.  He  was  then  awakened 
and  fell  into  the  ranks  without  hesitation  or  trepidation."  So 
much  .as  to  the  lighting  spirit  of  the  connnunity  from 
which  Burnett  and  Gilliam  got  their  following  to  Ore- 
gon later.  This  meeting  by  moonlight,  and  joining  forces 
produced  the  surrender  of  the  iMormon  leaders,  Josej-jU 
Smith,  Jr.,  Rigdon  Wight  and  others,  and  Mr.  Bui'- 
nett  proceeds  to  give  a  further  characteristic  of  this  people : 
"As  I  understood  at  the  time  a  proposition  was  seriously  made 
and  earnestly  pressed  in  a  council  of  officers  to  try  the  pris- 
oners l)y  court-martial,  and  if  found  guilty  execute  them. 
This  proposition  Avas  firmly  and  successfully  opposed  by  Doni- 
phan. These  men  (the  jMormons)  had  never  belonged  to 
any  lawful  military  organization  and  could  not,  therefore, 
have  molested  military  law.  *  *  *  j  remember  that  I 
went  to  Doniphan  and  assured  him  that  we  of  Clay  County 
would  stand  by  him.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  efforts  of  Doni- 
phan and  others  from  Clay,  I  think  it  most  probable  that  the 
pi'isoners  wcnild  have  been  summarily  tried,  condeunied  and 
executed. 

These  ({notations  are  introduced  here  as  illustration  of  the 
physical  and  moral  courage  of  this  district  from  which,  a  few 
years  later,  the  largest  proportion  of  the  first  homebuilders 
started  to  Oregon.  The  n^adiness  to  fight  is  well  shown  by  the 
boy  who  would  not  give  \\\)  his  gun,  and  by  Colonel   Gil  Ham 


56  John  Minto. 

with  his  eomniaiid  seeking  his  Mormon  enemies  by  moonlight, 
and  the  higher  courage  that  risks  life  deliberately  to  "stand 
for  justice,  truth  and  right"  by  legal  methods. 

The  two  forces  here  were  the  pioneer  class  of  American 
citizens,  mainly  originating  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line 
used  to  establishing  law  and  order  on  lands  won  from  the  na- 
tice  race,  suddenly  confi-onted  by  a  horde  of  fanatics,  mainly 
gathered  at  that  time  from  the  strata  just  above  the  sub- 
merged tenth  of  England's  population,  led  by  a  comparatively 
few  men  of  mixed  nationalities  intent  on  the  nursing  into 
existence  of  a  new  oligarchical  religious  system.  The  shrewd 
Mormon  leaders  secured  Doniphan  and  Burnett  to  defend 
them  under  the  forms  of  law  in  Missouri,  which  was  done 
under  a  condition  of  public  feeling  so  near  mob  violence  that 
they  were  justified  in  one  sitting  within  six  feet  of  the  other 
with  a  loaded  pistol  in  hand  while  each  in  turn  made  his  plea 
for  law  and  order,  and  both  came  out  of  it  with  a  moral  power 
over  their  unruly  fellows  which  carved  them  big  niches  in 
American  history  during  the  succeeding  decade. 

The  pioneer  element  of  Missouri  succeeded,  and  ultimately 
Mormonism  became  an  important  pioneer  element  in  winning 
to  humanity  the  central  portion  of  the  great  American  desert, 
while  the  frontier  family  life  represented 'by  those  who  drove 
the  Mormons  from  Far  West  came  to  the  lower  Columbia  basin 
and  began  planting  the  thirty  thousand  rifles  of  Jefferson's 
conception,  aided  and  encouraged  by  Floyd,  Atcheson,  Ben- 
ton, and  Linn,  disciples  of  Jefferson.  The  means  those  states- 
men proposed  to  use — armed  occupation  of  Oregon,  en- 
couraged by  a  permanent  interest  in  the  soil — had  just  ended 
the  Florida  war  of  seven  years'  duration — vexatious,  harassing 
and  expensive— without  either  treaty  negotiated  or  battle 
fought.  Homebuilders  going  there,  as  Senator  Benton  states, 
' '  with  their  arms  and  plows. ' ' 

Dr.  Lewis  F.  Linn,  as  already  stated,  introduced  a  bill  into 
the  senate  of  the  United  States  providing  this  land  inducement 
so  liberal  as  to  be  of  doubtful  passage,  and  indeed  failed  to 
pass  the  house,  but  it  answered  the  purpose,  and  why  it  did 
so  may  (as  the  writer  believes)   be  largely  answered  by  the 


Motives  and  Antecedents  of  Pioneers.  57 

fact  the  enterprise  appealed  to  the  imagination  of  a  large 
eoniiniinity  of  born  frontiersmen  of  kinship,  by  blood  or  spirit, 
dating  back  through  seventy  years  of  pioneer  history  com- 
mencing with  what  is  known  as  the  Dunmore  War  in  1774. 

From  a  historical  pamphlet  by  E.  0.  Randall,  secretary  of 
the  Ohio  Antiquarian  and  Historical  Society,  largely  pub- 
lished in  the  West  Virginia  Historical  Magazine  for  January, 
1903,  the  writer  culls  the  names  of  officers  who  took  part  in  the 
battle  of  Point  Pleasant,  deemed  by  some  historical  students 
to  have  been  really  the  first  battle  of  the  Revolutionary  War 
because  fought  by  Virginia  volunteers  drawn  from  the  eastern 
slopes  of  the  Blue  Ridge  in  Virginia,  many  of  whom  had 
reason  for  opposition  to  a  recently  proclaimed  policy  of  the 
British  crown.  Mr.  Randall  says:  "The  American  colonists 
had  fought  the  French  and  Indian  War  with  the  expectation 
that  they  were  to  be,  in  the  event  of  success,  the  beneficiaries 
of  the  result  and  be  permitted  to  occupy  the  Ohio  Valley  as 
a  fertile  and  valuable  addition  to  their  Atlantic  Coast  lodg- 
ments. But,  the  war  over  and  France  vanquished,  the  royal 
greed  of  Britain  asserted  itself  and  the  London  Government 
most  arbitrarily  pre-empted  the  territory  between  the  Alle- 
ghanies  and  the  Mississippi  River  as  the  exclusive  and  par- 
ticular dominion  of  the  crown,  directly  administered  upon 
from  the  provincial  seat  of  authority  at  Quebec.  The  parlia- 
mentary power  promulgated  the  arbitrary  proclamation 
(1763)  declaring  the  Ohio  Valley  and  the  great  Northwest 
territory  should  be  practically  an  Indian  reservation,  ordering 
the  few"  settlers  to  remove  therefrom,  forbidding  the  settlers 
to  move  therein,  and  even  prohibiting  trading  with  the  Indians 
save  under  licenses  and  restrictions  so  excessive  as  to  amount 
to  exclusion. 

On  June  22,  1774,  Parliament  passed  the  detestable  Quebec 
Act,  which  not  only  affirmed  the  policy  of  the  crown  adopted 
in  the  proclamation  of  1763,  but  added  many  obnoxious  fea- 
tures by  granting  certain  civil  rights  to  the  French  Catholic 
Canadians. 

This  policy  of  the  crown  stultified  the  patents  and  charters 
granted    the    American    colonies    in    which    their    ])roprietary 


58  John  Minto. 

rights  extended  to  the  INfississippi  and  beyond,  enil)racing  the 
very  territory  to  whicli  they  were  now  denied  admittance, 
and  ordered  to  vacate  where  located  under  previous  grants. 
The  Quebec  Act  was  one  of  the  irritants  complained  of  in 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  "for  al)olishing  the  free 
system  of  Englisli  laAV  in  a  neighl)oring  province  establishing 
therein  an  ar])itrary  govermnent  and  enlarging  its  l)oun- 
daries  so  as  to  render  it  at  once  an  example  and  tit  instrument 
for  introducing  the  same  absolute  rule." 

Tliis  was  the  condition  in  1774  on  the  northern  frontier  of 
Virginia  at  a  time  when  the  head  of  the  Ohio  Valley  was 
supposed  to  be  part  of  that  province.  John  IMurray,  Earl 
of  Dunmore,  Governor,  held  his  allegiance  due  to  the  crown, 
but  he  also  was  eager  to  champion  the  cause  of  Vir- 
ginia as  against  either  the  Indians  or  her  sister  colonies.  He 
was  avaricious,  energetic,  and  interested  in  the  frontier  land 
speculation.  He  had  appointed  an  agent  or  deputy  at  Fort  Pitt, 
then  deemed  a  Virginia  town,  and  surveyors  who  were  locat- 
ing lands  in  the  upper  Ohio,  who  were  attacked  by  Indians 
and  driven  out.  It  was  a  bitter  race  war  on  both  sides,  ren- 
dered more  bitter  to  the  Virginians  by  the  very  general  belief 
that  the  Indians  were  furnished  arms,  annnunition  and  cloth- 
ing from  Detroit  by  the  Quebec  Government  througli  French 
traders,  now  its  special  pets. 

"In  May  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses,  of  which  George 
Washington,  Patrick  Henry  and  Thomas  Jefferson  were  mem- 
bers, resolved  with  a  burst  of  indignation  to  set  aside  the  first  of 
June— when  the  Boston  bill  should  go  into  operation— as  a  day 
of  fasting  and  prayer  to  implore  divine  interposition  for  avert- 
ing the  heavy  calamity  which  threatens  the  civil  rights  of 
America."  GJovernor  Dunmore  at  once  dissolved  that  highly 
impertinent  King  insulting  body.  Meanwhile  the  race  war  on 
tlie  northern  and  western  frontier  was  growing  more  and 
more  serious  where  the  heat  of  patriotic  resistance  to  the 
tyrannical  measures  of  the  mother  country  mingled  with  the 
bitterness  of  the  race  war  for  proprietary  rights.  And  Gov- 
ernor Dunmore  in  August  called  out  two  bodies  of  militia 
and  volunteers  consisting  of  fifteen  hundred  each.    The  north- 


Motives  and  Anteoedents  of  Pioneers.  59 

erii  division  chiefly  from  country  west  of  the  Bhie  Ridge  to 
he  coiinnanded  hy  Lord  Dunmore  in  person.  The  southern 
division  roused  in  counties  east  of  the  Bhie  Ridge,  led  by  Gen- 
eral Andrew  Lewis.  The  two  armies  were  to  proceed  by  dif- 
ferent routes  to  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Kanawha,  unite  and 
from  thence  cross  the  Ohio  and  penetrate  the  northwest  coun- 
try, defeat  the  red  men  and  destroy  all  the  Indian  towns  they 
could  reach.  This  was  the  plan  made  by  Dunmore,  but  which 
he  failed  to  follow,  thereby  making  his  real  intentions  subject 
to  suspicions  which  cloud  his  name  yet.  It  is  with  the  com- 
mand under  General  Lewis  w^e  have  to  deal  while  it  was  left 
to  meet  the  onset  of  the  flower  of  the  fighting  force  of  the  Ohio 
tribes  in  an  all-day 's  desperate  action,  the  Indians  lieing  under 
connnand  of  Comstalk,  the  famous  warrior  of  his  day.  Both 
sides  gi'eatly  sufil'ered  and  were  completely  exhausted,  the 
Indians  drawing  off,  cowed  so  that  their  lu'ave  leader  could 
get  no  further  fight  out  of  them.  The  result  was  their 
signing  of  a  treaty  Governor  Dunmore  had  tried  to  make  in  the 
Scioto  Valley  on  the  day  of  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant, 
though  according  to  his  plan  of  campaign  he  should  have 
joined  Lewis  at  Point  Pleasant.  In  the  belief  about  his 
failure  and  the  brave  and  successful  fight  made  without  him 
the  seeds  of  distrust  of  England  and  her  policies  were  sown 
which  nourished  through  three  generations  of  family  tradi- 
tion l\y  the  fi'ontier  settlers  of  the  Ohio,  Kentucky,  Tennes- 
see, Illinois,  and  Missouri,  and  reaching  Oregon  seventy 
years  afterward,  nerved  the  arms  and  steadied  the  aims 
of  just  such  men  as  mustered  under  George  Rogers 
Clark  at  old  Vincennes  and  Jackson  at  New  Orleans.  Just 
such  men  as  settled  the  Florida  and  Black  Hawk  Wars;  and 
just  such  men  as  took  dominion  over  Oregon  and  as  marched 
through  Mexico  under  Doniphan. 

The  writer  was  first  led  into  this  line  of  thought  on  reading 
a  very  interesting  paper  in  the  West  Virginia  Historical  Maga- 
zine of  October,  1902,  by  Miss  L.  K.  Poage,  of  Ashland,  Ken- 
tucky, on  the  leaders  who  lived  after  participating  in  the  bat- 
tle of  Point  Pleasant,  and  seventy  years  later  many  of  the 
names  of  whom  were  found  among  the  pi(meers  to  Oregon. 


60  John  Minto. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  the  writer  to  mar  Mr.  Randall's 
fine  description  of  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant,  October,  1774, 
but  to  show  the  names  of  leaders  in  the  fight  and  the  extraor- 
dinary proportion  who  never  fought  again.  Beginning  with 
that  of  General  Androw  Lewis  we  have  in  Mr.  Randall's  list 
Colonel  Charles  Lewis,  brother  of  the  general,  Colonel  William 
Fleming,  Colonel  John  Field,  Captain  Thomas  Buford,  Cap- 
tains Evan,  Shelby,  and  Herbert.  Captains  Shelby  and 
Russell  were  part  of  Colonel  Christian 's  force  which,  by  faster 
marching,  arrived  in  time  to  take  part  in  the  battle. 

Miss  Poage's  admirable  paper  is  written  from  the  native 
Kentuckian's  standpoint,  and  she  confesses  that  it  is  "now 
impossible  to  secure  a  complete  list  of  the  Kentuckians  who 
fought  in  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant."  I  transcribe  the 
names  she  mentions  who  did:  Isaac  Shelby,  Samuel  M. 
Dowell,  Silas  Harlan,  Aezercah  Davis,  Abraham  Chapline, 
Colonel  George  Slaughter,  James  Trimble,  "Wm.  Russell  (after- 
ward colonel,  but  fifteen  years  of  age  when  this  battle  was 
fought) ,  two  brothers,  elames  and  John  Sandusky,  Simon  Ken- 
ton, who  arrived  as  a  messenger  from  Governor  Dunmore, 
Captain  James  Mongomery,  James  Knox,  James  Ilarrod — lead- 
er of  the  first  settlers  of  Harrodsburg,  Kentucky — John  Craw- 
ford, "Colonel  Joseph  Crockett.  This  last  is  the  name  which 
attracted  the  writer  and  led  to  writing  this  paper  in  hope 
of  stimulating  pioneers  to  Oregon  to  gather  up  all  they  can 
for  the  annals  of  this  State  on  their  origin.  It  has  been  well 
said  by  one  who  has  labored  in  this  direction  that  the  time 
will  come  when  the  record  of  a  pioneer  to  Oregon  will  be 
equal  to  a  title  of  nobility.  Believing  that,  I  give  Miss 
Poage's  note  on  Colonel  Crockett  who  was  in  Captain  Rus- 
sell 's  command  at  Point  Pleasant :  ' '  For  services  in  the 
battle  of  Monmouth  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  lieu- 
tenant colonel.  He  spent  the  winter  with  Washington  at 
Valley  Forge  and  was  second  in  command  to  General  Clark 
in  the  campaign  against  the  Northwestern  Indians.  He 
moved  to  Jessamine  County,  Kentucky,  in  1784.  President 
Jefferson  appointed  Colonel  Crockett  United  States  marshal 
for  the  District  of  Kentucky,  which  office  he  held  for  eight 


Motives  and  Antecedf:nts  of  Pioneers.  61 

years,  and  while  in  office  he  arrested  Aaron  Burr  in  1806." 
The  foregoing-  brings  us  into  line  with  the  mind  that  con- 
ceived Oregon  and  planned  its  exploration,  Avho  appointed 
Meriwether  Lewis  to  lead  the  exploration  and  commissioned 
William  Clark  as  his  associate  not  Mathout  knowledge  (we 
may  easily  conceive)  of  the  services  of  Generals  Andrew  Lewis 
and  George  Rogers  Clark  to  liberty  and  progress. 

Just  seventy  years  from  the  date  of  the  battle  of  Point  Pleas- 
ant the  writer  emerged  fi-om  the  west  timber  line  of  tbe  Blue 
iMonntains  of  Oregon  in  comi)any  with  Daniel  Clark  and  S.  B. 
Crockett.  Learning  recently  that  the  latter  was  yet  living 
in  his  81:th  year,  I  wrote  to  learn  if  he  was  a  family  connection 
with  the  Colonel  Joseph  Crockett  before  mentioned,  and  re- 
ceived an  affirmative  reply.  S.  B.  Crockett  was  one  of  the 
most  effective  helpers  in  the  pioneer  movement  of  1844,  and  in 
that  which  reached  Puget  Sound  in  1845,  settling  on  Whitby's 
Island  in  the  Sound,  he  induced  his  father's  family  to  follow 
him  also.* 

We  will  now  return  to  the  rank  and  file  of  those  who  fought 
the  Battle  of  Point  Pleasant.  Mr.  Randall  tells  us:  "The 
volunteers  who  were  to  form  the  army  of  Lewis  began  to 
gather  at  Camp  Union,  the  levels  of  Greenbrier  (Lewisburg), 
before  the  1st  of  September.  It  was  a  motley  gathering.  They 
were  not  the  King's  regulars  nor  trained  troops.  They  were 
not  knights  in  burnished  steel  on  prancing  steeds.  They  were 
not  cavaliers,  sons  from  the  luxurious  manors.  They  were  not 
drilled  martinets.  They  were,  however,  determined,  daunt- 
less men,  sturdy  and  weather-beaten  as  the  mountain  sides 
whence  they  came.  They  were  undrilled  in  the  arts  of  mili- 
tary movements,  but  they  were  in  physique  and  endurance 
and  power  Nature's  noblemen,  reared  amid  the  open  freedom 
of  rural  life."  *  *  *  jf;  -^^^g  o^g  hundred  and  sixty 
miles  from  Camp  Union  to  their  destination  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Great  Kanawha.  The  regiments  passed  through  a  track- 
less forest  so  rugged  and  mountainous    as    to    render    their 


*S.  B.  Crockett  died  at  Kent,  Washington,  while  this  was  in   typewriter's 
hands. 


62  John   Minto. 

progress  extremely  tedious  and  lal)()ri()us.  They  marched  in 
long  files  through  "the  deep  and  gloomy  woods  with  scouts 
and  spies  thrown  out  in  front  and  on  the  flanks,  while  axemen 
went  in  advance  to  clear  a  trail  over  which  they  could  drive 
the  beef  cattle  and  the  pack-horses  laden  with  provisions, 
blankets  and  ammunition.  They  struck  straight  through  the 
wilderness,  making  their  road  as  they  went.  On  September 
21st  they  reached  the  Great  Kanawha  at  the  present  site  of 
Charleston.  Here  they  halted  and  built  dugout  canoes  for 
baggage  transportation  down  the  river,  *  *  *  arriving 
there  October  6th,  to  learn,  in  a  few  days,  that  Governor 
Dunmore  had  changed  his  plans  and  had  reached  Kentucky 
Plains  Avith  the  object  of  making  a  treaty  with  the  Indians 
rather  than  fight  them." 

I  have  quoted  Mr.  Randall's  description  of  the  men  and 
their  movement  towards  the  point  where  the  desperate  fight 
occurred  on  October  10,  1774,  under  circumstances  which 
must  have  sown  the  seeds  of  suspicion  of  Governor  Dunmore 's 
motives,  which  are  not  yet  removed,  and  to  call  attention  of 
my  readers  to  the  close  parallel  between  the  men  and  the 
methods  of  General  Lewis'  army  and  the  homebuilders  of 
1843,  who  to  reach  the  Columbia  with  their  wagons  (which 
were,  in  fact,  their  traveling  family  homes) ,  cutting  their  way 
through  the  dense  timber  growth  in  the  Burnt  River  Canyon, 
and  through  that  of  the  Blue  Mountains  of  Oregon,  part  of 
them  to  descend  the  Columbia  in  boats  and  canoes  and  on 
rafts,  and  part  to  take  Indian  trails  of  the  mountain  or  river 
gorge,  and  so  reach  Western  Oregon.  This  was  when  the 
change  of  dominion  over  Oregon  began,  and  the  finish  was 
initiated  by  a  small  portion  of  the  immigration  of  1844  de- 
scending the  lower  Columbia  late  in  1845,  and  thirteen  men 
cutting  a  wagon  road  through  the  fifteen  miles  of  heavy  Ore- 
gon forest  to  reach  Budd's  Inlet  of  Puget  Sound. 

The  would-be  historian  who  claims  that  Oregon  was  won  by 
an  aimless  movement  of  a  restless,  unreflecting,  adven- 
turous people  has  the  rather  hard  fact  to  ignore  of  why  a 
cadet  of  the  Crockett  family  was  present,  and  a  most  effective 
axeman  and  hunter  in  cutting  out  this  last  fifteen  miles  of 


Motives  and  Aktkckdpjnts  of   Pioneers.  63 

Anun-icaii  family  road  to  the  tide  wash  of  the  Pacific.  He  has 
yot  to  find  a  rational  reason  for  the  names  of  Jefferson,  Lewis, 
Clark,  Russell,  Fleming,  Crockett,  Boone,  and  many  others 
appearing  not  only  as  family  names  among  early  Oregon  pio- 
neers to  Oregon,  but  these  names  and  those  of  Floyd,  Linn  and 
Benton  were  often  bestowed  on  boy  babies  born  in  frontier 
cabins  after  the  time  of  the  Lewis  and  Clark  exploration  to 
successful  overland  emigration  by  family  wagons.  He  has 
got  to  explain  why  Oregon  has  towns  and  counties,  and  moun- 
tains even,  named  for  Jefferson,  Lewis,  Linn,  and  Benton. 

Dominion  over  Oregon  was  the  ripe  fruit  of  patriotic  states- 
manship, conceived,  cherished  and  nursed  by  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son, and  consunniiated  by  poor  men  influenced  by  the  spirit 
of  the  lesser  American  patriots  I  have  mentioned. 


''lECOLLECTlOPS  l^m  OFUNHOIUS  OP 

BjT  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

"The  Recollections  and  Opinions  of  an  Old  Pioneer,"  by- 
Peter  H.  Burnett,  has  become  a  very  scarce  book.  It  contains 
what  is  prol)ably  the  most  valuable  single  accoiuit  of  some  six 
years  of  the  pioneer  epoch  of  Oregon.  It  was  written  by  a 
painstaking,  fair  and  able  observer,  who  had  a  prominent  and 
creditable  part  in  the  history  he  narrates.  lie  had  the  great 
advantage  of  a  journal  and  other  notes  which  were  faithful, 
contemporary  records.  Upon  these  he  based  his  "Recol- 
lections." Mr.  Burnett's  great  activity  as  a  correspondent, 
and  his  concern  to  be  just  and  true,  naturally  resulted  in  his 
material,  even,  partaking  of  the  definite,  clear  and  complete 
character  of  history.  The  Quarterly  will  reprint  Chapters 
III,  IV,  V,  and  VI,  which  cover  the  portion  of  the  book  per- 
taining directly  to  Oregon. ^Editor. 

CHAPTER  III. 

DETERMINING  TO  GO  TO  OREGON — ARRIVE  AT  THE  RENDEZVOUS  — 
REMARKS  ON  THE  NATURE  OF  THE  TRIP. 

In  the  fall  of  1842  I  moved  to  Weston,  in  Platte  County,  having 
purchased  an  interest  in  the  place.  During  the  winter  of  1842-43 
the  Congressional  report  of  Senator  Appleton  in  reference  to  Ore- 
gon fell  into  my  hands,  and  wa's  read  by  me  with  great  care.  This 
able  report  contained  a  very  accurate  description  of  that  country. 
At  the  same  time  there  was  a  bill  pending  in  Congress,  introduced  in 
the  Senate  by  Doctor  Linn,  one  of  the  Senators  from  Missouri,  which 
proposed  to  donate  to  each  immigrant  six  hundred  and  forty  acres 
of  land  for  himself,  and  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  for  each  child. 
I  had  a  wife  and  six  children,  and  would,  therefore,  be  entitled  to 
sixteen  hundred  acres.  There  was  a  fair  prospect  of  the  ultimate 
passage  of  the  bill. 

I  saw  that  a  great  American  community  would  grow  up,  in  the 
the  space  of  a  few  years,  upon  the  shores  of  the  distant  Pacific; 
and  I  felt  an  ardent  desire  to  aid  in  this  most  important  enterprise. 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.      65 

At  that  time  the  country  was  claimed  by  both  Great  Britain  and 
the  United  States;  so  that  the  most  ready  and  peaceable  way  to 
settle  the  conflicting  and  doubtful  claims  of  the  two  governments 
was  to  fill  the  country  with  American  citizens.  If  we  could  only 
show  by  practical  test,  that  American  emigrants  could  safely  make 
their  way  across  the  continent  to  Oregon  with  their  wagons,  teams, 
cattle,  and  families,  then  the  solution  of  the  question  of  title  to 
the  country  was  discovered.  Of  course,  Great  Britian  would  not 
covet  a  colony  settled  by  American  citizens. 

The  health  of  Mrs.  Burnett  had  been  delicate  for  some  three 
years,  and  it  was  all  we  could  do  to  keep  her  alive  through  the  win- 
ter in  that  cold  climate.  Her  physicians  said  the  trip  would  either 
kill  or  cure  her.  I  was  also  largely  indebted  to  my  old  partners  in 
the  mercantile  business.  I  had  sold  all  my  property,  had  lived  in 
a  plain  style,  had  worked  hard,  and  paid  all  I  could  spai-e  each  year; 
and  still  the  amount  of  my  indebtedness  seemed  to  be  reduced  very 
little. 

Putting  all  these  considerations  together,  I  determined,  with  the 
consent  of  my  old  partners,  to  move  to  Oregon.  I  therefore  laid  all 
my  plans  and  calculations  before  them.  I  said  that,  if  Doctor  Linn's 
bill  should  pass,  the  land  would  ultimately  enable  me  to  pay  up. 
There  was  at  least  a  chance.  In  staying  where  I  was,  I  saw  no 
reasonable  probability  of  ever  being  able  to  pay  my  debts.  I  did 
a  good  practice,  and  was  able  to  pay  about  a  thousand  dollars  a 
year;  but,  with  the  accumulation  of  interest,  it  would  require  many 
years'  payments,  at  this  rate  to  square  the  account.  I  was  determined 
not  to  go  without  the  free  consent  and  advice  of  my  creditors. 
They  all  most  willingly  gave  their  consent,  and  said  to  me,  "Take 
what  may  be  necessary  for  the  trip,  leave  us  what  you  can  spare, 
and  pay  us  the  balance  when  you  can  do  so." 

I  followed  their  advice,  and  set  to  work  most  vigorously  to 
organize  a  wagon  company.  I  visited  the  surrounding  counties, 
making  speeches  wherever  I  could  find  a  sufficient  audience,  and 
succeeded  even  beyond  my  expectations.  Having  completed  my 
arrangements,  I  left  my  house  in  Weston  on  the  8th  day  of  May, 
1843,  with  two  ox  wagons,  and  one  small  two-horse  wagon,  four 
yoke  of  oxen,  two  mules,  and  a  fair  supply  of  provisions;  and  arrived 
at  the  rendezvous,  some  twelve  miles  west  of  Independence,  and 
just  beyond  the  line  of  the  State,  on  the  17th  of  May. 

A  trip  to  Oregon  with  ox  teams  was  at  that  time  a  new  experi- 
ment, and  was  exceedingly  severe  upon  the  temper  and  endurance 
of  people.  It  was  one  of  the  most  conclusive  tests  of  character, 
and  the  very  best  school  in  which  to  study  human  nature.  Before 
the  trip  terminated,  people  acted  upon  their  genuine  principles, 
and  threv/  off  all  disguises.    It  was  not  that  the  trip  was  beset  with 


66  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

very  great  perils,  for  we  had  no  war  with  the  Indians,  and  no  stock 
stolen  by  them.  But  there  were  ten  thousand  little  vexations  con- 
tinually recurring,  which  could  not  be  foreseen  before  they  occurred, 
nor  fully  remembered  when  past,  but  were  keenly  felt  while  passing. 
At  one  time  an  ox  would  be  missing,  at  another  time  a  mule,  and 
then  a  struggle  for  the  best  encampment,  and  for  a  supply  of  wood 
and  water;  and,  in  these  struggles,  the  worst  traits  r)f  human  nature 
were  displayed,  and"  there  was  no  remedy  iJut  patient  endurance. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  journey  there  were  several  fisticuff  fights 
in  camp;  but  the  emigrants  soon  abandoned  that  practice,  and 
thereafter  confined  themselves  to  abuse  in  words  only.  The  man 
with  a  black  eye  and  battered  face  could  not  well  hunt  up  his  cattle 
or  drive  his  team. 

But  the  subject  of  the  greatest  and  most  painful  anxiety  to  us 
was  the  suffering  of  our  poor  animals.  We  could  see  our  faithful 
oxen  dying  inch  by  inch,  every  day  becoming  weaker,  and  some  of 
them  giving  out,  and  left  in  the  wilderness  to  fall  a  prey  to  the 
wolves.  In  one  or  two  instances  they  fell  dead  under  the  yoke 
before  they  would  yield.  We  found,  upon  a  conclusive  trial,  that 
the  ox  was  the  noblest  of  draft  animals  upon  that  trip,  and  pos- 
sessed more  genuine  hardihood  and  pluck  than  either  mules  or 
horses.  When  an  ox  is  once  broken  down,  there  is  no  hope  of  sav- 
ing him.  It  requires  immense  hardships,  however,  to  bring  him 
to  that  point.  He  not  only  gathers  his  food  more  rapidly  than  the 
horse  or  mule,  but  he  will  climb  rocky  hills,  cross  muddy  streams, 
and  plunge  Into  swamps  and  thickets  for  pasture.  He  will  seek 
his  food  in  places  where  other  animals  will  not  go.  On  such  a  trip 
as  ours  one  becomes  greatly  attached  to  his  oxen,  for  upon  them 
his  safety  depends. 

Our  emigrants  were  placed  in  a  new  and  trying  position,  and  it 
was  interesting  to  see  the  influence  of  pride  and  old  habits  over 
men.  They  were  often  racing  with  their  teams  in  the  early  portion 
of  the  journey,  though  they  had  before  them  some  seventeen  hun- 
dred miles  of  travel.  No  act  could  have  been  more  inconsiderate 
than  for  men,  under  such  circumstances,  to  injure  their  teams  sim- 
ply to  gratify  their  ambition.  Yet  the  proper  rule  in  such  a  case 
was  to  allow  any  and  every  one  to  pass  you  who  desired  so  to  do. 
Our  emigrants,  on  the  first  portion  of  the  trip,  were  about  as 
wasteful  of  their  provisions  as  if  they  had  been  at  home.  When 
portions  of  bread  were  left  over,  they  were  thrown  away;  and,  when 
any  one  came  to  their  tents,  he  was  invited  to  eat.  I  remember  well 
that,  for  a  long  time,  the  five  young  men  I  had  with  me  refused 
to  eat  any  part  of  the  bacon  rind,  which  accordingly  fell  to  my 
share,  in  addition  to  an  equal  division  of  the  bacon.  Finally  they 
asked    for    and    obtained    their    portion    of    the    bacon    rind,    their 


Recollections  of  ax  Old  Pioneer.  67 

delicate  appetites  having  become  ravenous  on  the  trip.  Those  who 
were  in  the  habit  of  inviting  every  one  to  eat  who  stood  around 
at  meal  times,  ultimately  found  out  that  they  were  feeding  a  set 
of  loafers,  and  gave  up  the  practice. 

START  FROM  THE  REXDEZVOUS— KILL  OUR  FIRST  BUFFALO— KILL 
OUR  FIRST  ANTELOPE — DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  ANTELOPE. 

I  kept  a  concise  journal  of  the  trip  as  far  as  Walla  Walla,  and 
have  it  now  before  me.  On  the  18th  of  May  the  emigrants  at  the 
rendezvous  held  a  meeting  and  appointed  a  committee  to  see  Doctor 
Whitman.  The  meeting  also  appointed  a  committee  of  seven  to 
inspect  wagons,  and  one  of  five  to  draw  up  rules  and  regulations 
for  the  journey.  At  this  meeting  I  made  the  emigrants  a  speech, 
an  exaggerated  report  of  which  was  made  In  1875,  by  ex-Senator 
J.  W.  Nesmith  of  Oregon,  in  his  address  to  the  pioneers  of  that 
State.  The  meeting  adjourned  to  meet  at  the  Big  Springs  on  Satur 
day,  the  20th  of  May. 

On  the  20th  I  attended  the  meeting  at  the  Big  Springs,  where  I 
met  Colonel  John  Thornton,  Colonel  Bartleson,  Mr.  Rickman,  and 
Doctor  Whitman.  At  this  meeting  rules  and  regulations  were  adopted. 
Mr.  Delaney,  who  was  from  high  up  on  Big  Pigeon,  near  Kit 
Bullard's  mill,  Tennessee,  proposed  that  we  should  adopt  either 
the  criminal  laws  of  Tennessee  or  those  of  Missouri  for  our  govern- 
ment on  the  route.  Wiliam  Martin  and  Daniel  Matheny  were 
appointed  a  committee  to  engage  Captain  John  Gant  as  our  pilot 
as  far  as  Fort  Hall.  He  was  accordingly  employed;  and  it  was 
agreed  in  camp  that  we  all  should  start  on  Monday  morning,  May 
22.  We  had  delayed  our  departure,  because  we  thought  the  grass 
too  short  to  support  our  stock.  The  spring  of  1843  was  very  late, 
and  the  ice  in  the  Missouri  River  at  Weston  only  broke  up  on  the 
11th  of  April. 

On  the  22d  of  May,  1843,  a  general  start  was  made  from  the 
rendezvous,  and  we  reached  Elm  Grove,  about  fifteen  miles  distant, 
about  3  P.  M.  This  grove  had  but  two  trees,  both  elms,  and  a  few 
dogwood  bushes,  which  we  used  for  fuel.  The  small  elm  was  most 
beautiful  in  the  wild  and  lonely  prairie;  and  the  large  one  had 
all  its  branches  trimmed  off  for  firewood.  The  weather  being  clear, 
and  the  road  as  good  as  possible,  the  day's  journey  was  most  delight- 
ful. The  white-sheeted  wagons  and  the  fine  teams,  moving  in  the 
wilderness  of  green  prairie,  made  the  most  lovely  appearance.  The 
place  where  we  encamped  was  very  beautiful;  and  no  scene  appeared 
to  our  enthusiastic  vision  more  exquisite  than  the  sight  of  so  many 
wagons,  tents,  fires,  cattle,  and  people,  as  were  here  collected.  At 
night  the  sound  of  joyous  music  was  heard  in  the  tents.     Our  long 


68  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

journey  thus  began  in  sunshine  and  song,  in  anecdote  and  laughter; 
but  these  all  vanished  before  we  reached  its  termination. 

On  the  24th  we  reached  the  Wakarusa  River,  where  we  let  our 
wagons  down  the  steep  bank  by  ropes.  On  the  26th  we  reached 
the  Kansas  River,  and  we  finished  crossing  it  on  the  31st.  At  this 
crossing  we  met  Fathers  De  Smet  and  De  Vos,  missionaries  to  the 
Flathead  Indians.  On  the  1st  of  June  we  organized  our  company, 
by  electing  Peter  H.  Burnett  as  Captain,  J.  W.  Nesmith  as  Orderly 
Sergeant,  and  nine  Councilmen.  On  the  6th  we  met  a  war  party  of 
Kansas  and  Osage  Indians,  numbering  about  ninety  warriors.  They 
were  all  mounted  on  horses,  had  their  faces  painted  red,  and  had  with 
them  one  Pawnee  scalp,  with  the  ears  to  it,  and  with  the  wampum 
in  them.  One  of  them,  who  spoke  English  well,  said  they  had  fasted 
three  days,  and  were  very  hungry.  Our  guide.  Captain  Gant,  advised 
us  to  furnish  them  with  provisions;  otherwise,  they  would  steal 
some  of  our  cattle.  We  deemed  this  not  only  good  advice  but  good 
humanity,  and  furnished  these  starving  warriors  with  enough  pro- 
visions to  satisfy  their  hunger.  They  had  only  killed  one  Pawnee, 
but  had  divided  the  scalp,  making  several  pieces,  some  with  the 
ears  on  and  part  of  the  cheek.  Two  of  this  party  were  wounded, 
one  in  the  shoulder  and  the  other  in  some  other  part  of  the  body. 

None  of  us  knew  anything  about  a  trip  across  the  plains,  except 
our  pilot,  John  Gant,  who  had  made  several  trips  with  small  parties 
of  hired  and  therefore  disciplined  men,  who  knew  how  to  obey 
orders.  But  my  company  was  composed  of  very  different  materials; 
and  our  pilot  had  no  knowledge  that  qualified  him  to  give  me  sound 
advice.  I  adopted  rules  and  endeavored  to  enforce  them,  but  found 
much  practical  difficulty  and  opposition;  all  of  which  I  at  first 
attributed  to  the  fact  that  our  emigrants  were  green  at  the  begin- 
ning, but  comforted  myself  with  the  belief  that  they  would  improve 
in  due  time;  but  my  observation  soon  satisfied  me  that  matters 
would  grow  worse.  It  became  very  doubtful  whether  so  large  a 
body  of  emigrants  could  be  practically  kept  together  on  such  a 
journey.  These  considerations  induced  me  to  resign  on  the  8th  of 
June,  and  William  Martin  was  elected  as  my  successor. 

On  the  12th  of  June  we  were  greatly  surprised  and  delighted  to 
hear  that  Captain  Gant  had  killed  a  buffalo.  The  animal  was  seen 
at  the  distance  of  a  mile  from  the  hunter,  who  ran  upon  him  with 
his  horse  and  shot  him  with  a  large  pistol,  several  shots  being 
required  to  kill  him.  We  were  all  anxious  to  taste  buffalo  meat, 
never  having  eaten  any  before;  but  we  found  it  exceedingly  poor 
and  tough.  The  buffalo  was  an  old  bull,  left  by  the  herd  because 
he  was  unable  to  follow. 

On  the  15th  of  June  one  of  our  party  killed  an  antelope.  This 
is  perhaps  the  fleetest  animal  in  the  world  except  the  gazelle  and 


Recollections  op  an  Old  Pioneer.  69 

possesses  the  quickest  sight  excepting  the  gazelle  and  the  giraffe. 
The  antelope  has  a  large,  black  eye,  like  those  of  the  gazelle  aad 
giraffe,  but  has  no  acute  sense  of  smell.  For  this  reason  this 
animal  is  always  found  on  the  prairie,  or  in  very  open  timber,  and 
will  never  go  into  a  thicket.  He  depends  on  his  superior  sight  to 
discern  an  enemy,  and  upon  his  fleetness  to  escape  him.  I  have 
heard  it  said  that  when  wolves  are  much  pressed  with  hunger,  they 
hunt  the  antelope  in  packs,  the  wolves  placing  themselves  in  differ- 
ent positions.  Antelopes,  like  most  wild  game,  have  their  limits, 
within  which  they  range  for  food  and  water;  and,  when  chased  by 
the  wolves,  the  antelope  will  run  in  something  like  a  circle,  con- 
fining himself  to  his  accustomed  haunts.  When  the  chase  com- 
mences, the  antelope  flies  off  so  rapidly  that  he  leaves  his  pursuers 
far  behind;  but  the  tough  and  hungry  wolf,  with  his  keen  scent, 
follows  on  his  track;  and,  by  the  time  the  antelope  has  become  cool 
and  a  litle  stiff,  the  wolf  is  upon  him,  and  he  flies  from  his  enemy 
a  second  time.  This  race  continues,  fresh  wolves  coming  into  the 
chase  to  relieve  those  that  are  tired,  until  at  last  the  poor  antelope, 
with  all  his  quickness  of  sight  and  fleetness  of  foot,  is  run  down 
and  captured.  As  soon  as  he  is  killed,  the  wolf  that  has  captured 
him  sets  up  a  loud  howl  to  summon  his  companions  in  the  chase 
to  the  banquet.  When  all  have  arrived,  they  set  to  eating  the  car- 
cass, each  wolf  taking  what  he  can  get,  there  being  no  fighting, 
but  only  some  snarling,  among  the  wolves.  This  statement  I  do 
not  know  to  be  true  of  my  own  knowledge,  but  think  it  quite  prob- 
able. It  seems  to  be  characteristic  of  the  dog  family,  in  a  wild 
state,  to  hunt  together  and  devour  the  common  prey  in  partnership. 
Bruce,  in  his  account  of  his  travels  in  Abyssinia,  relates  that  he 
saw  five  or  six  hyenas  all  engaged  in  devouring  one  carcass;  and 
that  he  killed  four  of  them  at  one  shot  with  a  blunderbuss,  loaded 
with  a  large  charge  of  powder  and  forty  bullets. 

When  the  antelope  once  sees  the  hunter,  it  is  impossible  to  stalk 
the  animal.  On  the  trip  to  Oregon  I  tried  the  experiment  without 
success.  When  I  saw  the  antelope,  upon  the  top  of  a  small  hill  or 
mound,  looking  at  me,  I  would  turn  and  walk  away  in  the  opposite 
direction,  until  I  was  out  of  sight  of  the  animal;  then  I  would  make 
a  turn  at  right  angles  until  I  found  some  object  between  me  and 
the  antelope,  behind  which  I  could  approach  unseen  within  rifle- 
shot; but  invariably  the  wily  creature  would  be  found  on  the  top 
of  some  higher  elevation,  looking  at  me  creeping  up  behind  the 
object  that  I  had  supposed  concealed  me  from  my  coveted  prey. 
The  only  practical  way  of  deceiving  an  antelope  is  to  fall  flat  upon 
the  ground  among  the  grass,  and  hold  up  on  your  ramrod  a  hat  or 
handkerchief,  while  you  keep  yourself  concealed  from  his  view. 
Though  exceedingly  wary,  the  curiosity  of  the  animal  is  so  great 


70  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

that  he  will  often  slowly  and  cautiously  approach  within  rifle-shot. 

On  the  IGth  of  June  we  saw  a  splendid  race  between  some  of  our 
dogs  and  an  antelope,  which  ran  all  the  way  down  the  long  line  of 
wagons,  and  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  yards  distant  from  them. 
Greyhounds  were  let  loose,  but  could  not  catch  it.  It  ran  very 
smoothly,  making  no  long  bounds  like  the  deer  or  horse,  but  seemed 
to  glide  through  the  air.  The  gait  of  the  antelope  is  so  peculiar  that, 
if  one  was  running  at  the  top  of  his  speed  over  a  perfectly  smooth 
surface,  his  body  would  always  be  substantially  the  same  distance 
from  the  earth. 

Lindsey  Applegate  gave  this  amusing  and  somewhat  exaggerated 
account  of  a  race  between  a  very  fleet  greyhound  and  an  antelope. 
The  antelope  was  off  to  the  right  of  the  road  half  a  mile  distant, 
and  started  to  cross  the  road  at  right  angles  ahead  of  the  train. 
The  greyhound  saw  him  start  in  the  direction  of  the  road,  and  ran 
to  meet  him,  so  regulating  his  pace  as  to  intercept  the  antelope 
at  the  point  where  he  crossed  the  road.  The  attention  of  the  ante- 
lope being  fixed  upon  the  train,  he  did  not  see  the  greyhound  until 
the  latter  was  within  twenty  feet  of  him.  Then  the  struggle  com- 
menced, each  animal  running  at  his  utmost  speed.  The  greyhound 
only  ran  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  when  he  gave  up  the  race,  and 
looked  with  seeming  astonishment  at  the  animal  that  beat  him, 
as  no  other  animal  had  ever  done  before.  Applegate  declared,  in 
strong  hyperbolical  language,  that  "the  antelope  ran  a  mile  before 
you  could  see  the  dust  rise." 

CROSS  TO  THE  GREAT  VALLEY  OF  THE  PLATTE — BUFFALO  HUNT  — 
DESCRIPTION    OF    THAT    ANIMAL. 

Ever  since  we  crossed  the  Kansas  River  we  had  been  traveling 
up  Blue  River,  a  tributary  of  the  former.  On  the  17th  of  June  we 
reached  our  last  encampment  on  Blue.  We  here  saw  a  band  of 
Pawnee  Indians,  returning  from  a  buffalo  hunt.  They  had  quantities 
of  dried  buffalo  meat,  of  which  they  generously  gave  us  a  good  supply. 
They  were  fine  looking  Indians,  who  did  not  shave  their  heads,  but 
cut  their  hair  short  like  white  men.  On  the  18th  of  June  we  crossed 
from  the  Blue  to  the  great  Platte  River,  making  a  journey  of  from 
twenty-five  to  thirty  miles,  about  the  greatest  distance  we  ever  trav- 
eled in  a  single  day.  The  road  was  splendid,  and  we  drove  some  dis- 
tance into  the  Platte  bottom,  and  encamped  in  the  open  prairie 
without  fuel.  Next  morning  we  left  very  early,  without  breakfast, 
having  traveled  two  hundred  and  seventy-one  miles  from  the  ren- 
dezvous, according  to  the  estimated  distance  recorded  in  my  journal. 

We  traveled  up  the  south  bank  of  the  Platte,  which,  at  the  point 
where  we  struck  it,  was  from  a  mile  to  a  mile  and  a  half  wide. 
Though  not  so  remarkable  as  the  famed  and  mysterious  Nile  (which. 


REfOLLEC'TTONS    OF    AN    OlD    PiONEER.  71 

from  the  mouth  of  the  Atbara  River  to  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  runs 
through  a  desert  some  twelve  hundred  miles  without  receiving  a 
single  tributary),  the  Platte  is  still  a  remarkable  stream.  Like  the 
Nile,  it  runs  hundreds  of  miles  through  a  desert  without  receiving 
any  tributaries.  Its  general  course  is  almost  as  straight  as  a  direct 
line.  It  runs  through  a  formation  of  sand  of  equal  consistence;  and 
this  is  the  reason  its  course  is  so  direct. 

The  valley  of  the  Platte  is  about  twenty  miles  wide,  through  the 
middle  of  which  this  wide,  shallow,  and  muddy  stream  makes  its 
rapid  course.  Its  banks  are  low,  not  exceeding  five  or  six  feet  in 
height;  and  the  river  bottoms  on  each  side  seem  to  the  eye  a  dead 
level,  covered  with  luxuriant  grass.  Ten  miles  from  the  river  you 
come  to  the  foot  of  the  table  lands,  which  are  also  apparently  a 
level  sandy  plain,  elevated  some  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the 
river  bottoms.  On  these  plains  grow  the  short  buffalo  grass,  upon 
which  the  animal  feeds  during  a  portion  of  the  year.  As  the  dry 
season  approaches,  the  water,  which  stands  in  pools  on  these  table 
lands,  dries  up,  and  the  buffalo  are  compelled  to  go  to  the  Platte 
for  water  to  drink.  They  start  for  water  about  10  A.  M.,  and  always 
travel  in  single  file,  one  after  the  other,  and  in  parallel  lines  about 
twenty  yards  apart,  and  go  In  a  direct  line  to  the  river.  They  invar- 
iably travel  the  same  routes  over  and  over  again  until  they  make  a 
path  some  ten  inches  deep  and  twelve  inches  wide.  These  buffalo 
paths  constituted  quite  an  obstruction  to  our  wagons,  which  were 
heavily  laden  at  this  point  in  our  journey.  Several  axles  were 
broken.  We  had  been  apprised  of  the  danger  in  advance,  and  each 
wagon  was  supplied  with  an  extra  axle. 

In  making  our  monotonous  journey  up  the  smooth  valley  of  the 
Platte,  through  the  warm,  genial  sunshine  of  summer,  the  feeling 
of  drowsiness  was  so  great  that  it  was  extremely  difficult  to  keep 
awake  during  the  day.  Instances  occurred  where  drivers  went  to 
sleep  on  the  road,  sitting  in  the  front  of  their  wagons;  and  the  oxen, 
being  about  as  sleepy,  would  stop  until  the  drivers  were  aroused 
from  their  slumber.  My  small  wagon  was  used  only  for  the  family 
to  ride  in;  and  Mrs.  Burnett  and  myself  drove  and  slept  alternately 
during  the  day. 

One  great  difficulty  on  this  part  of  the  trip  was  the  scarcity  of 
fuel.  Sometimes  we  found  dry  willows,  sometimes  we  picked  up 
pieces  of  drift-wood  along  the  way,  which  we  put  into  our  wagons, 
and  hauled  them  along  until  we  needed  them.  At  many  points  of 
the  route  up  the  Platte  we  had  to  use  buffalo  chips.  By  cutting  a 
trench  some  ten  inches  deep,  six  inches  wide,  and  two  feet  long, 
we  were  enabled  to  get  along  with  very  little  fuel.  At  one  or  two 
places  the  wind  was  so  severe  that  we  were  forced  ^o  use  the 
trenches  in  order  to  make  a  fire  at  all. 


72  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

On  the  20th  of  June  we  sent  out  a  party  of  hunters,  who  returned 
on  the  24th  with  plenty  of  fresh  buffalo-meat.  We  thought  the  flesh 
of  the  buffalo  the  most  excellent  of  all  flesh  eaten  by  man.  Its 
flavor  is  decidedly  different  from  that  of  beef,  and  far  superior,  and 
the  meat  more  digestible.  On  a  trip  like  that,  in  that  dry  climate, 
our  appetites  were  excellent;  but,  even  making  every  reasonable 
allowance,  I  still  think  buffalo  the  sweetest  meat  in  the  world. 

The  American  buffalo  is  a  peculiar  animal,  remarkably  hardy,  and 
much  fleeter  of  foot  than  any  one  would  suppose  from  his  round, 
short  figure.  It  requires  a  fleet  horse  to  overtake  him.  His  sense 
of  smell  is  remarkably  acute,  while  those  of  sight  and  hearing  are 
very  dull.  If  the  wind  blows  from  the  hunter  to  the  buffalo,  it  is 
impossible  to  approach  him.  I  remember  that,  on  one  occasion, 
while  we  were  traveling  up  the  Platte,  I  saw  a  band  of  some 
fifty  buffaloes  running  obliquely  toward  the  river  on  the  other  side 
from  us,  and  some  three  miles  off;  and,  the  moment  that  their  leader 
struck  the  stream  of  tainted  atmosphere  passing  from  us  to  them, 
he  and  the  rest  of  the  herd  turned  at  right  angles  from  their  former 
course,  and  fled  in  the  direction  of  the  wind. 

On  one  occasion  five  of  us  went  out  on  fleet  horses  to  hunt  buf- 
faloes. We  soon  found  nine  full-grown  animals,  feeding  near  the 
head  of  a  ravine.  The  wind  blew  from  them  to  us,  and  their  keen 
scent  was  thus  worthless  to  them,  as  the  smell  will  only  travel 
with  the  wind.  We  rode  quietly  up  the  ravine,  until  we  arrived  at 
a  point  only  about  one  hundred  yards  distant,  when  we  formed  in 
line,  side  by  side,  and  the  order  was  given  to  charge.  We  put  our 
horses  at  once  to  their  utmost  speed ;  and  the  loud  clattering  of  their 
hoofs  over  the  dry,  hard  ground  at  once  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
buffaloes,  which  raised  their  heads  and  gazed  at  us  for  an  instant  and 
then  turned  and  fled.  By  the  time  they  started  we  were  within  fifty 
yards  of  them.  The  race  was  over  a  level  plain,  and  we  gradually 
gained  upon  the  fleeing  game;  but,  when  we  approached  within 
twenty  yards  of  them,  we  could  plainly  see  that  they  let  out  a  few 
more  links,  and  ran  much  faster.  I  was  riding  a  fleet  Indian  pony, 
and  was  ahead  of  all  my  comrades  except  Mr.  Garrison,  who  rode 
&  blooded  American  mare.  He  dashed  in  ahead  of  me,  and  fired  with 
a  large  horse  pistol  at  the  largest  buffalo,  giving  the  animal  a 
slight  wound.  The  moment  the  buffalo  felt  himself  wounded  that 
moment  he  bore  off  from  the  others,  they  continuing  close  together, 
and  he  running  by  himself. 

I  followed  the  wounded  buffalo,  and  my  comrades  followed  the 
others.  The  moment  I  began  to  press  closely  upon  the  wounded 
animal,  he  turned  suddenly  around,  and  faced  me  with  his  shaggy 
head,  black  horns,  and  gleaming  eyes.  My  pony  stopped  instantly, 
and  I  rode  around  the  old  bull  to  get  a  shot  at  his  side,  knowing  that 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.      73 

it  would  be  idle  to  shoot  him  in  the  head,  as  no  rifle  ball  will  pene- 
trate the  brain  of  a  buffalo  bull.  But  the  animal  would  keep  his 
head  toward  me.  I  knew  my  pony  had  been  trained  to  stand  wher- 
ever he  was  left,  and  I  saw  that  the  wounded  bull  never  charged 
at  the  horse.  So  I  determined  to  dismount  and  get  a  shot  on  foot. 
I  would  go  a  few  yards  from  my  horse,  and  occasionally  the  buffalo 
would  bound  toward  me,  and  then  I  would  dodge  behind  my  pony, 
which  stood  like  a  statue,  not  exhibiting  the  slightest  fear.  For 
some  reason  the  wounded  animal  would  not  attack  the  pony.  Per- 
haps the  buffalo  had  been  before  chased  by  Indians  on  horseback, 
and  for  that  reason  was  afraid  of  the  pony.  At  last  I  got  a  fair 
opportunity,  and  shot  the  buffalo  through  the  lungs.  The  moment 
he  felt  the  shot,  he  turned  and  fled.  The  shot  through  the  lungs 
is  the  most  fatal  to  the  buffalo,  as  he  soon  smothers  from  the  effects 
of  internal  hemorrhage.  It  is  a  singular  fact  that,  before  a  buffalo 
is  wounded,  he  will  never  turn  and  face  his  pursuer,  but  will  run 
at  his  best  speed,  even  until  the  hunter  is  by  his  side;  but  the 
moment  a  buffalo  is  wounded,  even  slightly,  he  will  quit  the  band, 
and  when  pressed  by  the  hunter  will  turn  and  face  him.  The  animal 
seems  to  think  that,  when  wounded,  his  escape  by  flight  is  impossi- 
ble, and  his  only  chance  is  in  combat. 

On  the  27th  of  June  our  people  had  halted  for  lunch  at  noon, 
and  to  rest  the  teams  and  allow  the  oxen  to  graze.  Our  wagons 
were  about  three  hundred  yards  from  the  river,  and  were  strung 
out  in  line  to  the  distance  of  one  mile.  While  taking  our  lunch  we 
saw  seven  buffalo  bulls  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  coming 
toward  us,  as  if  they  intended  to  cross  the  river  in  the  face  of  our 
whole  caravan.  When  they  arrived  on  the  opposite  bank  they  had 
a  full  view  of  us;  and  yet  they  deliberately  entered  the  river,  wading 
a  part  of  the  distance,  and  swimming  the  remainder.  When  we  saw 
that  they  were  determined  to  cross  at  all  hazards,  our  men  took 
their  rifles,  formed  in  line  between  the  wagons  and  the  river,  and 
awaited  the  approach  of  the  animals.  So  soon  as  they  rose  the  bank, 
they  came  on  in  a  run,  broke  boldly  through  the  line  of  men,  and  bore 
to  the  left  of  the  wagons.  Three  of  them  were  killed,  and  most  of 
the  others  wounded. 

CROSS   THE   SOUTH   FORK  — ARRIVE   AT   PORT   LARAMIE  — CHEYENNE 

CHIEF  — CROSS   THE    NORTH    FORK— DEATHS   OF   PAINE    AND 

STEVENSON  — CROSS   GREEN  RIVER  — ARRmi 

AT  PORT  HALL. 

On  the  29th  of  .June  we  arrived  at  a  grove  of  timber,  on  the  south 
bank  of  the  South  Fork  of  the  Platte.  This  was  the  only  timber 
we  had  seen  since  we  struck  the  river,  except  on  the  islands,  which 
were  covered  with  cottonwoods  and  willows.     From  our  first  camp 


74  Pkter  H.  Burnett. 

upon  the  Platte  to  this  point,  we  had  traveled,  according  to  my  esti- 
mates recorded  in  my  journal,  one  hundred  and  seventy-three  miles, 
in  eleven  days. 

On  July  1st  we  made  three  boats  by  covei'ing  our  wagon  boxes 
or  beds  with  green  buffalo  hides  sewed  together,  stretched  tightly 
over  the  boxes,  flesh  side  out,  and  tacked  on  with  large  tacks;  and 
the  boxes,  thus  covered,  were  turned  up  to  the  sun  until  the  hides 
were  thoroughly  dry.  This  process  of  drying  the  green  hides  had 
to  be  repeated  several  times.  From  July  1st  to  5th,  inclusive,  we 
were  engaged  in  crossing  the  river.  On  the  7th  we  arrived  at  the 
south  bank  of  the  North  Fork  of  the  Platte,  having  traveled  a  dis- 
tance of  twenty-nine  miles  from  the  South  Fork.  We  had  not  seen 
any  prairie  chickens  since  we  left  the  Blue.  On  the  9th  we  saw 
three  beautiful  wild  horses.  On  the  14th  we  arrived  at  Fort  Laramie, 
where  we  remained  two  days  repairing  our  wagons.  We  had  trav- 
eled from  the  crossing  of  the  South  Fork  one  hundred  and  forty-one 
miles  in  nine  days.  Prices  of  articles  at  this  trading  post:  Coffee, 
.$1.50  a  pint;  brown  sugar,  the  same;  flour,  unbolted,  25  cents  a 
pound;  powder,  $1.50  a  pound;  lead,  75  cents  a  pound;  percussion 
caps,  $1.50  a  box;  calico,  very  inferior,  $1.00  a  yard. 

At  the  fort  we  found  the  Cheyenne  chief  and  some  of  his  people. 
He  was  a  tall,  trim,  noble-looking  Indian,  aged  about  thirty.  The 
Cheyennes  at  that  time  boasted  that  they  had  never  shed  the  blood 
of  the  white  man.  He  went  alone  very  freely  among  our  people, 
and  I  happened  to  meet  him  at  one  of  our  camps,  where  there  was 
a  foolish,  rash  young  man,  who  wantonly  insulted  the  chief. 
Though  the  chief  did  not  understand  the  insulting  words,  he  clearly 
understood  the  insulting  tone  and  gestures.  I  saw  from  the  expres- 
sion of  his  countenance  that  the  chief  was  most  indignant,  though 
perfectly  cool  and  brave.  He  made  no  reply  in  words,  but  walked 
away  slowly;  and,  when  some  twenty  feet  from  the  man  who  had 
insulted  him,  he  turned  around,  and  solemnly  and  slowly  shook 
the  forefinger  of  his  right  hand  at  the  young  man  several  times,  as 
much  as  to  say,  "I  will  attend  to  your  case." 

I  saw  that  trouble  was  coming,  and  I  followed  the  chief,  and  by 
kind,  earnest  gestures  made  him  understand  at  last  that  this  young 
man  was  considered  by  us  all  as  a  half-witted  fool,  unworthy  of 
the  notice  of  any  sensible  man;  and  that  we  never  paid  attention 
to  what  he  said,  as  we  hardly  considered  him  responsible  for  his 
language.  The  moment  the  chief  comprehended  my  meaning  I  saw 
a  change  come  over  his  countenance,  and  he  went  away  perfectly 
satisfied.  He  was  a  clear-headed  man;  and,  though  unlettered,  he 
understood  human  nature. 

In  traveling  up  the  South  Fork  we  saw  several  Indians,  who  kept 
at  a  distance,  and  never  manifested   any  disposition  to  molest  us 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  75 

in  any  way.  They  saw  we  were  mere  travelers  through  their  coun- 
try, and  would  only  destroy  a  small  amount  of  their  game.  Besides, 
they  must  have  been  impressed  with  the  due  sense  of  our  power. 
Our  long  line  of  wagons,  teams,  cattle,  and  men,  on  the  smooth 
plains,  and  under  the  clear  skies  of  the  Platte,  made  a  most  grand 
appearance.  They  had  never  before  seen  any  spectacle  like  it. 
They,  no  doubt,  supposed  we  had  cannon  concealed  in  our  wagons. 
A  few  years  before  a  military  expedition  had  been  sent  out  from 
Fort  Leavenworth  to  chastise  some  of  the  wild  prairie  tribes  for 
depredations  committed  against  the  whites.  General  Bennett  Riley, 
then  Captain  Riley,  had  command,  and  had  with  him  some  cannon. 
In  a  skirmish  with  the  Indians,  in  the  open  prairie,  he  had  used 
his  cannon,  killing  some  of  the  Indians  at  a  distance  beyond  a  rifle 
shot.  This  new  experience  had  taught  them  a  genuine  dread  of 
big  guns. 

.  The  Indians  always  considered  the  wild  game  as  much  their  prop- 
erty as  they  did  the  country  in  which  it  was  found.  Though  breed- 
ing and  maintaining  the  game  cost  them  no  labor,  yet  it  lived  and 
fattened  on  their  grass  and  herbage,  and  was  as  substantially 
within  the  power  of  these  roving  people  and  skillful  hunters  as  the 
domestic  animals  of  the  white  man. 

On  the  24th  of  July  we  crossed  the  North  Fork  of  the  Platte  by 
fording,  without  difficulty,  having  traveled  the  distance  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-two  miles  from  Fort  Laramie  in  nine  days.  On 
the  27th  we  arrived  at  the  Sweetwater,  having  traveled  from  the 
North  Fork  fifty-five  miles  in  three  days.  On  the  3rd  of  August, 
while  traveling  up  the  Sweetwater,  we  first  came  in  sight  of  the 
eternal  snows  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  This  to  us  was  a  grand  and 
magnificent  sight.  We  had  never  before  seen  the  perpetually  snow- 
clad  summit  of  a  mountain.  This  day  William  Martin  brought  into 
camp  the  foot  of  a  very  rare  carnivorous  animal,  much  like  the 
hyena,  and  with  no  name.  It  was  of  a  dark  color,  had  very  large 
teeth,  and  was  thought  to  be  strong  enough  to  kill  a  half-grown 
buffalo. 

On  the  4th  of  August  Mr.  Paine  died  of  fever,  and  we  remained 
in  camp  to  bury  him.  We  buried  him  in  the  wild,  shelterless  plains, 
close  to  the  new  road  we  had  made,  and  the  funeral  scene  was  most 
sorrowful  and  impressive.  Mr.  Garrison,  a  Methodist  preacher,  a 
plain,  humble  man,  delivered  a  most  touching  and  beautiful  prayer 
at  the  lonely  grave. 

On  the  5th,  Gth  and  7th  we  crossed  the  summit  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  on  the  evening  of  the  7th  we  first  drank  of  the 
waters  that  flow  into  the  great  Pacific.  The  first  Pacific  water  we 
saw  was  that  of  a  large,  pure  spring.  On  the  9th  we  came  to  the 
Bis?  Sandv  at  noon.    This  day  Stevenson  died  of  fever,  and  we  buried 


76  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

him  on  the  sterile  banks  of  that  stream.  On  the  11th  we  crossed 
Green  River,  so  called  from  its  green  color.  It  is  a  beautiful  stream, 
containing  fine  fish.  On  the  margins  of  this  stream  there  are  ex- 
tensive groves  of  small  cottonwood  trees,  about  nine  inches  in 
diameter,  with  low  and  brushy  tops.  These  trees  are  cut  down  by 
the  hunters  and  trappers  in  winter  for  the  support  of  their  mules 
and  hardy  Indian  ponies.  The  animals  feed  on  the  tender  twigs,  and 
on  the  bark  of  the  smaller  limbs,  and  in  this  way  manage  to  live. 
Large  quantities  of  this  timber  are  thus  desti'oyed  annually. 

On  the  12th  of  August  we  were  informed  that  Doctor  Whitman  had 
written  a  letter,  stating  that  the  Catholic  missionaries  had  dis- 
covered, by  the  aid  of  their  Flathead  Indian  pilot,  a  pass  through 
the  mountains  by  way  of  Fort  Bridger,  which  was  shorter  than  the 
old  route.  We,  therefore,  determined  to  go  by  the  fort.  There  was 
a  heavy  frost  with  thin  ice  this  morning.  On  the  14th  we  arrived 
at  Fort  Bridger,  situated  on  Black's  Fork  of  Green  River,  having 
traveled  from  our  first  camp  on  the  Sweetwater  two  hundred  and 
nineteen  miles  in  eighteen  days.  Here  we  overtook  the  mission- 
aries. On  the  17th  we  arrived  on  the  banks  of  Bear  River,  a  clear, 
beautiful  stream,  with  abundance  of  good  fish  and  plenty  of  wild 
ducks  and  geese.  On  the  22nd  we  arrived  at  the  great  Soda  Springs, 
when  we  left  Bear  River  for  Fort  Hall,  at  which  place  we  arrived 
on  the  27th,  haveing  traveled  two  hundred  and  thirty-five  miles  from 
Fort  Bridger  in  thirteen  days. 

Fort  Hall  was  then  a  trading  post,  belonging  to  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  and  was  under  the  charge  of  Mr.  Grant,  who  was  ex- 
ceedingly kind  and  hospitable.  The  foi't  was  situated  on  the  south 
bank  of  Snake  River,  in  a  wide,  fertile  valley  covered  with  luxuriant 
grass  and  watered  by  numerous  springs  and  small  streams.  This 
valley  had  once  Deen  a  great  resort  for  buffaloes,  and  their  skulls 
were  scattered  around  in  every  direction.  We  saw  the  skulls  of 
these  animals  for  the  last  time  at  Fort  Boise,  beyond  which  point 
they  were  never  seen.  The  company  had  bands  of  horses  and  herds 
of  cattle  grazing  on  these  rich  bottom  lands. 

Up  to  this  point  the  route  over  which  we  had  passed  was,  per- 
haps, the  finest  natural  road,  of  the  same  length,  to  be  found  in  the 
world.  Only  a  few  loaded  wagons  had  ever  made  their  way  to 
Fort  Hall,  and  were  there  abandoned.  Doctor  Whitman  in  1836  had 
taken  a  wagon  as  far  as  Fort  Boise,  by  making  a  cart  on  two  of  the 
wheels  and  placing  the  axletree  and  the  other  two  wheels  in  his 
cart.     ("Gray's  Oregon,"  page  133.) 

We  here  parted  with  our  respected  pilot,  Captain  John  Gant.  Dr. 
Marcus  Whitman  was  with  us  at  the  fort,  and  was  our  pilot  from 
there  to  Grand  Ronde,  where  he  left  us  in  charge  of  an  Indian  pilot, 
whose  name  was  Stikas,  and  who  proved  to  be  both  faithful  and 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  77 

competent.     The  doctor  left  us  to  have  his  grist-mill  put  in  order 
by  the  time  we  should  reach  his  mission. 

We  now  arrived  at  a  most  critical  period  in  our  most  adven- 
turous journey,  and  we  had  many  misgivings  as  to  our  ultimate 
success  in  making  our  way  with  our  wagons,  teams  and  families. 
We  had  yet  to  accomplish  the  untried  and  most  difficult  portion  of 
our  long  and  exhaustive  journey.  We  could  not  anticipate  at  what 
moment  we  might  be  compelled  to  abandon  our  wagons  in  the  moun- 
tains, pack  our  scant  supplies  on  our  poor  oxen,  and  make  our  way 
on  foot  through  this  terribly  rough  country  as  best  we  could.  We 
fully  comprehended  the  situation,  but  we  never  faltered  in  our  in- 
flexible determination  to  accomplish  the  trip,  if  within  the  limits 
of  possibility,  with  the  resources  at  our  command.  Doctor  Whitman 
assured  us  that  we  could  succeed,  and  encouraged  and  aided  us  with 
every  means  in  his  power.  I  consulted  Mr.  Grant  as  to  his  opinion 
of  the  practicability  of  taking  our  wagons  through.  He  replied  that, 
while  he  would  not  say  it  was  impossible  for  us  Americans  to 
make  the  trip  in  our  wagons,  he  could  not  himself  see  how  it  could 
be  done.  He  had  only  traveled  the  pack-trail,  and  certainly  no 
wagons  could  follow  that  route,  but  there  might  be  a  practical  road 
found  by  leaving  the  trail  at  certain  points. 

LEAVE     fort     hall  — sagebrush     LANDS  — SALMON     FALLS  — THE 

SPEAR  OF  THE  INDIAN  FISHERMAN  —  CROSS  SNAKE 

RIVER— KILL  A  LARGE  SALMON. 

On  the  30th  of  August  we  quitted  Fort  Hall,  many  of  our  young 
men  having  left  us  with  pack-trains.  Our  route  lay  down  Snake 
River  for  some  distance.  The  road  was  rocky  and  rough,  except 
in  the  dry  valleys,  and  these  were  covered  with  a  thick  growth  of 
sage  or  wormwood,  which  was  from  two  to  three  feet  high,  and 
offered  a  great  obstruction  to  the  first  five  or  six  wagons  passing 
through  it.  The  soil  where  this  melancholy  shrub  was  found  ap- 
peared to  be  too  dry  and  sterile  to  produce  anything  else.  It  was 
very  soft  on  the  surface,  and  easily  worked  up  into  a  most  disagree- 
able dust,  as  fine  as  ashes  or  flour. 

The  taste  of  the  sage  is  exceedingly  bitter;  the  shrub  has  a 
brown,  somber  appearance,  and  a  most  disagreeable  smell.  The  stem 
at  the  surface  of  the  ground  is  from  one  to  two  inches  in  diameter, 
and  soon  branches,  so  as  to  form  a  thick,  brushy  top.  The  texture 
of  the  stem  is  peculiar  and  unlike  that  of  any  other  shrub,  being  all 
bark  and  no  sap  or  heart,  and  appears  like  the  outside  bark  of  the 
grapevine.  How  the  sap  ascends  from  the  root  to  the  branches,  or 
whether  the  shrub  draws  its  nutriment  from  the  air,  I  am  not  able 
to  decide.  One  thing  I  remember  well,  that  the  stems  of  the  green 
growing  sage  were  good  for  fuel  and  burned  most  readily,  and  so 


78  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

rapidly  that  the  supply  had  to  be  continually  renewed,  showing  that 
they  were  not  only  dry,  but  of  very  slight,  porous  texture.  Had  the 
sage  been  as  stout  and  hard  as  other  shrubbery  of  the  same  size 
we  should  have  been  compelled  to  cut  our  wagonway  through  it, 
and  could  never  have  passed  over  it  as  we  did,  crushing  it  beneath 
the  feet  of  our  oxen  and  the  wheels  of  our  wagons. 

The  geographical  features  of  the  Pacific  Coast  are  Asiatic  in 
their  appearance,  being  composed  of  mountains  and  valleys.  Our 
hills  swell  to  mountains,  and  our  valleys  are  to  the  eye  a  dead  level, 
yet  they  generally  descend  about  nine  or  ten  feet  to  the  mile.  We 
have  consequently  very  little  gently  undulating  land,  such  as  is 
generally  found  in  the  great  Mississippi  Valley.  Gibbon,  speaking 
of  the  route  of  the  army  of  the  Emperor  Julian  well  but  concisely 
describes  the  sageplains  of  this  coast:  "The  country  was  a  plain 
throughout,  as  even  as  the  sea,  and  full  of  wormwood;  and,  if  any 
other  kinds  of  shrubs  or  reeds  grew  there,  they  had  all  an  aromatic 
smell,  but  no  trees  could  be  seen."  ("Decline  and  Fall,"  chapter 
xxiv,  pp.  477-8.) 

Colonel  Mercer  of  Oregon,  delivered  a  lecture  in  the  city  of  New 
York  on  April  6,  1878,  as  appears  from  the  telegram  to  the  "Daily 
Alta"  of  the  7th,  in  M'hich  he  set  forth  the  wonderful  fertility  of  the 
sagebrush  lands,  which  until  recently  have  been  supposed  to  be 
valueless.  The  sagebrush  lands  through  which  we  passed  in  1843 
appeared  to  be  worthless,  not  only  because  of  the  apparent  sterility 
of  the  soil,  but  for  the  want  of  water.  With  plentiful  irrigation,  I 
think  it  quite  probable  that  these  lands  in  most  places,  might  be 
rendered  fruitful.  Water  is  a  great  fertilizer  and  nothing  but 
experiment  can  actully  demonstrate  how  far  these  wilderness  plains 
can  be  redeemed. 

On  the  7th  of  September,  1843,  we  arrived  at  the  Salmon  Falls 
on  Snake  River,  where  we  purchased  from  the  Snake  Indians  dried 
and  fresh  salmon,  giving  one  ball  and  one  charge  of  powder  for  each 
dried  fish.  We  found  several  lodges  of  Indians  here  who  were  very 
poorly  clad,  and  who  made  a  business  of  fishing  at  the  falls.  The 
falls  were  about  eight  feet  perpendicular  at  that  stage  of  water, 
with  rapids  below  for  some  distance.  The  stream  is  divided  upon 
the  rapids  into  various  narrow  channels,  through  v/hich  the  waters 
pass  with  a  very  shallow  and  rapid  current,  so  that  the  fisherman 
can  wade  across  them.  The  salmon  are  compelled  to  pass  up  these 
channels,  and  readily  fall  a  prey  to  the  quick,  sharp  spear  of  tho 
Indian  fisherman.  The  spear  consists  of  a  strong,  smooth  pole, 
ten  or  twelve  feet  long  and  an  inch  and  a  half  in  diameter,  made  of 
hard  tough  wood,  upon  one  end  of  which  there  is  fastened  a  piece 
of  sharp-pointed  buckhorn  about  four  inches  long.  The  larger  end 
of  this  piece  of  buckhorn  is  hollowed  out  to  the  depth  of  about  three 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  79 

inches  and  fastened  on  the  end  of  the  pole,  which  is  tapered  to  fit 
into  it.  To  the  middle  of  this  buckhorn  there  is  securely  fastened 
a  thong  or  string  of  sinew,  the  other  end  of  which  is  firmly  attached 
to  the  pole  about  one  foot  above  the  buckhorn,  leaving  a  considera- 
ble slack  in  the  line.  With  this  spear  the  Indian  fisherman  lies  down 
or  sits  close  to  one  of  these  narrow  channels  with  the  point  of  his 
spear  resting  near  where  the  fish  must  pass.  In  this  position  he 
remains  motionless  until  he  sees  a  fish  immediately  opposite  the 
point  of  the  spear,  as  the  fish  slowly  ascends  the  rapid  current; 
when,  with  the  quick  motion  of  a  juggler,  he  pushes  his  spear  clear 
through  the  salmon  before  this  powerful  fish  can  dodge  it.  The 
buckhorn  at  once  slips  off  the  end  of  the  pole  on  the  other  side  of 
the  fish  the  first  flounce  he  makes;  but  he  is  securely  held  by  the 
thong  attached  to  the  pole.  No  spear  could  be  more  skillfully 
designed  or  more  effectually  used  than  this. 

One  of  our  emigrants,  having  been  informed  before  he  started 
on  the  trip  that  the  clear,  living  waters  of  the  Columbia  and  its 
tributaries  were  full  of  salmon,  had  brought  all  the  way  from  Mis- 
souri a  three-pronged  harpoon,  called  a  gig.  The  metallic  portion 
of  this  fishing  instrument  was  securely  riveted  on  the  end  of  a 
smooth,  strong  pole  about  ten  feet  long,  and  two  inches  in  diameter. 
The  skillful  fisherman  held  this  gig  in  his  right  hand,  raised  above 
his  head,  and,  when  he  saw  a  fish  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  distant,  he 
would  pitch  the  weapon  at  his  prey  with  such  a  sure  aim  as  seldom 
to  miss  his  mark. 

This  emigrant  was  joyful  when  we  arrived  at  the  falls,  it  being 
the  first  point  where  he  could  use  his  gig.  He  soon  brought  forth  his 
instrument  from  the  bottom  of  his  wagon,  where  it  had  remained 
unused  so  long,  and  sallied  forth  to  capture  salmon.  We  all  watched 
with  deep  interest,  as  he  stood  by  one  of  these  narrow  channels,  gig 
in  hand.  Very  soon  we  saw  him  throw  his  gig,  but  he  missed  his 
mark.  Again  and  again  he  tried  his  skill,  but  always  failed.  The 
fact  was  that  the  salmon,  one  of  the  most  muscular  of  fishes,  with 
keen  sight  and  quick  motion,  had  seen  the  thrown  gig  in  time,  and 
had  effectually  dodged  it.  Our  emigrant  came  back  greatly  morti- 
fied because  the  Indians  could  beat  him  in  catching  salmon.  He 
understood,  after  this  trial,  the  difference  between  the  agility  of  the 
salmon  of  the  Columbia  and  that  of  the  sluggish  catfish  of  the 
Mississippi. 

Before  reaching  the  Salmon  Falls  we  passed  a  large  spring  on 
the  opposite  side  of  Snake  River.  This  spring  furnished  water 
enough  for  a  large  creek,  which  fell  perpendicularly  from  a  wall  of 
basaltic  rock  two  hundred  feet  high,  forming  a  most  beautiful  scene 
on  the  river. 

On  the  10th  of  September  we  crossed  the  Snake  River  by  fording 


80  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

without  difficulty,  and  in  crossing  we  l^illed  a  salmon  weighing 
twenty-three  pounds,  one  of  our  wagons  running  over  it  as  it  lay  on 
the  bottom  of  the  pebbly  stream. 

The  full-grown  male  and  female  salmon  from  the  ocean  enter  the 
streams  that  flow  into  it  and,  guided  by  a  wonderful  instinct,  ascend 
to  the  upper  branches,  where  they  can  deposit  their  numerous 
spawn  in  a  place  secure  from  enemies.  The  waters  of  these  moun- 
tain streams  are  so  clear  as  to  remind  one  of  Dryden's  description — 

"Of  shallow  brook.s,  that  flow  so  clear, 
The  bottom  did  the  top  appear." 

In  the  pebbly  bottoms  of  these  tributary  streams  the  female  sal- 
mon hollows  out  a  cavity  of  sufficient  depth  to  form  an  eddy,  in 
which  she  can  deposit  her  spawn  without  the  danger  of  their  being 
swept  away  by  the  current.  The  one  we  killed  was  doubtless  in 
her  nest  which  she  refused  to  quit. 

From  all  the  information  I  was  able  to  obtain  while  residing  in 
Oregon,  grown  salmon  which  once  leave  the  ocean  never  return. 
This  was  the  opinion  of  Sir  James  Douglas,  which  was  confirmed 
by  my  own  observation.  But  there  seems  to  be  a  difference  of 
opinion  on  the  question.  I  have  lately  conversed  with  B.  B.  Red- 
ding upon  the  subject,  and  it  is  his  opinion  that  about  ten  per  cent, 
return  alive  to  the  ocean,  as  about  that  proportion  are  caught  in  the 
Sacramento  River  on  the  upper  side  of  the  gill  nets  used  by  the 
fishermen.    This  may  be  the  more  correct  opinion. 

The  male  salmon  is  armed  with  strong,  sharp  teeth,  and  they 
fight  and  wound  each  other  severely.  While  the  female  is  making 
and  guarding  her  nest,  her  mate  remains  close  by,  watching  and 
waiting  with  the  greatest  fidelity  and  patience;  and,  when  any  other 
fish  approaches  too  near,  he  darts  at  him  with  the  utmost  swiftness 
and  ferocity.  The  spawn  is  always  deposited  in  the  pebbly  bed  of 
the  stream  where  the  water  is  swift  and  comparatively  shallow, 
and  where  other  fish  are  less  likely  to  molest  them.  The  eggs  hatch 
in  from  forty  to  forty-five  days. 

For  hours  I  have  watched  the  efforts  of  salmon  to  pass  over  the 
Willamette  Falls  at  Oregon  City.  For  a  space  of  one  or  two  minutes  I 
would  not  see  a  fish  in  the  air.  Then,  all  at  once,  I  would  see  one  leap 
out  of  the  water,  followed  immediately  by  great  numbers.  Some 
would  rise  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet,  while  many  would  not  ascend 
more  than  four  or  five;  but  all  seemed  equally  determined  to  suc- 
ceed. They  had  selected  the  most  practicable  point  and  approached 
very  near  the  column  of  descending  water,  and  rose  from  the  eddy 
caused  by  the  reflow.  Occasionally  one  would  go  over,  but  the  great 
majority  pitched  with  their  heads  plump  against  the  wall  of  rock 
behind  the  torrent,  and  fell  back  more  or  less  wounded,  to  try  again. 
There  was  a  shelf  in  the  rock  three  or  four  feet  below  the  top,  and 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  81 

1  have  seen  salmon  catch  on  this  shelf,  rest  for  an  instant,  then 
flounce  off  and  fall  into  the  water  below.  So  long  as  the  salmon  is 
alive  its  head  will  be  found  up  stream  and  every  effort  made,  though 
feeble,  will  be  to  ascend.  Sometimes,  when  in  very  shallow  water, 
the  fish  may  descend  to  a  short  distance  to  escape  an  enemy  for  the 
time,  but  its  constant  instinct  is  to  go  up  higher  until  it  reaches 
the  place  to  deposit  its  eggs. 

BOILING   SPRING— FORT   BOISE— BURNT    RIVER— THE   LONE   PINE  — 

THE  GRAND  RONDE  — THE  BLUE  MOUNTAINS  — ARRIVE  AT  DR. 

whitman's  mission — ARRIVE  AT  WALLA  WALLA. 


On  the  14th  of  September  we  passed  the  Boiling  Spring.  Its 
v/ater  is  hot  enough  to  cook  an  egg.  It  runs  out  at  three  different 
places,  forming  a  large  branch,  which  runs  off  smoking  and  foaming. 
It  rises  half  a  mile  from  a  tall  range  of  hills  covered  with  basaltic 
rock,  and  the  plains  around  are  covered  with  round  rocks  of  the 
same  kind.  The  water  is  ci'^ar  and  rises  at  the  head  of  a  small 
ravine. 

On  the  20th  of  September  we  arrived  at  Fort  Boise,  then  in  charge 
of  Mr.  Payette,  having  trav*iled  from  Fort  Hall,  two  hundred  and 
seventy-three  miles,  in  twenty-one  days.  Mr.  Payette,  the  manager, 
was  kind  and  very  polite.  On  the  21st  we  recrossed  the  Snake 
River  by  fording,  which  was  deep  but  safe.  On  the  24th  we  reached 
Burnt  River,  so  named  from  the  many  fires  that  have  occurred  there, 
destroying  considerable  portions  of  timber.  It  hardly  deserves  to 
be  called  a  river,  being  only  a  creek  of  fair  size.  The  road  up  this 
stream  was  then  a  terrible  one,  as  the  latter  runs  betv/een  two 
ranges  of  tall  mountains  through  a  narrow  valley  full  of  timber, 
which  we  had  not  the  force  or  time  to  remove. 

On  the  27th  of  September  we  had  some  rain  during  the  night,  and 
next  morning  left  Burnt  River.  Today  we  saw  many  of  the  most 
beautiful  objects  in  nature.  In  the  rear,  on  our  right  and  left,  were 
ranges  of  tall  mountains,  covered  on  the  sides  with  magnificent 
forests  of  pine,  the  mountain  tops  being  dressed  in  a  robe  of  pure 
snow,  and  around  their  summits  the  dense  masses  of  black  clouds 
wreathed  themselves  in  fanciful  shapes,  the  sun  glancing  through 
the  open  spaces  upon  the  gleaming  mountains.  We  passed  through 
some  most  beautiful  valleys  and  encamped  on  the  branch  of  the 
Powder  River  at  the  Lone  Pine. 

This  noble  tree  stood  in  the  center  of  a  most  lovely  valley  about 
ten  miles  from  any  other  timber.  It  could  be  seen  at  the  distance 
of  many  miles,  rearing  its  majestic  form  above  the  surrounding 
plain,  and  constituted  a  beautiful  landmark  for  the  guidance 
of  the  traveler.  Many  teams  had  passed  on  before  me,  and  at  inter- 
vals,  as  I   drove   along,   I  would    raise   my   head   and    look   at   that 


82  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

beautiful  green  pine.  At  last,  on  looking  up  as  usual,  the  tree  was 
gone.  I  was  perplexed  for  a  moment  to  know  whether  I  was  going 
in  the  right  direction.  There  was  the  plain,  beaten  wagon  road  before 
me,  and  I  drove  on  until  I  reached  the  camp  just  at  dark.  That 
brave  old  pine,  which  had  withstood  the  storms  and  snows  of  cen- 
turies, had  fallen  at  last  by  the  vandal  hands  of  man.  Some  of  our 
inconsiderate  people  had  cut  it  down  for  fuel,  but  it  was  too  green 
to  burn.  It  was  a  useless  and  most  unfortunate  act.  Had  I  been 
there  in  time  I  should  have  begged  those  woodmen  to  "spare  that 
tree." 

On  the  29th  and  30th  of  September  we  passed  through  rich,  beau- 
tiful valleys  between  ranges  of  snowclad  mountains  whose  sides 
were  covered  with  noble  pine  forests.  On  October  1st  we  came  into 
and  through  Grand  Ronde,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  valleys  in  the 
world,  embosomed  among  the  Blue  Mountains,  which  are  covered 
with  magnificent  pines.  It  was  estimated  to  be  about  one  hundred 
miles  in  circumference.  It  was  generally  rich  prairie  covered  with 
luxuriant  grass  and  having  numerous  beautiful  streams  passing 
through  it,  most  of  which  rise  from  springs  at  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tains bordering  the  valley.  In  this  valley  the  camas  root  abounds, 
which  the  Indians  dried  upon  hot  rocks.  We  purchased  some  from 
them  and  found  it  quite  palatable  to  our  keen  appetites. 

On  the  2d  of  October  we  ascended  the  mountain  ridge  at  the 
Grande  Ronde  and  descended  on  the  other  side  of  the  ridge  to  a 
creek,  where  we  encamped.  These  hills  were  terrible.  On  the  3d, 
4th,  5th,  and  6th,  we  passed  through  the  Blue  Mountains,  arrivinp; 
at  their  foot  on  the  6th  and  encamping  upon  a  beautiful  stream  of 
water.  On  the  morning  of  the  5th  there  was  a  snow  storm  on  the 
mountain.  During  our  passage  through  the  Blue  Mountains  we 
had  great  difficulty  in  finding  our  cattle,  and  the  road  was  very  rough 
in  many  places.  Our  camp  was  about  three  miles  from  the  Indian 
village,  and  from  the  Indians  we  purchased  Indian  corn,  peas,  and 
Irish  potatoes,  in  any  desired  quantity.  I  have  never  tasted  a 
greater  luxury  than  the  potatoes  we  ate  on  this  occasion.  We  had 
been  so  long  without  fresh  vegetables  that  we  were  almost  fam- 
ished, and  consequently  we  feasted  this  day  excessively.  We  gave 
the  Indians  in  exchange  some  articles  of  clothing,  which  they  were 
most  anxious  to  purchase.  When  two  parties  are  both  as  anxious 
to  barter  as  were  the  Indians  and  ourselves,  it  is  very  easy  to  strike 
a  bargain. 

On  the  10th  of  October  we  arrived  within  three  miles  of  Doctor 
Whitman's  mission  and  remained  in  camp  uptil  the  14th. 

The  exhausting  tedium  of  such  a  trip  and  the  attendant  vexa- 
tions have  a  great  effect  upon  the  majority  of  men,  especially  upon 
those  of  weak   minds.     Men,    under    such   circumstances,   become 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.      83 

childish,  petulant,  and  obstinate.  I  remember  that  while  we  were  at 
the  mission  of  Doctor  Whitman,  who  had  performed  such  hard  labor 
for  us,  and  was  deserving  of  our  warmest  gratitude,  he  was  most 
ungenerously  accused  by  some  of  our  people  of  selfish  motives  in 
conducting  us  past  his  establishment,  where  we  could  procure  fresh 
supplies  of  flour  and  potatoes.  This  foolish,  false,  and  ungrateful 
charge  was  based  upon  the  fact  that  he  asked  us  a  dollar  a  bushel 
for  wheat,  and  forty  cents  for  potatoes.  As  our  people  had  been 
accustomed  to  sell  their  wheat  at  from  fifty  to  sixty  cents  a  bushel, 
and  their  potatoes  at  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  cents,  in  the 
Western  States,  they  thought  the  prices  demanded  by  the  doctor 
amounted  to  something  like  extortion,  not  reflecting  that  he  had 
to  pay  at  least  twice  as  much  for  his  own  supplies  of  merchandise, 
and  could  not  afford  to  sell  his  produce  as  low  as  they  did  theirs 
at  home.  They  were  somewhat  like  a  certain  farmer  in  Missouri  at 
an  early  day,  who  concluded  that  twenty  cents  a  bushel  was  a  fair 
price  for  corn,  and  that  he  would  not  sell  for  more  nor  less.  But 
experience  soon  taught  him  that  when  the  article  was  higher  than 
his  price  he  could  readily  sell,  but  when  it  was  lower  he  could  not 
sell  at  all;  and  he  came  to  the  sensible  conclusion  that  he  must 
avail  himself  of  the  rise  in  order  to  compensate  him  for  the  fall 
in  prices.  So  obstinate  were  some  of  our  people  that  they  would 
not  purchase  of  the  doctor.  I  remember  one  case  particularly, 
where  an  intimate  friend  of  mine,  whose  supplies  of  food  were 
nearly  exhausted,  refused  to  purchase,  though  urged  to  do  so  by 
me,  until  the  wheat  was  all  sold.  The  consequence  was  that  I  had 
to  divide  provisions  with  him  before  we  reached  the  end  of  our 
journey. 

On  the  16th  of  October  we  arrived  at  Fort  Walla  Walla,  then 
under  charge  of  Mr.  McKinley,  having  traveled  from  Fort  Boise, 
two  hundred  and  two  miles,  in  twenty-four  days,  and  from  the  ren- 
dezvous, sixteen  hundred  and  ninety-one  miles,  between  the  22nd 
of  May  and  the  16th  of  October,  being  one  hundred  and  forty-seven 
days.    Average  distance  per  day,  eleven  and  one-half  miles. 

DESCEND  THE  RIVER  TO  THE  DALLES — LEAVE  MY  FAMILY  THERE- 
GO  TO  VANCOUVER  AND  RETURN— GOVERNOR  FREMONT. 

A  portion  of  our  emigrants  left  their  wagons  and  cattle  at  Walla 
Walla,  and  descended  the  Columbia  in  boats;  while  another,  and 
the  larger  portion,  made  their  way  with  their  teams  and  wagons  to 
The  Dalles,  whence  they  descended  to  the  Cascades  on  rafts,  and 
thence  to  Fort  Vancouver  in  boats  and  canoes.  William  Beagle  and 
I  had  agreed  at  the  rendezvous  not  to  separate  until  we  reached 
the  end  of  our  journey.  We  procured  from  Mr.  McKinley,  at  Walla 
Walla,  an  old  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  boat,  constructed  expressly 


84  Peter  IT.  Burnett. 

Ibr  the  navigation  of  the  Columbia  and  its  tributaries.  These  boats 
are  very  light,  yet  strong.  They  are  open,  about  forty-five  feet  long, 
five  feet  wide,  and  three  feet  deep,  made  of  light,  tough  materials, 
and  clinker  built.  They  are  made  in  this  manner  so  that  they  may 
be  carried  around  the  Falls  of  the  Columbia,  and  let  down  over 
the  Cascades.  When  taken  out  of  the  water  and  carried  over  the 
portage,  it  requires  the  united  exertions  of  forty  or  fifty  Indians, 
who  take  the  vessel  on  their  shoulders,  amid  shouts  and  hurras, 
and  thus  carry  It  sometimes  three-fourths  of  a  mile,  without  once 
letting  it  down.  At  the  Cascades  it  is  let  down  by  means  of  ropes 
in  the  hands  of  the  Canadian  boatmen. 

We  employed  an  Indian  pilot,  who  stood  with  a  stout,  long,  broad 
paddle  in  the  bow  of  the  boat,  while  Beagle  stood  at  the  stern, 
holding  a  long  steering  oar,  such  as  were  used  upon  flat-bottoms  and 
keel-boats  in  the  Western  States.  I  remember  that  my  friend 
Beagle,  before  we  left  Walla  Walla,  expressed  great  confidence  in 
his  skill  in  steering,  as  he  had  often  passed  the  Ohio  Rapids  at 
Louisville.  But  these  rapids  were  nothing  to  those  on  the  Colum- 
bia. I  have  seen  Beagle  turn  as  pale  as  a  corpse  when  passing 
through  the  terrible  rapids  on  this  river. 

Our  Indian  pilot  was  very  cool,  determined,  and  intrepid;  and 
Beagle  always  obeyed  him,  right  or  wrong.  On  one  occasion,  I 
remember,  we  were  passing  down  a  terrible  rapid,  with  almost  the 
speed  of  a  race-horse,  when  a  huge  rock  rose  above  the  water  be- 
fore us,  against  which  the  swift  and  mighty  volume  of  the  river 
furiously  dashed  in  vain,  and  then  suddenly  turned  to  the  right, 
almost  at  right  angles.  The  Indian  told  Beagle  to  hold  the  bow 
of  the  boat  directly  toward  that  rock,  as  if  intending  to  run  plump 
upon  it,  while  the  rest  of  us  pulled  upon  our  oars  with  all  our 
might,  so  as  to  give  her  such  a  velocity  as  not  to  be  much  affected 
by  the  surging  waves.  The  Indian  stood  calm  and  motionless  in 
the  bow,  paddle  in  hand,  with  his  features  set  as  if  prepared  to 
meet  immediate  death;  and,  when  we  were  within  from  twenty  to 
thirty  feet  of  that  terrible  rock,  as  quick  as  thought  he  plunged  his 
long,  broad  paddle  perpendicularly  into  the  water  on  the  left  side 
of  the  bow,  and  with  it  gave  a  sudden  wrench,  and  the  boat  in- 
stantly turned  upon  its  center  to  the  right,  and  we  passed  the  rock 
in  safety. 

While  passing  through  these  dangers  I  was  not  much  alarmed, 
but  after  they  were  passed  I  could  never  think  of  them  without 
a  sense  of  fear.  Three  of  our  emigrants  were  drowned  just  above 
the  dalles,  but  we  reached  them  in  safety,  sending  our  boat  through 
them,  while  the  families  walked  around  them  on  dry  land.  These 
dalles  are  a  great  natural  curiosity,    but    they    have  been  so  often 


Rkcolleotions  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  So 

described  that  I  deem  it  unnecessary  to  attempt  any  description 
myself. 

When  we  arrived  at  the  Methodist  mission,  located  at  the  foot 
of  the  dalles,  I  saw  at  once  that  there  must  some  day  grow  up  a 
town  there,  as  that  was  the  head  of  safe  steam  navigation.  From 
there  to  the  Cascades,  a  distance  of  about  fifty  miles,  the  river  is 
entirely  smooth  and  without  a  rapid.  At  the  Cascades  there  is  a 
portage  to  be  made,  but  once  below  them  and  there  is  nothing  but 
smooth  water  to  the  ocean.  I  determined  at  once  to  settle  at  The 
Dalles;  and,  after  consultation  with  Mr.  Perkins,  the  minister  in 
charge,  I  left  my  family  there  and  proceeded  to  Vancouver,  where 
I  arrived  about  the  7th  of  November,  1843. 

At  Fort  Vancouver  I  found  Governor  Fremont,  then  Lieutenant 
Fremont,  who  had  been  there'  a  few  days.  He  had  left  his  men  and 
animals  at  The  Dalles,  and  had  descended  the  river  to  the  fort  for 
the  purpose  of  purchasing  supplies,  to  enable  him  to  make  the  trip 
overland  to  California  during  that  winter.  The  preceding  year 
he  had  made  an  exploring  trip  to  the  South  Pass  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  but  this  was  his  first  journey  to  Oregon  and  California. 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  furnished  him,  on  the  credit  of  the 
United  States,  all  the  supplies  he  required,  and  sent  them  up  the 
river  in  one  of  their  boats,  such  as  1  have  already  described,  and 
three  Chinook  canoes.  These  canoes  are  substantially  of  the  same 
model  as  the  clipper-ship,  and  most  probably  suggested  the  idea 
of  such  a  form  of  marine  architecture.  They  are  made  out  of  a 
solid  piece  of  white-cedar  timber,  which  is  usually  one-quarter  of 
the  first  cut  of  a  large  tree.  It  is  a  soft  wood,  but  very  tough.  This 
timber  grows  upon  the  banks  of  the  Columbia,  below  Vancouver,  to 
a  very  large  size.  It  is  easily  split  with  wedges.  The  Indians 
manage  to  cut  and  burn  down  the  trees,  and  then  cut  and  burn  off 
a  part  of  the  trunk,  and  split  it  into  quarters.  Then  they  hollow  out 
the  inside  of  the  canoe,  mostly  by  burning.  For  this  purpose  they 
kindle  small  fires  along  the  whole  length  of  the  canoe,  which  they 
keep  steadily  burning,  and,  by  careful  and  constant  watching,  they 
cause  the  fires  to  burn  when  and  how  they  please.  The  outside 
they  shape  with  their  tomahawks,  and,  before  these  were  intro- 
duced, they  used  sharp  fiint-stones  for  axes.  These  canoes  are 
usually  about  thirty  feet  long,  three  feet  wide,  and  two  feet  deep, 
and  are  sharp  at  both  ends,  with  a  gradual  taper  from  near  the 
center.  No  craft  could  have  a  more  handsome  model,  or  run  more 
swiftly.  They  are  light,  strong,  elastic,  and  durable,  and  are  pro- 
pelled by  paddles.  The  boat  was  navigated  by  Canadian  French, 
and  the  canoes  by  Indians. 

Doctor  McLoughlin  and  Mr.  Douglas  then  chief  factors  at  the  fori, 
advisee  me  to  go  for  my  family,  and  settle  in  the  lower  portion  of 


68  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

Oregon,  and  kindly  offered  me  a  passage  up  and  down  on  their 
boat.  We  left  the  fort  about  the  11th  of  November  in  the  evening, 
while  it  was  raining.  It  came  down  gently,  but  steadily.  We 
reached  the  foot  of  the  rapids,  three  miles  below  the  Cascades,  be- 
fore sundown  on  the  third  day.  We  found  that  the  Indians  could 
propel  their  canoes  with  paddles  much  faster  than  we  could  our 
boat  with  oars.  We  ascended  the  river  to  a  distance  of  about  one 
mile  above  the  foot  of  the  rapids;  and  just  before  dark  we  en- 
camped upon  a  sand-beach,  the  only  spot  where  we  could  do  so  with- 
out ascending  higher  up  the  rapids. 

The  Indians,  with  the  three  canoes,  had  passed  on  farther  up 
the  river,  and,  although  we  fired  signal-shots,  they  could  not  be  in- 
duced to  return.  They  had  with  them  the  sugar  and  tea,  and  the 
Indian  lodge,  composed  of  buffalo  skins,  neatly  dressed  and  sewed 
together.  This  lodge  was  in  a  conical  form,  about  fourteen  feet  in 
diameter  at  the  base  and  eighteen  feet  high,  with  a  hole  at  the 
base  of  about  two  by  three  feet  for  a  door,  and  one  in  the  top  for 
the  escape  of  the  smoke;  a  deer-skin  formed  the  door-shutter,  and 
the  fire  was  built  in  the  center,  around  which  we  sat  with  our 
backs  to  the  lodge,  and  when  we  lay  down  we  put  our  feet  to  the 
fire  and  our  heads  from  it.  In  this  way  we  could  be  warm  and  com- 
fortable, and  free  from  the  effects  of  the  wind  and  rain,  without 
being  at  all  incommoded  by  the  smoke  from  our  small  fire,  as  it 
rose  straight  up  and  passed  out  through  the  hole  in  the  top  of  the 
lodge.  The  lodge  was  supported  by  long,  strong,  smooth  poles,  over 
which  it  was  tightly  stretched.  It  was  far  superior  to  any  cloth  tent 
I  ever  saw. 

When  we  encamped  it  was  cloudy,  but  not  raining,  and  we  were 
very  hungry  after  our  day's  hard  work;  but  our  bill  of  fare  consisted 
of  salt  salmon  and  cold  bread.  We  knew,  from  the  appearance  of 
the  thickening  but  smooth  clouds,  that  we  should  most  likely  have 
a  rainy  night.  The  lower  portion  of  Oregon  lies  between  the  tall 
Cascade  range  of  mountains  and  the  ocean.  This  range  runs  almost 
parallel  with  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  about  a  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  miles  from  it.  The  clouds  in  the  rainy  season  break  upon  this 
range;  and  the  Cascades  are  at  the  point  where  the  mighty  Colum- 
bia cuts  at  right  angles  through  it.  We  had  been  told  that  it  rained 
oftener  and  harder  at  the  Cascades  than  at  almost  any  other  point 
in  Oregon,  and,  to  our  injury,  we  found  it  true. 

Supper  being  ended,  we  laid  ourselves  down  before  a  large  fire. 
Governor  Fremont  wrapped  himself  in  his  cloak,  keeping  on  all  his 
clothes,  and  lay  down  upon  a  blanket.  For  myself,  I  had  with  me 
two  pairs  of  large,  heavy  blankets,  one  pair  of  which  I  put  folded 
under  me,  and  covered  myself  with  the  other.  Soon  after  we  had 
lain  down  the  rain  began  to  fall  gently,  but  continued  steadily  to 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.      87 

increase.  At  first,  I  thought  it  might  rain  as  much  as  it  pleased 
without  wetting  through  my  blankets,  but  before  day  it  came  down 
in  torrents,  and  I  found  the  water  running  under  me,  and  into  the 
pockets  of  my  pantaloons  and  the  tops  of  my  boots.  It  was  a  cold 
rain,  and  the  fire  was  extinguished.  I  could  not  endure  all  this,  and 
I  sat  up  during  most  of  the  remaining  portion  of  the  night  upon  a 
log  of  wood,  with  one  pair  of  blankets  thrown  over  my  head,  so  as 
to  fall  all  around  me.  In  this  way  I  managed  to  keep  warm,  but 
the  weight  of  the  wet  blankets  was  great,  and  my  neck  at  last  re- 
belled against  the  oppression.  I  finally  became  so  fatigued  and 
sleepy  that  just  before  day,  when  the  rain  had  ceased,  I  threw  my- 
self down  across  some  logs  of  wood,  and  in  that  condition  slept 
until  daylight.  As  for  Governor  Fremont,  he  never  moved,  but  lay 
and  slept  as  well  as  if  in  comfortable  quarters.  My  position  was 
in  a  lower  place  on  the  beach  than  his,  and  this  was  the  reason 
why  the  water  ran  under  me  and  not  under  him. 

Next  morning  we  rose  fresh  and  fasting  and  ascended  to  the  In- 
dian encampment,  where  the  Governor  found  our  Indians  comfort- 
ably housed  in  the  lodge,  cooking  breakfast.  He  was  somewhat 
vexed,  and  made  them  hustle  out  in  short  order. 

It  took  us  some  days  to  make  the  portage,  it  raining  nearly  all 
the  while.  At  the  head  of  the  Cascades  there  were  several  large, 
prelecting  rocks,  under  one  side  of  which  the  Indians  could  lie  on 
the  c.^ean,  dry  sand,  secure  from  the  rain.  They  would  build  a  fire 
in  fron^  and  sit  or  lie  under  the  projecting  rocks;  and,  as  they  were 
at  home  with  their  kindred  and  families,  they  were  in  no  hurry  to 
go  forward,  and  were  not  much  disposed  to  go  out  in  bad  weather. 
At  the  CasCcHles  there  is  a  celebrated  salmon  fishery,  where  the 
Indians  then  Kved  in  considerable  numbers,  supporting  themselves 
in  the  summer  upon  fresh,  and  in  the  winter  upon  dried,  salmon. 

We  were  anxious  to  proceed,  as  Governor  Fremont  had  still  to 
make  the  perilous  journey  to  California,  but  there  were  only  some 
five  to  eight  whites  to  several  hundred  Indians.  But  the  cool,  de- 
termined, yet  prudent,  Fremont  managed  to  command  our  Indians 
and  induce  them  to  woi'k.  When  nothing  else  would  avail,  he  would 
put  out  their  fires.  Finding  it  necessary  to  work  or  shiver,  they 
preferred  to  work. 

When  we  ha-d  reloaded  our  craft,  we  set  forward  for  The  Dalles, 
and  we  had  not  gone  more  than  ten  miles  before  we  could  see  clear 
out  and  beyond  the  clouds  into  the  pure,  blue  sky.  We  were  almost 
vexed  to  think  we  had  been  so  near  to  a  sunny  region  all  the  time 
we  had  been  suffering  so  much  from  the  rain.  We  soon  reached 
a  point  on  the  river  above  where  there  had  been  no  rain,  and  from 
that  point  to  The  Dalles  we  had  cold,  clear,  frosty  nights.  We 
arrived   in   The  Dalles  about  ten  days  after  leaving  Vancouver.     I 


88  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

went  with  the  Governor  to  his  camp  of  about  forty  men  and  one 
hundred  animals. 

I  was  with  Governor  Fremont  about  ten  days.  I  had  never  known 
him  personally  before  this  trip.  I  knew  he  was  on  the  way,  but 
he  traveled  usually  with  his  own  company,  and  did  not  mingle  much 
with  the  emigrants,  as  he  could  not  properly  do  so,  his  men  being 
under  military  discipline  and  our  emigrants  not.  He  was  then 
about  thirty  years  old,  modest  in  appearance,  and  calm  and  gentle 
in  manner.  His  men  all  loved  him  intensely.  He  gave  his  orders 
with  great  mildness  and  simplicity,  but  they  had  to  be  obeyed. 
There  was  no  shrinking  from  duty.  He  was  like  a  father  to  those 
under  his  command.  At  that  time  I  thought  I  could  endure  as 
much  hardship  as  most  men,  especially  a  small,  slender  man  like 
Governor  Fremont,  but  I  was  wholly  mistaken.  He  had  a  small 
foot,  and  wore  a  thin  calf-skin  boot,  and  yet  he  could  endure  more 
cold  than  I  could  with  heavy  boots  on.  I  never  traveled  with  a 
more  pleasant  companion  than  Governor  Fremont.  His  bearing 
toward  me  was  as  kind  as  that  of  a  brother. 

GO    WITH    MY    FAMILY    TO   VANCOUVER — INDIAN    TRADITION  —  THE 
TOWN    OP   LINNTON. 

I  returned  with  my  family  to  Fort  Vancouver  on  the  26th  of 
November,  1843,  and,  as  we  passed  the  place  of  our  encampment 
on  the  sand  beach  below  the  Cascades,  the  Canadian  boatmen 
pointed  toward  it  and  laughed. 

When  we  arrived  at  the  Cascades  on  our  return  voyage  we  car- 
ried our  baggage  upon  our  shoulders  three-fourths  of  a  mile,  when 
we  reloaded  and  then  "jumped"  the  rapids  below.  Until  we  had  passed 
the  rapids  on  our  downward  voyage,  I  had  no  adequate  conception 
of  the  dangers  we  had  passed  through  on  the  voyage  from  Walla 
Walla  to  the  Dalles.  During  that  perilous  passage  1  was  one  of  the 
oarsmen,  and  sat  with  my  back  to  the  bow  of  the  boat,  thus  having 
no  fair  opportunity  to  observe  well.  My  attention  was  mainly  con- 
fined to  my  own  portion  of  the  work,  and  I  had  but  little  time  to 
look  up.  But,  in  running  the  rapids  below  the  Cascades,  I  had  noth- 
ing to  do  but  look  on.    It  was  almost  literal  "jumping." 

There  was  then  an  Indian  tradition  that  about  a  hundred  years 
before  the  Cascades  did  not  exist,  but  that  there  was  a  succession 
of  rapids  from  the  Dalles  to  where  the  Cascades  are  now.  The 
whole  volume  of  the  Columbia  is  now  confined  to  a  narrow  channel, 
and  falls  about  thirty  feet  in  the  distance  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile. 
This  tradition  said  that  the  river  gradually  cut  under  the  mountain 
until  the  projecting  mass  of  huge  stones  and  tough  clay  slid  into 
the  river  and  dammed  up  the  stream  to  the  height  of  some  thirty 


llErOLLEf'TIONS    OF    AN    OlD    PiONEER.  89 

feet,  thus  producing  slack  water  to  the  Dalles.  And  I  must  say 
that  every  appearance,  to  my  mind,  sustains  this  view. 

The  Columbia,  like  most  rivers,  has  a  strip  of  bottom  land  cov- 
ered with  timber  on  one  side  or  the  other,  but  at  the  Cascades  this 
bottom  land  is  very  narrow  and  has  a  very  different  appearance 
from  the  bottoms  at  places  on  the  river  above  and  below.  The 
mountain  on  the  south  side  of  the  river  looks  precisely  as  if  a  vast 
landslide  had  taken  place  there,  and  the  huge  rocks  that  lift  their 
gray,  conical  heads  above  the  water  at  a  low  stage  go  to  prove  that 
they  could  not  have  withstood  that  terrible  current  for  many  cen- 
turies. In  the  winter  when  the  water  is  at  its  lowest  stage,  immense 
masses  of  thick  ice  come  down  over  these  Cascades  and  strike  with 
tremendous  force  "against  the  rocks,  and  the  consequent  wearing 
away  must  have  been  too  great  for  those  rocks  to  have  been  in  that 
position  many  centuries. 

But  there  is  another  fact  that  seems  to  me  to  be  almost  conclu- 
sive. As  we  passed  upon  the  river  the  water  was  at  a  very  low  stai;e, 
and  yet  some  twenty  miles  above  we  could  see  stumps  of  various 
sizes  standing  as  thick  beneath  the  water  as  trees  in  a  forest.  The 
water  was  clear  and  we  had  a  perfect  view  of  them.  They  were 
entirely  sound  and  were  rather  sharp  in  form  toward  the  top.  It  was 
evident  that  the  trees  had  not  grown  in  the  water,  but  it  had  been 
backed  up  over  their  roots  and  the  tops  and  trunks  had  died  and 
decayed,  while  the  stumps  being  under  water,  had  remained  sub- 
stantially sound ;  and  the  reason  why  they  were  sharp  at  the  top  was 
that  the  heart  of  the  timber  was  more  durable  than  the  sapwood 
which  had  decayed.  Another  reason  for  the  sharpness  of  the  stumps 
at  the  top  is  the  abrasion  caused  by  the  floating  masses  of  ice. 

It  was  the  opinion  of  Governor  Fremont  that  these  stumps  had 
been  placed  in  this  position  by  a  slide  which  took  them  from  their 
original  site  into  the  river.  But  I  must  think  that  opinion  errone- 
ous because  the  slide  could  hardly  have  been  so  great  in  length, 
and  the  appearance  of  the  adjacent  hills  does  not  indicate  an  event 
of  that  magnitude.  It  is  much  more  rational,  I  think,  to  suppose 
that  the  slide  took  place  at  the  Cascades,  and  that  the  Indian  tradi- 
tion is  true.  Another  reason  is  that  the  river  at  the  points  where 
these  stumps  are  found  is  quite  wide,  showing  an  increase  of  width 
by  the  backing  up  of  the  water  over  the  bottoms. 

I  procured  a  room  for  my  family  at  Vancouver  until  I  could  build 
a  cabin.  General  M.  M.  McCarver  and  myself  had  agreed  that  we 
would  select  a  town  site  at  the  head  of  ship  navigation  on  the  Wil- 
lamette River.  The  general,  having  no  family  with  him,  arrived  at 
the  fort  some  time  before  I  did,  and  selected  a  spot  on  the  Willam- 
ette about  five  miles  above  its  mouth  at  what  we  then  supposed  to 
be  the  head  of  ship  navigation.     Here  we  laid  out  a  town  calling  it 


90  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

Linnton  for  Doctor  Linn.  It  was  a  fair  site,  except  for  one  small  rea- 
son: it  was  not  at  the  head  of  ship  navigation,  which  subsequent 
experience  prove  to  be  at  Portland,  some  miles  above.  I  had  a  cabin 
built  at  Linnton  and  lived  there  with  my  family  from  about  the 
middle  of  January  until  the  first  of  May,  1844.  We  performed  a 
considerable  amount  of  labor  there,  most  of  which  was  expended  in 
opening  a  wagon  road  thence  to  the  Tualatin  Plains,  over  a  mountain 
and  through  a  dense  forest  of  fir,  ceaar,  maple,  and  other  timber. 
When  finished  the  road  was  barely  passable  with  wagons.  Our  town 
speculation  was  a  small  loss  to  us,  the  receipts  from  the  sale  of 
lots  not  being  equal  to  the  expenses. 

I  found  that  expenses  were  certain  and  income  nothing,  and  deter- 
mined to  select  what  was  then  called  "a  claim,"  and  make  me  a 
farm.  I  knew  very  little  about  farming,  though  raised  upon  a  farm 
in  Missouri,  and  had  not  performed  any  manual  labor  of  conse- 
quence (until  I  began  to  prepare  for  this  trip)  for  about  seventeen 
years.  I  had  some  recollection  of  farming,  but  the  theory  as  prac- 
ticed in  Missouri  would  not  fully  do  for  Oregon.  Mr.  Douglas  told 
me  that  I  could  not  succeed  at  farming,  as  there  was  a  great  deal  of 
hard  work  on  a  farm.  I  replied  that,  in  my  opinion,  a  sensible  and 
determined  man  could  succeed  at  almost  anything,  and  I  meant  to 
do  it.  I  did  succeed  well,  but  I  never  had  my  intellect  more  severely 
tasked,  with  a  few  exceptions.  Those  who  think  good  farming  not 
an  intellectual  business  are  most  grievously  mistaken. 

PURCHASE   A   CLAIM  — CLIMATE   AND   SCENERY   OF   OREGON  — NUM- 
BER OF  OUR  IMMIGRANTS— ASSISTANCE  RENDERED 
OUR  IMMIGRATION. 

Some  time  in  April,  1844,  I  went  to  the  Tualatin  Plains  and  pur- 
chased a  claim  in  the  middle  of  a  circular  plain  about  three  miles 
in  diameter.  The  claim  was  entirely  destitute  of  timber,  except  a 
few  ash  trees  which  grew  along  the  margin  of  the  swales.  The 
plain  was  beautiful  and  was  divided  from  the  plains  adjoining  by 
living  streams  of  water  flowing  from  the  mountains,  the  banks  of 
which  streams  were  skirted  with  fir  and  white  cedar  timber.  The 
surface  of  this  plain  was  gently  undulating,  barely  sufficient  for 
drainage.  I  purchased  ten  acres  of  splendid  fir  timber  distant  about 
a  mile  and  a  half,  for  twenty  five  dollars.  This  supply  proved  ample 
for  a  farm  of  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  acres. 

These  swales  are  peculiar  winter  drains,  from  ten  to  thirty  yards 
wide,  and  from  one  to  two  feet  deep.  In  the  winter  they  were  filled 
with  slowly  running  water,  but  in  summer  they  are  dry,  and  their 
flat  bottoms  become  almost  as  hard  as  brick.  No  vegetation  of 
consequence  will  grow  in  these  swales,  and  the  only  timber  along 
their  margins  is  scattering  ash,  from  six  to  eight  inches  in  diameter, 


Recollkctions  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  91 

and  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  feet  high,  with  wide,  bushy  tops. 
The  land  on  both  sides  of  these  swales  being  clean  prairie,  the  rows 
of  green  ash  in  summer  give  the  plain  a  beautiful  appearance. 

During  the  five  years  I  remained  in  Oregon  the  rainy  season 
invariably  set  in  between  the  18th  of  October  and  the  1st  of  Novem- 
ber, and  continued  until  about  the  middle  of  April,  with  occasional 
showers  to  July.  In  1845  there  were  showers  in  August  sufficient 
to  sprout  wheat  in  the  shock.  Always  about  the  10th  of  September 
we  had  frost  sufficient  to  kill  bean  and  melon  vines.  The  season 
for  sowing  wheat  and  oats  extended  from  the  commencement  of 
the  rains  until  the  first  of  May,  and  the  harvest  began  about  the 
20th  of  July.  We  had  snow  every  winter  but  one  while  I  was  in 
Oregon.  At  one  time  it  was  from  six  to  eight  inches  deep,  and 
remained  upon  the  ground  about  ten  days.  The  Columbia  River 
was  then  frozen  over  at  Vancouver;  but  this  fact  is  not  a  true  indi- 
cation of  the  degree  of  cold,  as  this  stream  heads  in  a  cold  region, 
and  the  ice  forms  above  and  comes  down  in  floating  masses,  and, 
when  the  tide  is  rising,  there  is  little  or  no  current  in  the  river  and 
it  then  freezes  over  very  easily.  During  the  winter,  and  most  gener- 
ally in  February,  there  is  an  interval  of  fine  weather  which  lasts 
about  twenty  days,  with  a  cold  wind  from  the  north,  and  hard  frosts. 

But,  during  most  of  the  rainy  season,  the  rains  are  almost  contin- 
uous. Sometimes  the  sun  would  not  be  seen  for  twenty  days  in  suc- 
cession. It  would  generally  rain  about  three  days  and  nights  with- 
out intermission,  then  cease  for  about  the  same  period  (still  remain- 
ing cloudy),  and  then  begin  again.  These  rains  were  not  very 
heavy,  but  cold  and  steady,  accompanied  with  a  brisk,  driving  wind 
from  the  south.  It  required  a  very  stout,  determined  man  to  ride 
all  day  facing  one  of  these  rains.  They  were  far  worse  than  driv- 
ing snow,  as  they  wet  and  chilled  the  rider  through.  The  summers, 
the  latter  half  of  the  spring,  and  the  early  half  of  the  fall,  were  the 
finest  in  the  world,  so  far  as  my  own  experience  extends.  Though 
the  rainy  seasons  be  long  and  tedious,  they  are,  upon  the  whole,  a 
blessing.  The  copious  rains  fertilize  the  soil  of  the  fields  and  keep 
them  always  fresh  and  productive.  In  my  own  best  judgment,  Ore- 
gon is  one  of  the  loveliest  and  most  fertile  spots  of  earth.  It  is 
destined  to  be  densely  populated  and  finely  cultivated.  The  scenery 
of  her  mountains  and  valleys  is  simply  magnificent.  Her  snow-clad 
mountains,  her  giant  forests,  her  clear  skies  in  summer,  and  her 
green  and  blooming  valleys,  constitute  a  combination  of  the  beauti- 
ful that  cannot  be  excelled. 

When  we  arrived  in  Oregon  we  more  than  doubled  the  resident 
population  of  the  country.  J.  W.  Nesmith,  our  orderly  sergeant, 
made  a  complete  roll  of  the  male  members  of  the  company  capable 
of  bearing  arms,  including  all  above  the  age  of  sixteen  years.     This 


92  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

roll  he  preserved  and  produced  at  the  Oregon  Pioneers'  Celebration 
in  June,  1875.  I  have  inspected  this  roll  as  published  in  the  "Ore- 
gonian,"  and  find  it  correct,  except  in  the  omission  of  the  name  of 
B.  B.  Redding,  who  went  to  California,  and  included  the  name  of 
A.  L.  Lovejoy,  who  came  the  year  before. 

The  roll  contained  293  names,  2G7  of  whom  arrived  in  Oregon. 
Of  the  26  missing,  six  died  on  the  way,  five  turned  back  on  Platte 
River,  and  fifteen  went  to  California.  He  also  gives  the  names  of 
many  of  the  resident  male  population,  and  estimates  their  number 
at  157.  John  M.  Shively*  made  a  complete  list  of  all  the  emigrants 
at  the  crossing  of  Kansas  River,  but  that  list  has  unfortunately 
been  lost.  Judge  M.  P.  Deady,  in  his  address  before  the  Oregon 
Pioneers  in  June,  1875,  estimated  the  immigration  of  1843,  men, 
women,  and  children,  at  nine  hundred.  My  estimate  would  not  be 
so  high.  I  have  always  estimated  the  number  arriving  in  Oregon 
as  not  exceeding  eight  hundred. 

When  we  arrived  in  Oregon  we  were  poor,  and  our  teams  were  so 
much  reduced  as  to  be  unfit  for  service  until  the  next  spring.  Those 
of  us  who  came  by  water  from  Walla  Walla  left  our  cattle  there  for 
the  winter;  and  those  who  came  by  water  from  the  Dalles  left  their 
cattle  for  the  winter  at  that  point.  Even  if  our  teams  had  been  fit 
for  use  when  we  arrived,  they  would  have  been  of  no  benefit  to  us, 
as  we  could  not  bring  them  to  the  Willamette  Valley  until  the  spring 
of  1844.  Pork  was  ten  and  flour  four  cents  a  pound,  and  other  pro- 
visions in  proportion.  These  were  high  prices  considering  our 
scanty  means  and  extra  appetites.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  generous 
kindness  of  the  gentlemen  in  charge  of  the  business  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  we  should  have  suffered  much  greater  privations. 
The  company  furnished  many  of  our  immigrants  with  provisions, 
clothing,  seed,  and  other  necessaries  on  credit.  This  was  done,  in 
many  instances,  where  the  purchasers  were  known  to  be  of  doubtful 
credit.  At  that  time  the  company  had  most  of  the  provisions  and 
merchandise  in  the  country,  and  the  trade  with  our  people  was,  upon 
the  whole,  a  decided  loss,  so  many  failing  to  pay  for  what  they 
purchased.  Many  of  our  immigrants  were  unworthy  of  the  favors 
they  received,  and  only  returned  abuse  for  generosity. 

I  remember  an  example,  related  to  me  by  Captain  James  Waters, 
an  excellent  man,  possessed  of  a  kind  heart,  a  truthful  tongue,  and 
a  very  patient  disposition.  As  before  stated,  some  of  our  immi- 
grants passed  from  the  Dalles  to  the  Cascades  on  rafts  made  of 


*John  M.  Shively  is  an  engineer,  and  a  plain,  unassuming  man,  who  was 
possessed  of  much  greater  genuine  ability  than  most  people  supposed,  .lustice 
has  never  been  done  him.  He  was  in  Washington  City  in  the  winter  of  lSJ.>-M(j, 
and  was  the  originator  of  the  project  of  a  steamship  line  from  New  York  to  this 
coast  by  way  of  Panama. 


I 


Kkcollectio.ns  ok  an  Old  Pioneer.  93 

dry  logs.  This  was  not  only  slow  navigation,  but  their  rafts  were 
utterly  useless  after  reaching  the  Cascades;  and  they  were  com- 
pelled to  remain  there  for  some  days  before  they  could  descend  the 
river  to  the  fort.  In  the  meantime  their  supplies  of  provisions  had 
been  consumed.  Captain  Waters  was  among  the  first  of  our  immi- 
grants to  arrive  at  Vancouver,  having  no  family  with  him,  and  he 
at  once  applied  to  Doctor  McLoughlin  for  supplies  of  provisions  for 
the  immigrants  at  the  Cascades,  but  had  nothing  wherewith  to  pay. 
The  doctor  furnished  the  supplies  and  also  a  boat  to  take  them  up, 
with  the  understanding  that  Captain  Waters  would  navigate  the 
vessel  and  sell  the  provisions  to  the  immigrants  at  Vancouver  prices. 
This  was  done,  but  many  of  the  purchasers  never  paid,  contenting 
themselves  with  abusing  the  doctor  and  the  captain,  accusing  them 
of  wishing  to  speculate  upon  the  necessities  of  poor  immigrants. 
The  final  result  was  a  considerable  loss,  which  Doctor  McLoughlin 
and  Captain  Waters  divided  equally  between  them.  I  met  Waters 
myself  with  the  boat  laden  with  provisions  going  up,  as  I  passed 
down  the  river  the  first  time,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  truth 
of  his  statement. 

DR.    JOHN   m'lOUGHLIN  — JAMES   DOUGLAS  — POLICY   OF   THE   HUD- 
SON 'S  BAY  COMPANY  IN  ITS  COURSE  WITH  THE  INDIANS. 

Dr.  John  McLoughlin  was  one  of  the  greatest  and  most  noble 
philanthropists  I  ever  knew.  He  was  a  man  of  superior  ability, 
just  in  all  his  dealings,  and  a  faithful  Christian.  I  never  knew  a 
man  of  the  world  who  was  more  admirable.  I  never  heard  him  utter 
a  vicious  sentiment,  or  applaud  a  wrongful  act.  His  views  and  acts 
were  formed  upon  the  model  of  the  Christian  gentleman.  He  was 
a  superior  business  man,  and  a  profound  judge  of  human  nature. 
He  had  read  a  great  deal,  and  had  learned  much  from  intercourse 
with  intelligent  men.  He  spoke  and  wrote  French  and  English 
equally  well,  having  learned  both  languages  while  growing  up  from 
childhood. 

In  his  position  of  chief  factor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  he 
had  grievous  responsibilities  imposed  upon  him.  He  stood  between 
the  absent  directors  and  stockholders  of  the  company  and  the  pres- 
ent suffering  immigrants.  He  witnessed  their  sufferings;  they  did 
not.  He  was  unjustly  blamed  by  many  of  both  parties.  It  was  not 
the  business  of  the  company  to  deal  upon  credit,  and  the  manager 
of  its  affairs  in  Oregon  was  suddenly  thrown  into  a  new  and  very 
embarrassing  position.  How  to  act  so  as  to  secure  the  approbation 
of  the  directors  and  stockholders  in  England,  and  at  the  same  time 
not  to  disregard  the  most  urgent  calls  of  humanity,  was  indeed  the 
great  difficulty.  No  possible  line  of  conduct  could  have  escaped 
censure. 


94  Peter  H.  Buknett. 

To  be  placed  in  that  position  was  a  misfortune  which  only  a  good 
man  could  bear  with  patience.  I  was  assured  by  Mr.  Frank  Ermat- 
inger,  the  manager  of  the  company's  store  at  Oregon  City,  as  well  as 
by  others,  that  Doctor  McLoughlin  had  sustained  a  heavy  individual 
loss  by  his  charity  to  the  immigrants.  I  knew  enough  myself  to  be 
certain  that  these  statements  were  substantially  true.  Yet  such 
was  the  humility  of  the  doctor  that  he  never,  to  my  knowledge,  men- 
tioned or  alluded  to  any  particular  act  of  charity  performed  by  him. 
I  was  intimate  with  him,  and  he  never  mentioned  them  to  me. 
When  I  first  saw  him  in  1843,  his  hair  was  white.  He  had  then 
been  in  Oregon  about  twenty  years.  He  was  a  large,  noble-looking 
old  man,  of  commanding  figure  and  countenance.  His  manners 
were  courteous  but  frank,  and  the  stranger  at  once  felt  at  ease 
in  his  presence. 

Mr.  James  Douglas,  (subsequently  Sir  James,  and  Governor  of 
British  Columbia),  was  a  younger  man  than  Doctor  McLoughlin  by 
some  fifteen  years.  He  was  a  man  of  very  superior  intelligence, 
and  a  finished  Christian  gentleman.  His  course  toward  us  was 
noble,  prudent,  and  generous.  I  do  not  think  that  at  that  time  he 
possessed  the  knowledge  of  men  that  the  doctor  did,  nor  was  he 
so  great  a  philanthropist.  I  regarded  him  as  a  just  and  able  man, 
with  a  conscience  and  character  above  reproach.  In  his  position  of 
Governor  of  British  Columbia,  he  was  censured  by  Mr.  John  Nugent, 
of  California,  as  I  must  think,  without  sufficient  reason.  Errors 
of  judgment  Governor  Douglas  may  have  committed,  as  almost  any 
man  would  have  done  at  times  in  his  trying  position,  but  he  must 
have  radically  changed  since  I  knew  him,  if  he  knowingly  acted 
improperly. 

It  was  most  fortunate  for  us  that  two  such  noble  men  were  mana- 
gers of  the  company  at  the  time  of  our  arrival.  Our  own  countrymen 
had  it  not  in  their  power  to  aid  us  efficiently.  Many  of  them  were 
immigrants  of  the  preceding  season;  others  were  connected  with 
the  missions;  and,  altogether,  they  were  too  few  and  poor  to  help 
us  much.  The  company  could  not  afford  to  extend  to  succeeding 
immigrations  the  same  credit  they  did  to  us.  The  burden  would  have 
been  to  great.  This  refusal  led  many  to  complain,  but  without 
sufficient  reason. 

From  Doctor  McLoughlin  and  others  I  learned  a  great  deal  in  refer- 
ence to  the  manner  in  which  the  business  of  the  t",ompany  had  been 
conducted.  At  the  time  of  the  doctor's  arrival  in  Oregon,  and  for 
many  years  afterward,  the  principal  inhabitants  were  Indians,  divided 
into  various  small  tribes,  speaking  different  languages.  These 
Indians  were  mainly  found  upon  the  Columbia  and  its  tributaries, 
and  far  outnumbered  the  hired  servants  of  the  company.  The  task 
of  controling  these  wild  people  was  one  of  great  delicacy,  requiring 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.      95 

a  thorough  knowledge  of  human  nature  and  the  greatest  adminis- 
trative ability.  The  doctor's  policy  was  based  upon  the  fundamental 
idea  that  all  men,  civilized  or  savage,  have  an  innate  love  of  justice, 
and  will  therefore  be  ultimately  best  satisfied  with  fair,  honest 
dealing. 

The  company  had  its  various  trading  posts  located  at  convenient 
points  throughout  a  vast  territory.  The  Indian  population  being 
about  stationary  as  to  numbers  and  pursuits,  it  was  not  very  difficult 
to  calculate  the  amount  of  supplies  likely  to  be  required  in  each 
year.  The  company  was  in  the  habit  of  importing  one  year's  sup- 
ply m  advance,  so  that  if  a  cargo  should  be  lost,  its  customers  would 
not  suffer.  Its  goods  were  all  of  a  superior  quality,  purchased  on 
the  best  terms,  and  we  were  sold  at  prices  both  uniform  and  mod- 
erate. Of  course,  prices  in  the  interior  were  higher  than  on  the  sea- 
board, but  they  never  varied  at  the  same  post.  The  Indians  knew 
nothing  of  the  intricate  law  of  supply  and  demand,  and  could  not 
be  made  to  understand  why  an  article  of  a  given  size  and  quality 
should  be  worth  more  at  one  time  than  at  another  in  the  same  place, 
while  the  material  and  labor  used  and  employed  in  its  manufacture 
were  the  same.  A  tariff  of  prices,  once  adopted,  was  never  changed. 
The  goods  were  not  only  of  the  best,  but  of  uniform  quality.  To 
secure  these  results  the  company  had  most  of  its  goods  manufac- 
tured to  order.  The  wants  of  the  Indians  being  very  few,  their  pur- 
chases were  confined  to  a  small  variety  of  articles,  and  consequently 
they  became  the  very  best  judges  of  the  quality  of  the  goods  they 
desired  to  purchase.  No  one  could  detect  any  imperfection  in  a 
blanket  more  readily  and  conclusively  than  an  Oregon  Indian.  There 
was  always  kept  an  ample  supply  at  each  post,  so  that  the  customers 
of  the  company  were  not  driven  at  any  time  to  deal  with  rival 
traders,  or  do  without  their  usual  supplies. 

It  was  evident  that  no  successful  competition  with  the  company 
could  last  long  under  such  circumstances.  No  one  could  continue 
to  undersell  them  and  make  profit,  and  the  competitor  without  a 
profit  must  fail.  The  uniform  low  prices  and  the  good  quality  of  its 
articles  pleased  the  Indians,  and  the  company  secured  their  custom 
beyond  the  reach  of  competition.  The  company  adopted  a  system 
that  would  work  out  best  in  the  end,  and,  of  course,  was  successful. 

In  the  course  of  time  the  company  induced  the  Indians  to  throw 
aside  the  bow  and  arrow  and  to  use  the  gun;  and,  as  the  company 
had  all  the  guns  and  amunition  in  the  country,  the  Indians  became 
dependent  upon  it  for  their  supplies  of  these  articles.  It  was  the 
great  object  of  the  company  to  preserve  the  peace  among  the  Indians 
within  the  limits  of  its  trading  territory,  not  only  from  motives  of 
pure  humanity,  but  from  mercantile  interest,  as  the  destruction  of 


96  Peter  H.  Buknett. 

the  Indians  was  the  destruction  of  its  customers,  and  the  consequent 
ruin  of  its  trade. 

When  the  Indians  went  to  war  with  each  other,  the  doctor  first 
interposed  his  mediation,  as  the  common  friend  and  equal  of  both 
parties.  When  all  other  means  failed,  he  refused  to  sell  them  arms 
and  ammunition,  saying  that  it  was  the  business  of  the  company 
to  sell  them  these  articles  to  kill  game  with,  not  to  kill  each  other. 
By  kindness,  justice,  and  discreet  firmness,  the  Indians  w^ere  gener- 
ally kept  at  peace  among  themselves.  They  found  it  almost  impos- 
sible to  carry  on  war. 

But  the  task  of  protecting  the  servants  of  the  company  against 
the  attacks  of  the  Indians  was  one  of  still  greater  difficulty.  The 
doctor  impressed  the  Indians  with  the  fact  that  the  company  was 
simply  a  mercantile  corporation,  whose  purpose  was  only  trade 
with  the  natives;  that  its  intention  was  only  to  appropriate  to  its 
exclusive  use  a  few  sites  for  its  trading  posts  and  small  parcels  of 
adjacent  lands,  sufficient  to  produce  supplies  for  its  people,  thus 
leaving  all  the  remainder  of  the  country  for  the  use  and  in  the 
exclusive  possession  of  the  Indians;  and  that  this  possession  of 
limited  amounts  of  land  by  the  company  would  be  mutually  bene- 
ficial. Even  savages  have  the  native  good  sense  to  discover  the 
mutual  benefits  of  trade.  The  Indians  wanted  a  market  for  their 
furs,  and  the  company  customers  for  its  merchandise. 

It  was  an  inflexible  rule  with  the  doctor  never  to  violate  his 
word,  whether  it  was  a  promise  of  reward  or  a  threat  of  punishment. 
There  is  no  vice  more  detested  by  Indians  than  a  failure  to  keep 
one's  word,  which  they  call  lying.  If  it  were  a  failure  to  perform 
a  promised  act  beneficial  to  the  Indians  themselves,  they  would 
regard  it  as  a  fraud  akin  to  theft;  and,  if  a  failure  to  carry  out  a 
threat  of  punishment,  they  would  consider  it  the  result  of  weakness 
or  cowardice.  In  either  case,  the  party  who  broke  his  pledged  word 
would  forfeit  their  respect,  and  in  the  first  case  would  incur  their 
undying  resentment. 

To  guard  against  the  natural  jealousy  of  the  Indians,  and  insure 
peace  between  them  and  the  servants  of  the  company,  it  became 
necessary  to  adopt  and  enforce  the  most  rigid  discipline  among  the 
latter.  This  discipline  was  founded  upon  the  great  principle  that, 
to  avoid  difficulty  with  others,  we  must  first  do  right  ourselves.  To 
make  this  discipline  the  more  eflficient,  the  doctor  adopted  such 
measures  as  substantially  to  exclude  all  intoxicating  liquors  from  the 
country.  When  a  crime  was  committed  by  an  Indian,  the  doctor 
made  it  a  rule  not  to  hold  the  whole  tribe  responsible  for  the  un- 
authorized acts  of  individuals,  but  to  inflict  punishment  upon  the 
culprit  himself.  In  cases  of  crime  by  Indians,  the  doctor  insisted 
upon  just  punishment;    and,  if  the  culprit  escaped  for  a  time,  the 


Recolle(^tions  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  97 

pursuit  was  never  given  up  until  he  was  captured.  In  some  cases, 
several  years  elapsed  between  the  date  of  the  crime  and  that  of 
the  capture  of  the  fugitive.  Certain  and  just  punishment  was  al- 
ways inflicted  upon  the  criminal.  This  the  doctor  was  able  to  ac- 
complish through  the  company's  agents  at  the  different  posts,  and  by 
negotiation  with  the  leading  Indian  chiefs,  and  the  offer  of  rewards 
for  the  arrest  of  the  fugitive. 

In  this  manner  the  doctor  secured  and  kept  the  confidence  of 
the  Indians.  When  he  first  arrived  in  Oregon,  and  for  some  time 
thereafter,  whenever  boats  were  sent  up  the  Columbia  with  sup- 
plies, a  guard  of  sixty  armed  men  was  required;  but,  in  due  time, 
only  the  men  necessary  to  propel  the  boats  were  needed.  The  In- 
dians at  the  different  portages  were  employed  and  paid  by  the 
company  to  assist  in  making  them. 

The  Indians  soon  sa\^  that  the  company  was  a  mere  trading  estab- 
lishment, confined  to  a  small  space  of  land  at  each  post,  and  was,  in 
point  of  fact,  advantageous  to  themselves.  The  few  Canadian-French 
who  were  located  in  the  Willamette  Valley  were  mostly,  if  not  en- 
tirely, connected  by  marriage  with  the  Indians,  the  Frenchmen  hav- 
ing Indian  wives,  and  were  considered  to  some  extent  as  a  part  of 
their  own  people.  But  when  we,  the  American  immigrants,  came 
into  what  the  Indians  claimed  as  their  own  country,  we  were  con- 
siderable in  numbers;  and  we  came,  not  to  establish  trade  with  the 
Indians,  but  to  take  and  settle  the  country  exclusively  for  ourselves. 
Consequently,  we  went  anywhere  we  pleased,  settled  down  without 
any  treaty  or  consultation  with  the  Indians,  and  occupied  our  claims 
without  their  consent  and  without  compensation.  This  difference 
they  very  soon  understood.  Every  succeeding  fall  they  found  the 
white  population  about  doubled,  and  our  settlements  continually 
extending,  and  rapidly  encroaching  more  and  more  upon  their  pas- 
ture and  camas  grounds.  They  saw  that  we  fenced  in  the  best  lands, 
excluding  their  horses  from  the  grass,  and  our  hogs  ate  up  their 
camas.     They  instinctively  saw  annihilation  before  them. 

As  illustrative  of  the  difficulties  of  Doctor  McLoughlin's  position,  I 
will  state  the  facts  of  a  few  cases,  as  they  were  related  to  me  sub- 
stantially by  the  doctor  himself. 

The  shore  of  the  Columbia  River  in  front  of  Fort  Vancouver  was 
covered  with  cobble-stones,  which  were  used  by  the  company  as 
ballast  for  its  returning  ships.  The  principal  chief  of  the  Indians 
concluded  that  the  company  ought  to  pay  something  for  these 
stones:  and  one  day,  in  the  presence  of  a  large  crowd  of  his  people 
(assembled,  perhaps,  for  that  purpose),  he  demanded  payment  of 
the  doctor.  Of  course,  the  doctor  was  taken  by  surprise,  but  at  once 
comprehended  the  situation.  He  knew,  if  he  consented  to  pay  in 
this  case,  there  would  be  no  end  to  exactions  in  the  future.     How 


98  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

best  to  avoid  the  payment  without  giving  offense  was  tlie  question. 
He  linew  that  the  Indians  possessed  a  keen  sense  of  the  ridiculous; 
and,  after  reflecting  a  moment,  he  picked  up  a  cobble-stone  and 
solemnly  offered  it  to  the  chief,  saying:  "Eat  this."  The  Indians 
present  at  once  saw  how  ridiculous  it  was  to  demand  payment  for 
that  which  was  of  no  practical  value  to  them,  and  set  up  a  loud 
shout  of  derisive  laughter.  The  chief  was  so  much  ashamed  of 
his  silly  demand  that  he  walked  off  in  silence,  and  never  after  that 
demanded  payment  for  things  of  no  value  to  him. 

While  the  company's  ships  lay  at  anchor  in  the  river  opposite 
the  fort,  the  doctor  occasionally  granted  a  permit,  written,  to  some 
particular  Indian  to  visit  the  ships.  On  one  occasion  he  granted 
such  a  permit  to  an  Indian  who  was  seen  by  other  Indians  to  go  on 
board,  but  was  not  seen  by  them  to  return,  though,  in  fact,  he  did 
so  return.  Within  a  day  or  two  thereafter,  the  brother  of  this  In- 
dian, being  unable  to  find  him,  and  suspecting  that  he  had  been  en- 
ticed on  board  the  ship,  and  either  murdered  or  forcibly  imprisoned 
for  the  purpose  of  abduction,  applied  to  the  doctor  for  a  permit  to 
visit  the  ship.  As  the  Indian  concealed  his  reason  for  asking  the 
permit,  the  doctor  supposed  he  was  influenced  by  an  idle  curiosity, 
and  refused  the  request.  The  Indian  returned  again  for  the  same 
purpose,  and  was  again  refused.  He  came  the  third  time,  with  the 
same  result.  He  then  concluded  that  his  brother  must  either  be  im- 
prisoned on  the  ship  or  had  been  murdered,  and  he  at  once  resolved 
upon  revenge.  In  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  about  an  hour  be- 
fore sunset,  a  shot  was  heard,  and  the  gardener  came  running  into 
the  fort  in  great  terror,  with  a  bullet  hole  through  the  top  of  his 
hat,  saying  that  an  Indian  had  fired  upon  him  from  behind  the 
garden  fence.  The  gates  of  the  fort  were  at  once  closed,  and  all 
hands  prepared  for  defense.  Upon  subsequent  investigation,  the 
body  of  the  missing  Indian  was  found  in  the  bushes,  in  the  rear  of 
the  fort.  He  had  evidently  fallen  down  in  a  fit,  and  expired  where 
his  body  was  found.  No  attempt  was  made  to  punish  the  surviving 
brother,  as  he  had  acted  under  a  very  natural  mistake. 

On  one  occasion  the  Indians  determined  to  take  and  sack  Fort 
Vancouver.  The  plot  for  this  purpose  was  conceived,  and  in  part 
executed,  with  consummate  ability. 

Two  of  their  most  powerful  chiefs  quietly  went  from  Fort  Van- 
couver to  Nesqually,  a  trading  post  on  Puget  Sound,  and  remained 
there  several  days.  While  there,  they  made  themselves  minutely 
acquainted  with  everything  about  the  fort.  They  then  speedily  re- 
turned to  Fort  Vancouver,  and  at  once  sought  and  obtained  an  inter- 
view with  Doctor  McLoughlin  and  his  associates.  One  of  the  Indians 
was  the  speaker,  while  the  other  carefully  watched  to  see  what  im- 


Reoollkctions  ok  an  Old  Pionp:er.  99 

pression  their  statements  would  make.  The  company's  interpreter, 
a  very  shrewd  Canadian,  was  present  during  the  interview. 

The  Indians  stated  that  they  left  Nesqually  at  a  certain  time, 
which  was  true;  and  that  the  Indians  in  that  vicinity  had  attacked 
and  captured  the  fort  by  surprise,  and  had  slaughtered  all  the  in- 
habitants, amounting  to  a  certain  number  of  persons,  which  num- 
ber they  specified  truly.  The  Indians  were  subjected  to  a  severe 
cross-examination  without  betraying  the  slightest  embarrassment, 
and  without  making  any  contradictory  statements.  When  asked 
how  many  persons  were  in  the  fort  at  the  time,  what  were  their 
several  ages,  sexes,  appearances,  employments,  and  the  position  that 
each  occupied  in  the  fort,  they  invariably  gave  the  correct  answer. 
It  was  impossible  to  detect  any  contradictions  in  their  statements. 
All  were  perfectly  consistent,  as  the  only  falsehood  was  the  alleged 
fact  that  Fort  Nesqually  had  been  taken  and  the  people  killed.  The 
doctor  and  his  associates  were  greatly  perplexed,  and  left  in  much 
doubt.  The  Canadian  interpreter  was  asked  his  opinion,  and  he 
replied:  "Let  me  sleep  on  it  one  night."  Next  morning  he  said  he 
did  not  believe  the  story;  that  the  Indians  were  such  liars  that  he 
could  not  believe  them;  that  they  had  before  deceived  them.  This 
view  prevailed. 

The  object  of  these  Indians  was  to  induce  the  company  to  send 
nearly  all  its  men  to  Nesqually  to  punish  the  alleged  murderers,  thus 
reducing  the  force  at  Fort  Vancouver  to  such  an  extent  that  it  could 
be  readily  taken.  These  Indians  knew,  from  the  invariable  practice 
of  the  company,  that  such  a  crime,  if  committed,  would  not  escape 
punishment  if  practicable.  If  they  could  only  make  the  doctor  be- 
lieve their  narrative,  he  would  at  once  dispatch  an  ample  force  to 
Nesqually. 

The  traders  in  charge  of  interior  trading  posts  were  often  exposed 
to  peril  from  Indians.  The  company  could  only  keep  a  few  men 
at  each  post,  and  the  Indians  at  times  would  become  discontented. 
A  rude  people,  depending  entirely  upon  the  spontaneous  productions 
of  Nature  for  a  supply  of  provisions,  must  often  suffer  extreme  want. 
In  such  a  case  men  become  desperate,  and  are  easily  excited  to  rash 
acts.  Mr.  McKinley  told  me  that  the  Indians  on  one  occasion  at- 
tempted to  rob  Fort  Walla  Walla,  and  were  only  prevented  by  the 
most  cool,  intrepid  courage  of  the  people  of  the  post. 


CORRECTIONS. 

The  proof  sheets  of  the  article  entitled  "The  Origin  and  Authorship  of  the 
Bancroft  Pacific  States  Publications:  A  History  of  a  History''  should  have  been 
sent  to  the  author,  but  they  were  not,  and  as  the  author  was  not  given  an  oppor- 
tunity to  see  it,  he  wishes  the  following  corrections  made: 

All  parentheses  which  appeared  as  such  in  the  cop  j^  were  in  tended  as  footnotes. 

In  no  instance  should  there  be  a  colon  before  a  parenthesis. 

Page  289,  read  "a  library  on  the  beginning  and  early  chapters  of  Pacific  Coast 
history  such  as  in". 

Page  293,  read  "See"  for  "see". 

Page  294,  read  "Pamphlet"  for  "pamphlet". 

Page  300,  biography  of  Fisher  should  be  onipreceding  page. 

Page  300,  no  comma  after  sixteen. 

Page  303,  read  "purchase."  for  "purchase,". 

Page  304,  read  "Preface"  for  "preface". 

Page  305,  read  "Oak;"  for  "Oak." 

Page  306,  read  "question)"  for  "question"  and  "1873."  for  "1873.)" 

Page  319,  read  "often  writing"  for  "after  writing". 

Page  320,  the  sentence  beginning  "With  one  exception"  should  not  be  included 
in  parenthesis  with  biography  of  Petrofl". 

Page  328,  no  comma  after  "Denver". 

Page  351,  in  the  parenthesis  "Histories"  for  "History". 

Page  353,  comma  after  Statesman. 

Page  355,  "Inter  Pocula"  for  "inter  pocula". 

Page  359,  "Chittenden  (History"  for  "(Chittenden's  History". 

Page  363,  "interpolation"  for  "interpretation". 


ASAHEL  BUSH,  FOUNDER  OF  THE  OREGON  STATESMAN. 

On  page  370  in  the  paper  on  the  "Pioneer  Papers  of  Puget  Sound"  Joseph  S. 
Smith  is  given  the  credit  for  launching  the  Oregon  Statesman.  The  paper  was 
started  by  the  Hon.  Asahel  Bush. 


PUBLICATIONS 

OP  THB 

Oregon  Historical  Society 


SOURCES  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  OREGON 

VOLTJMB     I 

NxTMBEK  1.— Journal  of  Medorem  Crawford — An  Account  of  His 
Trip  Across  the  Plains  in  184;i.    Price,  2,5  Cents. 

Number  2.— The  Indian  Council  at  Walla  Walla,  May  and  June, 
1855,  BY  Col.  Lawrence  Kip— A  Journal.    Price,  25  Cents. 

Numbers  3  to  6  Inclusive.— The  Correspondence  and  Journals  of 
Captain  Nathaniel  J.  Wyeth,  1881-6.— A  Record  of  Two  Expeditions, 
FOR  the  Occupation  of  the  Oregon  Country,  with  Maps,  Introduction 
AND  Index.    Price,  $1.10. 

The  Proceedings  of  the  Oregon  Historical  Society  for  1898-9, 
Including  Paper  by  Silas  B.  Smith,  on  "  Beginnings  in  Oregon," 
97  Pages.    Price,  25  Cents. 

The  Proceedings  of  the  Oregon  Historical  Society  for  1899-1900, 
Including  Two  Historical  Papers,  120  Pages.    Price,  25  Cents. 


QUARTERLY  OF  THE  OREGON  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

No.  2,  Vol.  IV,  June,  1903. 

Robert  Treat  P?a«— Oregon  and  Its  Share  in  the  Civil  War       -      -  89 

Henry  E.  iJeed- THE  GREAT  WEST  AND  THE  Two  Easts        -       -       -       -  110 

^i/r(?d  ^.  CTwe?rtnd— Social  AND  Economic  History  of  Astoria    -      -  130 

James  B.  Eohertson—A.  Pioneer  Captain  of  Industry  in  Oregon        -  150 
Documents—Two  Whitman  Sources— Relating  to  the  Oregon  Emigration 
Movement,  1812-1813— Experiences  of  the  Emigration  of  184:J— Letters 

Descriptiveof  Oregon  Country  and  Its  Eariier  Conditions        -       -       -  168 


No.  3,  Vol.  IV,  September  1903. 

James  K.  Kelly— Hihtory  of  the  Preparation  of  the  First  Code  of 

Oregon       -      .      . 185 

Miles  C.  Moore— A  Pioneer  Railroad  Builder:   DobsiSy  S.  Baker       -  195 

Capi.  John  Mullan,  U.  S.  A.—¥B.o^t  Walla  Walla  to  San  Francisco   -  202 

William  M.  O^w'^— Indian  Wars  of  Southern  Oregon      -       -       -       -  227 

JbTin  Jlftnto— Minto's  Pass:  Its  History  and  an  Indian  Tradition    -  241 
Reminiscences  [secured  by  H.  8.  Lyman)— 

Anson  Sterling  Cone 251 

Mrs.  Rebeka  Hopkins     - 2.59 

Mrs.  Anna  Tremewan     ----- 261 

Loui.s  Labonte's  Recollections  of  Men 261 

Communications— 

Jos.  H.  Sharp— Early  Schools  in  Lane  County 267 

iS.  ^.  Ctai-Ae— The  Montures  on  French  Prairie      ------  268 

Documents— Oregon  Material  Taken  from  a  F'ile  of  an  Independence  (Mo.) 
and  Weston  (Mo.)  Paper  for  1S14  and  1845;  also  Some  Minor  Extracts 

from  Other  Papers  in  that  Vicinity 270 


No.  4,  Vol.  IV,  December,  1903. 

William  Alfred  Morris— TsE  Origin  and  Authorship  of  the  Bancroft 

Pacific  States  Publications  :  a  History  of  a  History.     -      -  287 

Clarence  B.  Bagley—Vio:sE^R  Papers  of  Puget  Sound  .       -       .       -  3(>5 

In  Memoriam  of  Willard  H.  Rees 386 

Short  Biography  of  Joseph  Holman -  392 

Documents— Letter  of  Smith,  Sublette  and  Jackson— Migration  to  and  Set- 

tlement  of  Oregon --  395 


PRICE:  FIFTY  CENTS  PEE  NUMBEE,  TWO  DOLLAES  PER  YEAR. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OREQOH. 


THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL  confers  the  degrees  of 
Master  of  Arts,  (and  in  prospect,  of  Doctor  of  Phi- 
losophy,) Civil  and  Sanitarjr  Engineer  (C.  E.J,  Elec- 
trical Engineer  (E.  E.),  Chemical  Engineer  (Ch.  E.,) 
and  Mining  Engineer  (Min.  E.) 


THE  COLLEGE  Oh  LITERATURE,  SCIENCE,  AND  THE 
ARTS  confers  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  on 
graduates  from  the  following  groups :  (1)  General 
Classical;  (2)  General  Literarj^;  (3)  General  Scien- 
tiGc;  (4)  Civic-Historical.  It  offers  Collegiate  Courses 
not  leading  to  a  degree  as  follows :  (1)  Preparatory- 
to  Law  or  Journalism;  (2)  Course  for  Teachers. 


THE  COLLEGE  OF  SCIENCE  AND  ENGINEERING  — 
A. —  The  School  of  Applied  Science  confers  the  de- 
gree of  Bachelor  of  Science  on  graduates  from 
the  following  groups ;  (1)  General  Science;  (2) 
Chemistry;  (3)  Physics;  (4)  Biology;  (5)  Geol- 
ogy and  Mineralogy.  It  offers  a  Course  Pre- 
paratory to  Medicine. 
B. —  The  School  of  Engineering:  (1)  Civil  and  San- 
itary; (2)  Electrical;  (3)  Chemical. 


THE  SCHOOL   OF  MINES  AND  MINING. 
THE  SCHOOL   OF  MEDICINE  at  Portland. 
THE  SCHOOL   OF  LAW  at   Portland. 
THE  SCHOOL  OF  MUSIC. 
THE    UNIVERSITY  ACADEMY.  ^ 

Address 

The  President, 

Eugene,  Oregon. 


THE    QUARTERLY 


Oregoi^  Histoeical  Society. 


Volume  v.] 


JUNE,    1904 


[Number  2 


CONTEiSrTS. 

H.  W.  <S?o«— Beginnings  of  Oregon— Exploration  and  Early  Settle- 
ment AT  THE  Mouth  of  the  Coltjjibia  River     -----  loi 
P.W  Gillette—A.  Brief  History  of  the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation 

Company 120 

W.  B.  Dillard—TuE  Beginnings  of  Lane  County  -      -       -      -      -  13S 

JP.  I.  /fprrio^?— Transplanting  Iowa's  Laws  to  Oregon      -       -      -      -  139 
Peter  H.  i?w7M^«— "Recollections  and  Opinions  of  an  Old  Pioneer." 

Chapter  IV -       -  151 

Documents— A  Brimfield  Heroine— Mrs.  Tabitha  Brown 199 


PRICE :    FIFTY  CENTS  PEE  NUMBER,  TWO  DOLLARS  PER  YEAR 
Entered  at  the  pottofflce  at  Portland,  Oregon,  as  second-clata  matter. 


The  Oregon  Historical  Society 

Organized  December  17,  1898 


C.  B.  BELLINGER President 

WM.  D.  FENTON Vice-President 

F.  Q.  YOUNG Secretary 

CHARLES  E.  LADD Treasurer 

George  H.  Himes,  Assistant  Secretary. 


DIRECTORS 

THE  GOVERNOR  OF  OREGON,  ex  officio. 

THE  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION,  ex  officio. 

Term  Expires  at  Annual  Meeting  in  December,  1904, 
H.  W.  SCOTT,    MRS,  HARRIET  K.  McARTHUR. 

Term  Expires  at  Annual  Meeting  in  December,  1905, 
F.  G.  YOUNG,    WM.  D.  FENTON. 

Term  Expires  at  Annual  Meeting  in  December,  1906, 
JAMES  R.  ROBERTSON,    JOSEPH  R.  WILSON. 

Term  Expires  at  Annual  Meeting  in  December,  1907, 
C.  B.  BELLINGER,    MRS.  MARIA  L.  MYRICK. 


The  Quarterly  is  sent  free  to  all  members  of  the  Society.    The  annual  dues 
are  two  dollars.    The  fee  for  life  membership  is  twenty-five  dollars. 

Contributions  to  The  Quarterly  and  correspondence  relative  to  historical 
materials,  or  pertaining  to  the  affairs  of  this  Society,  should  be  addressed  to 

F.  Q.  TOMNQ, 

EtJGBNB,  Obeoon.  Secretarr- 

Subscriptions  for   The   Quarterly,  or  for   the  other  publications  of  the 
Society,  should  be  sent  to 

GEORGX:    H.    himes, 
City  Hal,l,  Portland,  Oregon.  Assistant  Secretary. 


THE    QUARTERLY 


Oregon  Historical  Society. 


Volume  V.]  JUNE,    1904  [Number  2 


'BEQPPSIMQJ  Zf  0EE90IM-EXFL0M- 

UTIOP  £S  Ei^ELT  SETTLEHEilW 

Mt  THE  nOWTill  OP  TiE 

coLanii/^  Earn, . 

By  H.  W.  Scott. 

I  trust  I  may  be  able  to  present  the  theme  on  which  I  am  to 
speak  to-niiiht,  tliou^uh  my  treatment  of  it  will  necessarily  be 
inadecjuate,  in  a  way  that  will  possess  some  interest  for  this 
audience.  My  discourse  is  to  ])e  devoted  to  the  discovery  and 
exploration  of  Ore.uon,  and  to  the  first  settlement  in  Oregon, 
of  which  Astoria  was  the  seat.  I  can  give  the  subject  but 
slight  treatment,  yet  I  indidge  some  hope  that  I  may  present 
some  parts  of  the  histoiy  in  a  way  that  may  entertain  you. 

i\Ian,  says  the  poet,  is  given  power  to  look  before  and  after; 
and  he  adds  that  surely  this  power  was  not  given  "to  rust  in 
us  unused."  Another  remarks  that  if  we  are  indifferent  to 
our  ancestors  and  to  what  we  have  derived  f i-om  them,  we  are 
not  likely  to  look  to  the  welfare  of  our  posterity. 

I  believe  it  is  with  satisfaction  that  our  people  note  an  in- 
creasing interest  in  the  history  of  the  "Origins  of  Oregon." 
Attention  to  this  history  nnist  become,  more  and  more,  a  part 


•Address  delivered  before  the  Clatsop  County  Teachers'  Institute,  April  19, 
1901. 


102  H.  W.  Scott. 

of  the  education  of  our  children  and  youth.  Our  system  of 
public  instruction  must  be  depended  on  as  the  main  agency 
in  this  work.  The  materials  of  the  early  history  of  Oregon 
arc  very  rich  and  abundant.  Indeed  the  amount  of  inaterial 
is  almost  an  embarrassment;  and  he  who  begins  an  address, 
which  necessarily  must  be  brief,  can  do  no  better  than  to  im- 
itate the  manner  of  the  epic  cyclist,  Avho,  in  his  invocation  of 
I  he  iiuise,  asked  to  be  instructed  or  permitted  to  begin  any- 
where—at any  part  of  the  story. 

By  invitation  I  am  to-day  to  give  a  short  acconnt  of  the 
beginnings  of  our  history,  at  this  place  where  those  begin- 
nings were  made.  This  locality  was  the  destination  of  our 
very  first  pioneers.  Here  was  the  scene  of  their  work.  Here, 
in  the  vision  of  the  poet,  was  the  band  of  pioneers,  founders 
of  commonwealths,  the  first  low  wash  of  the  waves  of  migra- 
tion, where  soon  was  to  roll  a  great  human  sea.  We  are  ap- 
proaching the  end  of  the  first  centenary  cycle  of  this  move- 
ment and  the  beginning  of  the  second.  It  is  especially  fit  there- 
fore, that  new  interest  in  our  history  should  now  be  awakened. 

In  preparation  for  the  Lewis  and  Clark  Centennial  there 
will  be  much  to  say  and  do,  till  that  event  shall  have  been 
disposed  of.  During  the  next  four  years  Oregon,  and  we 
trust,  neighbor  States,  also,  will  be  busy  with  it.  We  had 
the  centennial  of  discovery  in  1892,  when  Professor  John 
Fiske  was  here  and  delivered  his  admirable  address  on  the 
achievement  of  Captain  Gray  in  his  good  ship  Columhia.  We 
are  now  soon  to  have  the  centennial  of  the  exploration  which 
confirmed  to  us  the  great  country  reached  by  the  discovery. 
The  history  of  these  transactions,  as  the  beginning  of  Ameri- 
can empire  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  is  a  record  of  profoinid 
interest.  It  has  its  place  among  the  events  of  first  importance 
in  the  development  of  the  United  States. 

The  Spaniards,  earliest  navigators  along  the  shores  of  the 
Pacific,  missed  the  Columbia  River,  and  never  penetrated  the 
great  estuary  since  known  as  Puget  Sound.  Nevertheless,  it 
is  well  attested  that  the  Spanish  navigator,  Heceta,  in  August, 
1775,  was  off  the  mouth  of  the  great  river,  noted  its  position 


Beginnings  of  Oregon.  103 

and  observed  the  vast  flow  of  fresh  water;  and  within  the 
next  thirteen  years  the  place  was  distinguished  on  Spanish 
charts  as  the  month  of  the  San  Roque.  It  was  examined  by 
Meares,  an  English  navigator,  in  July,  1788,  who,  however, 
reported  that  no  river  existed  here.  Nearly  four  years  later 
"this  opinion  of  Meares  was  subscribed  without  qualification 
by  Vancouver,  after  he  had  examined  the  coast  minutely, 
und(M'  the  most  favorable  conditions  of  wind  and  weather, 
and,  notwithstanding  the  assurance  of  Gray  to  the  contrary." 
Thus  Greenhow.  The  actual  discovery  of  the  mouth  of  the 
river  was  made  May  11,  1792,  by  Captain  Robert  Gray,  a  New 
England  navigator,  who  says  in  his  log-book,  under  that  date: 
"Beheld  our  desired  port,  bearing  east-south-east,  a  distance 
of  six  leagues.  At  8  a.  m.,  being  a  little  to  the  windward  of 
the  entrance  of  the  harbor,  bore  away  and  ran  in  east-north- 
east between  the  breakers,  having  from  five  to  seven  fathoms 
of  water.  When  we  were  over  the  bar  we  found  this  to  be  a 
large  river  of  fresh  water,  up  which  we  steered."  Captain 
Gray  remained  in  the  river  from  the  11th  to  the  20th  of  May. 
He  ascended  it  about  25  miles.  Meares  left  as  a  memento  of 
his  failure  the  name  of  Cape  Disappointment  to  the  prom- 
ontory on  the  north  side,  where  the  river  debouches  into 
the  ocean. 

Gray,  sailing  out  of  the  river  to  the  northwai'd,  met  Van- 
couver, who  had  sailed  into  the  Straits  of  Piiea,  and  was 
completing  his  examination  of  Puget  Sound— so-called  by 
Vancouver  for  a  member  of  his  party.  Later  in  the  year 
Vancouver  sailed  for  the  Bay  of  San  Fra.ncise<\  leaving  his 
lieutenant,  Broughton,  to  examine  the  Colund)ia  River. 
Broughton,  in  the  Chatham.,  entered  the  rivei-  in  Novem- 
ber, 1792.  Finding  it  difficult  to  ascend  the  river  with  his 
bark,  small  as  it  was,  he  took  his  launch  and  iiiadc^  his  way 
up  the  stream  100  miles.  To  the  ultimate  po-int  he  reached 
he  gave  the  name  of  Vancouver.  All  the  way  up  and  down 
he  sprinkled  names  plentifully.  Walker's  Island  was  named 
for  one  of  his  men.  To  Tongue  Point  he  gave  the  name  it 
bears  to  this  day.     Young's  River  and  Bay  he  called  for  Sir 


104  H.  W.  Scott. 

(ii'oriie  Yoiiiiii'  dl'  the  British  Navy.  To  CJray's  Bay  he  s'ave 
the  name  it  bears  as  a  coiiipliinent  to  the  discoverer  whose 
ship  had  lain  in  it  some  months  before.  When  Bron<i'hton 
entered  the  river  he  found  a  small  English  vessel  which  had 
been  up  the  coast  to  the  northward  on  a  trading  voyage,  and 
on  its  return  southward  had  turned  into  the  Columbia  River. 
This  vessel  remained  in  the  river  till  Broughton  was  ready 
to  sail  with  his  own  brig,  the  Chatham.  It  was  the  bark 
Jenny,  and  her  commander  was  Captain  Baker.  His  name  is 
perpetuated  in  Baker's  Bay.  The  Chatham  and  the  Jenny 
went  to  sea  together;  and  Baker,  though  disappearing  then 
and  there  from  history,  has  left  his  name  to  us  forever. 

The  importance  to  the  United  States  of  obtainment  of  a 
footing  upon  the  Pacific  was  seen  even  at  this  early  day;  but 
it  was  appreciated  only  by  a  few  of  our  statesmen.  To 
Thomas  Jefferson  the  honor  is  due  to  quick  and  early  appre- 
hension of  the  significance  of  Gray's  discovery.  Confirmation 
of  our  title  to  Oregon  was  associated  in  his  mind  with  the 
acquisition  of  Louisiana.  Each  was  a  necessary  part  of  the 
imperial  scheme.  Even  before  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana 
Jefferson  had  planned  an  expedition  across  the  continent  to 
the  Oregon  country  and  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  The  expedition 
was  not  organized,  however,  before  the  purchase  from  France 
was  completed ;  for  in  fact  we  had  no  right  to  send  an  explor- 
ing pai'ty  through  the  country  of  the  Upper  Missouri.  A  few 
years  later  the  expedition  of  Zebulon  Pike,  into  Colorado  and 
southward  into  Spanish  territory  was  arrested  by  the  troops 
of  Spain;  but  after  the  membei*s  had  been  held  as  prisoners 
for  a  time  they  were  returned  to  the  United  States.  France 
probably  would  not  have  been  prepared  to  arrest  an  expedi- 
tion from  the  United  States  traversing  her  territory  to  reach 
the  Pacific  Ocean;  but  with  the  completion  of  the  Louisiana 
purchase  the  danger  of  such  an  incident  was  averted.  The 
Lewis  and  Clark  party  was  organized  quickly  after  the  pur- 
chase, and  started  up  the  Missouri  River  in  the  year  1804. 
Wintering  at  Mandan,  on  the  Missouri,  it  pressed  on  in  1805, 
])assed  over  the  Rocky  Mountains  in  the  sunnner  of  that  year, 


Beginnings  of  Oregon.  105 

descended  the  Konskooskie  l)i-aneli  of  Snalce  River,  and  fol- 
lowed the  great  water  courses  of  the  West,  till  on  the  7th  of 
November,  1805,  the  horizon  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  burst  upon 
the  view  between  the  two  lines  of  breakers  that  marked  the 
debouch  of  the  great  river  into  the  great  Pacific  sea. 

The  country  was  already  caUed  "Oregon,"  though  the 
name  had  as  yet  obtained  very  little  currency.  In  Carver's 
Travels,  published  in  London  in  1778,  the  name  had  first  ap- 
peared. The  origin  of  the  name  is  one  of  the  enigmas  of 
history.  Carver  professed  to  have  received  it  from  the 
Indians  in  the  country  of  the  Uppin*  Mississippi,  where  he  had 
been  pushing  his  explorations.  The  Indians,  he  says,  told 
him  of  the  River  Oregon,  flowing  to  the  Western  Ocean;  but 
how  nnich  of  the  tale  was  his  own  invention  it  is  impossible 
to  say.  He  had  a  geographical  theory  and  was  seeking  con- 
firmation of  it;  for  the  great  breadth  of  the  country  was 
known  from  the  general  trend  of  the  Pacific  Northwest  Coast 
line,  and  it  was  naturally  believed  that  so  great  a  country 
must  contain  a  great  river.  Yet  the  Indians  of  the  Upper 
Mississippi  country  could  not  have  known  anything  about  it. 
Carver  hit  upon  the  name  "Oregon"  in  some  way  we  never 
shall  know.  Jefferson  used  the  word  in  his  instructions  to 
Lewis  and  Clark,  showing  that  it  was  beginning  to  have  a 
vogue  before  "Thanatopsis"  was  written;  but  it  was  Bryant's 
solemn  poem,  with  its  sonorous  verse,  which  appeared  in  the 
year  1817,  that  familiarized  the  word  "Oregon"  an  J  soon 
put  it  on  every  tongue.  Various  accounts  of  tlic  Lewis  and 
Clark  expedition  had  appeared  both  in  the  United  States  and 
Europe  before  the  appearance  of  "Thanatopsis,"  but  un- 
doubtedly it  was  Bryant's  expression,  "Where  rolls  the  Ore- 
gon," that  did  most  to  spread  the  name  before  the  world. 

The  men  of  the  Lewis  and  Clark  expedition  were  the  first 
Americans  who  came  across  the  continent  to  the  Oregon  coun- 
try and  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Alexander  ^Mackenzie,  twelve 
years  earlier,  had  come  from  Canada,  passing  through  the 
continent  and  over  the  mountains  from  Peace  River,  which 
flows  into  Athabasca  Lake,  and  thence  discharges  its  waters 


106  H.  W.  Scott. 

through  the  Great  Slave  River  and  the  Mackenzie,  into  the 
Arctic  Ocean.  From  the  headwaters  of  Peace  River  Mack- 
enzie passed  on  west  to  the  stream  which  later  tot)k  the  name 
of  Fraser  River,  and  after  following  the  river  for  some  dis- 
tance, struck  directly  west  for  the  Pacific,  which  he  reached 
in  July,  1793.  Mackenzie  was  the  first  man  who  crossed  the 
continent  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  north  of  the  Spanish  posses- 
sions, which  at  that  time  had  an  indeterminate  northern 
boundary.  This  boundary  was  fixed  afterward  at  the  forty- 
second  parallel  by  treaty  between  the  United  Slates  and 
Spain. 

On  the  results  of  the  expedition  of  Mackenzie  and  of  the 
voyage  of  Vancouver  the  British  Government  was  already 
basing  a  large  and  general  claim  to  sovereignty  on  the  Pacific. 
President  Jefferson  hastened  the  organization  of  the  exploring 
expedition  to  go  overland  from  the  United  States,  for  the 
purpose  of  strengthening  the  rights  we  had  acquired  through 
Gray's  discovery,  and  of  anticipating  further  expeditions  and 
claims  of  Great  Britain.  Lewis  and  Clark  were  not  here  too 
soon.,  for  the  English  already  had  other  expeditions  in 
preparation,  and  their  explorers  were  on  the  Upper  Columbia 
but  a  little  later  than  the  return  of  Lewis  and  Clark  from  the 
mouth  of  the  stream.  Simon  Fraser,  in  1806-8,  followed  to 
the  sea  the  river  that  bears  his  name,  believing  at  first,  as 
Mackenzie  before  him  had  believed,  that  he  was  on  the 
Columbia;  and  another  Englishman,  David  Thompson,  whose 
name  is  perpetuated  in  the  well-known  tributary  of  the  Fraser, 
was  the  first  man  who  explored  the  upper  courses  of  the 
Columbia  River,  and  some  years  later  he  followed  it  through 
its  whole  course  to  the  sea— arriving  at  Astoria  in  July,1811  — 
some  four  months  after  the  occupation  by  the  Americans. 
President  Jefferson  had  been  exceedingly  anxious  that  the 
Lewis  and  Clark  expedition  should  escape  the  notice  of  Great 
Britain  and  of  the  British  Northwest  Company,  with  whom 
disputes  about  territorial  rights  were  feared— but  in  fact,  the 
expedition  did  not  escape  their  notice ;  for  no  sooner  did  Lewis 
and  Clark  appear    on  the  Missouri  than  their  expedition  was 


Beginnings  of  Oregon.  107 

discovered  by  the  British,  and  in  1805  the  Northwest  Company 
sent  out  its  men  to  establish  posts  and  occupy  territories  on 
the  Columbia.  This  party,  however,  got  no  farther  than  the 
Mandan  villages  on  the  ]\Iissouri,  but  another  party,  dis- 
patched in  1806,  crossed  the  Rocky  Mountains  by  the  passage 
of  Peace  River,  and  formed  a  small  trading  establishment 
near  the  54th  degree  of  latitude,  the  first  British  post  west 
of  tlie  Rocky  IMountains.  But  it  was  not  until  1811  that  any 
Englishman  came  through  to  the  countiy  of  the  Lower 
Columbia,  and  then  the  Pacific  Fur  Company,  or  Astor  party, 
was  already  established  here. 

But  north  of  the  Columbia  River  there  was  basis  for  the 
claims  of  Great  Britain;  and  the  controversy  known  in  our 
history  as  the  Oregon  Question,  arose.  Neither  party  was.  in 
truth,  able  wholly  to  exclude  the  other,  but  it  was  the  expedi- 
tion of  Lewis  and  Clark  that  gave  us  the  strength  of  our 
argument.  The  talk  on  our  side  of  "fifty-four-forty  or  fight" 
was  merely  a  cry  of  a  party ;  say  rather  the  insolence  of  parti- 
sanship, for  Great  Britain's  claims  to  a  standing  below  "fifty- 
four- forty"  rested  on  a  l)asis  too  solid  to  be  disposed  of  in  this 
way;  and,  besides,  our  claim  of  "fifty-four-forty"  rested 
merely  upon  a  convention  between  the  United  States  and 
Russia,  through  which  the  latter  had  named  "fifty-four-forty" 
as  the  southern  boundary  of  her  American  possessions.  But 
to  this  convention  Great  Britain  was  not  a  party,  and  she 
justly  declared  that  her  rights  could  not  be  concluded  through 
any  negotiation  in  which  she  had  not  participated,  or  in 
whose  results  she  had  not  promised  agreement.  The  question, 
therefore,  was  still  open  as  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States.  Both  countries  had  undoubted  claims.  Great 
Britain,  by  retrocession  of  Astoria  to  the  United  States,  after 
the  War  of  1812,  had  acknowledged  our  right  in  the  country. 
She  had,  indeed,  never  made  any  serious  pretension  to  the 
territory  south  of  the  Columbia  River,  but  had  insisted  on 
that  stream  as  the  boundary  line.  AVe  had,  however,  in  Gray's 
discovery,  in  the  exploration  of  Lewis  and  Clark  and  in  the 
settlement  of  Astoria,  a  chain  of  title  that  made  it  impossible 


108  H.  W.  Scott. 

for  us  to  consider  this  claim.  Still,  there  could  be  no  termina- 
tion of  the  dispute  till  the  slow  migration  of  our  people  to 
the  Oregon  country  gradually  established  American  influence 
here;  and  finally  the  considerable  migration  of  1843  gave  the 
Americans  a  decided  preponderance,  especially  in  the  country 
scmth  of  the  Columbia.  But  the  boundary  ciuestion  di-agged 
along,  the  British  claiming  as  far  south  as  the  Columbia  and 
we  claiming  as  far  north  as  fifty-four-forty,  till  the  final 
settlement  in  the  year  1846. 

The  hibernation  of  the  Lewis  and  Clark  party  at  Fort  Clat- 
sop is  a  familiar  story  here,  especially,  since  so  many  of  the 
peoj^le  have  visited  the  spot  and  are  perfectly  acquainted  with 
the  surroundings.  It  is  known,  of  course,  that  the  party  first 
encamped  on  the  north  side;  but  exposure  to  winter's  winds 
caused  them  to  seek  a  more  sheltered  position  on  the  south 
side,  to  which  they  removed  about  one  month  after  their 
arrival.  From  the  journal  of  Captain  Lewis  we  ascertain  that 
rain  sometimes  fell  here,  even  before  there  was  an  official 
Weather  Bureau  to  guage  it.  The  country  round  and  about 
is  very  fully  and  accurately  described  in  the  journal.  It  is 
hoped  that  the  site  of  Fort  Clatsop  may  be  acquired  for  the 
State.  Officials  of  the  State  Historical  Society  have  visited 
it,  and  some  negotiati(m  has  been  had  concerning  it.  The 
spot  where  salt  was  made  by  evaporation  of  sea  water  for 
use  during  the  Mdnter  and  for  the  return  journey  has  been 
identified  and  inclosed.  It  is  in  Seaside  Grove,  between  the 
Necanicum  and  the  ocean,  and  since  identification  the  "salt 
cairn"  is  seen  by  everyone  who  visits  Clatsop  Beach. 

Hitherto  the  journal  of  Lewis  and  (Jlark  with  its  descrip- 
tions of  the  connti'y  as  it  was  then,  of  the  Indians  and  their 
mode  of  life,  has  been  too  little  studied  by  our  people.  It 
should  be  in  all  our  libraries;  knowledge  of  it  is  indispensable 
to  any  fair  conq:)rehension  of  the  basis  of  our  history.  It 
should  be  studied  as  the  "Anabasis"  of  the  Western  World. 
We  are  coming  to  the  first  centennial  of  this  expedition  and 
intend  to  celebrate  it ;  but  we  shall  not  know  much  about  it, 
unless  we  study  the  journal  of  Lewis  and  Clark.     Oregon  is 


Beginnings  of  Oregon.  109 

under  great  oblig-ations  to  the  labors  of  the  late  Dr.  Elliott 
Cones,  for  his  edition  of  1893,  with  notes  and  commentary— 
the  best  ever  published. 

A  first-rate  authority  for  the  condition  of  affairs  at  Astoria, 
from  the  arrival  of  the  Astoria  party  in  March,  1811,  till 
abandonment  of  the  enterprise  in  1813,  is  Gabriel  Franchere, 
whose  book,  written  in  P^reneh  and  published  in  Montreal  in 
1819,  was  translated  into  p]nglish  and  repul)lished  in  New 
York  in  1851.  Franchere,  it  is  well  known,  came  in  the  Ton- 
quin.  and  remained  in  the  country  till  Astor's  partners  here 
sold  out  the  business  to  agents  of  the  British  Northwest  Qom- 
pany,  when  he  returned  home,  across  the  continent.  It  was  a 
large  party  that  left  Astoria  Api-il  4,  1814.  In  all  there  were 
ninety  persons,  who  embarked  in  ten  canoes.  Franchere 
reached  Montreal  in  September.  His  statements  make  it  cer- 
tain that  the  partners  of  Astor  could  have  maintained  their 
position  in  the  country  had  they  possessed  resolution  and 
courage.  Astoria  was  not  in  fact  captured  by  the  British, 
but  was  transferred  under  a  business  arrangement  to  agents 
of  the  Northwest  Company.  True,  the  British  sloop  of  war 
h'liccoon,  of  26  guns,  arrived  at  Astoria  soon  after  the  trans- 
fer had  been  made,  and  it  would  not  have  been  possible  to  hold 
Astoria  after  that,  even  had  the  Americans  <{esired.  But 
Franchere  says  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  need  not  have  re- 
tired from  the  country.  "It  was  only  necessary,'"  he  explains, 
"to  get  rid  of  the  land  party  of  the  Northwest  C'impany,  who 
were  completely  in  our  power;  then  remove  our  ( ff'ects  up  the 
river  upon  some  small  stream,  and  await  results.  The  sk)op 
of  war  arrived,  it  is  true;  but  as  in  the  case  I  suppose  she 
would  have  found  nothing,  she  would  have  left,  after  setting 
fire  to  our  deserted  houses.  None  of  their  boats  would  have 
dai'ed  to  follow,  even  if  the  Indians  had  betrayed  tluMU  to  our 
lurking  place.  But  those  at  the  head  of  affairs  had  their  own 
fortunes  to  seek,  and  thought  it  more  for  their  interest,  douhl- 
less,  to  act  as  they  did;  but  that  will  not  clear  them  in  the 
eyes  of  the  world,  and  the  ehai-ge  of  treason  to  Mr.  Astor's 
interests  will  always  be  attached  to  their  charaeters. " 


110  H.  W.  Scott. 

The  principal  iu  this  betrayal  of  Mr.  Astor's  interests,  as 
well  as  those  of  the  United  States,  was  Duncan  McDougal, 
who  had  left  the  Northwest  Company  in  1810,  to  enter  Astor's 
service.  He  came  out  in  the  To'iiquin,  and  soon  after  took  t(i 
wife  the  daughter  of  old  Concomly,  chief  of  the  Clatsops.  An 
anuising-  account  of  the  unctuous  and  piscivorous  nuptials  is 
given  in  some  of  the  chronicles  of  the  time.  There  are  fea- 
tures of  the  story  better  suited  to  private  reading  than  to 
public  recital.  McUougal  remained  here  till  April,  1817, 
when  he  finally  left  "Fort  George"  and  returned  to  Canada. 
In  selling  Mr.  Astor  out  he  seems  to  have  been  overborne  by 
the  superior  tact  and  force  of  J.  G.  McTavish,  the  principal 
agent  of  the  Northwest  Company.  One  of  his  associates  in 
the  Pacific  Fur  Company  (Alexander  Ross)  says  that  Mc- 
Dougal was  "a  man  of  but  ordinary  capacity,  with  irritable 
peevish  temper,  the  most  unfit  man  in  the  world  to  head  an 
expiedition  or  to  command  men."  Another  chronicler  says 
that  old  Concomly,  after  the  transfer,  "no  longer  prided  him- 
self upon  his  white  son-in-law,  but  whenever  he  was  asked 
about  him,  shook  his  head  and  said  his  daughter  had  made  a 
mistake,  for,  instead  of  getting  a  great  warrior  for  a  husband, 
she  had  married  a  squaw."  But  we  shall  dwell  here  no  fur- 
ther on  these  incidents  in  the  early  social  life  in  Oregon. 

Other  writers  at  first  hand,  besides  Franchere,  who  have 
dealt  with  this  early  history,  are  Alexander  Ross  and  Ross 
Cox,  both  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company,  or  Astor  party.  Ross 
came  in  the  Tonquin,  Cox  in  the  Beaver,  Astor's  second  ves- 
sel; Cox's  book  was  published  iu  London  in  1831;  that  of  Ross 
in  London  in  1849.  Ross  spent  not  less  than  fifteen  years  in 
the  Columbia  River  region,  after  which  he  settled  at  Red 
River.  Cox's  book  covers  six  years  at  Astoria  from  1811  to 
1817.     Both  narratives  have  high  value. 

The  same  must  be  said  of  that  portion  of  the  journals  of 
Alexander  Henry,  which  is  devoted  to  the  Lower  Columbia 
country.  By  the  painstaking  annotations  of  Dr.  Coues,  these 
journals  also  have  been  made  to  possess  an  inestimable  value 
to  all  wh()  feel   an  interest  in  the  earlv  history  of  Oregon. 


Beginnings  of  Oregon.  Ill 

Alexander  Henry,  of  the  English  party,  came  to  Astoria 
November  15,  1813.  In  his  journal  he  has  minutely  described 
the  conditions  then  existing  here.  He  visited  the  Willamette 
country,  of  which  he  has  given  a  description ;  in  one  way  or 
another  he  mentions  every  man  in  the  country  at  that  time, 
and,  moreover,  he  made  a  special  catalogue  of  theii-  names. 
His  journal  terminates  al)ruptly,  with  an  unfinished  sentence 
May  21,  1814.  On  the  following  day  he  was  drowned  in  going 
from  "Fort  George"  to  the  ship  Isaac  Todd,  wliicli  was  lying 
in  tlie  river  below.  Donald  McTavish,  one  of  the  old  i)ro- 
prietors  of  the  Northwest  ('ompany,  and  (ivo  boaliiicii  were 
drowned  at  the  same  time. 

Incomparable  among  those  who  have  contributed  to  the 
literature  of  this  time  is  Irving;  but  the  historical  element  in 
his  "Astoria"  is  overlaid  on  almost  every  page  by  the  roman- 
tic. He  is  everywhere  on  the  borderland  of  romance,  when 
not  wholly  within  its  realm.  But  the  art  is  of  so  high  ciuality, 
simple  and  unobtrusive,  that  the  reader  scarcely  suspects  the 
nai'rative,  wdiich  is  true,  indeed,  in  its  outline,  and  apparently 
the  perfection  of  truth,  from  the  way  it  appeals  to  the 
imagination,  through  the  attractive  dress  in  which  it  is  pre- 
sented. Irving 's  story  is  an  epic.  Of  his  tale  of  the  journey 
of  the  overland  party  of  the  Astor  expedition,  an  appreciative 
reviewer  has  said:  "No  story  of  travel  is  more  familiar  to  the 
public  than  the  tale  told  by  Irving  of  this  adventure,  because 
none  is  more  readable  as  a  tale  founded  on  fact.  The  hard- 
ships and  sufferings  of  the  undisciplined  mob  that  sti-uggled 
across  the  countiy  were  terrible;  some  deserteJ,  some  went 
mad,  some  were  drowned  or  murdered,  and  the  survivors 
reached  Astoria  in  pitiable  plight,  in  separate  parties,  at 
different  times.  This  was  the  second  transcontinental  expedi- 
fiim  through  the  United  States,  having  been  preceded  only 
by  that  of  LewLs  and  Clark;  but  to  this  day  no  one  knows 
exactly  the  route.  Irving  plies  his  golden  pen  elastically,  and 
from  it  flows  wit  and  humor,  stirring  scene  and  startling  inci- 
dent, character  to  the  life;  but  he  never  tells  us  where  these 
people  went,  perhaps  for  the  simple  reason  that  he  never  knew. 


112  H.  W.  Scott. 

lie  wafts  us  westward  on  his  stronp;  plume,  and  we  look  down 
upon  those  hapless  Astorians.  but  we  niig-ht  as  well  be  balloon- 
ing for  aught  we  can  make  of  this  celebrated  itinerary. ' '  As 
to  description  of  the  route,  this  is  a  true  criticism ;  but  Irving 
has  supplied  the  imagination  with  a  truer  picture  of  the  hard- 
ships of  the  expedition,  coming  and  going,  than  any  diary 
written  on  the  journey  could  have  given  us.  Men  who  go 
through  hardships  can  seldom  describe  them.  Indeed,  the 
most  dreadful  horrors  that  men  suffer  are  little  remembered. 

The  only  descendant,  so  far  as  I  know,  of  any  member  of 
the  original  Astor  party  now  living  in  Oregon  is  Colonel 
Crooks,  of  Portland,  Avho  holds  an  official  position  in  the  0. 
R.  &  N.  Co.  His  father,  Ramsay  Crooks,  came  with  the 
overland  or  Hunt  party,  and  returned  in  the  same  w^ay.  Much 
of  the  journey  both  ways  was  made  in  winter,  and  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  party  from  destitution,  fatigue  and  cold  were 
extreme.  Ramsay  Crooks  and  John  Day  were  separated  for 
a  time  from  their  main  party,  were  robbed  by  the  Indians  and 
stripped  of  their  clothing,  and  as  the  weather  was  still  wintry 
(it  was  early  spring),  they  were  saved  only  by  simple  good 
fortune.  Perhaps  we  should  say  it  is  "one  of  those  mirac- 
ulous escapes."  Some  of  their  companions,  whom  they  had 
not  seen  for  a  long  time,  and  were  not  known  by  them  to  be 
in  the  vicinity,  appeared,  and  they  were  rescued.  Day  became 
insane,  and  died,  it  is  believed,  at  Astoria,  for  to  that  place 
he  was  sent  back  by  Indians  after  the  party  had  started  on 
its  return  to  the  East.  Crooks  lived  to  an  old  age,  and  died 
in  the  State  of  New  York  in  the  year  1859. 

It  has  come  to  pass  now,  in  the  course  of  nature,  that  the 
citizens  of  longest  residence  in  Oregon  are  those  who  were 
born  here  prior  to  1840,  or  perhaps  I  should  say  1842.  With 
the  single  exception  of  the  venerable  William,  of  Forest 
Grove,  I  know  no  survivor  of  the  innnigrants  of  American 
nativity  who  came  previous  to  that  year.  But  there  is  a  man 
still  living  at  Port  Hill,  in  the  Kootenai  country,  North 
Idaho,  who  saw  Oregon  before  any  other  person  now  living 


Beginnings  of  Oregon.  113 

saw  it.  This  is  David  McLuuylilin,  son  of  Dr.  ]\IcLoughlin, 
now  over  SO  years  of  age.' 

He  was  here.in  his  early  boyhood,  with  his  father,  over  70 
years  ago.  I  am  permitted  to  read  an  extract  from  a  letter 
MTitten  by  him  to  a  friend  in  Portland,  only  a  few  days  since, 
which  is  very  interesting.    He  says: 

"Oregon  was  a  fine  country  in  my  early  days— a  park  on 
a  hirge  scale,  that  could  not  be  surpassed  even  by  artificial 
culture.  It  mattered  not  at  what  point  innuigrants  or 
travelers  entered  this  western  shore  of  Americn,  at  cncb  of 
its  thresholds  a  scene  of  beauty  awaited  them.  Before  the 
Anglo-Saxon  race  penetrated  the  Rockies  there  was  no  civilza- 
tion  in  the  country  that  is  worth  mention.  It  was  in  its 
natural  state  of  beauty,  romantic  and  grand,  with  its  endless 
prairies,  streams  and  forests  and  wild  animals  of  all  kinds 
for  the  use  of  man.  Here  and  there,  scattered  throughout 
the  country,  snow-ca]>ped  mountains  were  to  be  seen,  eidiauc- 
ing  the  grandeur  of  its  scenery. 

"The  Rockies  for  many  long  years  served  as  a  barrier 
against  the  advance  of  civilization.  This  barrier  was  at  last 
overcome  by  the  immigrants  seeking  after  a  new  country  in 
the  valleys  of  the  far  Columbia  in  1835-49.  But  this  is  not 
the  place  to  commemorate  the  trials  and  privations  endured 
by  the  immigrants  before  they  reached  their  final  haven. 
From  the  banks  of  the  IMissouri  to  the  western  slopes  of  the 
Rocky  IMountains  they  struggled  on  with  a  constancy  almost 
unparalleled  in  history. 

"The  savage  man,  the  savage  beasts,  hunger,  thirst  and 
disease ;  in  fact,  every  kind  of  impediment  which  nature  could 
place  in  their  way,  had  all  been  overcome  with  Anglo-Saxon 
tenacity — yet  the  long  journey  and  accunuilations  of  terrors 
for  their  families  had  shaken  the  hearts  of  the  stoutest  among 
them. 

"It  was  between  Walla  AValla  and  Willamette  valleys  that 
the  immigrants  suffered  most,  on  account  of  the  rains  and 

iDavid  McLoughlin  died  in  May,  1903. 


114  H.  W.  Scott. 

boisterous  wcatlu'i-  iu  the  fall  of  the  year.  I  believe  there  was 
not  one  but  ji,ave  a  heartfelt  prayer  of  thanks  when  they  saw 
the  broad  valley  of  the  Willamette  bathed  iu  the  sunli<j;ht 
beneath  them  and  learnt  from  others  that  this  was  the  land 
of  Opliir  they  sought  and  that  these  virgin  acres  were  to  be 
theirs. 

"Therefore,  the  immigrants  and  pioneers  of  Oregon,  men 
and  women  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  who  have  given  to  the 
western  shore  of  the  continent  its  greatness,  deserve  the 
greatest  praise,  honor  and  reward  for  their  valor  and  en- 
durance in  raising  the  Oregon  region  to  its  present  rank  of 
greatness  in  so  short  a  time.  It  is  marvelous.  It  surpasses 
nnagiuation  of  man.  It  has  grown  to  an  empire  State  in 
wealth, population, culture,  and  in  trade,  all  in  about  60  years. 

"They  have  cleared  away  the  forests,  bridged  the  streams, 
built  cities,  spanned  the  continent  and  crossed  and  recrossed 
and  checkered  it  with  highways  of  iron ;  they  have  planted 
orchards  and  vineyards  upon  side  hills  and  in  every  valley 
within  its  borders.  It  is  marvelous  to  contemplate  the 
achievements  and  exploits  of  these  people." 

And  to  the  missionary  effort  that  preceded  tlip  general  im- 
migration a  debt  is  due  that  never  should  miss  acknowledge- 
ment, Mdien  the  story  of  the  acquisition  and  settlement  of 
Oregon  is  recited.  The  missionary  enterprise  began  with 
Jason  Lee  in  1834.  Next  came  Samuel  Parker  in  1835. 
Whitman  and  Spaulding,  with  W.  H.  Gray,  followed  in  1836." 
In  1838  came  Walker  and  Eells.  By  1840  there  were  in 
Oregon  13  Methodists  and  six  Congregational  ministers,  13 
lay  members  of  the  Protestant  missions,  three  Roman  Catho- 
lic missionary  priests,  and  a  considerable  number  of  Canadian 
settlers  of  the  Roman  Catholic  faith.  If  the  missionary  effort 
did  not  succeed  as  its  authors  hoped  in  its  direct  purpose  of 
helping  the  Indians  to  uplift  and  regeneration,  it  did  succeed 
greatly  in  its  secondary  purpose,  which  the  American 
missionaries  ever  kept  in  view,  namely,  in  lending  aid  to  the 
foundation  of  a  connnonwealth  under  the  sovereignty  of  the 
United  States.    Long  time  there  was  disinclination  to  give  the 


Beginnings  of  Oregon.  115 

missionary  work  in  Oregon  the  credit  that  justly  was  its  due; 
for  after  the  rush  of  inuiiigTation  began  the  missionary  peo- 
ple were,  so  to  speak,  inundated  by  it,  and  what  they  had 
done  was  for  a  time  overlooked.  But  going  back,  as  now  we 
must,  to  the  study  of  our  "origins"— and  we  shall  do  this 
more  and  more— we  are  compelled  to  recognition  of  the  great 
work  which  the  missionaries  did.  I  do  not  say  that  Oregon 
would  not  have  been  held  without  them;  but  they  were  a 
powerful  factor  in  holding  it. 

The  story  of  the  toilsome  march  of  the  wagon  trains  over 
the  plains  will  be  received  by  future  generations  almost  as  a 
legend  on  the  borderland  of  myth,  rather  than  as  veritable 
history.  It  will  be  accepted,  indeed,  but  scarcely  understood. 
Even  now  to  the  survivors  who  made  the  journey  the  realities 
of  it  seem  half  fabulous.  It  no  longer  has  the  appearance  of 
a  rational  undertaking.  Rapid  transit  of  the  present  time 
seems  almost  to  relegate  the  story  to  the  land  of  fable.  No 
longer  can  we  understand  the  motives  that  urged  our  pioneers 
toward  the  indefinite  horizon  that  seemed  to  verge  on  the  un- 
known. Looking  back  at  the  movement  now,  a  mystery  ap- 
pears in  it.  It  was  the  final  effort  of  that  profound  impulse 
which,  from  a  time  far  preceding  the  daAvn  of  history,  has 
pushed  the  race  to  which  we  belong  to  discovery  and  occupa- 
tion of  western  lands. 

Oregon,  from  the  circumstances  of  her  settlement  and  its 
long  isolation,  and  through  natural  interaction  of  the  mate- 
rials slowly  brought  together,  has  a  character  nhnost  pecul- 
iarly its  own.  In  some  respects  that  character  is  admirable 
In  others  it  is  open  to  criticism.  Our  situation  has  made  for 
us  a  little  world  in  which  strong  traits  of  character  peculiarly 
our  own  have  been  developed ;  it  has  also  left  us  somewhat— 
indeed,  too  much— out  of  touch  with  the  world  at  large.  We 
do  not  readjust  ourselves  readily  to  the  conditions  that  sur- 
round us  in  the  world  of  opinion  and  action— forces  now 
pressing  in  upon  us  steadily  from  all  sides. 

The  life  of  a  community  is  the  aggregate  life  of  the  individ- 
uals who  are  its  units,  and  the  general  law  that  holds  for  the 


116  H.  W.  Scott. 

individual  holds  for  the  socii'ty.  Only  as  the  conduct  of  the 
man  as  an  individual  and  of  the  man  in  society  is  brought 
into  harmony  with  surrounding  forces,  under  the  government 
of  moral  law,  can  any  connnunity  make  progress;  and  of  this 
progress  experience  becomes  the  test.  In  our  day  the  multi- 
plying agencies  of  civilization  operating  with  an  activity 
constantly  cunuilative  and  never  before  equaled,  are  turned, 
under  pressure  of  moral  forces,  into  most  poAverful  instru- 
ments for  the  instruction  and  benefit  of  mankind.  It  is  prob- 
able that  nothing  else  has  contributed  so  much  to  the  help  of 
mankind  in  the  mass,  either  in  material  or  moral  aspects,  as 
rapid  increase  of  human  intereourse  throughout  the  world. 
Action  and  reaction  of  peoples  on  peoples,  of  races  upon 
races,  are  continually  evolving  the  activities  and  producing 
changes  in  the  thought  and  chai^acter  of  all.  This  influence 
develops  the  moral  forces  as  rapidly  as  the  intellectual  and 
material ;  it  has  brought  all  parts  of  the  world  into  daily  con- 
tact with  each  other,  and  each  part  feels  the  influence  of  all 
the  rest.  Connnon  agents  in  this  work  are  commerce  in 
merchandise  and  commerce  in  ideas.  Neither  could  make 
much  progress  without  the  other.  Populations  once  were 
stagnant.  Now  they  are  stirred  profoundly  by  all  the  powers 
of  social  agitation ;  by  travel,  by  rapid  movements  of  com- 
merce, by  daily  transmission  of  news  of  the  important  events 
of  the  world  to  every  part  of  the  world.  Motion  is  freedom ; 
it  is  science,  it  is  wealth,  it  is  moral  advancement.  Isolated 
life  is  rapidly  disappearing;  speech  writing,  the  treasures  of 
the  world's  literature,  diffused  throughout  the  world,  enlarge 
and  expand  the  general  mind,  and  show  how  iiuich  is  con- 
tained within  humanity  of  which  men  once  never  dreamed. 
The  true  life  of  a  people  is  both  a  history  and  a  poem ;  the 
history  is  a  record  of  the  material  development  resulting  from 
their  indush'ial  energy;  the  poem  represents  the  growth  of 
character,  the  evolution  of  the  moral,  intellectual  and  spirit- 
ual forces  that  make  up  their  inner  life.  These  two  phases 
must  unfold  together,  if  there  is  to  be  any  real  progress. 
There  is  an  antagonism  between  thenij  yet  each  is  necessary  to 


I 


Beginnings  of  Oregon.  117 

the  other.  Without  cultivation  of  the  material  and  mechan- 
ical, which  acts  upon  matter  and  produces  wealth,  man  is  a 
mere  idler  and  dreamer,  at  his  best  little  better  than  the 
Arabian  nomad.  AVithout  cultivation  of  the  moral  sentiments, 
or  attention  to  the  calls  of  his  inner  and  hiijher  nature,  he 
loses  himself  in  o-i-oss  materialism,  and  no  answer  is  found  in 
him  to  appeal  to  ideas,  to  heroism,  or  to  exalted  vii'tue. 

Phases  of  the  life  of  a  i)eople  ])ass  away,  never  to  return. 
Ill  the  first  settlement  of  a  country  the  conditions  of  nature 
produce  our  customs,  guide  our  industries,  fix  our  ways  of 
life.  Later,  modifications  take  place,  fashioned  on  changing 
conditions.  This  process,  long  delayed  through  our  isolation, 
is  now  going  on  rapidly  before  our  eyes. 

In  one  of  his  ''Ramblers"  Dr.  Johnson  says,  ti-iily :  "What- 
ever withdraws  us  from  the  power  of  our  senses ;  whatever 
makes  the  past,  the  distant  or  the  future,  predominate  over 
the  present,  advances  us  in  the  dignity  of  human  beings." 

The  study  of  our  own  history  is  chiefly  valuable  foi-  its 
moral  significance  and  influence.  It  fixes  our  attention  upon 
the  organization  and  structure  of  our  society,  and  carries  the 
influence  of  other  times  on  into  our  own.  It  stirs  up  to  ac- 
tivity the  forces  and  agencies  that  build  up  character,  that 
indicate  duty,  that  prompt  to  action.  These  are  the  forces 
we  want.  Busied  only  with  our  own  times  and  the  conditions 
they  present,  we  fall  into  levity;  we  forget  what  we  owe  to 
our  predecessors,  and  therefore  do  not  know  what  we  possess, 
nor  realize  its  value.  Only  can  we  know  what  we  have  or 
where  we  are  by  study  of  the  course  through  which  our 
present  position  has  been  attained.  To  live  merely  in  the 
present,  without  regard  to  the  past,  is  to  be  careless  of  the 
future.  If  a  people  do  not  know  their  own  history  it -is  the 
same  as  if  they  had  no  history.  For,  as  Bacon  says,  in  one 
of  his  pregnant  sentences:  "The  truth  of  knowing  and  the 
truth  of  being  is  all  one;  the  man  is  what  he  knoweth."  It 
is  not  enough  that  this  historical  knowledge  be  possessed  by 
the  few.  "The  remnant"  should  not  be  only  the  custodians  of 
such  a  heritage.     We  may  hope  that  study  of  our  Pacific 


118  H.  W.  SroTT. 

Northwest  history  will  now  and  henceforth  receive  the  wide 
attention  it  deserves.  Not  the  least,  therefore,  of  the  grounds 
upon  which  we  ought  to  welcome  the  coming  centennial  of 
exploration  is  the  educational  work  in  our  own  history  that 
it  will  effect  among  us.  The  inspiration  of  their  past  is  the 
greatest  of  motives  for  a  proga*essive  people. 

This  is  a  rambling  address,  not  intended  to  concentrate 
attention  upon  any  particular  event  in  our  history,  but 
merely  to  contribute  a  little  to  the  interest  of  a  special 
occasion,  by  passing  before  the  mind  some  of  the  incidents 
and  events  readily  offered  to  the  gleaner  of  our  earliest 
records,  with  some  reflections  thereon.  The  approach  of  the 
Lewis  and  Clark  centennial  makes  all  this  mass  of  matter — 
and  the  mass  of  it  is  great— worth  renewed  study,  for  in  the 
celebration  of  this  centennial  we  should  have  a  knowledge  of 
the  underlying  facts  of  our  history,  as  well  as  of  detail  and 
proportion.  It  was  the  Lewis  and  Clark  expedition  that  en- 
abled us  to  follow  up  the  claim  based  on  discovery  of  the 
Columbia  River,  and  enabled  us,  moreover,  to  anticipate  the 
English  in  their  further  exploration  and  discovery.  It  en- 
abled us  to  hold  the  country  west  of  the  Rocky  INTountains  and 
south  of  the  49th  parallel,  to  the  United  States.  It  gave  us 
the  footing  that  enabled  us  to  negotiate  with  Spain  for  the 
southern  boundary  of  the  Oregon  country,  which  Avas  fixed 
at  the  42d  parallel.  And,  as  we  were  already  firmly  place<:l 
on  the  Pacific  Coast  at  the  time  of  the  war  with  Mexico,  it 
was  one  of  the  direct  sources  of  our  acquisition  of  California 
by  the  double  method  of  conquest  and  purchase.  Thus  we 
have  acquired  on  the  Pacific  a  vast  coast  line;  we  have 
established  great  and  growing  States,  supported  by  a  cordon 
of  interior  States  from  the  Mississippi  westward;  we  are  in 
position  for  defense  in  war  and  for  defense  and  aggression  in 
trade ;  at  our  Pacifie  ports  we  are  nearest  of  all  the  great  na- 
tions of  commerce  and  civilization  to  the  trade  of  the  Orient. 
The  Lewis  and  Clark  expedition,  to  which  the  great  results 
so  plainly  run  back,  stands  therefore  as  one  of  the  leading 
episodes    of    our   national    history.      AYe    must    celebrate    its 


Beginnings  of  Oregon.  119 

ceuteniiial  in  1905,  and  celebrate  it  in  a  manner  and  on  a 
scale  eonnnensiirate  with  its  national  and  historical  import- 
ance. Oregon,  of  course,  nuist  take  the  lead  in  the  prepara- 
tion for  this  event.  It  is  worth  while,  then,  to  use  every 
opportunity  to  awaken  interest  in  the  history  of  the  begin- 
ning's of  American  dominion  in  the  Pacitic  Northwest. 

It  is  in  this  spirit  that  I  have  responded  to  the  invitation 
l"(>r  the  present  occasion.  On  such  a  subject  it  is  aliiust 
natural  to  fall  into  tediousness  or  prolixity,  by  attempting 
to  cover  too  much  ground.  Short  essays,  or  lectures,  in  series, 
offer  an  excellent  method  for  popular  treatment  of  this  great 
subject,  and  this  can  be  done  with  special  thoroughness  under 
direction  of  our  State  educational  system. 


^  illEF  illSTOlT  Sr  THE  OIEQOKI 

5rmn  nmm^rmn  zonwrnr. 

By  P.  W.  Gillette. 

Away  back,  loiii^'  bri'orc  the  while  man  had  secji  \hv  Pacific 
Coast  or  even  America;  before  history  in  this  country  began, 
and  when  vague  legendry  filled  its  place,  and  current  events 
were  handed  down  from  generation  to  generation  by  dim 
traditions;  and  when,  as  the  Indians  say,  the  gorge  of  the  Co- 
lun]])ia  through  the  Cascade  Mountains  was  nuich  narrower 
than  it  is  now,  a  part  of  the  huge  mountain  fell  into  and 
dannned  up  the  great  river.  But  ere  long  the  impetuous 
water  forced  its  way  through  and  under  the  fallen  mountain, 
leaving  a  natural  bridge  spanning  the  river.  Unnumbered 
ages  passed,  wdien  an  earthquake  came,  causing  the  earth  to 
shake,  the  mountains  to  totter,  and  causing  the  bridge  to  fall 
into  the  river,  filling  its  channel  with  masses  of  stone  and 
forming  an  obstruction  to  navigation  now  known  as  the 
"Fall,"  or  "Cascades  of  the  Columbia."  As  far  back  as 
Indian  tradition  goes, the  Cascades  of  the  Columbia  have  been 
an  important  point  on  account  of  the  break  in  navigation, 
making  a  portage  of  ever^ything  carried  in  boats  an  absolute 
necessity. 

Its  importance  was  greatly  increased  by  the  extensive  fish- 
ing grounds  made  by  the  "long  narrows,"  and  rapid  current 
of  the  river  at  that  place,  enabling  the  Indians  with  spear 
and  scoop-net  to  capture  vast  quantities  of  salmon,  which 
made  them  an  easy  living,  as  well  as  an  article  of  great  value 
in  trade  with  other  tribes.  The  village  of  Wish-ram  at  the 
head  of  the  falls  was  a  mart  of  trade.  Irving  said:  "These 
Indians  were  shrewder  and  more  intelligent  than  other  In- 
dians. Trade  had  shaipened  their  wits,  but  had  not  improved 
their  honesty,  for  they  were  a  community  of  arrant  rogues 
and  freebooters."     They  took  every  possible  advantage  the 


History  of  Oregon  Stram  Navkjation  Co.       121 

location  gave  them,  always  making  exorbitant  demands  and 
charges  for  any  privilege  granted  or  service  rendered,  and 
often  robbed  weak  and  unprotected  parties.  When  Lewis  and 
Clark  passed  there  with  well-armed  and  well-drilled  men  they 
were  unmolested,  but  seven  years  later,  when  Wilson  P.  Hunt 
arrived  there  with  his  half-starved,  worn-out  and  discouraged 
party,  they  were  very  trou])lesome  and  insolent.  Soon  after 
this  part  of  the  country  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  white  men, 
he,  too,  saw  the  importance  of  that  location  and  eagerly  seized 
it,  and  was  no  less  willing  to  make  it  a  source  of  profit,  in  fact, 
to  use  it  "for  all  it  was  worth,"  proving  that  human  nature 
is  the  same,  be  it  Indian  or  white  man.  F.  A.  Chenoweth, 
aftemvards  Judge  Chenoweth,  of  Corvallis,  settled  at  the 
Cascades,  and  in  1850  built  the  first  portage  road  on  the  line 
of  the  old  Indian  trail,  which  had  been  in  use  so  long  "that 
the  memory  of  man  runneth  not  to  the  contrary. ' ' 

His  road  was  a  railroad  built  entirely  of  wood,  and  the  ear 
was  drawn  by  one  lone  nuile.  The  road  was  on  the  north  side 
of  the  Columbia,  and  at  that  time  was  in  Oregon.  I  saw  him 
in  Salem  in  the  winter  of  1852  and  1853,  a  Representative 
from  tlie  Cascades.  He  was  made  a  Circuit  Judge  in  Oregon 
Territory  by  President  Pierce  and  lived  to  be  an  octogenariau. 

Then  there  were  no  settlers  east  of  the  Cascade  Mountains, 
and  no  immediate  prospect  of  any,  so  he  sold  his  road  to  D.  F. 
and  P.  F.  Bradford,  who  were  either  more  hojn^ful  of  the 
future,  or  had  better  foresight  than  Judge  Cheneweth.  They 
rebuilt  the  road  in  1856,  making  many  improvements  on  it. 

The  Indian  massacre  at  the  Cascades  occurred  while  this 
improvement  was  being  made.  The  men  were  attacked  while 
at  work,  and  fled  in  all  directions;  one  or  two  of  them  being 
killed. 

This  road  was  rebuilt  again  in  1861,  with  iron  rails,  and 
liad  steam  locomotives.  It  was  the  fii-st  railroad  of  the  kind 
built  in  Oregon,  and  though  small  was  the  l)eginning  of  rail- 
roading in  the  Northwest. 

This  was  the  first  i-ailroad  projx'llcd  by  steam  ])()W('i'  I  ever 
travelled  upon. 


122  P.  W.  GiLLETTK. 

Some  time  later  in  the  '50 's  Colonel  Riickel  and  H.  01m- 
stead  built  and  operated  a  portage  road  on  the  south  hank  of 
the  Columbia. 

Before  the  portage  roads  and  the  steamships  combined  their 
interests,  the  portage  company  received  half  the  freight 
charges  on  all  freights  to  their  destination.  If  the  price  was 
$40  per  ton  from  Portland  to  The  Dalles,  and  that  was  the 
regular  price  for  many  years,  the  portage  men  got  $20  per 
ton  for  carrying  it  around  the  falls,  six  miles. 

The  old  Columbia  was  the  first  steamboat,  I  believe,  to  go 
as  far  as  the  Cascades.  The  first  steamboat  built  above  the 
Cascades  was  the  James  R.  Flint,  built  by  the  Bradfords, 
J.  0.  Vanbergen,  and  James  R.  Flint,  of  San  Francisco.  She 
was  a  small  side-wheel  boat,  with  single  engine  "geared"  to 
the  shafts,  and  when  in  motion  sounded  more  like  a  thrashing 
machine  than  a  steamboat.  On  her  first  trip  down  from  The 
Dalles  old  Dr.  Newell  was  a  passenger,  and  for  a  time  seemed 
nervous  and  disturbed.  He  finally  asked  one  of  the  employes 
what  made  that  rattling  sound.  "Oh,  that's  only  the  cook 
grinding  cofi^ee,"  was  the  reply. 

In  the  fall  of  1861  the  Flint  was  taken  over  the  Cascades 
and  run  between  Portland  and  Oregon  City.  Later  on  she 
was  cut  in  two,  lengthened,  and  the  machinery  of  the  old 
Columhia  put  into  her  and  named  Fashion. 

The  Bradfords  next  built  the  Mary^,  a  double-engine  boat, 
to  run  between  the  Cascades  and  The  Dalles.  The  Mary  was 
lying  at  the  Upper  Cascades  at  the  commencement  of  the 
Indian  massacre  in  1856,  and  was  dispatched  to  The  Dalles 
in  great  haste  for  relief.  She  brought  back  a.  company  of 
cavalry  in  barges. 

About  the  same  time  a  messenger  was  sent  to  Poi-tland  and 
Vancouver  for  assistance,  and  the  steamer  BcUe  was  dis- 
patched, with  Second  Lieutenant  Philip  H.  Sheridan  and 
40  men.  This  was  Sheridan's  first  battle.  In  less  than  10 
years  he  had  become  one  of  the  greatest  heroes  of  his  age,  a 
renowned  general,  and  had  made  the  name  of  Sheridan  im- 
perishable. 


History  of  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Co.       123 

Soon  after  building  the  Manj  the  Bradfords  ])uilt  the  Tlas- 
salo  to  run  on  the  Cascades  and  Dalles  route.  In  the  mean- 
time R.  R.  Thompson,  L.  W.  Coe  and  others  built  a  small 
boat  at  the  Upper  Cascades  to  be  taken  to  the  Upper  Colum- 
bia beyond  Celilo.  When  she  was  about  ready  to  start  out 
on  her  first  trip,  by  some  mistake  her  lines  were  east  otf  before 
she  had  steam  enough  to  stem  the  current  of  the  river  and 
she  drifted  over  the  falls.  She  received  so  little  injury  that 
she  was  taken  to  Portland,  fitted  up  and  sold  to  go  to  Fraser 
River.  The  same  parties  then  built  the  Wiighi  at  Celilo  in 
1859.  She  was  the  first  steamboat  that  ever  disturbed  the 
waters  of  the  Columbia  beyond  Celilo.  The  Wright  made  a 
bushel  of  money  for  her  owners. 

The  old  steamer  Belle,  built  by  Captain  Dick  Williams, 
S.  G.  Reed  and  others,  was  the  first  boat  to  run  regularly 
between  Portland  and  the  Cascades.  In  thos^  early  days 
there  were  no  settlers  east  of  the  mountains,  therefore  nearly 
all  of  the  transportation  business  on  the  river  was  for 
the  Government,  transporting  soldiers,  guns,  military  sup- 
plies, etc. 

Transportation  between  Portland  and  The  Dalles  was  $40 
per  ton  by  measurement,  and  passenger  fare  proportionately 
high. 

The  Government  bought  a  quantity  of  hay  at  San  Francisco 
for  the  military  post  at  Fort  Dalles.  By  the  time  it  reached 
its  destination  it  had  cost  "Uncle  Sam"  $77  per  ton. 

Buckle  and  Olmstead  built  the  steamer  Mountcin  Bud-  and 
put  her  on  the  route  between  Portland  and  the  Cascades,  and 
soon  after  built  the  little  steamer  Wasco,  to  run  between  the 
Cascades  and  The  Dalles,  which,  with  their  portage  road, 
gave  them  a  through  line  to  The  Dalles;  this  was  near  1859 
or  1860.  Their  line,  of  course,  took  away  much  of  the  busi- 
ness from  the  portage  road  on  the  north  side  of  the  river  and 
the  boats  running  in  connection  with  it. 

Benjamin  Stark,  S.  G.  Reed,  R.  Williams,  Hoyt  and  Wells, 
owned  the  steamers  Belle,  Senorita,  and  Multnomah,  one  of 
which  ran  from  Portland  to  Astoria;  the  others,  in  connec- 


124  P.  W.  GU.LETTE. 

tion  with  the  Bradford  road  and  their  boats,  from  the  Cas- 
cades to  Tlie  Dalles.  0.  Humason  owned  the  portage  road 
from  Dalles  City,  around  the  dalles  of  the  Cohimbia  to  Celilo, 
15  miles,  using  oxen  and  mules  and  great  freight  wagons  to 
carry  passengers,  until  the  portage  railroad  was  built  in  1862. 

Before  the  steamer  Wright  made  her  appearance  on  the 
river  above  Celilo  all  freight  was  transported  above  Celilo  on 
what  was  dalled  schooners,  which  were  simply  schooner-rigged 
barges. 

During  the  greater  part  of  the  year  there  is  a  strong  wind 
on  that  part  of  the  river,  which  often  enabled  them  to  make 
good  time.  I  saw  one  or  two  of  these  crafts  as  late  as  1862, 
But  they  soon  disappeared  when  steamboats  came,  and,  like 
all  primitive  things,  were  pushed  aside  by  the  hand  of 
progress. 

By  1859  the  transportation  business  had  greatly  increased, 
and  there  being  two  complete  lines  between  Portland  and 
The  Dalles,  produced  strained  relations  between  the  two  op- 
posing companies,  and  a  rate  war  seemed  imminent.  Several 
efforts  had  already  been  made  to  combine  all  the  different 
interests  under  one  management,  but  all  had  failed.  At 
length  an  arrangement  was  reached.  The  portage  roads  at 
the  Cascades  and  the  steamboats,  wharfboats  and  property 
belonging  with  them,  were  appraised,  each  at  its  cash  value, 
the  whole  amounting  to  $175,000.  On  the  29th  day  of  De- 
cember, 1860,  articles  of  incorporation  were  signed  and  filed 
at  Vancouver,  Clark  County,  Washington  Territory,  incorpo- 
rating the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Company,  shares  $500 
each.  There  were  16  shareholders,  the  largest  being  R.  R. 
Thompson,  with  120  shares ;  Ladd  &  Tilton,  80  shares ;  T.  W. 
Lyles,  76  shares;  J.  Kamm,  57  shares;  J.  C.  Ainsworth,  40 
shares;  and  so  on  down,  the  smallest  share  holder  having  but 
three  shares. 

In  October,  1862,  the  company  filed  new  articles  of  incor- 
poration with  the  Secretary  of  State,  at  Salem,  and  also  with 
the  County  Clerk  of  Multnomah  County,  Oregon,  with  a  caj)i- 
tal  stock   of  $2,000,000,   represented  by   25   shareholders,   at 


History  of  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Co.        125 

$500  a  share.  Bradford  &  Co.  were  the  largest  shareholders, 
having-  758  shares;  R.  R.  Thompson,  672;  Harrison  01  instead, 
558;  Jacob  Kannn,  354;  and  so  on  down,  the  smallest  share- 
holder having  but  eight  shares. 

This  combination  put  both  portage  roads  and  the  gorge  of 
the  Columbia  into  the  hands  of  a  corporation,  giving  it  per- 
fect control  of  all  transportation  to  and  from  every  point 
beyond  the  Cascades.  Thus  owning  both  portages  and  all 
the  steamboatSj  it  is  needless  to  say  that  the  Oregon  Steam 
Navigation  Company  found  it  unnecessary  to  consult  any  one 
as  to  what  prices  they  should  charge.  Such  an  opportunity, 
with  such  unlimited  power,  seldom  ever  falls  into  the  hands 
of  man.  It  made  them  the  absolute  owners  of  every  dollar's 
worth  of  freight  and  passage  going  up  or  down  the  great  val- 
ley of  the  second  largest  river  in  America. 

In  1855  there  were  no  settlers  living  beyond  the  Deschutes 
River,  but  after  that  date  they  began  to  spread  out  over  the 
country  pretty  fast.  Previous  to  that  date,  the  government 
had  given  transportation  companies  nearly  all  the  carrying 
trade  they  had.  But  by  1860  the  natural  growth  of  the 
country  was  making  considerable  business.  In  1861  the  dis- 
covery of  gold  at  Orofino  awakened  a  new  life  in  the  valley 
of  the  Columbia.  As  if  by  magic  the  tardy  wheels  of  com- 
merce were  unfettered,  human  thought  and  energy  un- 
shackled and  turned  loose  with  determined  purpose  to  meet 
the  great  emergency  and  reap  the  golden  harvest. 

From  Portland  to  "Powder  River,  Orofino,  and  Florence 
City"  mines,  the  country  resounded  with  the  busy  whirr  of 
trade.  All  the  steamboats  and  portage  roads  were  ta:xod  to 
their  greatest  capacity.  So  great  was  the  demand  for  trans- 
portation that  the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Company  had 
to  build  new  steamboats  and  improve  their  roads  at  the  Cas- 
cades. The  old  portage  M-agon  road  at  The  Dalles  was  en- 
tirely inadequate  to  do  the  immense  business,  and  the  com- 
pany was  obliged  to  build  a  railroad  from  Dalles  City  to 
Celilo,  15  miles. 

So  enormous  were  the  charges  for  freight  and  passage,  I 


120  P.  W.  Gillette. 

am  credibly  informed,  that  the  steamer  Olainogan  paid  the 
entire  cost  of  herself  on  her  first  trip.  It  makes  my  head 
swim  now,  as  memory  carries  me  back  to  those  wonderfully 
rushing  days,  when  the  constant  fall  of  chinking  coin  into 
the  coffers  of  the  company  was  almost  like  the  How  of  a  dash- 
ing torrent.  The  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Company  had 
become  a  millionaire-making  machine. 

The  price  of  freight  from  Portland  to  The  Dalles,  about 
100  miles,  was  $40  per  ton;  from  Dalles  to  Celilo,  15  miles, 
$15  per  ton ;  from  Dalles  to  Wallula,  $55  per  ton ;  and  from 
Portland  to  Lewiston,  $120  per  ton. 

All  freight,  excepting  solids,  such  as  lead,  nails,  etc.,  were 
estimated  by  measurement,  40  cubic  feet  making  a  ton. 

Passage  from  Portland  to  The  Dalles  was  $8,  and  75  cents 
extra  for  meals.  From  Portland  to  Lewiston  passage  was 
$60,  and  meals  and  beds  were  $1  each.  Now  the  price  of 
freight  between  Portland  and  The  Dalles  on  farm  products 
by  boat  is  only  $1.50  per  ton;  for  passage,  $1.50,  and  25  cents 
for  meals.  By  the  railroad,  freight  on  farm  products  be- 
tween Portland  and  The  Dalles  is  $1.50  per  ton,  and  passage 
$2.75 ;  between  Portland  and  Wallula,  by  rail,  freight  on 
farm  products  is  $3.30  per  ton;  passage,  $8.50.  Between 
Portland  and  Lewiston,  by  rail,  freight  on  farm  products  is 
$4.25  per  ton ;  passage,  $14.60.  At  the  present  time  freights 
are  classified,  some  classes  being  much  higher  than  the  prod- 
ucts of  the  farm.  Yet,  notwithstanding  the  astounding  re- 
duction in  rates,  transportation  companies  of  to-day  are  thriv- 
ing and  prosperous. 

H.  D.  Sanborn,  a  merchant  of  Lewiston  in  1862,  informed 
me  that  among  a  lot  of  freight  consigiied  to  him,  was  a  case 
of  miner's  shovels.  The  case  measured  one  ton,  and  con- 
tained 120  shovels.  The  freight,  $120  per  ton,  made  the 
freight  on  each  shovel  $1. 

A  merchant  at  Hood  River  said  that  always  before  the  rail- 
road was  built  freight  from  Portland  to  Hood  River,  85  miles, 
on  a  dozen  ])ro(mis  was  $1. 


History  of  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Co.       127 

To  better  illustrate  this  method  of  measurement,  I  will 
have  to  relate  an  anecdote: 

When  O.B.Gibson  was  in  the  emi)](iyim'nt  of  the  company  at 
The  Dalles,  he  went  down  to  get  the  measurement  of  a  small 
mounted  cannon  that  had  to  be  shipped  for  the  Government. 
After  measuring-  several  ways  and  figuring  uj)  the  amount, 
he  seemed  so  much  perplexed  that  he  attracted  the  attention 
of  two  soldiers  w'ho  were  lying  in  the  shade  of  a  pine  tree 
near  by.  One  of  them  finally  called  out.  "What's  the  trouble 
Cap?"  "I  am  trying  to  take  the  measurement  of  this  blamed 
gun,  but  somehow  I  can't  get  it  right,"  said  Gibson.  "Oh, 
I'll  show  you,"  said  the  soldier,  leading  up  a  pair  of  har- 
nessed mules  that  stood  near  and  hitching  them  to  the  gun. 
"Try  it  now,  Cap."  "Thanks,  that  makes  it  all  right.  I  see 
now  why  I  could  not  get  the  correct  measurement." 

In  measuring  a  wagon  or  any  piece  of  freight  the  full 
length,  height  and  thickness  were  taken  and  carried  out  full 
size,  the  largest  way  of  the  piece.  To  make  this  method  of 
measuring  tonnage  clearer,  I  will  give  one  more  illustration. 
"Old  Captain"  T.  W.  Lyles,  of  San  Francisco,  was  a  large 
stockholder  in  the  company,  and  frequently  visited  Portland 
to  look  after  his  interests.  Once  while  here  he  attended  a 
meeting  of  the  board  of  directors.  After  the  principal  part 
of  the  business  had  been  transacted,  Captain  Lyles  arose  and 
said:  "Mr.  Chairman,  I  move  that  Eph  Day,  a  purser  on 
one  of  our  boats,  be  discharged  from  the  service  of  the  com- 
pany."  Now  Eph  Day  was  one  of  the  favorite  pursers,  and 
everybody  sprang  up  to  know  what  was  the  matter  with  I]ph 
Day.  After  quiet  had  been  restored  Captain  Lyles  said:  "I 
see,  gentlemen,  that  Epli  Day  is  purser  on  a  boat  of  only  150 
tons  register,  yet  I  find  that  he  comes  in  at  the  end  of  every 
trip  with  a  report  of  having  carried  from  250  to  300  tons 
of  freight,  and,  gentlemen,  he  substantiates  his  reports  by 
bringing  in  the  cash  for  those  amounts  of  freight.  Now% 
while  I  do  not  claim  to  be  much  of  a  steamboat  man,  yet  I 
can  see,  gentlemen,  that  if  we  allow  our  boats  to  be  overladen 
in  this  manner  and  made  to  carry  twice  as  much  as  they  were 


12S  P.W.Gillette. 

designed  to  carry,  they  will  soon  be  worn  out  and  we  will 
have  no  boats." 

The  meeting'  adjourned  amidst  roars  of  laughter,  and  Eph 
Day  kept  his  place  and  still  measured  up  big  loads  of  freight. 
The  Florence  City  gold  excitement  of  1862  brought  the  Ore- 
gon Steam  Navigation  Company  a  flood  of  prosperity.  They 
could  not  possibly  take  all  the  business  offered.  At  PortlaTid 
the  rush  of  freight  to  the  docks  was  so  great  that  drays  and 
trucks  had  to  form  and  stand  in  line  to  get  their  turn  in  de- 
livering their  goods.  Their  lines  were  kept  unbroken  day  and 
night  for  weeks  and  months.  Shippers  were  obliged  to  use 
the  greatest  vigilance  and  take  every  advantage  to  get  their 
goods  away.  Often  a  merchant  would  place  a  large  truck 
in  line  early  in  the  morning,  then  fill  it  by  dray  loads  during 
the  day.  That  great  rush  continued  for  months.  A  San 
Francisco  merchant  established  a  store  in  Lewiston  and  ship- 
ped via  Portland  a  large  stock  of  goods,  which  arrived  in 
Portland  in  the  spring,  but  they  did  not  reach  Lewiston  until 
late  in  the  summer,  because  he  had  no  one  here  to  get  them 
in  line  to  take  their  turn.  So,  notwithstanding  th6  enormous 
price  of  freight  and  passage  it  was  impossible  for  them  to 
meet  the  demand.  So  great  was  the  increase  of  business  on 
the  Columbia,  and  so  attractive  the  high  rates  received,  that 
it  tempted  the  People's  Transportation  Company,  of  Salem, 
to  put  on  an  opposition  line  to  compete  for  a  part  of  the 
glittering  prize.  But  they  soon  learned  what  they  should 
have  known  in  the  beginning,  that  it  was  impossible  for  any 
one  to  compete  with  a  company  who  held  the  valley  of  the 
Columbia  by  the  throat,  and  had  undisputed  possession  of 
the  portage  roads.  So  they  were  only  too  glad  to  withdraw, 
and  be  satisfied  with  the  Willamette  River.  Rates  were  cut 
down  some  during  the  short  contest,  but  were  soon  restored. 
Some  time  in  the  '70 's  Henry  Villard  was  sent  to  Oregon  in 
the  interest  of  German  bondholders  in  the  Holladay  Railroad 
and  Steamship  Line.  Mr.  Villard  had  been  associated  with 
Mr.  Gould  in  some  railroad  matters  and  had  acquired  a  snug 
fortune.     During  his  visits  to  Oregon  his  shrewd  business  eye 


History  of  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Co.        129 

saw  tlie  great  value  and  importance  of  the  property  oL"  the 
Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Company,  and  he  made  up  his  mind 
to  capture  the  valuable  prize  if  possible. 

Some  time  in  the  fall  of  1879  the  press  telegrams  in  the 
Portland  papers  announced  in  the  most  plausible  matter  of 
fact  way  that  Jay  Gould,  who  was  then  in  the  zenith  of  his 
financial  glory,  was  preparing  to  extend  his  railroad  system 
west,  to  the  navigable  waters  of  the  Columbia,  and  was  going 
to  put  a  line  of  steamboats  on  that  river  to  operate  in  con- 
junction with  his  road  until  it  could  be  extended  to  the  sea- 
board. Those  telegrams  seemed  so  reasonable  and  business- 
like that  many  really  believed  that  Mr.  Gould  was  going  to 
put  this  in'oject  into  operation.  Not  long  after,  and  Ijcfore 
the  talk  produced  by  them  had  died  out,  it  was  announced 
that  the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Company  had  sold  its  en- 
tire property,  with  all  its  privileges  and  appurtenances,  to 
Henry  Villard.  Whether  Mr.  Villard  had  any  hand  in  set- 
ting up  the  Gould  scare  crow,  I  know  not,  nor  do  I  knov/ 
Avhether  it  had  any  influence  in  causing  the  company  to  make 
the  sale,  but  a  prominent  physician  of  this  city  inft)rmed  me 
that  after  the  sale  was  consummated,  the  papers  all  signed, 
and  it  had  become  known  the  Gould  story  was  all  a  hoax,  the 
president  of  the  company  was  so  chagrined  and  disappointed 
that  he  fell  ill  and  was  confined  to  his  bed  for  many  days. 
The  doctor  might  have  been  mistaken,  but  he  believed  it  him- 
self, as  he  was  a  man  who  never  told  anything  he  did  not  be- 
lieve to  be  true. 

That  valuable  property  was  sold  for  $5,000,000.  a  small  sum 
for  property  possessing  such  wonderful  advantages,  and  that 
was  then  paying  15  per  cent  on  the  purchase  price,  with  the 
most  flattering  prospect  of  a  rapid  and  constant  increase. 

For  the  year  ending  November  30,  1879,  which  was  the  last 
year  the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Company  owned  and  oper- 
ated their  property,  the  income  of  the  company  was  $1,600,- 
000,  while  the  expense,  repairs,  etc.,  amoimted  to  $850,000, 
leaving  a  profit  of  $750,000.  At  that  rate  it  would,  in  about 
six  and  a  half  years,  make  enough  to  pay  the  purchase  price. 


130  P.  W.  Gillette. 

'i'liey  received  about  $3,000,000  more  than  the  aetual  cost 
of  the  property.  The  $175,000  put  in  when  the  company 
was  first  organized,  in  I860,  was  about  all  the  cash  ever  put 
up.  That  siimll  sum  was  the  prolific  nest  egg  from  which  so 
many  fortunes  and  millionaires  were  hatched. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  mention  that  for  many  years  after 
the  organization  of  the  Oregon  Steam  Navig^ation  Company 
they  paid  no  attention  to  or  liad  any  boat  on  the  river  b.e- 
tween  Portland  and  Astoria,  considering  it  of  so  little  im- 
portance as  to  be  unworthy  their  attention.  Not  until  the 
salmon-packing  business  had  reached  considerable  magnitude 
did  they  give  it  any  notice.  In  1865  the  company  found  the 
Astoria  route  had  grown  to  be  of  sufficient  value  to  be  worth 
taking.  All  they  had  to  do  was  to  notify  parties  running 
boats  on  that  route  that  they  wanted  possession,  and  that  the 
company  would  buy  their  boats  if  the  price  suited.  Of 
course  the  price  suited,  because  no  one  would  be  foolish 
enough  to  oppose  the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Company. 
The  Oregon  Railway  &  Navigation  Company  grew  out  of  the 
Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Company,  continuing  its  business, 
and  almost  immediately  began  the  construction  of  a  railroad 
up  the  Columbia  from  Portland.  That  company  was  con- 
trolled by  men  in  touch  with  the  modern  business  world  in 
the  older  States,  and  at  once  adopted  a  broader  and  more  lib- 
eral course,  fully  understanding  that  the  rapid  development 
and  settlement  of  the  country  would  advance  their  interest 
and  increase  their  business.  They  soon  reduced  the  rate  of 
transportation,  giving  the  farmer  better  compensation  for  his 
labor  and  encouraging  him  to  produce  more.  The  "live-and- 
let-live"  policy  which  they  inaugurated  at  once  gave  a  new 
stinuilus  to  the  whole  country. 

Unquestionably,  the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Company 
had  held  in  check  and  kept  back  the  growth  of  the  country 
east  of  the  Cascade  Mountains  for  years,  though  perhaps  un- 
intentional on  its  part.  It  had  so  long  been  accustomed  to 
receive  such  exceedingly  liberal  compensation  for  its  services 
that  I  have  no  doubt  they  believed  farm  products  could  not 


History  of  Oreoon  Steam  Navigation  Co.        131 

be  carried  to  Portland  at  rates  that  would  leave  anytliiiiu'  for 
the  farmer.  Captain  James  AV.  Tronp,  who  commanded  one 
of  the  boats  on  the  upper  river,  said  to  me  that  he  had  so 
nuiny  applications  to  brin<;'  wheat  to  Portland,  which  he  had 
no  authority  to  do,  that  he  finally  went  to  the  president  of 
the  comjiany  and  asked  for  permission  to  do  so,  but  he  was 
infoi-med  that  it  was  impossil)le;  that  wheat  was  not  worth 
its  transportation.  The  next  season  the  people  fairly  bejiiied 
him  to  carry  their  wheat  to  market,  and  he  made  another  ap- 
peal. That  time  the  company  yielded,  and  President  J.  C. 
Ainsworth  said:  "Well,  Captain  Troup,  you  may  try  it,  do 
the  best  you  can."  Wheat  has  been  pouring  down  tlu^  (^)- 
lumbia  ever  since,  and  the  Inland  Empire  is  one  vast  wheat 
field. 

The  career  of  the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Company  was 
a  great  success.  It  would  have  been  almost  impossible,  even 
under  bad  management,  for  it  to  have  been  anything  else. 
Its  beginning  was  small,  but,  aided  by  the  peculiar  advantages 
it  possessed,  and  the  growth  of  the  country,  it  soon  grew  into 
one  of  the  greatest  money-making  concerns  in  America. 

After  years  of  solicitation  and  appeal,  the  government  of 
the  United  States  began  what  it  should  have  done  years  be- 
fore, the  construction  of  a  canal  around  the  falls  of  the  Co- 
lumbia, which  has  opened  a  free  channel  to  trade  and  com- 
merce that  will  forever  unloose  the  hand  of  greed  from  the 
throat  of  the  Columbia  River.  It  is  almost  as  important  that 
a  canal  be  constructed  at  the  dalles  of  the  river,  and  so  give 
one  of  the  best  wheat-growing  districts  of  the  earth  an  open 
passage  to  the  maz'kets  of  the  world.  It  has  become  almost 
one  of  the  established  policies  of  the  governmeui:  to  free  the 
channels  of  our  great  rivers  of  all  impediments  to  navigation. 
In  no  other  way  can  such  valuable  and  general  service  be  ren- 
dered to  the  people. 

It  is  not  my  desire  to  criticise  or  censure  the  managenunit 
of  Oregon's  first  great  corporation,  which  was  so  intimately 
connected  with  the  early  history,  commerce,  revenue,  and 
progress  of  our  own  State.     Perhaps  any  other  set  of  men 


132  P.  W.  Gillette. 

Avould  have  done  the  same  tliiiiy  uikU'i-  similar  eii'cumstaiices. 
Nevertheless  it  is  certaiiily  a  oreat  misfortune  to  any  people 
to  be  so  absolutely  within  the  power  of  any  man  or  set  of  men 
as  were  the  people  of  the  Columbia  Valley.  It  v/as  too  great 
a  power  to  be  entrusted  to  the  hands  of  men. 

In  reviewing  the  career  of  this  most  interesting  corpora- 
tion, one  can  but  view  with  wonder  and  amazement  the  ease 
and  rapidity  with  which  colossal  fortunes  were  made.  And 
I  can  but  regret,  on  their  own  account,  that  but  one  or  two 
of  that  company  has  left  any  little  token  of  good-will  or  any 
memento  of  kindness  to  the  place  or  people  where  they  were 
so  specially  favored  by  fortune,  and  so  liberally  patronized  by 
the  business  public.  Had  they  even  erected  a  small  drinking 
fountain,  where  the  faithful  dray  and  truck  horses,  that  indi- 
rectly carted  millions  of  dollars  into  their  pockets,  could  have 
slaked  their  thirst,  that  would  have  somehow  served  to  amel- 
iorate and  soften  the  memory  of  them.  But  the  most  of  them 
seemed  to  prefer  to  be  remembered  only  as  members  of  a  cor- 
poration that  took  every  possible  advantage  of  one  of  the 
most  extraordinary  opportunities  that  ever  fell  into  the  hands 
of  men  to  amass  fortunes  for  themselves. 


TBUE  PCQlKHMlUqi  2F  imt  CO«PTT, 

By  W.  B.  DiLLARD. 

AVhen  the  white  people  first  reached  the  land  now  included 
within  the  present  limits  of  Lane  County,  the  only  tribe  of 
Indians  that  lived  in  it  was  the  Callapooias,  although  it  was 
visited  and  made  the  place  of  short  stops  by  various  other 
tribes. 

The  Callapooias  were  short,  heavy  set,  and  extremely  dark, 
with  black  eyes  and  straight  hair.  They  had  some  traits  of 
character  peculiarly  of  their  own.  They  were  rarely  known  to 
connnit  any  act  of  depredation  or  lawlessness  in  the  sight  of 
man  or  to  raise  their  arm  to  injure  him,  but  were  ever  ready 
to  take  advantage  of  an  unprotected  woman,  and  compel  her  to 
prepare  for  him  a  meal  which  he  would  sit  down  and  enjoy, 
or  force  her  to  remain  a  passive  spectator  while  he  helped 
himself  to  the  limited  supply  of  winter's  food.  These  In- 
dians were  ofttimes  caught  and  severely  flogged  by  the  early 
settlers,  but  never  tried  to  get  revenge  on  the  body  of  the 
man  who  flogged  them.  Even  during  the  trouble  with  the 
Rogue  River  Indians  in  1853,  the  Callapooias  remained 
friendly  to  the  whites,  who,  though  did  not  think  it  safe  to 
trust  them  too  far,  but  barricaded  themselves  in  difiPerent 
placets  tln-oughout  the  country.  In  the  southern  part  of  the 
county  the  settlers  gathered  at  the  house  of  J.  Cochran  and 
prcjiared  to  resist  an  attack,  but  were  not  molested. 

The  chief  of  the  tinbe  was  Shellou,  a  man  of  shrewd  mind, 
a  close  observer  of  nature,  and  renowned  as  a  medicine  man. 
One  winter  the  Klickitats,  who  were  going  south,  were  com- 
pelled to  camp  near  the  Callapooias  until  the  snow  should 
melt.  Shellou,  who  claimed  to  have  superhuman  power,  was 
offered  three  horses  if  he  would  cause  the  snow  in  the  moun- 
tains to  melt.  He  kept  putting  them  off  until  he  noticed  that 
it  had  turned  warmer,  and  that  the  snow  had  begun  to  fall 


134  W.   B.   DiLLARD. 

f]*oiii  the  trees,  then  he  accepted  their  proposal.  The  next 
iiiorning  the  snow  had  nearly  all  disappeared,  and  he  was 
given  the  horses. 

In  the  winter  of  '54  he  was  visited  by  the  Klaniaths  for 
assistance  for  a  sick  scjiiaw.  After  he  had  used  his  skill  as 
a  medicine  man,  she  was  able  to  resume  her  journey,  but  the 
next  night  she  died.  This  so  incensed  the  Klamaths  that  the 
next  night  they  returned  and  killed  the  chief.  Shellou  was 
the  last  chief  of  the  tribe,  though  they  still  continued  the 
practice  of  allotting  the  different  sections  of  the  country  to 
members  of  their  tribe,  who  regarded  it  as  his  illahee. 

In  1856  the  Government  removed  these  Indians  to  a  res- 
ervation in  Yamhill  County,  but  only  succeeded  in  placing 
al)out  one-half  of  the  tribe  (m  the  reservation.  The  rest  re- 
turned to  their  former  abode,  but  have  gradually  disappeared, 
until  at  present  (1904)  only  one  remains. 

Though  the  Indian  is  no  more,  we  have  permanent  re- 
minder of  his  existence  in  the  names  he  has  left  us ;  thus : 
Wineberry  means  red  huckleberry;  Willamette  means  "big 
river,  almost,  not  quite."  The  dispute  in  regard  to  the  pro- 
nunciation of  the  word  was  due  to  the  fact  that  the  nearer 
to  the  mouth  of  the  river  one  went,  the  broader  the  sound  in 
pronouncing  it. 

Spencer  Butte  was  so  named  because  Spencer,  a  man  in 
the  employ  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  being  alone  on  the 
butte  in  search  of  game,  was  killed  by  an  Indian  to  avenge 
the  death  of  some  of  their  tribe  at  the  hands  of  some  of  the 
representatives  of  the  company. 

Except  the  settlements  of  the  fur  companies  at  Astoria  and 
Vancouver,  the  first  permanent  settlement  was  made  at 
French  Prairie,  in  the  Willamette  Valley,  as  the  most  favored 
spot  for  farming,  a  nucleus  for  a  future  commonwealth. 
When  the  stream  of  inunigration  began  to  flow  in  it  naturally 
chose  this  valley  for  its  home,  so  new  settlements  were  made 
at  convenient  distances  from  the  old  ones. 

But  one  of  these  immigrants,  wishing  to  select  a  place  for 
a  home  that  would  not  be  reached  by  very  many  men  for  at 


Beginnings  of  Lane  County.  135 

least  two  years,  so  he  could  send  word  to  his  folks  and  friends 
in  the  East  and  have  room  for  them  near  him  when  they 
would  come.  So  in  1846  Elijah  Bristow,  with  three  com- 
panions. Captain  Scott,  William  Dodson,  and  Eugene  F.  Skin- 
ner, left  the  settlements  far  behind  and  journeyed  southward. 
When  this  party  reached  a  point  on  the  Middle  Fork,  a  few 
miles  southeast  of  its  junction  with  the  Coast  Fork,  to  form 
the  Willamette,  and  had  crossed  the  river  and  ascended  the 
south  bank,  they  were  struck  with  the  l)eauty  and  grandeur 
of  the  scene  before  them.  Then  E.  Bristow.  as  he  raised  his 
hat  and  let  the  refreshing  breeze  cool  his  heated  brow,  ex- 
claimed: "What  a  i)leasant  hill!  This  is  my  claim;  here 
will  I  live,  and  when  I  die,  here  will  I  be  buried." 

So  he  proceeded  to  erect  a  claim  cabin,  and  stt^pped  off  his 
claim  of  640  acres.  About  October  1,  1846,  he  completed  his 
house,  a  log  cabin,  which  was  the  first  one  erected  in  Lane 
County.  Mr.  Dodson  next  marked  off  his  claim,  south  and 
east,  and  adjoining  IMr.  Bristow 's.  Mr.  Scott  selected  the 
one  on  the  north,  which,  however,  he  abandoned  and  settled 
on  the  south  bank  of  the  McKenzie,  opposite  the  mouth  of 
the  jMohawk.  The  next  spring  ]\Ir.  Skinner  settled  on  the 
claim  on  which  a  part  of  Eugene  now  stands. 

The  name  Pleasant  Hill  was  given  to  the  claim  of  Mi'.  Bris- 
tow, at  his  request,  by  the  legislature  of  Oregon  in  an  act 
passed  December  27,  1847. 

Late  in  1847  quite  a  company  arrived  in  Lane  County  by 
way  of  the  southeni  route,  or  as  follows:  When  61  miles 
below  Fort  Hall  they  crossed  over  the  ridge  into  the  Hum- 
boldt Valley  and  down  it  for  300  miles ;  thence  50  miles  across 
the  desert  to  Black  Rock;  thence  through  Surprise  Valley, 
Fandango  Valley,  by  Goose  Lake,  up  Lost  River,  by  Klamath 
Lake,  over  the  Cascades  into  Rogue  River  Vallej^;  thence 
across  to  and  through  Umpqua  Valley  to  Lane  County. 

Among  these  immigrants  were:  Isaac  Briggs,  Elias 
Briggs,  Prior  Blair,  Charles  Martin,  and  their  families,  who 
settled  near  Mr.  Bristow;  Cornelius  Hills,  who  settled  across 
the  river  north  of  Mr.  Bristow ;  Benjamin  Davis,  John  Akin, 


136  W.   B.   DiLLARD. 

H.  Noble,  and  C'liariu']  ^liilli<;aii,  who  settled  near  ]\Ir.  Skin- 
ner; while  Abrani  and  Lonis  Coryell  settled  near  the  jnnetion 
of  the  Coast  and  IMiddle  Forks.  Their  cabin,  which  was  fin- 
ished November  3,  1847,  was  the  last  honse  alonji"  the  road  till 
one  reaches  the  Sacramento  Valley.  The  next  year  L.  Cor- 
yell and  D.  Hasty  pnt  in  a  ferry  on  the  Ump(|na.  They  ex- 
pected a  large  immigration,  but  were  disappointed,  though 
they  had  a  good  trade  in  ferrying-  miners  on  their  way  to  the 
gold  fields  in  California.  In  May  Coryell  sold  out  to  a  Mr. 
Hendricks  and  went  to  the  gold  fields,  where  he  remained  a 
few  years,  when  he  returned  to  Lane  County,  where  he  still 
resides,  an  honored  resident  of  Crow. 

In  this  year  John  Diamond  and  ^1.  Wilkins  settled  near 
where  Coburg  now  stands,  Jacob  C.  Spores  settled  at  the  place 
afterwards  known  as  Spores  Ferry,  while  James  Chapin  set- 
tled one  and  one-half  miles  of  where  Cottage  Grove  now 
stands. 

Other  settlers  of  this  year  were :  Cornelius  Hills,  E.  W. 
(Irififith,  W.  S.  Davis,  Ephriam  Hughes,  George  Gilbert,  A.  O. 

Stevens,  Isaac  Stevens,  J.  Ware, Snook,  R.  J.  Hills,  and 

Luther  White. 

In  the  early  '50 's  J.  Diamond,  in  company  with  four  other 
men,  while  viewing  a  road  up  the  Middle  Fork  over  the  Cas- 
cades scaled  a  lofty  peak  called  Diamond's  Peak,  in  honor  of 
the  first  white  person  who  reached  its  snov^y  smnmit. 

These  early  settlements  were  made  the  nucleus  around 
which  future  immigTants  settled.  These  pioneers  had  few  of 
the  necessities,  and  none  of  the  comforts,  of  life,  but  what 
little  they  had  they  were  ever  ready  to  divide  with  the  weary 
traveler,  and  the  cry  of  sickness,  hunger,  or  distress  was 
quickly  responded  to.  They  had  endured  many  hardships 
and  privations,  but  were  eager  to  make  life  pleasant  for  those 
who  came  after  them. 

The  immigration  of  1848  more  than  doubled  the  population 
of  the  county;  all  of  whom  settled  near  some  former  settler, 
except  the  Fergusons,  Richardsons,  Browns,  and  Hintons, 
who  formed  the  first  settlements  on  the  banks  of  the  Long 


Beginnings  of  Lane  County.  137 

Tom.  During'  this  year  Elias  Brig'gs  located  a  claim  where 
Springtield  now  stands,  and  a  INIr.  AVells  took  one  where  Cot- 
tage Grove  now  stands.  Spring-field  was  so  named  because  a 
spring  bubbled  forth  in  a  field  near  the  road,  while  Cottage 
drove  was  named  by  Mr.  Pierce,  its  first  postmaster. 

The  year  1849  brought  only  a  very  few  people  to  Lane 
County,  and  1850  and  1851  brought  but  few  more. 

In  18-18  President  Polk  appointed  General  Joseph  Lane,  of 
Indiana.  Territorial  Governor  of  Oregon.  General  Lane, 
coming  by  the  southern  route,  arrived  in  Oregon  March  2, 
1849,  and  immediately  assumed  the  duties  of  his  office.  Lane 
County,  named  from  Oregon's  first  Governor,  was  orf^anized 
by  an  act  of  the  legislature,  passed  January  24,  1851. 

The  first  election  was  held  the  first  Monday  in  June,  1851. 
at  which  only  57  votes  were  cast,  but  so  fast  was  the  increase 
in  population  during  '52  and  '53  that  394  votes  were  cast  in 
the  election  of  June,  1853,  that  located  the  county  seat  on  the 
donation  claim  of  Charnel  Mulligan. 

The  first  white  child  born  in  the  county  was  a  daughter  of 
H.  Noble,  born  November,  1847.  The  second  was  a  daughter 
of  Mrs.  AVells.,  born  March  15,  1848;  and  the  third,  a  child 
of  J.  Briggs,  born  June  21,  1848.  The  first  native  son  was 
Wade  I\Iartin,  born  in  the  fall  of  1848,  while  J.  M.  Hendricks, 
the  second,  was  born  in  June,  1849. 

The  first  white  person  buried  in  the  county  was  an  innni- 
grant,  who  died  in  1846,  and  was  buried  abour  three  miles 
south  of  Creswell.  The  sect)nd  was  a  little  child  of  ]\Irs.  I. 
Wells,  who  fell  from  a  wagon  and  was  killed.  It  was  buried 
at  Skinner's.  The  third  was  a  young  man,  19  years  of  age. 
l\v  the  name  of  Gilliam,  who  look  sick  at  Blair's  and  soon 
died. 

Educational  matters  were  not  neglected  during  these  early 
pioneer  day.  The  first  schoolhouse  was  Iniilt  near  the  home 
of  I\Ir.  E.  Bristow  in  1850,  its  first  teacher  being  W.  W.  Bris- 
t(»w.  The  same  year,  and  near  the  schoolhouse,  was  erected 
the  first  church. 

]Means  of  communication  with  the  Eastern  States  was  very 


138  W.   B.   DiLLARD. 

slow,  very  often  taking  as  much  as  six  months  for  people  here 
to  hear  from  their  friends  or  relatives  in  the  East.  When 
the  first  post  office  was  established  at  Pleasant  Hill,  in  1850, 
the  mail  was  carried  from  Oregon  City  on  horseback.  The 
first  mail  carrier  was  Smiley  Carter,  and  the  second  was  Hart 
Crosby. 

The  first  couple  married  in  the  county  was  the  widow 
Wright  and  a  man  by  the  name  of  Luce.  The  second  wed- 
ding was  a  double  one,  in  which  George  Coryell  and  Charles 
Sweet  married  the  McBee  girls. 

The  first  sawmill  erected  in  the  county  was  the  one  erected 
by  E.  P.  Castleman,  on  Blair's  farm,  but  was  moved  to  Clo- 
verdale  in  1851.  There  it  was  used  to  saw  the  timbers  for  a 
flour  mill,  which  was  erected  the  next  year  by  William  R. 
Jones. 

In  1854  Jones  and  Gilfrey  started  a  store,  and  in  1855  Gil- 
frey  laid  out  a  townsite.  Cloverdale  was  named  by  Jones 
from  a  town  in  California,  and  was  a  prosperous  village  till 
the  coming  of  the  railroad  in  1871,  when  it  was  moved  to  the 
present  site  of  Creswell. 

To  the  men  who  made  these  settlements  we  owe  a  debt  of 
gratitude  that  never  can  be  paid.  By  their  thrift,  industry, 
and  endurance,  they  made  possible  the  rapid  growth  and  de- 
velopment of  Lane  County.  Then  may  not  we,  who  are  reap- 
ing the  fruits  of  their  labors,  say:  "All  hail  the  pioneers  of 
Lane  County." 

The  foregoing  was  carefully  compiled  from  notes  set  down 
more  than  30  years  ago  by  Mrs.  S.  Rigdon,  and  corrected  by 
L.  Coryell,  a  pioneer  of  '47.  I  have  set  down  all  that  is  not 
already  a  matter  of  record. 


By  F.  I.  Hekkiott,  Ph.  D. 

Our  trite  snyino-  that  "America  is  but  another  name  for 
Opportunity"  might  well  be  changed  to  "America  is  but 
another  name  for  Experiment."  It  is  no  exaggeration  to 
say  that  the  people  of  the  United  States  have  done  more 
experimenting  in  the  making  of  laws  and  in  the  administra- 
tion of  government  than  the  people  of  any  other  nation  on 
the  globe.  This  has  resulted  chiefly  from  the  nature  of  our 
nuiltiform  government  that  is  at  once  federal  and  national,  as 
regards  the  relations  of  States  to  each  other  and  to  the 
Nation'al  Government.  Within  our  national  jurisdiction  there 
are  practically  half  a  hundred  sovereign  States  each  and  all 
engaged  in  practicing  the  methods  and  arts  of  self  govern- 
ment. There  is  but  little  let  or  hindrance  to  experimenta- 
tion in  the  making  of  laws  and  institutions. 

But  while  there  is  the  greatest  range  of  freedom  for 
originality  there  is  a  surprising  similarity  in  the  fundamen- 
tal principles  of  our  laws  and  in  the  primary  institutions  of 
the  States.  English  connnon  law  and  traditions  are  our  com- 
mon heritage  and  constitute  the  ground  work  of  our  institu- 
tions. But  what  may  be  called  the  acquisitive  or  adaptive 
disposition  of  Americans  leads  to  the  prompt  observation  of 
the  workings  of  laws  in  other  States  and  to  their  adoption 
where  they  work  well.  Moreover,  by  reasim  of  our  peculiar 
mode  of  creating  territories  out  of  the  national  domain  it 
has  generally  happened  that  the  laws  of  parent  or  adjacent 
teri'itorial  organizations  have  been  continued  or  "extended" 
over  the  new  territorial  ae([uisitions;  or  they  have  been  im- 
posed (1(1  ixto'iin  until   the   inhabitants  could  assemble  llicir 


'Reprinted  from  Annals  of  Iowa,  July,  190J. 


140  F.  L.  Herriott. 

law-makers  and  enact  a  body  of  laws.  But  from  the  nature 
of  the  conditions  confronting  pioneers  they  were  almost  cer- 
tain to  adopt  bodily  the  laws  of  their  ancestral  States.  The 
social  traditions  and  political  inheritance  of  the  first  inhabi- 
tants, or  rather  the  dominant  elements  determined  whether 
the  laws  of  this  or  that  State  were  adopted. 

We  have  some  interesting  examples  of  such  transplanting 
of  laws  in  the  establishment  of  the  territories  of  Iowa  and 
Oregon.  When  Iowa  was  given  a  separate  territorial  exist- 
ence in  1838  the  laws  of  Wisconsin  were  "extended"  over 
the  new  Territory.  The  bulk  of  the  laws  adopted,  however, 
were  those  taken  over  from  Michigan  when  Wisconsin  was 
cut  off  from  that  jurisdiction  in  1834;  and  the  major  portion 
of  those  were  the  growths  from  the  ordinances  made  for  the 
government  of  the  old  Northwest  Territory  pursuant  to  the 
great  ordinance  of  1787.  But  the  members  of  the  first  ter- 
ritorial legislature  of  Iowa  knew  little  and  cared  less  about 
the  genealogy  of  the  laws  they  enacted  in  1838-39.  They 
were  but  little  learned  in  laws  or  in  law-making.  They  had 
no  new  and  radical  notions  to  promote.  The  late  Theodore 
S.  Parvin,  who  was  the  first  secretary  of  the  council  or  senate 
in  1838-39,  has  told  us  how  little  the  members  knew  of  the 
real  needs  of  the  people,  how  ignorant  they  were  of  law-mak- 
ing, how  they  selected  here  and  there  from  th(3  statutes  of 
various  States  as  fancy  or  State  pride  prompted  them;  how 
each  member  felt  in  duty  bound  to  get  as  large  a  number  of 
the  laws  of  his  own  State  enacted  by  the  new  Territcny. '  The 
matter  that  was  important  and  urged  was  to  inaugurate  the 
new  government  and  it  did  not  signify  much  to  them  one 
way  or  other  what  laws  were  adopted  so  that  they  gave  the 
people  the  form  and  substance  of  laws  that  would  satisfy  the 
traditional  notions.  Professor  Jesse  Macy  has  shown  us  2 
how  remote  often  the  laws  actually  adopted  wei'e  from  cor- 
responding to  or  regulating  the  actual  life  and  conduct  of 


•See  Professor  Macy's  Institutional  Beginnings  in  a  Western  Slate:  Annals  of 
Iowa,  ;?d  series,  vol.  V,  p.  337. 
2Ibid. 


Transplanting  Iowa's  Laws  to  Oregon.         141 

the  daily  affairs  of  the  peopk^  in  the  first  years  of  tlie  terri- 
tories. 

We  have  in  Oregon,  however,  a  striking  instance  of  the 
conscious  and  deliherate  adoption  bodily  of  the  laws  of 
another  State.  The  event  was  of  more  than  academic  interest 
to  us  in  Iowa  as  the  laws  adopted  by  the  pioneers  in  Oregon 
were  the  statutes  enacted  by  our  first  territorial  legislature 
in  1838-39. 

The  settlement  of  Oregon  constitutes  one  of  the  romantic 
chapters  in  our  pioneer  history  and  not  the  least  noteworthy 
in  the  annals  of  the  diplomacy  of  our  National  Government. 
Long  continued  efforts  were  made  to  arouse  eft'ective  interest 
in  that  region ;  but  with  meagre  results.  From  1820  on  to 
1829,  John  Floyd,  of  Virginia,  and  Thomas  II.  Benton,  of 
IMissouri,  had  striven  earnestly  in  Congress  to  induce  the 
National  Government  to  take  vigorous  steps  to  establish  our 
authority  in  that  region  and  to  give  the  pioneers  the  protec- 
tion of  laws  and  institutions  established  in  accordance  with 
our  forms  and  processes.  But  they  failed.  In  1838,  how- 
ever, another  champion  arose  in  the  person  of  Lewis  F.  Linn, 
another  senator  from  IMissouri.  He,  like  his  colleague  Ben- 
tcm,  sought  to  arouse  public  interest  in  the  vast  territory  in 
the  far  Northwest  and  between  1839  and  1843,  the  year  of 
his  death,  introduced  various  bills  and  resolutions  relating  to 
Oregon,  one  of  which  in  particular  is  of  interest  to  lowans. 

]\Ieantime  events  were  rapidly  conspiring  in  Oregon  to 
bring  matters  to  a  crisis.  The  settlers  were  more  or  less 
divided  in  their  allegiance.  There  were  the  active  friends 
and  adherents  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  The  Americans 
were  greatly  disturbed  by  local  dissensions,  personal  jealous- 
ies, contentions  with  the  Indians,  and  religious  rivalries.  All 
these  things  thwarted  united,  consistent,  and  continuous 
efforts  to  bring  about  the  establishment  of  our  national  au- 
thority. In  1841  the  need  of  civil  organization  was  made 
apparent  on  the  death  of  a  noted  settler,  Ewing  Young,  near 
the  Methodist  INIission  station  in  the  Willamette  Valley.  He 
died  without  heirs  and  how  to  distribute  his  property  so  as 


142  F.  L.  Herriott. 

to  <i'ive  valid  title  bronf^ht  home  to  the  settlers  the  fact  that 
they  Avere  in  a  land  without  laws  and  government.  Steps 
were  taken  to  bring  about  the  establishment  of  some  form  of 
government.  As  a  consequence  of  their  proceedings  one  Dr. 
Ira  L.  Babcock  was  appointed  Supreme  Judge  with  probate 
powers,  and  it  was  resolved  that  "until  a  code  of  laws  ho 
adopted  by  this  community  Doctor  Babcock  be  instructed  to 
act  according  to  the  laws  of  the  State  of  New  York,  "i  ['-]  Va- 
rious etforts  were  made  between  1841,  after  that  resolution 
was  taken,  and  1843,  to  get  under  headway  with  the  new 
government,  but  they  availed  little  until  May  2,  1843.  On 
that  date  a  meeting  took  place  at  Chanipoick  (also  given 
Champoeg),  between  Salem  and  Oregon  City,  where  amidst 
tense  feeling  and  by  a  close  vote  it  was  decided  to  establish 
a  "Provisional  Government"  and  a  committee  of  nine  were 
designated  to  draft  a  plan  and  to  report  to  the  people  on 
the  5th  of  July  following.  Speaking  of  that  committee  and 
its  work,  Mr.  J.  R.  Robertson,  of  Oregon,  writing  in  1900, 
observes : 

"This  committee  is  of  great  importance  in  the  history  of 
civil  o-;overnment  in  Oregon,  because  of  the  responsibility 
which  rested  upon  it,  and  because  of  the  excellence  of  its 
work.  Its  members  were  neither  learned  nor  acquainted  with 
the  law,  but  they  possessed  good  judgment  and  common  sense. 
Their  meeting  place  was  an  old  barn  belonging  to  the  Meth- 
odist Mission."^ 

The  report  of  the  committee  is  interesting  and  instructive. 
It  exhibits  tlie  political  thought  and  habits  and  wishes  of 
the  pioneers,  uninfluenced  by  the  immediate  surroundings  of 
civilization  and  the  formal  procedure  and  political  ceremony 
so  important  in  the  operations  of  political  institutions.  We 
have  there  a  practical  illustration  of  the  creation  of  a  civil 

iSee  Quarterly  of  the  Oregon  Historical  Society,  vol.  II,  p.  101.  Article  by 
H.  W.  Scott  on  "The  Provisional  Government." 

[2A  note  in  H.  H.  Bancroft's  History  of  Oregon,  vol.  1,  p.  294,  says:  "At  this 
time  there  was  but  one  copy  of  the  laws  of  the  State  of  New  Yorlv  in  the  colony." 
—Editor.] 

3  Quarterly  of  the  Oregon  Historical  Society,  vol.  I,  p.  35. 


Transplanting  Iowa's  Laws  to  Oregon.         143 

society  somewhat  after  the  ftisliion  dreamed  of  hy  Rousseau; 
and  what  is  more,  we  perceive  some  of  the  notions  expounded 
by  the  French  philosopher.  The  document  presented  sets 
forth  exalted  principles  of  civil  liberties  and  righteousness. 

We,  the  people  of  Oregon  Territory,  for  purposes  of  nuitual 
protection,  and  to  secure  peace  and  prosperity  among  our- 
selves, agree  to  adopt  the  following  laws  and  regulations  until 
such  time  as  the  United  States  of  America  extends  their  jui-is- 
diction  over  us. 

Be  it  therefore  enacted  hy  the  free  citizens  of  Oregon 
Territory  -. 

For  the  purpose  of  fixing  the  principles  of  civil  and  re- 
ligious liberty,  as  the  basis  of  all  laws  and  constitutions  of 
government  that  may  hei'cafter  be  adopted. 

Be  it  enacted  that  the  following  articles  be  considered  as 
the  articles  of  a  compact,  among  free  citizens  of  this 
Territory.^ 

There  then  follow  a  series  of  articles  specifying  the  funda- 
mental rights  and  privileges  that  should  never  be  denied  to 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Territory,  and  setting  forth  in  consid- 
erable detail  the  nature,  powers  and  methods  of  administra- 
tion of  a  number  of  offices  of  the  new  government.  Article 
12  of  section  2  of  the  proposed  Articles,  reads  as  follows: 

The  laws  of  Iowa  Territory  shall  be  the  laws  of  this  Terri- 
tory, in  civil,  military,  and  criminal  cases;  where  not  other- 
wise provided  for,  and  where  no  statute  of  Iowa  applies,  the 
principles  of  commono  law  and  equity  shall  govern.  [  ^  ] 

After  this  comprehensive  section  the  committee  with  super- 
fluous caution  proceeds  to  particularize  a  number  of  the 
statutes  of  Iowa  that  shall  be  the  law  under  the  new  govern- 
ment, e.  g.,  those  relative  to  weights  and  measures,  to  wills 
and  testaments,  vagrants,  elections^  etc.  Then  again  in  Ar- 
ticle 19  the  following  resolution  is  inserted: 

1  The  extracts  from  the  "Report"  of  the  legislative  coinmittee  given  above  are 
taken  from  a  typewritten  copy  given  the  Historical  Department  of  Iowa  bj'  Pro- 
fessor Edmond  S.  Meany,  Head  of  the  Department  of  History  in  the  University 
of  Washington. 

[-A.  note  in  J.  Henry  Brown's  "Political  History  of  Oregon" — Provisional  Gov- 
ernment, vol.  I,  p.  102,  says  :  "There  was  only  one  law  book  at  this  time  in  Oregon  > 
and  that  was  a  copy  of  the  Statutes  of  Iowa."— Editor.] 


144  I  F.  L.  Herriott. 

Hesolved,  'I'hat  tlie  following  portions  of  the  laws  of  Iowa, 
as  laid  down  in  the  statute  laws  of  the  Territory  of  Iowa, 
enacted  at  the  first  session  of  the  legislative  assembly  of  said 
Territory  held  at  Burlington,  A.  U.,  1838-9,  published  by  au- 
thority, Du  Buqiie,  Bussel,  and  Reeves,  printers,  839.  Cer- 
tified to  be  a  correct  copy  by  Wni.  B.  Conway,  Secretary  of 
Iowa  Territory,  be  adopted  as  the  laws  of  this  Territory, 
viz : 

There  are  listed  by  title  with  reference  to  the  pages  whereon 
found  in  the  collection  referred  to  in  the  resolution  some 
thirty-seven  laws,  including  those  already  mentioned  in  Ar- 
ticles 13,  14,  and  15.^ 

This  draft  of  a  constitution  or  articles  of  government  was 
adopted  at  the  meeting  at  Champooick,  July  5,  1843.  The 
subsequent  history  of  the  Provisional  Government  that  con- 
tinued until  the  erection  of  the  Territorial  Government  in 
1848- [9J  it  is  not  necessary  here  to  follow.  The  instrument 
underwent  some  changes,  but -none  that  vitally  changed  the 
character  of  the  original  "compact."^  Under  it  their  gov- 
ernment, said  one  of  their  chroniclers,  was  "  'strong  without 
an  army  or  navy,  and  rich  without  a  treasury,'  and  'so  effect- 
ive that  property  Avas  safe,  schools  established  and  supported, 
contracts  enforced,  debts  collected,  and  the  majesty  of  the 
law  vindicated.'  "'^ 

The  (juestion  presents  itself,  why  did  the  pioneers  of  Ore- 
gon select  the  laws  of  Iowa  for  the  regulation  of  their  private 
and  governmental  affairs?     Why  choose   the  laws  of   Iowa 


1  The  officers  of  the  Provisional  Government  did  not  have  a  very  staunch  faitli 
in  the  etlicacy  of  the  article  12  of  section  2  given  as  we  find  the  "Executive  Com- 
naittee"  in  their  report  to  the  legislature  urging  that  "the  militia  law  of  Iowa" 
and  "that  the  laws  of  Iowa  be  taken  into  consideration  concerning  blacks  and 
raulattoes."  See  their  message  of  June  IS,  ISll,  given  in  Bancroft's  History  of  Ore- 
gon.   Vol.  I,  pp.  -129,  430. 

2  In  lS-15  the  legislature  refused  to  call  theirarticlesjof  government  a  "constitu- 
tion" but  referred  to  it  in  submitting  a  revision  to  the  people  for  approval  as  a 
"compact." 

3 Quoted  by  R<ibertson  :  Ibid,  p.  39.  In  the  "Organic  Law"  drafted  in  June, 
1815,  and  adopted  by  the  people  at  an  election  July  20,  all  specific  reference  to 
Iowa's  laws  was  omitted.  See  "organic  and  other  .general  laws  of  Oregon,"  18l;>- 
1872,  pp.  40-51. 


Transplanting  Iowa's  Laws  to  Oregon.         145 

ratlu'i-  Ihaii  those  of  Illinois,  Mieliigaii,  Ohio,  Pennsylvania, 
New  York,  or  iMassaehnsetts?  Why,  after  the  resolution  di- 
i-eetinji-  the  use  of  the  laws  of  New  York,  did  the  coiiimittee 
set  them  aside  and  select  the  laws  of  the  new  Territory  on 
this  side  the  Mississippi.^  Did  the  nKMuhers  of  that  coni- 
niittee  that  met  in  the  barn  of  the  ^lethodist  Mission  have 
before  them  the  statutes  of  these  several  States  and  after  due 
examinati(  n  and  deliberanon  decided  that  the  laws  of  Iowa 
were  most  lit  for  their  circumstances?  What  sug'!G:ested  and 
what  induced  the  aihiption  of  the  connnittee's  report  that  the 
laws  of  Iowa  should  l)e  adopted f  In  1843  Iowa  was  but  little 
more  than  a  name  to  the  people  of  the  East,  let  alone  to  the 
pioneers  of  that  remote  Northwest.  It  could  hardly  be  tliat 
many  of  Iowa's  first  settlers  had  left  our  eastern  counties  and 
iourneyed  across  the  IMissouri  and  over  the  mountains,  or 
around  by  Darien  an(]  u])  the  coast  and  found  !od,L;nient  in 
the  valleys  of  the  Columbia.^  Bancroft  asserts  that  the  early 
settlers  in  Oregon  were  not  familiar  with  the  laws  of  Iowa 
which  thi>y  had  adopted. ^  WHiat  then  led  to  their  adoption? 
It  is  not  unlikely  that  some  of  the  committee  that  drew 
up  the  original  draft  for  the  articles  providing-  for  the  Pro- 
visional Government  possessed  or  happened  to  get  possession 
of  a  copy  of  the  Iowa  laws  enacted  in  1838-39,  and  thus  it 
was  mere  chance,  and  the  urgency  of  circumstances,  that 
pressed  the  settlers  on  to  the  speedy  establishment  of  some 
form  of  government  that  brought  about  the  transplanting  of 
Iowa's  first  laws  to  Oregon.  It  is  to  be  recalled  that  the  Ter- 
I'itorial  Printer  at  Burlington  was  delayed  for  months  in 
publishing  our  first  laws  because  he  could  not  get  a  copy  of 

1  There  is  evidence  that  lowans  were  very  rnucli  interested  in  Oregon  and  in 
the  emigration  to  the  Columbia.  In  April,  1843,  was  organized  at  Bloomington, 
Iowa,  (now  Muscatine)  the  "Oregon  Emigration  Company."  David  Hendershott 
(a  member  of  the  third  legislature  of  Iowa  that  met  at  Burlington  in  IStl)  pre-' 
sided  at  the  meeting  April  1.  On  April  19,  a  mass  meeting  was  held  at  Blooming- 
ton,  in  which  Cxeo.  M.  Hinkley  of  Louisa  County  was  in  the  chair  and  it  was  de- 
cided to  favor  the  organization  of  a  compan.y  to  start  for  Oregon  May  10.  Sec  ex. 
tracts  taken  from  lowci  Territorial  Gazette  and  other  papers  given  in  the  Oregon 
Historical  Q.uarterly.  Vol.  2,  pp  191-11I2,  pp.  390-3i)2  and  vol.  4,  iip.  177-17S  and 
pp.  403-104. 

2  See  H.  H.  Bancroft's  History  of  Oregon.    Vol.  I,  p.  42H. 


146  F.  L.  Herriott. 

tlu'  statutes.'  So  thai  it  is  not  at  all  iiui)i-(»!)able  the  pioneer 
hiw-iiiakers  of  Orei^on  hail  only  the  choice  of  the  Iowa  statutes 
or  nothing. 

Another  explanation  may  be  ventured,  however,  that  is 
worthy  of  consideration.  As  previously  stated.  Senator 
Lewis  F.  Linn,  of  Missouri,  was  an  ardent  champion  of  the 
establishment  of  our  national  authority  in  the  disputed  region 
in  the  Northwest.  Between  February  7,  1838,  and  his  death 
in  1843,  he  introduced  a  number  of  bills  and  resolutions,  and 
made  various  reports,  all  looking  to  the  same  end.  On  De- 
cember 16,  1841,  Senator  Linn  introduced  a  bill  in  the  Senate 
relative  to  the  Oregon  Territory  that,  among  other  provisions, 
extended  the  civil  and  criminal  laws  of  Iowa  over  all  of  the 
territory  west  of  the  Missouri  River,  south  of  latitude  49  de- 
grees, north  of  the  boundary  of  Texas  and  east  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  In  addition,  the  jurisdiction  of  Iowa  was  ex- 
tended over  all  the  country  from  the  mountains  to  the  ocean 
between  latitudes  42  and  54  degrees.  The  bill  also  provided 
that  two  associate  justices  of  the  supreme  court  of  Iowa,  in 
addition  to  those  already  appointed  for  Iowa,  were  to  be 
placed  in  charge  of  two  judicial  districts  to  be  established  in 
the  region  there  specified,  wherein  they  were  to  conduct  dis- 
trict courts  after  the  manner  pursued  in  the  courts  of  Iowa. 
This  bill  was  referred  to  a  select  committee  wdiich  reported 
favorably,  but  before  it  came  up  for  consideration.  Lord  Ash- 
burton  arrived  in  Washington  to  negotiate  with  Webster  with 
a  view  to  an  adjustment  of  the  boundary  disputes  then  endan- 
gering the  peace  between  England  and  the  United  States. 
On  account  of  the  delicate  situation  the  Senate  did  not  de- 
bate the  Linn  bill  until  1843,  when,  after  a  lively  debate,  the 
bill  passed  the  Senate  February  3,  1843,  by  a  vote  of  24  to 
22;  ^  but  it  failed  in  the  House. 

lAnnals,  vol.  V,  3d  series,  p.  358.  Note  of  the  writer  in  "Chapters  in  Iowa's 
Financial  History." 

2 See  Benton's  "Thirty  Years  View,"  vol.  II,  pp.  470-482,  where  the  bill  is  given 
in  part.  There  is  no  indication  in  Senator  Linn's  speech  of  the  reasons  that  led 
him  to  provide  for  the  adoption  of  the  laws  of  Iowa.  See  Linn's  speech  in  reply 
to  thatof  Senator  McDuffle  in  opposition:  Congressional  Globe,  1842-43;  pp.  149-155. 


Transplanting  Iowa's  Laws  to  Oregon.         147 

Here  again  a  ((uestidu  oCfers,  why  did  a  senator  from  Mis- 
souri urge  the  imposition  of  the  laws  of  Iivwa  upon  the  people 
of  Oregon?  Why  not  those  of  Missouri,  or  Illinois,  or  Michi- 
gan, rather  than  those  of  a  fledgling  territory?  Two  ex- 
planations suggest  themselves. 

The  first  explanation  is  that  Iowa  was  adjacent  to  the  Ter- 
rilory  in  controversy.  It  was  conseiiuently  simply  a  matter 
ol'  course  that  Senator  Linn  should  propose  to  extend  over 
Oi'cgon  and  the  intervening  region  the  government  and  laws 
of  the  territory  lying  next  to  the  lands  in  question.  The 
second  is  that  Lewis  F.  Linn,  Benton's  colleague  in  the  Sen- 
ate, was  a  half  l)rother  of  Henry  Dodge,  the  first  Governor 
of  Wisconsin  and  Iowa.  They  saw  much  of  each  other  dur- 
ing this  period  in  Linn 's  career ;  for  from  18-11  to  1845  Dodge 
was  the  territorial  delegate  of  M^isconsin  in  CongreSvS.  It  is 
not,  therefore,  a  violent  presumption  to  believe  that  in  the 
course  of  their  intimate  conversations.  Dodge  gave  Linn  much 
sage  counsel  and  made  suggestions  that  the  latter  made  use 
of.  It  would  not  be  strange  if  Dodge  should  urge  upon  Linn 
the  wisdom  of  nmking  use  of  the  Iowa  laws,  made  up  as  they 
were  chiefly  of  statutes  that  he,  Dodge,  himself  had  helped 
to  frame  in  the  Council  of  Michigan,  or  had  signed  as  Gov- 
ei-nor  of  Wisconsin.  The  Iowa  laws  reproduced  the  tra- 
ditional institutions  and  methods  of  administration  connnon  to 
the  free  States  carved  out  of  the  Northwest  Territory.  Hence, 
it  would  be  polite  for  a  iMissourian,  in  those  days  when  slavery 
was  charging  the  air  with  suspicion  of  everything  that  came 
from  south  of  Mason's  line,  if  he  wished  to  secure  Northern 
sentiment  in  favor  of  his  bill,  to  urge  the  adoption  of  the 
laws  of  a  territory  like  Iowa. 

Now,  it  is  more  than  probable  that  the  nature  of  the  pro- 
visions of  Linn's  bill  had  by  1843  become  known  to  the  pio- 
nem-s  in  Oregon.  Learning  that  the  laws  of  Iowa  were  those 
ui'ged  for  their  government  by  their  staimchest  friends  in 
the  halls  of  Congress,  it  would  have  been  the  natural  and  the 
diplomatic  thing,  if  such  a  suggestion  is  not  preposterous, 
for  the  committee  that  drew  up  the  articles  for  the  Provis- 


148  F.  L.  Herriott. 

ioiial  (iovei'imn'iit  lluit  were  fonnally  adopted  by  the  Ore- 
gonians  July  5,  1848,  to  have  of  set  purpose  adopted  the  laws 
of  Iowa  because  their  actiou  would  then  commend  itself  to 
the  friends  of  the  'i'erj-itoi'y  in  the  East. 


The  attention  of  Judge  C.  B.  Bellinscer  was  oalled  to  Dr. 
Herriott 's  paper  and  to  the  notes  of  Bancroft  and  Brown. 
The  work  of  Judge  Bellin<i'er  on  the  Oreg'on  Codes,  and  his 
special  interest  in  the  period  of  the  Provisional  Government, 
make  his  statement  on  this  matter  valuable,  if  not  conclusive. 
He  submits  the  following : 

"I  attach  no  importance  to  the  Bancroft  footnote.  It  is  a 
mere  guess  of  the  writer,  and  is  not  supported  by  any  known 
fact.  If  there  had  been  such  a  copy  as  Bancroft  refers  to, 
it  is  probable  that  the  meeting  of  July  5,  1843,  which  adopted 
the  laws  recommended  by  the  legislative  committee  appointed 
at  the  meeting  of  May  2nd  preceding,  would  have  adopted 
the  New  York  instead  of  the  Iowa  laws.  There  is  nothing  to 
explain  a  change  in  the  predeliction  for  the  New  York  laws 
shown  by  the  meeting  of  1841,  unless  it  is  the  fact  that  the 
legislative  committee  became  possessed  of  the  laws  of  the  State 
of  Iowa,  and  had  no  other.  Brown  is  to  be  relied  on  rather 
than  Bancroft.  I  knew  Brown  intimately.  It  is  probable 
that  Brown's  authority  is  Gray,  and  Gray  is  the  only  person, 
so  far  as  appears,  who  could  speak  from  actual  knowledge. 
Gray  says,  of  the  proceedings  of  the  meeting  of  1841,  'I 
query  whether  there  was  a  single  copy  of  the  laws  of  that 
State  (New  York)  in  the  country  for  ten  years  after  the  last 
resolution  (the  resolution  of  1841)  was  passed.  I  know 
there  was  none  at  the  time,  and  only  a  single  copy  of  the  laws 
of  Iowa  two  years  after.'  Gray's  History  of  Oregon,  p.  201. 
Gray's  statement  ought  to  be  conclusive  of  the  matter.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  legislative  committee  of  July,  1843. 
The  members  of  that  committee  were  evidently  without  leg- 
islative experience  or  legal  knowledge.  Some  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the   committee  were   opposed   to   sitting   with   open 


Transplanting  Iowa's  Laws  to  Oregon.         149 

doors,  because  they  'did  not  want  to  expose  their  ignorance 
of  making-  hiws. '  They  feared  that  they  'might  be  ashamed 
of  what  they  had  done.'  In  such  a  case  copies  of  the  laws  of 
other  States,  by  which  to  model  their  own  acts,  would  be  in- 
valuable. They  happened  to  have  the  laws  of  Iowa,  and 
nothing  else,  and  so  these  laws  wei'e  adopted.  They  were 
adopted  because  of  the  copy  which  the  committee  possessed, 
and  that  was  reason  (mough.  There  could  be  no  question 
about  adopting-  the  laws  of  Missouri,  since  thei'e  wasn't  a 
copy  of  the  laws  of  that  State  in  the  country  at  the  time. 
Professor  Herriott  probably  assumes  that  the  framers  of  the 
Provisional  Government  of  July,  1843,  were  mainly  immi- 
grants from  the  states  of  Iowa  and  Missouri,  as  was  the  case 
with  reference  to  the  population  after  the  innnigration  of 
the  fall  of  1843.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  framers  of  the 
original  Provisional  Government  were  missionaries,  lay  mem- 
bers, and  Rocky  Mountain  men,  together  •  with  some  of  the 
representatives  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  It  is  doubtful 
if  either  Iowa  or  IVIissouri  was  represented  upon  the  legisla- 
tive connnittee  in  question.  Gray  was  a  New  York  man,  and 
was  an  active  promoter  in  the  org-anization.  I  believe  that 
most  of  the  other  American  members  of  that  committee  were 
from  New  York,  or  other  extreme  Eastern  States.  Newell, 
one  of  the  mountain  men,  was,  I  believe,  originally  from  Ohio. 
The  provisions  of  the  Linn  bill  for  the  extension  of  the  laws 
of  Iowa  over  Oregon,  were  probably  not  known  by  the  meni- 
))('rs  of  that  committee,  and  there  is  nothing  to  indicate  that 
the  (luestion  of  anti-slavery  opposition  to  the  adoption  of  Ore- 
gon by  the  General  Government  was  ever  thought  of.  (iray 
has  undertaken  to  give  a  full  report  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
committee,  and  a  matter  of  that  importance,  if  it  had  been 
discussed,  or  even  thouglit  of,  would  certainly  have  been  re- 
ferred to  in  the  proceedings  which  he  has  reported.  Anent 
Dr.  Herriott 's  suggestion  that  the  laws  of  Iowa,  rather  than 
those  of  Missouri,  were  adopted  for  fear  .of  anti-slavery  in- 
fluence in  opposition  to  the  recognition  of  the  new  govern- 
ment, the  pro-slavery  influence  in  Congress  would  likely  have 


150  F.  L.  Herriott. 

lu'e'u  ('(|u;illy  daiiiiei'ous  to  the  aspirations  of  the  promoters  of 
tlie  Provisional  (Government.  It  would  have  been  the  policy 
of  the  le<>islative  connnittee  to  have  steered  between  Scylla 
and  Charybdis  by  picking-  out  the  statutes  wanted,  and  adopt- 
ing' them  as  original  enactments,  and  so  avoid  the  dang-er  of 
olfending  the  susce{>tibilities  of  either  party  by  showing  par- 
tiality for  the  laws  of  any  particular  State.  It  would  be  in- 
teresting if  a  history  of  that  lone  Iowa  statutes  could  be 
obtained.  The  long  and  short  of  the  matter  is,  that  the  leg- 
islative connnittee  adopted  the  laws  of  Iowa  because  they  had 
the  laws  of  Iowa,  and  no  other  laws." 

J.  Quinn  Thornton,  in  his  "Oregon  and  California,"  (vol. 
II,  p.  31)  published  in  1849,  in  mentioning  reasons  why  or- 
ganization was  not  effected  in  1841,  says:  ''They  were,  too, 
without  either  books  (excepting  one  copy  of  the  Iowa 
statutes),  to  which  to  refer  for  assistance  in  framing  their 
laws,  or  a  press  upon  which  to  print  them  when  framed." 
Doctor  Harriott's  first  surmise  seems  then  to  have  the 
strongest  foundation. — Editor. 


''iECOLLECTDOIMS  £2  OFllNlllOPS  ®P  m 
OLID)  riOKlEEl'"— C0K1T1K1«EIB). 

By  Petek  H.  Burnett. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

KocKY  Mountain  Trappeks  — Their  Peculiar  Character- 
Black  Harris— Joseph  L.  Meek— 0.  Russell- 
Robert  .¥ewell. 

When  we  arrived  in  Orction  we  found  there  f  number  of 
Rocky  IMountain  hunters  and  li'appers,  who  were  settled  in 
the  Willamette  Valley,  most  of  them  in  the  Tualatin  Plains. 
The  invention  of  the  silk  hat  had  rendered  the  trapping  of 
beaver  less  profitable.  Besides,  most  of  these  men  had  mar- 
ried Indian  women,  and  desired  to  settle  down  for  life.  They 
had  been  too  long  accustomed  to  frontier  life  to  retiu'n  to 
their  old  homes.  Oregon  offered  them  the  best  prospects  for 
the  future.  Here  was  plenty  of  land  for  nothing,  and  a  fine 
climate. 

These  trappers  and  hunters  constituted  a  very  peculiar 
class  of  men.  They  were  kind  and  genial,  brave  and  hos- 
pitable, and,  in  regard  to  serious  matters,  truthful  and  hon- 
est. There  was  no  malice  in  them.  They  never  made  mis- 
chief between  neighbor  and  neighbor.  But  most  of  them 
were  given  to  exaggeration,  when  relating  their  Rocky  Moun- 
tain adventures.  They  seemed  to  claim  the  privilege  of  ro- 
mance and  fabe  when  describing  these  scenes.  As  exceptions 
to  this  rule,  I  will  mention  Judge  0.  Russell,  now  living  in 
El  Doi-ado  County,  California,  and  Robert  Newell,  now  de- 
ceased.    Their  statements  could  be  relied  upon  implicitly. 

Having  been  so  long  accustomed  to  the  idle  life  of  the 
Rocky  ]\Iountains,  they  were  not  at  first  pleased  with  the 
hard  work  and  drudgery  of  farming.  Meek  told  me  that 
soon  after  their  arrival  in  Oregon  they  applied  to  Dr.  Mc- 
Loughlin  to  purchase  supplies  on  credit.     This  application 


152  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

sislciilly.  and  finally  asked  the  Doctor  what  they  should  do, 
sistoiitly.  and,  tinally  asked  the  Doctor  what  they  shouhl  do. 
He  I'eplied  in  a  k)ud  voice:  "Go  to  work!  go  to  work!  go 
to  work!"  Meek  said  that  was  just  the  thing-  they  did  not 
wish  to  do. 

The  romancing  Rocky  Mountain  trapper  would  exercise 
his  inventive  talent  to  its  utmost  extent  in  telling  the  most 
extracn-dinary  stories  of  what  he  claimed  he  had  seen,  and 
he  that  could  form  the  most  extravagant  tiction,  with  a  spice 
of  plausibility  in  it,  was  considered  the  greatest  wit  among 
them.  The  love  of  fame  is  inherent  in  the  breast  of  man ; 
and  the  first  man  in  a  village  is  just  as  proud  of  his  position 
at  the  first  man  in  a  city  or  in  an  empire. 

I  knew,  in  Missouri,  the  celebrated  Black  Harris,  as  he  was 
familiarly  called,  and  was  freciuently  in  his  company.  He, 
perhaps,  invented  the  most  extraordinary  stories  of  them  all, 
and  thenceforward  he  had  no  rival.  He  said  that  on  one  oc- 
casion he  was  hunting  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  alone,  and 
came  in  sight  of  what  he  supposed  to  be  a  beautiful  grove  of 
green  timber;  but,  when  he  approached  it,  he  found  it  to  be 
a  perified  forest;  and,  so  sudden  had  been  the  process  of  pet- 
rification, that  the  green  leaves  were  all  petrified,  and  the 
very  birds  that  were  then  singing  in  the  grove  were  also 
petrified  in  the  act  of  singing,  because  their  mouths  were  still 
open  in  the  petrified  state.  This  story  I  did  not  myself  hear 
from  Harris,  but  I  learned  it  from  good  authority. 

From  these  Rocky  Mountain  trappers  I  learned  something 
in  regard  to  that  interesting  animal,  the  beaver.  Many  per- 
sons suppose,  from  the  fact  that  the  beaver  is  always  found 
along  the  streams,  that  he  lives,  like  the  otter,  on  fish.  This 
is  a  mistake.  The  beaver  lives  entirely  upon  vegetable  food, 
and  for  this  reason  its  flesh  is  esteemed  a  great  delicacy.  The 
animal  feeds  mainly  upon  the  bark  of  the  willow  tree,  which 
grows  in  abundance  along  the  rich,  moist  margins  of  the 
streams,  and  is  a  very  soft  wood,  easily  cut  by  the  beaver, 
with  his  large,  sharp  teeth.  In  countries  where  the  streams 
freeze  over  in  winter,  the  beaver  makes  his  dam  across  the 


RErOLLEOTIONS    OF    AN    OlD    PiOXEER.  153 

stream  of  mud  and  brush,  so  intermixed  as  to  make  the  struc- 
ture safe  and  solid.  In  this  work  he  uses  his  fore-paws,  not 
his  tail,  as  some  have  supposed.  The  tail  is  used  as  a  pro- 
pelling and  steering  power  in  swimming.  The  object  in  dam- 
ming the  stream  is  to  deepen  the  water,  so  that  it  will  not 
freeze  to  the  bottom,  but  leave  plenty  of  room  below  the  ice 
for  the  storage  of  the  winter's  supply  of  food.  In  summer 
the  beaver  cuts  down  the  green  willows,  and  divides  them 
into  logs  of  proper  length,  so  that  they  can  be  readily  moved. 
These  logs  are  deposited  at  the  bottom  of  the  pond,  and  kept 
down  by  nnid  placed  upon  them.  The  willow  in  its  green 
state  is  almost  as  heavy  as  water,  and  these  logs  are  easily 
sunk  and  eonfiued  to  the  bottom.  On  one  portion  of  his  dam 
the  beaver  constructs  his  house,  above  the  water,  with  an  en- 
trance from  beneath.  This  gives  him  a  warm  home  and  safe 
retreat  in  winter. 

The  mode  of  trapping  the  beaver  is  peculiar.  The  trap 
itself  is  never  baited.  The  animal  has  in  his  body  a  secre- 
tion something  like  musk.  The  trapper  finds  out  the  home 
of  the  beaver,  and  selects  a  place  on  the  side  of  the  pond 
where  the  water  is  shallow  near  the  shore ;  and  there,  in  the 
edge  of  the  stream,  he  drives  down  a  stake  of  hard,  seasoned 
wood,  which  the  beaver  can  not  cut.  To  this  stake  he  fas- 
tens a  chain  that  is  attached  to  the  trap,  and  then  sets  the 
trap  in  water  some  six  inches  deep.  On  the  shore,  exactly 
opposite  the  trap,  he  places  a  bait  of  the  secretion.  The 
beaver  always  swims  up  the  center  of  the  pond,  and  when  he 
comes  immediately  opposite  the  bait  he  turns  at  right  angles 
and  goes  straight  toward  it,  but  is  caught  in  the  trap  while 
passing  over  it.  So  soon  as  he  feels  the  trap  he  endeavoi-s 
to  escape,  and  drags  the  trap  into  deep  water  as  far  as  the 
chain  will  permit.  The  steel  trap  is  so  heavy  that  the  beaver 
can  not  possibly  swim  with  it,  but  is  confined  by  its  weight 
to  the  bottom,  and  is  there  drowned,  as  the  beaver,  like  other 
amphibious  animals,  can  remain  alive  under  water  only  for  a 
limited  time. 

The  beaver  is  easilv  tamed,  and  makes  a  very  docile  and 


154  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

inloi-estiii^'  pet.  He  is  remarkably  neat  and  cleanly  in  his 
habits,  as  nnieh  so  as  the  domestic  cat,  and  almost  as  much  so 
as  the  ermine,  which  never  pennits  its  snow-white  covering 
to  be  soiled. 

I  am  not  aware  that  any  wild  animal,  except  the  glutton, 
ever  preys  upon  the  beaver  or  otter.  Their  terrible  teeth  are 
most  formidable  weapons,  and  few  wild  animals  would  ven- 
ture to  attack  them.  Besides,  they  are  covered  with  a  large, 
loose  skin  and  thick  fur,  so  that  the  teeth  of  another  animal 
can  hardly  reach  a  vital  part.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that 
one  otter  will  vanquish  a  number  of  large,  brave  dog's.  Every 
bite  of  the  otter  leaves  a  large  gash,  like  that  made  by  the 
huge  tusks  of  the  wild  boar. 

Among  the  most  noted  of  these  trappers  was  my  neighbor 
and  friend,  Joseph  L.  Meek,  whose  life  has  been  written  by 
Mrs.  Victor,  of  Oregon.  Meek  was  a  tall  man,  of  fine  appear- 
ance—a most  genial,  kind,  and  brave  spirit.  He  had  in  his 
composition  no  malice,  no  envy,  and  no  hatred.  I  do  not  re- 
member ever  to  have  heard  that  he  had  a  personal  difficulty 
with  any  one.  In  relating  his  Rocky  Mountain  adventures, 
he  was  given,  like  a  majority  of  his  comrades,  to  exaggeration. 

His  comrades  told  a  story  upon  him,  which  he  admitted  to 
me  was  true.  A  party  of  them,  while  in  the  Rocky  ]\Ioun- 
tains,  were  one  day  stopping  to  rest,  when  they  saw  a  band 
of  hostile  Indians,  mounted  and  charging  down  upon  them, 
at  the  distance  of  a  few  hundred  yards.  Meek  and  his  com- 
rades mounted  their  animals  in  the  hottest  haste ;  but  the  fine 
mule  Meek  was  riding  became  sullen  and  would  not  budge, 
^leek  screamed  out  at  the  top  of  his  voice :  ' '  Boys,  stand  your 
ground !  We  can  whip  'em.  Stand  your  ground,  boys ! ' ' 
But  his  comrades  were  of  a  different  opinion,  and  were  fleeing 
from  the  Indians  as  fast  as  possible.  However,  as  the  Indians 
ai)i)roached,  Meek's  mule  began  to  comprehend  the  situa- 
tion, changed  its  mind,  and  set  iff  at  its  utmost  speed  in  pur- 
suit of  its  companions.  In  a  short  time  Meek  and  his  mule 
were  alongside  of  the  fleeing  luniters ;  and  very  soon  Meek 
passed  them,  whipping  his  nuile  and  crying  out  most  lustily: 


Recollections  op  ar  Old  Pioneer.  155 

"Come  on.  boys!  We  can't  fiyht  'era!  Come  on,  boys! 
Come  on ! " 

I  remember  a  story  ^Feek  told  to  myself  and  four  others, 
as  we  were  returnint>-  from  Oreudn  City  to  our  homes  in  the 
Tualatin  Plains.  He  said  that  on  one  occesion  he  was  out 
huntinu'  by  himself,  some  four  hundred  miles  from  Brown's 
Cove,  in  the  Rocky  ^Mountains,  where  his  company  were  stay- 
in^-,  and  that  one  nig'ht  his  horse  escaped,  leaving'  him  afoot. 
He  started  on  foot,  with  his  rifle  cm  his  shoulder;  but  the 
flrst  day  he  lost  the  lock  of  his  iiun.  so  that  he  could  kill  no 
ganie.  The  result  was,  that  he  walked  that  long  distance, 
less  15  miles,  in  eig"ht  days,  and  without  anything  to  eat,  ex- 
cept one  thistle-root,  and  that  purged  him  like  medicine.  He 
said  that  toward  the  end  of  his  trip  he  would  often  become 
blind,  fall  down,  and  remain  unconscious  for  some  time;  then 
recover,  and  pursue  his  painful  journey.  At  last,  in  this 
way,  he  reached  a  point  within  15  miles  of  Brown's  Cove, 
where  one  of  his  comrades  happened  to  find  him,  and  took 
him  into  camp. 

I  replied :  ' '  That  was  a  most  extraordinary  adventure, 
Joe;  and,  while  I  don't  pretend  to  cpiestion  your  veracity  in 
the  least,  don't  you  really  think  you  might  safely  fall  a  snake 
or  two  in  the  distance"'"  He  declared  it  was  four  hundred 
miles.  ''But,"  said  I.  "may  you  not  be  mistaken  in  the 
time?"  He  insisted  he  was  only  eight  days  in  making  the 
trip  on  foot.  "But,  Joe,"  I  continued,  "don't  you  think  you 
may  be  mistaken  as  to  the  time  in  this  way?  When  you  had 
those  attacks  of  blindness,  fell  down,  and  then  came  to  again, 
don't  you  think  you  might  have  mistaken  it  for  a  new  day?" 
He  said  he  was  not  mistaken.  "Then,"  said  I.  "this  thing  of 
walking  four  hundred  miles  in  eight  days,  with  nothing  at  all 
to  eat,  and  being  physicked  into  the  bargain,  is  the  most  ex- 
traordinary feat  ever  performed  by  man."  He  said  no  man 
could  tell  how  much  he  could  stand  until  he  was  forced  to 
try;  and  that  men  were  so  healthy  in  the  Rocky  ^Mountains, 
and  so  used  to  hard  times,  that  they  could  perform  wonders. 

]\leek  was  a  droll  creature,  and  at  times  very  slovenly  in 


156  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

his  dress.  One  day  in  summer  I  called  for  him,  sitting  on 
my  hoi'se  at  his  yard  fence.  He  came  to  the  door  and  put 
his  head  out,  but  would  not  come  to  the  fence,  .because  his 
pantaloons  were  so  torn  and  ragged.  He  was  then  sheriff; 
and  at  the  next  term  of  our  eurcuit  court  I  drew  up  a  fic- 
titious indictment  against  him,  charging  him  with  notorious 
public  indecency;  had  it  endorsed  on  the  back:  "People  of 
Oregcin  vs.  Joseph  L.  Meek.  Notorious  Public  Indecency. 
A  true  bill."  and  quietly  placed  it  among  the  real  indictments. 
Very  soon  Meek  was  looking  through  the  bundle  of  indict- 
ments, and  found  this  one  against  himself.  He,  of  course, 
supposed  it  genuine;  and  it  would  have  amused  an  invalid  to 
see  the  expression  of  his  face.  I  soon  told  him  it  was  only  a 
joke,  which  was  apparent  upon  the  face  of  the  indictment, 
as  it  had  not  the  signatures  of  the  proper  officers. 

On  one  occasion  he  came  to  my  house,  wearing  one  of  the 
most  splendid  new  white  figured-silk  vests  that  I  had  ever 
seen,  while  the  remainder  of  his  dress  was  exceedingly  shabby. 
He  was  like  a  man  dressed  in  a  magnificent  ruffled  shirt, 
broadcloth  coat,  vest,  and  [)antaloons,  and  going  barefoot. 

The  second  or  third  year  aftei'  my  arrival  in  Oregon,  and 
in  the  month  of  October,  befoi'e  the  rainy  season  set  in,  I  was 
about  to  start  for  Oregon  City  with  a  load  of  wheat,  to  secure 
a  winter's  supply  of  flour,  when  Meek  asked  me  to  let  him 
put  ten  bushels  in  the  wagon,  and  he  would  go  with  me.  I 
said  all  right;  that  I  would  be  at  his  place  the  next  moraing 
early,  with  my  wagon  and  team,  and  for  him  to  have  his 
wheat  ready.  He  promised  he  would.  According  to  my 
promise,  I  was  at  his  house  next  morning  by  eight;  but  Meek 
liad  to  run  his  wheat  through  the  fan,  and  put  it  into  the 
sacks.  The  result  was  that  I  had  to  help  him,  and  it  was  ten 
by  the  time  we  were  loaded  up.  In  a  great  hurry,  I  asked 
him  if  he  had  anything  to  eat,  as  I  only  had  some  bread  in 
the  wagon,  the  only  thing  I  could  bring.  I  saw  he  was  rather 
embarrassed,  and  said :  ' '  Have  you  any  meat  *? "  "  No  ! " 
"Have  you  any  butter"?"  "No!"  "What,  then,  have  you?" 
"Plenty  of  squashes."     I  said:    "Roll   them   in."     He  soon 


Recollections  op  an  Old  Pioneer.  157 

brought  as  many  squashes  as  his  long-  arms  and  big  hands 
coukl  carry,  put  them  into  the  wagon,  and  were  off.  I  drove 
the  team  and  he  rode  his  horse. 

On  the  way  Meek  rode  ahead  of  me,  and  overtook  Mr. 
Pomeroy,  going  to  Oregon  City  with  a  wagon  k)aded  with 
fresh  beef.  Meek,  in  a  good-humored,  bantering  way,  said : 
"Pomeroy,  I  have  an  execution  against  you.  and  I  can  not 
let  you  take  that  beef  out  of  this  county."  Pomeroy,  with 
equal  good-humor,  replied:  "Meek,  it  is  a  hard  ease  to  stop 
a  man  on  the  way  to  market,  where  he  can  sell  his  beef,  and 
get  the  money  to  pay  his  debts."  "Well,"  saiel  Meek,  "it 
does  look  a  little  hard,  l)ut  I  propose  a  compromise.  Bur- 
nett and  I  will  have  nothing  to  eat  to-night  but  bread  and 
squashes.  Now,  if  you  will  let  us  have  beef  enougli  for  sup- 
per and  breakfast,  I  will  let  you  oft'. ' '  Pomeroy  laughed  and 
told  Meek  to  help  himself.  When  we  encamped,  about  sun- 
down, some  eight  miles  from  the  city,  Meek  did  help  himself 
to  some  choice  ribs  of  beef,  and  we  had  a  feast.  I  had  had 
nothing  to  eat  since  tlie  morning  of  that  day  but  bread,  and 
I  was  hungry  after  my  hard  di'ive.  I  roasted  the  squashes 
and  !\Ieek  the  beef,  and  we  had  a  splendid  supper.  I  found 
this  beef  almost  equal  to  buffalo-meat.  We  both  ate  too 
nuich,  and  ^leek  conq)lained  that  his  supi)ei'  had  given  him 
"the  rotten  belches." 

I  have  already  mentioned  the  name  of  Judge  0.  Russell 
as  one  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  men.  He  is  a  native  of  the 
state  of  Maine,  and  came  to  the  mountains  when  a  young'  man, 
in  pursuit  of  health.  All  his  comrades  agreed  rhat  he  never 
lost  his  virtuous  habits,  but  always  remained  true  to  his  prin- 
ciples. He  was  never  married.  He  was  at  one  time  one  of 
the  executive  connnittee  of  our  Provisional  CTOVernment  in 
Oregon,  and  most  faithfully  did  he  pei'fonn  his  duty.  He 
is  a  man  of  etlucation  and  of  refined  feelings.  After  the  dis- 
covery of  gold  he  came  to  the  mines,  and  has  been  engaged  in 
mining  in  El  Dorado  County,  California,  ever  since. 

When  in  Oi-egon,  he  was  occasionally  a  guest  at  my  house, 
and  would  for  hours  entertain  us  with  descriptions  of  moun- 


158  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

tain  life  and  scenery.  His  descriptive  powers  were  fine,  and 
he  would  talk  until  a  late  hoiu'  at  night.  My  Avhole  family 
Avere  deeply  attentive,  and  my  children  yet  remember  the 
Judge  with  great  pleasure.  He  was  always  a  most  welcome 
guest  at  my  house.  He  did  not  tell  so  many  extraordinary 
stories  as  the  average  Rocky  IMountain  trapper  and  hunter, 
but  those  he  did  tell  were  true.     I  remember  one  instance. 

He  said  that  he  and  a  colored  man  were  out  hunting  to- 
gether on  one  occasion,  and  wounded  a  large  grizzly  bear.  A 
grizzly  bear,  when  wounded,  will  rush  upon  the  hunter  if 
near  him ;  but,  if  at  a  distance  from  the  hunter,  the  animal 
will  retire  into  thick  brush,  and  there  conceal  himself  as  well 
as  possible.  In  this  case,  the  bear  crept  into  a  small  but 
thick  patch  of  willows,  and  so  concealed  himself  that  the 
hunters  had  to  approach  very  near  before  they  could  obtain 
a  shot.  The  Judge  and  his  comrade,  with  loaded  and  cocked 
rifles  in  hand,  separately  approached,  on  different  sides,  almost 
to  the  edge  of  the  thicket,  when  the  grizzly,  with  a  loud, 
ferocious  cry,  suddenly  sprang  to  his  feet  and  rushed  toward 
the  Judge,  and,  when  within  a  few  feet  of  him,  reared  upon 
his  hind  legs,  with  his  ears  thrown  back,  his  terrible  jaws 
dist(^n(led,  and  his  eyes  gleaming  with  rage.  The  Judge  said 
that  he  knew  that  to  retreat  was  death,  and  that  the  only 
chance  was  to  make  a  sure  shot.  M^ith  the  accuracy  and 
courage  of  a  skillful  hunter,  he  fired  as  the  bear  stood  up,  and 
gave  him  a  fatal  shot  through  the  heart.  The  bear  fell,  and 
the  colored  man  came  up  as  pale  as  a  colored  man  could  be, 
and  exclaimed,  "that  was  a   'roshus  animal." 

Robert  Newell  was  a  native  of  the  state  of  Ohio,  and  came 
to  the  Rocky  JMountains  when  a  young  man.  He  was  of  me- 
dium height,  stout  frame,  and  fine  face.  He  was  full  of 
humanity,  good-will,  genial  feeling,  and  frankness.  He  pos- 
sessed a  remarkable  memory,  and,  though  slow  of  speech,  his 
narrations  were  most  interesting.  In  his  slow,  hesitating 
manner,  he  Maiuld  state  every  minute  circumstance  in  its 
proper  place,  and  the  hearer  was  most  amply  compensated  in 
the  end  for  his  time  and  patience.     I  knew  him  well,  and  have 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  159 

often  listened  to  his  graphic  description  of  incidents  that 
came  under  his  observation  while  he  was  in  the  service  of 
tlie  ^lissmiri  Fur  Company.  I  ivmember  a  very  interesting 
narration  which  I  heard  from  him.  I  can  only  give  the 
substance. 

The  hii'cd  men  of  the  company  were  mostly  employed  in 
ti-apping  beaver  and  otter.  A  war  grew  up  between  the 
whites  and  Indians,  as  usual..  It  was  not  desirable  to  the 
company,  and  its  numager  made  efforts  to  secure  peace.  For 
this  pui'pose  he  consulted  with  Newell,  and  asked  him  if  he 
would  be  willing  to  go  as  a  connnissioner  to  the  Crow  Indians 
to  treat  for  peace.  Newell  consented,  upon  condition  that  he 
should  only  take  with  him  an  interpreter  and  a  cook. 

With  these  two  men  Newell  boldly  made  his  way  to  the 
Crow  camp.  The  Indian  chiefs  assembled  in  the  council- 
lodge,  and  the  orator  on  the  part  of  the  tribe  brought  in  a 
bundle  of  small  sticks.  He  connnenced  and  stated  an  ag- 
gressive wrong  against  the  Crows  on  the  part  of  the  whites, 
and  demanded  for  that  a  certain  number  of  blankets.  Hav- 
ing done  this  he  laid  aside  one  stick,  and  then  proceeded  to 
state  another  grievance  and  to  lay  aside  another  stick,  and  so 
on  until  the  bundle  was  exhausted.  The  number  of  these  com- 
])laints  was  great,  aiul  the  amount  of  merchandise  demanded 
far  exceedetl  the  ability  of  the  company  to  pay. 

Newell  said  that  while  this  process  was  going  on  he  felt 
himsi'lf  almost  overwhelmed.  He  could  not  nuike  a  detailed 
statement  of  wrongs  connnitted  by  the  Indians  against  the 
whites  sufficient  to  balance  this  most  formidable  account.  He 
had  not  prepared  himself  with  a  mass  of  charges  and  a  bundle 
of  sticks  to  refresh  his  memory.  In  this  emergency  he  de- 
termined to  take  a  bold,  frank  position,  and  come  directly  to 
the  point  by  a  short  and  comprehensive  method.  When  it 
came  to  his  turn  to  speak  he  told  the  council  that  he  was  sent 
as  the  mere  agent  of  the  company,  and  was  not  authorized 
to  enter  into  any  stipulation  for  payment  to  either  party; 
that  he  did  not  come  to  count  over  the  wrongs  committed  in 
the  past  ;  that  both  parties  had  done  wrong  often,  and  it  was 


160  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

difficult  to  say  which  party  had  been  oftenest  or  most  to  blame ; 
that  he  came  to  bury  the  past  and  to  stipulate  for  peace  in 
the  future,  and  wislied  to  know  of  them  whether  they  would 
nuitually  agree  to  be  friends  for  the  time  to  come.  This  was 
the  best  possible  i^round  to  be  taken,  and  so  pleased  the  assem- 
bled chiefs  that  they  entered  into  a  treaty  of  peace. 

But,  a  very  shoi't  time  after  this  treaty  was  made,  and  be- 
foi'e  Newell  and  his  two  men  had  left,  a  sad  accident  occurred 
that  well  ni.tih  cost  Newell  his  life.  One  niiiht  before  bed- 
time, the  cot)k  had  hunji'  a  small  kettle  above  the  fire  in  New- 
ell's  lodiic,  and  had  pretty  well  filled  it  with  choice  pieces  of 
fat  butfalo  meat,  with  intent  to  have  a  feast.  After  doinjjj 
this,  the  careless  cook  went  out,  and  the  kettle  boiled  over; 
and  the  first  thing-  that  Newell  saw  was  the  fire  blazing  out 
at  the  top  of  the  lodge.  When  he  first  saw  it  he  was  at  the 
lodge  of  one  of  the  chiefs,  a  short  distance  off.  In  the  hurry 
and  confusion  of  the  moment  Newell  ran  to  his  lodge,  seized 
the  kettle,  and  gave  it  a  sudden  sling,  and  it  happened  to 
strike  an  Indian  in  the  face  and  scalded  him  terribly.  The 
Indian  gave  a  loud  scream,  which  at  once  aroused  all  the 
camp.  The  excitement  was  terrific.  The  act  could  not  be 
denied,  and  the  injury  was  palpable  and  most  grievous.  It 
was  thought  that  both  the  eyes  of  the  Indian  had  been  put 
out ;  and  his  friends  and  kindred  were  vehement  and  loud  in 
their  demands  for  punishment.  The  principal  chief  at  once 
sinnmoned  a  council  to  consider  the  case.  The  chiefs  met  in 
the  council  lodge,  while  the  people,  including  men,  women, 
nnd  children,  squatted  in  front  of  the  door,  leaving  a  narrow 
passage  for  the  prisoner,  with  his  interpreter,  to  enter  the 
lodge.  Newell  said  that  as  they  passed  through  this  enraged 
mass  of  people  they  exhibited  the  utmost  hatred  against  him, 
especially  the  women,  who  manifested  their  intense  animosity 
in  every  way,  by  word,  and  gesture.  In  passing  by  them, 
they  would  lean  away  and  shrink  from  him,  as  if  his  touch 
was  pollution  itself. 

When  he  entered  the  dimly  lighted  council  lodge  all  was 
grim  and  i)r()foiin(l  silence.  Not  a  work  was  si)oken,nor  a  move 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  161 

made,  Tof  soiiic  lime.  Then  one  of  the  chiefs  commenced 
lio\vlin<i-  like  a  iari^e  wolf,  the  imitation  heinii'  almost  perfect. 
After  he  had  ceased  there  was  a^ain  profonnel  silence  for 
some  moments;  and  then  another  chief  successfully  imitated 
the  tierce  cry  of  the  panther;  and  then,  after  another  pause, 
a  third  chief  most  energetically  imitated  the  loud  cry  of  an 
enraji:ed  lirizzly  l)ear.  lie  said  that  he  had  never  witnessed 
a  scene  of  terror  equal  to  this.  All  the  chiefs  except  the 
principal  one  seemed  to  be  his  enemies.  He  thought  his 
chance  of  escape  exceedingly  small. 

The  head  chief  was  an  old  man  of  superior  native  intellect, 
and,  though  uneducated,  he  understood  human  nature.  He 
seemed  to  comprehend  the  case  well.  He  could  see  no  mali- 
cious motive  for  the  act.  He  told  Newell  to  state  the  facts  to 
the  council  truly,  and  he  thought  there  might  be  some  hope  for 
him. 

Newell,  through  his  interpreter,  stated  to  them  all  the  facts 
as  they  occurred ;  and  this  just  statement,  and  Newell 's  manly 
and  honest  face,  and  frank  manner,  had  a  great  effect  upon 
the  principal  members  of  the  council.  It  was  also  found  that 
the  poor  Indian  had  not  been  so  severely  hurt  as  at  first  sup- 
posed, and  that  his  sight  was  not  totally  destroyed.  The 
council'  sat  nearly  all  night,  and  then  decided  to  postpone 
the  case  until  time  should  show  the  extent  of  the  injuiy.  In 
the  meantime  Xewell  and  his  companions  were  not  allowed 
to  depart,  but  were  to  be  detained  until  the  case  should  bo 
finally  decided. 

But  another  painful  incident  soon  occurred  that  seriously 
imperiled  their  lives. 

One  day  an  Indian  horseman  was  seen  to  approach  the 
camp  rapidly ;  and,  when  within  some  hundred  yards,  he  dis- 
mounted, rolled  up  his  buffalo  robe,  took  hold  of  one  end  of 
the  roll,  and  slowly  and  solemnly  swung  it  around  his  head 
several  times;  then  folded  it  up,  and  sat  upon  it,  and  brought 
both  his  open  hands  slowly  down  his  face  several  times  in 
succession.  The  Indians  in  camp  at  once  understood  the  sad 
significance  of  these  signs.     They  knew  that  he  was  a  mes- 


162  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

seiig'er,  si'iit  to  int'onii  Ihein  that  the  smallpox  had  broken  out 
at  another  camp  of  their  tribe.  He  would  not  come  near,  for 
fear  of  communicating'  the  disease  to  them. 

Newell  said  that  he  had  never  witnessed  such  a  scene  of 
sorrow  as  this.  The  women  and  children  filled  the  camp  with 
their  loud  wailings  and  bitter  lamentations;  and  despair  sat 
upon  the  countenances  of  the  men.  The  Indians  were  now 
more  hostile  than  ever,  because  they  be]iev(Kl  that  this  terri- 
ble scourge,  far  worse  to  them  than  war  itself,  had  l)een  in- 
troduced by  the  trappers.  They  knew  that  this  fell  disease 
was  never  heard  of  in  their  country  until  wliite  men  appeared 
among'  them.  They  thronged  around  Newell  and  his  com- 
rades, and  it  seemed  that  they  would  slaughter  them  outright. 

But  the  old  chief  M'as  equal  to  the  occasion.  He  at  once 
mounted  his  horse  and  rode  through  the  camp,  saying  to  all 
that  it  was  useless  to  vv^eep  and  lament,  and  ordering  the  peo- 
ple to  pack  up  at  once  and  be  ofl  for  the  Wind  River  Moun- 
tain. This  order  was  instantly  obeyed;  the  cries  and  lamen- 
tations at  once  ceased,  and  Newell  said  he  never  saw  lodges 
so  quickly  taken  down  and  packed  up  as  he  did  on  this  oc- 
casion. In  less  than  one  hour  the  whole  camp  was  on  the 
march  to  the  place  mentioned.  In  due  time  they  arrived 
safely  at  the  Wind  River  jMountain,  where  the  sky  was  clear, 
the  climate  cool  and  healthy,  and  game  abundant.  It  being 
in  midsunnner,  the  deer  had  followed  up  the  melting  snows 
to  crop  the  fresh  grass  as  soon  as  it  sprang  up  just  below  the 
snow  line,  and  to  be  in  a  cool  atmosphere,  where  the  flies 
would  not  torment  them.  Here  the  Indians  recovered  from 
their  alarm  and  excitement.  Not  a  case  of  smallpox  appeared 
in  camp.  All  were  healthy  and  had  plenty  to  eat.  The  poor 
fellow  that  was  scalded  recovered  in  this  healthy  locality,  and 
was  not  so  seriously  injured  as  was  at  first  supposed.  Newell 
became  popular  with  the  Indians,  and  they  at  last  let  him 
depart  in  peace. 

THE  PROVISIONAL  GOVERNMENT. 

Soon  after  my  arrival  at  Linnton,,  I  was  consulted  as  to  the 
right  of  the  people  of  Oregon  to  organize  a  Provisional  Gov- 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  163 

ennm'ut.  At  first  I  gave  my  opinion  against  it,  thinking  we 
had  no  such  right:  but  a  few  weeks'  reflection  satisfied  me 
that  we  had  such  a  right,  and  that  necessity  required  us  to 
exercise  it.  Counnunities,  as  well  as  individuals,  have  the  nat- 
ural right  of  self-defense ;  and  it  is  upon  this  ground  that 
the  right  to  institute  governments  among  men  nuist  ultimately 
rest.  This  right  of  self-preservation  is  bestowed  upon  man 
by  his  Creator. 

We  found  ourselves  placed  in  a  new  and  very  eml)arrassing 
position.  The  right  of  sovereignty  over  the  country  was  in 
dispute  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  and 
neither  country  could  establish  any  government  over  us.  Our 
connnunity  was  composed  of  American  citizens  and  British 
subjects,  occupying'  the  same  country  as  neighbors,  with  all 
their  respective  natural  prejudices  and  attachments,  and  so 
distant  from  the  mother  countries  as  to  be  to  a  great  extent 
beyond  the  reach  of  home  influences.  We  had,  therefore,  a 
difficult  population  to  govern ;  but  this  fact  only  rendered 
government  the  more  necessary. 

We  also  found,  by  actual  experiment,  that  some  political 
government  was  a  necessity.  Though  political  government 
be  imperfect,  it  is  still  a  blessing,  and  necessary  for  the  pre- 
servation of  the  race.  Without  it,  the  strongest  and  most 
reckless  characters  in  the  community  would  be  tyrants  over 
the  others.  The  theory  of  the  wandering  savage,  to  leave  the 
kindred  of  the  murdered  victim  to  revenge  his  death,  would 
not  answer  for  a  civilized  race  of  men.  The  weak  and  timid, 
the  peaceful  and  conscientious,  and  those  who  had  no  kin- 
dred, could  not  be  protected  under  such  a  theory.  Without 
any  law  but  that  of  individual  self-defense,  we  found  it  im- 
possible to  get  along  in  peace.  When  a  person  died,  the  worst 
characters  could  seize  upon  his  estate  under  some  pretense 
or  other,  and  defeat  the  just  rights  of  defenseless  heirs.  So 
long  as  these  violent,  bad  men  had  only  to  overcome  and  de- 
feat single  individuals,  they  had  no  feai's.  It  is  only  when 
the  condjined  force  of  a  whole  conununitv  is  brought  to  bear 


164  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

upon  these  tlesperadoes  that  they  can  be  effectually  kept  in 
order. 

As  we  could  not,  with  any  exact  certainty,  anticipate  the 
time  when  the  contiictinw'  claims  of  the  two  contending  gov- 
ernments would  he  settled,  we  determined  to  organize  a  Pro- 
visional Government  for  ourselves.  In  this  undertaking  our 
British  neighbors  idtimately  joined  us  with  good  will,  and 
did  theii-  pai't  most  faithfully,  as  did  our  American  citizens. 

I  was  a  member  of  "the  Legislative  Conunittee  of  Oregon" 
of  184-1.  It  was  composed  of  nine  members  elected '  by  the 
people,  and  consisted  of  only  one  house.  The  year  before, 
the  people  of  Oregon  had  substantially  organized  a  Provis- 
ional Government ;  but  the  organization  was  inu^>erfect,  as  is 
necessarily  the  case  in  the  beginning  of  all  human  institu- 
tions. We  improved  upon  their  labors,  and  our  successors 
improved  upon  ours. 

Our  legislative  committee  held  two  sessions,  one  in  June, 
and  the  other  in  December  of  that  year,  each  session  lasting 
only  a  few  days.  In  our  then  condition,  we  had  but  little 
time  to  devote  to  public  business.  Our  personal  needs  were 
too  urgent,  and  our  time  too  much  occupied  in  making  a  sup- 
port for  our  families.  Our  legislation,  however,  was  ample 
for  the  time.  There  was  then  no  printing  establishnumt  in 
Oregon.  We  passed  an  act  in  relation  to  land  claims,  the 
tirst  section  of  which  provided  that  "all  persons  who  have 
heretofore  made,  or  shall  hereafter  make  permanent  improve- 
ments upon  a  place,  with  a  ho)i(i  fide  intention  of  occupying 
and  holding  the  same  for  himself,  and  shall  continue  to  oc- 
cupy and  cultivate  the  same,  shall  be  entitled  to  hold  640 
acres,  and  shall  hold  only  one  claim  at  the  same  time ;  pro- 
vided, a  man  may  hold  town  lots  in  addition  to  his  claim." 
The  seventh  and  last  sectitm  gave  all  persons  complying  with 
the  provisions  of  the  act  "the  remedy  of  forcible  entry  and 
detainer  against  intruders,  and  the  action  of  trespass  against 
trespassers."  This  act  was  passed  June  25,  1844.  It  will 
be  seen  that  the  remedy  against  intruders  was  simple,  cheap, 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  165 

quick,  and  efficienl,  and  well  adapted  to  existing  circum- 
stances. 

By  an  act  passed  June  27.  1844,  the  executive  power  was 
vested  in  a  single  person,  to  be  elected  at  the  then  next  annual 
election  by  the  people,  and  at  the  annual  election  to  be  held 
every  two  years  thereaftei-,  lo  hold  his  office  for  the  term  of 
two  yeat's.  and  receive  an  annual  salary  of  $800.  By  the 
same  act  the  judicial  power  was  vested  in  the  circuit  courts, 
and  in  the  justices  of  the  peace;  and  the  act  provided  that 
one  judge  should  be  elected  by  the  qualified  voters  at  the 
arniuaj  election,  who  should  hold  his  oi^ce  for  one  year,  and 
whose  duty  it  was  to  hold  two  terms  of  the  circuit  court  in 
each  county  every  year;  and  for  his  services  he  should  re- 
ceive an  annual  salary  of  $500,  and  also  legal  fees  for  pro- 
bate business.  By  the  same  act  the  legislative  power  was 
vested  in  a  house  of  representatives,  composed  of  members 
elected  annually  by  the  ]ieople. 

The  first  section  of  the  third  article  of  the  same  act  was 
as  follows : 

Section  1.  All  the  statute  laws  of  Iowa  Territory  passed 
at  the  first  session  of  the  legislative  assembly  of  said  Terri- 
tory, and  not  of  a  local  character,  and  not  incompatible  with 
the  condition  and  circumstances  of  this  country,  shall  be  the 
law  of  this  government,  unless  otherwise  modified;  and  the 
common  laAv  of  England  and  principles  of  equity,  not  modi- 
fied by  the  statutes  of  Iowa  or  of  this  government,  and  not 
incompatible  with  its  principles,  shall  constitute  a  part  of  the 
law  of  this  land. 

Article  V  was  in  these  words: 

Section  1.  All  officers  shall  be  elected  by  the  people  once  a 
year,  unless  otherwise  priwided,  at  a  general  election  to  be 
held  in  each  county  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  June  in  each  year, 
at  such  places  as  shall  be  designated  by  the  judge  of  the  cir- 
cuit court. 

Sec.  2.  As  many  justices  of  the  peace  and  constables  shall 
be  elected  from  time  to  tim-^  as  shall  be  deemed  necessary  by 
the  circuit  court  of  each  county. 

The  seventh  article  fixed  the  time  of  holding  the  terms  of 
the  circuit  courts  in  the  several  counties,  and  gave  the  judge 


166  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

the  powci-  to  (losiiiiiate  the  several  places  of  holding  said 
terms  by  giving  one  month's  notice  thereof. 

We  also  ])assed  on  June  24th  an  act  consisting  of  eight  sec- 
tions, pi-ohibiting  the  importation,  distillation,  sale,  and  bar- 
ter of  arch'Dt  spirits.  For  every  sale  or- barter  the  offender 
was  1()  pay  a  line  of  •1^20;  and  for  establishing  and  carrying  on 
a  distillery,  llic  offender  was  subject  to  be  indicted  before  the 
circuit  court  as  fo]'  a  nuisance,  and,  if  convicted,  to  a  fine  of 
$100;  and  it  was  made  the  duty  of  the  court  to  issue  an  order 
directing  the  sheriff'  to  seize  and  destroy  the  distilling  appa- 
ratus, which  order  the  sheriff'  was  bound  to  execute. 

On  June  22d  an  act  containing  26  sections  was  passed  con- 
cerning roads  and  highways.  On  December  24tli  an  act  was 
passed  allowing  the  voters  of  Oregon  at  the  annual  election 
of  1845  to  give  their  votes  for  or  against  the  call  of  a  con- 
vention. 

The  following  act  in  relation  to  Indians  was  passed  De- 
cember 23d: 

Whereas,  The  Indians  inhabiting  this  country  are  rapidly 
diminishing,  being  now  mere  remnants  of  once  powerful 
tribes,  now  disorganized,  without  government,  and  so  situated 
that  no  treaty  can  be  regularly  made  with  them: 

And  Whereas,  By  an  act  passed  in  July  1843,  this  govern- 
ment has  shown  its  humane  policy  to  protect  the  Indians  in 
their  rights ; 

And  Wliereas,  The  Indians  are  not  engaged  in  agriculture, 
and  have  no  use  for  or  right  to  any  tracts,  portions,  or  parcels 
of  land,  not  actually  occupied  or  used  by  them ;  therefore, 

Be  it  enaeied.  hy  the  legislative  committee  of  Oregon,  as 
follows  : 

Section  1.  That  the  Indians  shall  be  protected  in  the  free 
use  of  such  pieces  of  vacant  land  as  they  occupy  with  their 
villages  or  other  improvements,  and  such  fisheries  as  they 
have  heretofore  used. 

Sec.  2.  That  the  executive  power  be  required  to  see  that 
the  laws  in  regard  to  Indians  be  faithfully  executed;  and 
that  whenever  the  laws  shall  be  violated,  the  said  Executive 
shall  be  empowered  to  bring  suit  in  the  name  of  Oregon 
against  such  wrong-doer  in  the  courts  of  the  country. 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  167 

All  ad  was  passed  on  June  27th  fixing  the  luiiiiber  of  mem- 
bei's  of  the  next  House  of  Representatives  at  13,  and  appor- 
tioning the  rei)resentation  among  the  then  five  counties  of 
Oregon. 

All  necessary  loea)  hills  wei-e  passed,  and  onr  little  gov- 
ernment was  put  into  i)ra('tical  and  successful  operation. 
ITaviiig  adopted  the  geiKM-al  statutes  of  Iowa  and  the  common 
law,  we  had  a  provision  for  evei'v  case  likely  to  arise  in  so 
small  a  community. 

At  first  the  great  ditticulty  was  to  make  our  little  govern- 
ment efficient.  Our  people  lionestly  differed  very  much  in 
their  views  as  to  our  right  to  institute  government.  In  1843 
there  were  52  affit-mative  and  50  negative  votes.  There  were 
so  many  of  our  people  who  were  conscientiously  opposed  to 
the  organization  of  any  government  that  Ave  found  it  a  deli- 
cate matter  to  use  force  against  men  whose  motives  we  were 
sure  were  good.  Still,  government  had  to  be  practically  en- 
foi'ced. 

Joseph  L.  INIeek  was  selected  in  May  or  July,  1843,  for 
sheriff".  He  was  the  very  man  for  the  position.  He  was  both 
as  brave  and  as  magnanimous  as  the  lion.  Do  his  duty  he 
would,  peacefully  if  possible,  but  forcibly  if  he  nnist.  If  we 
had  selected  a  rash  or  timid  man  for  sheriff,  we  must  have 
failed  for  a  time.  To  be  a  government  at  all,  the  laws  must 
be  enforced. 

Meek  soon  had  his  courage  fully  tested.  A  stout  carpenter 
n.-imed  Dawson  was  engaged  in  a  fight  in  the  winter  of  1843- 
44.  and  a  warrant  was  at  once  issued  for  his  arrest,  and 
placed  in  ^Meek's  hands  to  be  executed.  Dawson  was  no 
doubt  of  opinion  that  we  had  no  right  to  organize  and  en- 
force our  government.  Meek  went  to  Dawson's  shop,  where 
lie  was  at  work  at  his  bench  with  his  jack-plane.  Meek  walked 
in,  and  said  laughingly,  "Dav\'son,  I  came  for  you."  Daw- 
son replied  that  Meek  had  come  for  the  wrong  man.  Meek, 
still  laughing,  said  again,  "I  came  for  you,"  and  was  about 
to  lay  his  hands  on  Dawson,  when  the  latter  drew  back  with 
his  jack-plane  raised  to  strike.     But  i\Ieek  was  nv)t  only  stout, 


168  Peter  fl.  Burnett. 

but  at'livc  and  ])i'ave;  and,  seizing  the  plane,  he  wrested  it  by 
force  from  Dawson.  Dawson  at  once  turned  around  and 
picked  up  his  l)road-axe;  but  at  the  moment  he  faced  Meek 
he  found  a  coclced  ])istol  at  his  breast.  Meek,  still  laughing, 
said:  "Dawson,  I  came  for  you.  Surrender  or  die!"  Very 
I'ew  men  will  jx'i'sist  luider  such  circumstances;  and  Dawson, 
though  as  brave  as  most  men,  began  to  cry,  threw  down  his 
broad-axe,  and  went  with  Meek  without  further  objection. 
Dawson  declared  that,  as  he  had  to  submit,  every  other  man 
nnist ;  and  he  was  no  longer  an  enemy  of  our  government. 

This  intrepid  performance  of  his  official  duty  so  established 
Meek's  character  for  true  courage  in  the  exercise  of  his  office 
that  he  had  little  or  no  trouble  in  the  future;  and  the  au- 
thority of  oiu'  little  government  was  thus  thoroughly  estab- 
lished. 

CONDITION  OF  THE  PEOPLE  —  HARDSHIPS  ENDURED  BY   THE  EARLY 

SETTLERS. 

We  were  a  small,  thinly  settled  community,  poor  and  iso- 
lated from  the  civilized  world.  By  the  time  we  reached  the 
distant  shores  of  the  Pacific,  after  a  slow,  wearisome  journey 
of  about  two  thousand  miles,  our  little  means  were  exhausted, 
and  we  had  to  begin  life  anew,  in  a  new  country.  The  wild 
game  in  Oregon  was  scarce  and  poor.  The  few  deer  that  are 
found  there  seldom  become  fat.  The  wild  fowls  are  plentiful 
in  the  winter,  but  they  constitute  an  uncertain  reliance  for 
families  settled  some  distance  from  their  usual  places  of  re- 
sort. Besides,  we  had  no  time  to  hunt  them,  and  the  weather 
was  generally  too  wet  to  admit  of  it.  Had  the  country  con- 
tained the  same  amount  and  variety  of  wild  game,  wild  fruits, 
and  honey  as  were  found  in  the  Western  States  at  an  early 
day,  our  condition  would  have  been  better.  But  the  only 
v/ild  fruits  we  found  were  a  variety  of  berries,  such  as  black- 
berries, raspberries,  strawberries,  blueberries,  and  cranber- 
ries, which  were  not  only  abundant,  but  of  excellent  quality. 
We  only  found  one  nut  in  the  country,  and  that  was  the 
hazelnut  in  small  quantities.  There  were  no  wild  grapes  or 
plums,  and  no  honey. 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  169 

For  the  first  two  years  after  our  arrival  the  great  difficulty 
was  to  procure  provisions.  The  population  being  so  much 
increased  by  each  succeeding  fall's  immigration,  provisions 
were  necessarily  scarce.  Those  who  had  been  there  for  two 
yeare  had  plenty  to  eat ;  but  after  that  the  great  trouble  was 
to  procure  clothing,  there  being  no  raw  materials  in  the  coun- 
try from  which  domestic  manufacture  could  be  made.  We 
had  no  wool,  cotton  or  flax. 

But,  after  we  had  grown  wheat  and  raised  pork  for  sale, 
we  had  new  difficulties  in  oui"  way.  Oiu-  friends  were  ar- 
riving each  fall,  with  jaded  teams,  just  about  the  time  the 
long  rainy  season  set  in.  The  conmiunity  was  divided  into 
two  classes,  old  settlers,  and  new,  whose  views  and  interests 
clashed  very  much.  ^lany  of  the  new  immigTants  were  child- 
ish; most  of  them  discoiu'aged.  and  all  of  them  more  or  less 
embarrassed.  Upon  their  arrival  they  found  that  those  of 
us  who  preceded  them  had  taken  up  the  choice  locations,  and 
they  were  compelled  either  to  take  those  that  were  inferiol' 
in  quality  or  go  farther  from  ship  navigation. 

There  was  necessarily,  under  the  circiuustances,  a  great 
hurry  to  select  claims;  and  the  newcomers  had  to  travel  over 
the  country,  in  the  rainy  season,  in  search  of  homes.  Their 
animals  being  poor,  they  found  it  difficult  to  get  along  as 
fast  as  they  desired.  Many  causes  combined  to  make  them 
unhappy  for  the  time  being.  The  long  rainy  seasons  were 
new  to  them,  and  they  preferred  the  snow  and  frozen  ground 
to  the  rain  and  mud.  There  were  no  hotels  in  the  country, 
as  there  was  nothing  wherewith  to  pay  the  bills.  The  old 
settlei's  had  necessarily  to  throw  open  their  doors  to  the  new 
immigrants,  and  entertain  them  free  of  charge.  Our  houses 
were  small  log  cabins,  and  our  bedding  was  scarce.  The 
usual  mode  of  travel  was  for  each  one  to  carrj^  his  blankets 
with  him,  and  sleep  upon  the  puncheon  floor.  Our  families 
were  often  overworked  in  waiting  upon  others,  and  our  pro- 
visions vanished  before  the  keen  appetites  of  our  new  guests. 
"They  bi-ed  a  famine  wherever  they  went." 

As  illustrative  of  the  then  condition  of  things,  I  will  relate 


170  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

an  incident  Avliich  I  had  from  good  authority.  An  old  ac- 
quaintance of  mine,  whom  I  had  known  in  Missouri,  came  to 
Oregon  in  1844,  and  selected  a  claim  on  the  outskirts  of  the 
settlements.  He  was  a  man  of  fair  means  and  had  a  large 
family.  His  place  was  upon  the  mainly  traveled  route  which 
led  to  the  valleys  above  and  beyond  him.  The  consequence 
was  that  he  was  overwhelmed  with  company.  He  had  to 
travel  many  miles  to  secure  his  supplies,  and  had  to  trans- 
port them,  especially  in  winter,  upon  pack-animals.  He  was 
a  man  of  very  hospitable  disposition,  but  the  burden  was  so 
great  that  he  concluded  he  could  not  bear  it.  The  travelers 
would  eat  him  out  of  house  and  home.  He  determined,  un- 
der the  severe  pressure  of  these  circumstances,  to  put  up  a  ho- 
tel sign.  He  went  into  the  woods,  cut  down  a  tree,  split  out 
a  slab  some  two  feet  long  and  one  wide,  shaved  it  off  smooth 
on  both  sides  with  his  drawing-lniife,  and  wrote  upon  it  with 
charcoal,  "Entertainment,"  and  swung  it  upon  a  pole  be- 
fore his  door.  The  result  was  that  travelers  passed  by  with- 
out stoj^ping.  as  they  had  naught  wherewith  to  pay,  and  were 
too  honest  to  pretend  to  be  able.  IMy  friend  said  that  for  two 
months  he  had  the  greatest  relief.  His  stock  of  provisions 
lasted  nuich  longer,  and  he  was  quite  easy  in  his  circum- 
stances. But  at  the  end  of  the  two  months  he  began  to  be 
lonesome ;  and  by  the  time  the  third  month  had  passed  he  be- 
came so  lonely  that  he  took  down  the  sign,  and  after  that  he 
had  plenty  of  company, 

(^ur  new  immigrants  not  only  grumbled  much  about  the  coun- 
try and  climate  in  general,  but  had  also  much  to  say  against 
those  of  us  who  had  written  back  to  our  friends,  giving  them 
a  description  of  the  country.  In  the  winter  of  1848-44  I  had, 
while  at  Linnton,  written  S(mie  hundred  and  twenty-five  fools- 
cap pages  of  manuscript,  giving  a  description  of  the  journey 
and  of  the  country  along  the  route,  as  well  as  of  Oregon.  I 
had  stated  the  exact  truth,  to  the  best  cif  my  knowledge,  infor- 
mation, and  belief;  and  my  connuunications  were  published 
in    the    Neiv    York    JI<'i-(ild,    and    were    extensively    read,    es- 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  171 

peciallj'  in  the  Western  States.*  I,  therefore,  came  in  for  mj' 
full  share  of  censure.     They  accused  me  of  misrepresentation. 

In  a  letter  I  wrote  on  the  Sweetwater,  a  tributary  of  the 
North  Fork  of  the  Platte,  I  stated  that,  up  to  that  point,  the 
road  we  had  ti-aveled  was  the  finest  natural  route,  perhaps, 
in  the  world.  With  out  any  regard  to  the  place  from  which 
the  l(4ter  bore  date,  they  construed  it  as  a  description  of  the 
oil  tire  route.  Consequently,  whenever  they  came  to  any  very 
bad  road,  they  would  most  commonly  say,  "this  is  more  of 
Burnett's  fine  road." 

In  my  conmnmications  published  in  the  Herald,  I  gave 
as  much  statistical  information  as  I  could  well  do,  giving  the 
prices  of  most  kinds  of  personal  property;  and,  among  other 
articles  mentioned,  I  stated  that  feathers  were  worth  37  1-2 
cents  a  pound.  Two  or  three  years  afterward,  the  demand 
having  increased  faster  than  the  supply,  the  price  went  up 
to  (32  1-2  cents.  I  was  therefore  accused  of  misrepresentation 
in  this  case.  They  would  say:  "Now,  Burnett,  here  is  a 
plain  case.  You  said  feathers  were  worth  37  1-2  cents,  and 
we  find  them  worth  62  1-2  cents."  I  would  answer:  "That 
seems  to  be  too  plain  a  case  even  for  a  lawyer  to  get  around; 
yet,  I  have  this  to  say,  that  I  did  not  assume  to  act  the 
prophet,  but  only  the  historian.  I  told  you  what  the  price 
was  then,  and  not  what  it  would  be  two  or  three  ye-Avs  later." 

I  remember  that  on  one  occasion,  in  passing  a  house  late  in 
the  fall,  I  saw  that  a  new  innnigrant  family  occupied  it,  from 
the  fact  that  it  had  previously  stood  vacant;  and  I  deter- 
mined to  call.  The  lady  told  me  the  name  of  the  State  from 
which  they  came,  gave  me  other  particulars  in  regard  to  the 
family,  and  asked  me  how  long  I  had  been  in  the  country. 
Finally  she  inquired  for  my  name;  and,  when  I  told  her  it 
was  Bui-nett,  she  said:  "AVe  abused  you  a  great  deal  on  the 
I'oad.  I  suppose  we  ought  not  to  have  done  it,  but  we  did 
do  it."  I  could  not  but  laugh,  there  was  such  perfect  frank- 
ness in  her  statement.     It  was  the  whole  truth  and  no  more. 


♦These  letters  are  reprinted  in  tlie  December  Quarterly,  1902,  (Vol.  Ill,  No.  4. 


172  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

I  said  to  her :  ' '  Madam,  that  makes  no  difference.  On  a  trip 
like  that  some  one  must  be  abused,  and  it  is  well  to  be  some 
one  who  is  not  present." 

I  made  it  a  rule  never  to  become  irritated,  and  never  to 
enter  into  any  heated  discussion  with  them  in  reference  to 
the  country  or  the  journey  to  it.  My  usual  plan  was  to  listen 
kindly  to  their  complaints.  They  often  declared  that  the 
count ly  was  so  poor  they  would  return  to  their  former  homes. 
In  such  cases  I  would  good  humoredly  reply  that  "misery 
loved  company;  that  we  found  ourselves  in  a  bad  fix.  and 
wanted  our  friends  to  come  here  to  comfort  us ;  that,  as  to 
their  going  back,  it  was  out  of  the  question ;  that,  if  the  coun- 
try was  as  poor  as  they  supposed,  they  would  never  be  able 
to  get  back;  and,  if  it  was  not  so  bad  as  they  believed,  they 
would  not  wish  to  return ;  and  that,  anyhow,  we  had  them 
just  where  we  wanted  them  to  be,  and  they  had  better  make 
up  their  minds  to  stand  it." 

At  any  public  gathering  it  was  easy  to  distinguish  the  new 
from  the  old  settlers. 

Tbey  were  lank,  lean,  hungry,  and  tough  ; 
We  Avere  ruddy,  ragged,  and  rough. 

They  were  dressed  in  broadcloth,  and  wore  linen-bosomed 
shirts  and  black  cravats,  while  we  wore  very  coarse,  patched 
clothes ;  for  the  art  of  patching  was  understood  to  perfec- 
tion in  Oregon.  But,  while  they  dressed  better  than  we  did, 
we  fed  better  than  they.  Of  the  two,  we  were  rather  the 
more  independent.  They  wanted  our  provisions,  while  we 
wanted  their  materials  for  clothing.  They,  seeing  our  rag- 
ged condition,  concluded  that  if  they  parted  with  their  jeans, 
satinets,  cottons,  and  calicoes,  they  would  soon  be  as  destitute 
as  we  were ;  and  therefore  they  desired  to  purchase  our  pro- 
visions on  credit,  and  keep  their  inatei'ials  for  future  use. 
This  plan  did  not  suit  us  precisely.  We  reasoned  in  this  way, 
that  if  they  wished  to  place  themselves  in  our  ruddy  condi- 
tion, they  should  incur  the  risk  of  passing  into  our  ragged 
state— they  slu)uld  take  the  good  and  bad  together.  We 
therefoj-e  insisted  upon  an  exchange.     After  much  grumbling 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  173 

on  their  part,  the  parties  ultimately  came  to  an  agreement. 
Bnt  in  many  cases  the  new  immigrants  had  nothing  to  give 
in  exchange,  and  we  had  to  sell  to  them  on  credit. 

I  remember  that  a  new  immigrant  purchased  a  place  in  my 
neighborhood  one  fall,  and  in  the  succeeding  month  of  June 
came  to  my  house  and  asked  if  I  had  any  wheat  in  my  gar- 
ner. I  told  him  I  had.  but  I  was  compelled  to  purchase  some 
clothing  for  my  family,  and  my  wheat  was  the  only  thing  I 
had  with  which  I  could  pay  for  the  articles  we  required; 
Ihat  I  could  not  see  how  we  could  do  without,  or  how  else  to 
obtain  them.  He  said  his  wife  and  children  were  without 
anything  to  eat,  and  that  he  had  a  good  growing  crop,  and 
would  give  me  three  bushels  after  harvest  for  eveiy  bushel  I 
would  let  him  have  now.  I  could  not  withstand  such  an  ap- 
peal, and  said  I  would  furnish  him  with  the  wheat,  and  would 
only  require  the  same  quantity  after  harvest. 

But  the  state  of  discontent  on  the  part  of  the  new  immi- 
grants was  temporary,  and  only  lasted  during  the  winter. 
In  the  spring,  when  the  thick  clouds  cleared  away,  and  the 
grass  and  flowers  sprang  up  beneath  the  kindling  rays  of  a 
l)right  Oregon  sun,  their  spirits  revived  with  reviving  nature ; 
by  the  succeeding  fall  they  had  themselves  become  old  set- 
tlers, and  formed  a  part  of  us,  their  views  and  feelings  in  the 
iiu^aiitime  having  undergone  a  total  change. 

It  was  interesting  to  observe  the  influence  of  new  circum- 
stances upon  human  character.  Among  the  men  who  went 
to  Oregon  the  year  I  did,  some  were  idle,  worthless  young 
men,  too  lazy  to  work  at  homCj  and  too  genteel  to  steal ;  while 
some  others  were  gamblers,  and  others  were  reputed  thieves. 
F>ut  when  they  arrived  in  Oregon  they  were  compelled  to 
Wdi-k  or  starve.  It  was  a  dire  necessity.  There  were  thei'c 
11(1  al)Ie  I'elatives  or  indulgent  friends  upon  whom  the  idl<! 
could  quarter  themselves,  and  there  was  little  or  nothing  for 
the  rogues  to  steal ;  and,  if  they  could  steal,  there  was  no 
i-eady  way  by  which  they  could  escape  into  another  connnu- 
nity,  and  they  could  not  conceal  themselves  in  Oregon.  1 
never  saw  so  fine  a  population,  as  a  whole  community,  as  I 


174  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

saw  in  Oregon  must  of  the  time  I  was  there.  They  were  all 
honest,  because  there  was  nothing  to  steal;  they  were  all 
sober,  because  there  was  no  licjuor  to  drink;  there  were  no 
misers,  because  there  was  no  money  to  hoard,  and  they  were 
all  industrious,  because  it  was  work  or  starve. 

In  a  community  so  poor,  isolated,  and  distant,  we  had  each 
one  to  depend  upon  his  own  individual  skill  and  labor  to 
make  a  living.  My  profession  was  that  of  the  law,  but  there 
was  nothing  in  my  line  worth  attending  to  until  some  time 
after  my  arrival  in  Oregon.  I  was  therefore  compelled  to 
become  a  farmer.  But  I  had  not  only  to  learn  how  to  carry 
on  a  farm  by  my  own  labor,  but  I  had  to  learn  how  to  do 
many  other  necessary  things  that  were  difficult  to  do.  It  was 
most  ditficult  to  procure  shoes  for  myself  and  family.  The 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  imported  its  supply  of  shoes  from 
England,  but  the  stock  was  wholly  inadecpiate  to  our  Avants, 
and  we  had  no  money  to  enable  us  to  pay  for  them ;  and  as 
yet  there  were  no  tan-yards  in  operation.  One  was  com- 
menced in -my  neighborhood  in  1844,  but  the  fall  supply  of 
leather  was  only  tanned  on  the  outside,  leaving  a  raw  streak 
in  the  center.  It  was  undressed,  not  even  curried.  Out  of 
this  material  I  made  shoes  for  myself,  my  eldest  son,  and  a 
yoiuig  hired  man  who  was  then  living  with  me.  To  keep 
the  shoes  soft  enough  to  wear  through  the  day,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  soak  them  in  water  at  night. 

My  father,  in  the  early  settlement  of  Missouri,  was  accus- 
tomed to  tan  his  own  leather,  and  make  the  shoes  for  the 
family.  In  my  younger  days  he  had  taught  me  how  to  do 
coarse  sewed  work.  But  now  I  had  to  take  the  measures  of 
the  foot,  make  the  last,  fit  the  patterns  to  the  last,  cut  out  the 
leathers,  and  make  the  shoes.  I  had  no  last  to  copy  from, 
never  made  one  before,  and  had  no  one  to  show  me  how.  I 
took  the  measures  of  all  the  family,  and  made  what  I  sup- 
])(ised  to  be  eight  very  nice  lasts  and  upon  thehi  I  made  the 
shoes,  using  tanned  deer-skin  for  the  females  and  small  boys, 
'^riie  shoes  were  not  beautiful,  nor  all  comfoi'table,  as  th(>y 
were  not  all  good  fits. 


JvEOOLLIOCTIONS    OF    AN    OlD    PiONEER.  175 

In  the  fall  of  1846  my  brother,  William,  came  to  Oregon, 
and  afterwards  lived  with  me  about  nine  months.  He  was  a 
good  mechanical  genius,  and  could  do  well  almost  any  kind  of 
work.  He  could  make  a  splendid  last  and  a  good  boot.  One 
day  I  showed  him  my  lasts.  He  was  too  generous  to  wound 
the  feelings  of  his  elder  brother  by  criticising  his  poor  work. 
He  said  not  a  word,  but  in  a  few  days  thereafter  he  made  a 
pair  of  right  and  left  lasts  for  himself.  I  observed  how  he 
did  it,  and  the  moment  the  first  last  was  about  finished  I  saw 
that  mine  were  very  poor.  They  were  almost  flat,  scarcely 
turning  up  at  the  toe  at  all.  I  quietly  took  my  lasts  and 
east  them  into  the  fire,  and  then  set  to  work  and  made  an 
entire  new  set;  and  I  never  gave  up  the  attempt  until  I  suc- 
ceeded in  making  not  only  a  good  last,  but  a  good  shoe. 

In  the  course  of  about  two  years  we  had  other  tan-yards  in 
successful  operation,  where  we  could  have  hides  tanned  on 
shares.  I  had  in  the  meantime  made  a  trade  for  a  small  herd 
of  cattle;  and  after  this  I  had  an  ample  supply  of  good 
leather,  and  upon  that  i)(unt  I  was  at  ease. 

The  greatest  difficidty  I  had  to  encounter  for  the  want  of 
shoes  was  in  1844.  I  had  sown  some  three  acres  of  wheat 
about  the  first  of  May,  and  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  en- 
close it  by  the  first  of  June  to  make  a  crop.  I  did  not  com- 
mence plowing  until  about  the  20th  of  April.  My  team  was 
I'aw,  and  so  was  I,  and  it  required  several  days'  trial  to  en- 
al)le  us  to  do  good  work.  While  I  was  engaged  in  making  and 
hauling  rails  to  fence  in  my  wheat,  my  old  boots  gave  out  en- 
tirely, and  I  had  no  time  to  look  for  a  substitute.  I  was  worse 
ofi"  than  I  was  when  Avithout  a  hat  in  Bolivar,  Tennessee. 

I  was  determined  to  save  my  wheat  at  any  sacrifice,  and  I 
therefore  went  barefoot.  During  the  first  week  my  feet  were 
very  sore;  but  after  that  there  came  a  shield  over  them,  so 
that  I  could  work  with  great  ease,  and  go  almost  anywhei-e 
except  aiiumg  thorns. 

But  we  had  another  trouble  on  our  hands.  By  permission 
of  a  neighl)or  of  ours,  a  sincere  niinistei',  we  were  allowed  to 
occupy  temporarily   the  log  cabin   then   used   for  a   church. 


176  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

upon  condition  that  I  would  permit  him  to  have  services 
there  every  Sunday.  Our  minister  was  always  regular  in 
his  attendance,  and  the  congregation  consisted  of  about  thirty 
persons.  I  could  not  well  absent  myself  from  church,  as  it 
was  my  duty  to  attend.  I  therefore  quietly  took  my  seat  in 
one  corner  of  the  building,  where  my  bare  feet  would  not  be 
much  noticed.  The  congregation  collected,  and  the  services 
went  on  as  usual,  with  the  addition  of  some  church  business, 
which  happened  to  come  up  on  that  occasion.  The  sea- 
breeze  set  in  early  that  day,  and  before  the  church  business 
was  finished  it  became  quite  cool.  Our  minister  was  a  thin, 
spare  man,  very  sensitive  to  cold,  and  requested  me  to  make 
a  fire  in  the  stove.  I  did  not  hesitate  a  moment,  but  went 
through  the  congregation  and  made  the  fire.  They  wore 
moccasins,  and  stared  at  my  bare  feet  as  I  passed. 

There  was  no  money  in  the  country,  and  the  usual  cur- 
rency consisted  in  orders  for  merchandise  upon  the  stores, 
or  wheat  delivered  at  specified  points.  Our  community  had 
an  ample  opportunity  to  practically  learn  the  value  of  a 
sound  circulating  medium.  No  one  who  has  not  had  the 
]iractical  experience  can  fully  appreciate  the  true  importance" 
of  such  a  medium  as  a  great  labor-saving  device. 

A  savage  people,  who  have  little  or  no  property  to  sell, 
and  very  few  wants  to  gratify,  may  get  along  with  a  system 
of  barter.  An  Indian  generally  has  nothing  to  sell  but  furs 
and  peltries,  and  wants  nothing  in  return  but  arms,  ammu- 
nition, blankets,  tobacco,  beads,  and  paint.  All  he  wants  he 
can  find  at  one  place,  and  all  he  has  to  dispose  of  he  can 
readily  bring  to  the  same  place.  But  the  property  of  a  civi- 
lized race  of  men  is  so  various  in  kind,  so  large  in  amount, 
and  the  ownership  and  possession  change  so  often,  that  a  good 
circulating  medium  is  a  very  great,  if  not  an  absolute,  neces- 
sity. For  example,  a  farmer  may  have  a  pair  of  oxen  for 
sale,  and  may  want  a  pair  of  plow-horses.  In  ease  there  be 
no  circulating  medium,  he  will  have  great  difficulty  in  making 
an  exchange.  He  may  find  a  number  of  persons  who  have 
plow-horses  for  sale,  but   none  of  them   may  want  his  oxen. 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  177 

But  should  he,  after  much  inquiry  and  loss  of  time  and 
labor,  succeed  in  finding  some  one  who  has  a  pair  of  plow- 
hoi-ses  to  exchange  for  a  pair  of  oxen,  most  likely  there  will 
be  a  difference  in  value;  and  how  shall  this  ditt'erence  be  ad- 
justed? 

In  the  course  of  my  pradicc  as  a  hiwycr,  1  had  received 
orders  upon  an  American  merchant  at  Oregon  Oity  until  the 
amount  to  my  credit  upon  his  books  was  $49.  I  called  upon 
him  to  take  up  the  amount  in  goods ;  and  he  said  to  me : 
"•Judge,  my  stack  is  now  very  low,  and  I  would  suggest  to 
you  to  wait  until  my  new  goods  shall  arrive  from  Honolulu. 
I  am  going  there  to  purchase  a  new  supply,  and  will  return 
as  soon  as  I  can."     I  readily  assented  to  this  suggestion. 

After  waiting  about  three  months  I  heard  he  had  returned 
with  his  new  stock;  and  ]\Irs.  Burnett  and  myself  set  about 
making  out  a  memorandum  of  what  we  wanted.  But  the 
great  difficulty  was  to  bring  our  wants  within  our  means. 
After  several  trials  we  made  up  our  memorandum,  consisting 
mostly  of  drygoods,.  and  only  six  pounds  of  sugar.  I  went 
to  Oregon  City,  and  at  once  called  upon  the  merchant.  I 
asked  him  if  he  had  any  satinets?  None.  Any  jeans? 
None.  Any  calico?  None.  Any  brown  cotton?  None.  I  then 
asked  what  he  had.  He  said  tools  of  various  kinds,  such  as 
carpenters'  implements,  and  others.  He  said  he  feared  I 
would  think  the  prices  high,  as  he  had  to  pay  high  prices,  and 
must  make  a  little  profit  upon  his  purchases.  This  statement 
was  no  doubt  true.  He  had  purchased  in  a  market  where  the 
stocks  were  limited  and  the  prices  high. 

I  then  made  a  selection  of  several  implements  that  I  had  not 
on  my  memorandum,  which  amounted  in  all  to  about  thirteen 
dollars,  and  found  the  prices  more  than  double  those  at  Van- 
couver. I  became  tired  of  paying  such  prices  for  articles  I 
could  do  without  for  the  time,  and  inquired  if  he  had  any 
brown  sugar,  and  at  what  price.  He  said  plenty,  at  12  1-2 
cents  a  pound.  This  was  the  usual  price,  and  I  replied  at 
once  that  I  would  take  the  balance  in  sugar.  I  went  home 
knowing  that  we  had  sugar  enough  to  last  for  a  long  time, 


178  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

and  Dial  wc  (Muild  use  Oregon  tea.  Tliere  grows  among  tlie 
fir  timber  of  that  country  a  suutU  aromatic  vine  vvliich  makes 
a  very  pleasant  tea,  about  as  good  as  the  tea  made  from  the 
sassafrass  root  in  the  Western  States. 

On  aiiollier  occasion,  AvhiU'  T  was  judge  of  the  supreme 
couii,  a  \(iuug  hired  man,  my  son  Dwight,  and  myself  had  on 
our  last  wiu'king-shirts.  Tt  was  in  harvest  time,  and  where 
or  how  to  procure  others  I  could  not  tell.  Still  I  was  so 
accustomed  to  these  things  that  I  was  not  much  perjolexed. 
Within  a  day  or  two  a  young  man  of  my  acquaintance  w^'ote 
me  that  he  desired  me  to  unite  him  in  marriage  Avith  a 
young  lady  whose  name  he  stated.  I  married  them,  and  he 
gave  me  an  order  on  a  store  for  $5,  with  which  I  purchased 
some  blue  twilled  cotton  (the  best  I  could  get),  out  of  which 
my  Avife  made  us  each  a  shirt.  The  material  wore  well ;  but, 
having  been  colored  with  log-wood,  the  shirts,  until  the  color 
faded  from  them,  left  our  skins  quite  blue. 

I  never  felt  more  independent  than  I  did  on  one  occasion, 
in  the  fall  of  1847.  In  the  streets  of  Oregon  City  I  met  a 
young  man  with  a  new  and  substantial  leather  hunting  shirt, 
brought  from  the  Rocky  ]\,Iountains,  where  it  had  been  pur- 
chased from  the  Indians.  I  said  to  him,  "Avhat  will  you  take 
for  your  leather  hunting  shirt?"  He  replied,  "seven  bushels 
of  wheat."  I  said  at  once,  "I  will  take  it."  I  measured  out 
the  grain  and  took  the  article.  I  knew  it  would  last  me  for 
several  years.  I  found  it  a  most  excellent  article  of  dress  in 
clear  weather  for  rough  work.  I  wore  it  to  the  California 
gold  mines  in  the  fall  of  1848,  and  after  my  arrival  there 
during  most  of  the  winter  of  1848-49.  A  nephew  of  mine 
took  it  with  him  to  the  mines  in  the  spring  of  1849,  and  it 
was  lost  to  me.  I  regretted  this  loss,  because  I  desired  to  pre- 
serve it  as  a  memento  of  old  times.  It  was  made  of  the  best 
dressed  buckskin,  •  with  the  flesh  side  out,  to  which  the  dust 
would  not  adhere;  and  it  was  easily  kept  neat  and  clean  for 
that  reason. 

For  the  first  two  yeai's  after  our  arrival  in  Oregon  Ave  were 
frequently  Avithout  meat  for  weeks  at  a  time,  and  sometimes 


Recollections  ok  an   Old  Pioneer.  179 

without  bread,  and  occasionally  witliout  both  bread  and  meat 
at  tlie  same  time.  On  these  oceasions  if  we  had  milk,  butter, 
and  potatoes,  we  were  well  content. 

I  remember  on  one  occasion  that  several  <ientlemen  from 
Oreiion  City  called  at  my  house  in  the  Plains,  and  we  had  no 
bi-ead.  I  felt  pained  on  my  wife's  account,  as  T  supposed 
slu^  would  be  lii-eatly  mortified.  But  she  put  on  a  cheerful 
smile  and  s>ave  them  the  best  dinner  she  could.  Oregon  was 
a  fine  place  for  rearing  domestic  fowls,  and  we  kept  oui- 
chickens  as  a  sort  or  reserve  fund  for  emergencies.  We  had 
chicken,  milk,  butter,  and  potatoes,  for  dinner;  and  our 
friends  were  well  peased,  and  laughed  over  the  fact  of  our 
iiaving  no  bread. 

In  JMay,  1845.  we  were  entii-ely  without  anything  in  the 
house  for  dinner.  I  did  not  know  what  to  do,  when  my  wife 
suggested  a  remedy.  The  year  before  we  had  cultivated  a 
small  patch  of  potatoes,  and  in  digging  had  left  some  in  the 
ground,  which  had  sprung  up  among  the  young  wheat.  We 
dug  a  mess  of  these  potatoes,  which  sufficed  us  for  a  meal, 
though  not  very  good.  That  year  I  sowed  about  one  acre  in 
turnips,  which  grew  to  a  large  size.  The  vegetables  most 
easily  grown  in  new  countries  are  lettuce,  turnips,  potatoes, 
and  squashes. 

The  country  improved  rapidly  in  proportion  to  our  popu- 
lation. The  means  of  education  were  generally  limited  to 
ordinary  schools.  In  the  course  of  three  or  four  years  after 
my  arrival  in  Oregon,  our  people  had  so  improved  their  places 
that  we  were  quite  comfortable.  There  was  no  aristocracy 
of  wealth,  and  very  little  vice.  I  do  not  think  I  ever  saw  a 
more  happy  community.  We  had  all  passed  through  trials 
that  had  tested  and  established  our  patience;  and  our  condi- 
tion then  was  so  much  better  than  that  of  the  past  that  we 
had  good  cause  for  our  content.  Few  persons  could  be  found 
to  complain  of  Oregon. 
become  catholic— my  general  rule  as  to  charges  ac^ainst  me. 

In  the  fall  of  1844  a  Baptist  preacher  settled  in  my  iiume- 
diate   neighborhood  who  had   the   published  debate   between 


180  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

Campbell  and  Pureell;  and,  as  the  Catholic  (juestion  was 
often  mentioned,  and  as  I  knew  so  little  about  it, 
1  borrowed  and  read  the  book.  I  had  the  utmost 
confidence  in  the  capacity  of  Mr.  Campbell  as  a  debater;  but, 
while  the  attentive  readinu'  of  the  debate  did  not  convince 
me  of  the  entire  truth  of  the  (^atholic  theory,  I  was  gTcatly 
astonished  to  find  that  so  much  could  be  said  in  its  support. 
On  many  points,  and  those  of  s^reat  importance,  it  was  clear 
to  my  mind  that  Mr.  Campbell  had  been  overthrown.  Still, 
tliere  were  many  objections  to  the  Catholic  Church,  either 
not  noticed  by  the  Bishop,  or  not  satisfactorily  answered ; 
and  I  rose  from  the  readinp;  of  that  discussion  still  a  Prot- 
estant. 

But  my  thoughts  continually  recurred  to  the  main  positions 
and  arguments  on  both  sides,  and,  the  more  I  reflected  upon 
the  fundamental  positions  of  the  Bishop,  the  more  force  and 
power  I  found  them  to  possess.  My  own  reflections  often 
afforded  me  answers  to  difficulties  that  at  first  seemed  insur- 
mountable, until  the  question  arose  in  my  mind  whether  Mr. 
Campbell  had  done  full  justice  to  his  side  of  the  question. 
Many  of  his  positions  seemed  so  extreme  and  ill-founded  that 
I  could  not  sanction  them.  All  the  prejudices  I  had,  if  any, 
were  in  his  favor;  but  I  knew  that  it  Avas  worse  than  idle  to 
indulge  prejudices  when  investigating  any  subject  w^hatever. 
I  w'as  determined  to  be  true  to  myself,  and  this  could  only  be 
in  finding  the  exact  truth,  and  following  it  when  known. 

My  mind  was  therefore  left  in  a  state  of  restless  uncer- 
tainty; and  I  determined  to  examine  the  question  between 
Catholic  and  Protestants  thoroughly,  so  far  as  my  limited 
opportunities  and  poor  abilities  would  permit.  In  the  prose- 
cution of  this  design.  I  procured  all  the  works  on  both  sides 
within  my  reach,  and  examined  them  alternately  side  by  side. 
This  investigation  occupied  all  my  spare  time  for  about 
eighteen  months. 

After  an  impartial  and  calm  investigation,  I  became  fully 
convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  Catholic  theory,  and  went  to 
Oregon  City  in  June,  1846,  to  join  the  old  church  there.  There 


RErOLLECTIONS    OF    AN    OlD    PiOXEER.  181 

1  found  the  heroic  and  saintly  Father  De  Vos,  who  had  spent 
one  or  more  years  aniono'  the  Flathead  Indians.  He  re- 
eeived  nie  into  the  church.  The  reasons  for  this  change  are 
set  forth  substantially  in  my  work'  entitled  "The  Path  AVhich 
Led  a  Protestant  Lawyer  to  the  Catholic  Church,"  fi^om  the 
preface  to  which  the  foreuoing-  statement  is  taken. 

I  was  the  only  Catholic  amon^-  my  inimerous  living  rela- 
tives. None  of  my  ancestors  on  either  my  paternal  or  mater- 
nal side  had  been  Catholics,  so  far  as  I  knew.  All  my  per- 
sonal friends  were  either  Protestants  or  non-professors,  ex- 
cept four:  Dr.  McLoughlin,  Dr.  Long,  and  ]\Ir.  Pomeroy,  of 
Oregon,  and  Graham  L.  Hughes,  of  St.  Louis.  Nine- 
tenths  of  the  people  of  Oregon  were  at  that  time  op- 
posed to  my  religion.  Nearly  all  the  Catholics  of  Oregon 
were  Canadian-French,  in  very  humble  circumstances,  many 
of  them  being  hired,  menial  servants  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company.  I  had  no  reason  for  the  change  from  a  popular 
to  an  unpopular  religion  but  the  simple  love  of  truth;  and, 
as  I  have  so  long  borne  whatever  of  censure  may  have  been 
heaped  upon  me  in  consequence  of  this  change.  I  think  I  can 
aft'ord  to  die  in  the  Old  Church. 

When  I  was  a  young  man  I  was  often  nuich  concerned  as 
to  what  others  might  think  of  me;  and  at  times  I  was  deeply 
l)ained  by  what  others  did  say  of  me.  Li  due  time,  however, 
and  after  full  consideration  and  more  experience.  I  came  to 
this  tinal  conclusion,  that  it  was  my  duty  to  do  what  was 
right  in  itself,  and  to  avoid  so  far  as  I  could  even  the  appcur- 
(i)icc  of  evil ;  and  then,  if  othei'S  wrongfully  blamed  me,  it 
would  l)e  their  fault,  not  mine.  I  saw  I  could  control  my- 
self, and  was  therefore  responsible  for  my  own  conduct,  but 
I  could  not  control  others,  and  was  not  responsible  for  their 
actions,  so  long  as  I  did  right  myself,  and  avoided  all  appear- 
ance of  evil.  If  I  should  make  myself  unhappy  because  other 
people  erred  in  their  judgment  of  me.  then  my  happiness 
would  l)e  within  their  power  and  in  their  keeping.  I  thought 
it  my  duty  to  keep  my  happiness  under  my  own  control  so 
far  as  I  could.     I  had  confidence  in  the  good  sense  and  justice 


1S2  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

uf  good  men,  and  was  perfectly  willing  to  await  their  ulti- 
mate decision.  When  I  knew  I  was  in  the  right,  I  was  able 
and  prepared  to  bear  the  censure  even  of  the  wise  and  good; 
but  I  "did  not  hanker  after  it." 

I  never  would  engage  in  newspaper  controvei^sies  or  per- 
sonal S(iuabbles.  If  I  was  unjustly  censured,  I  paid  no  atten- 
tion to  it,  and  gave  myself  no  trouble  about  it.  In  this  way 
I  have  mainly  led  a  life  of  peace  with  my  fellow  men.  I  have 
very  rarely  had  the  sincerity  of  my  motives  called  in  ques- 
tion. The  general  course  of  the  press  toward  me  has  been 
impartial  and  just. 

I  have  never  claimed  to  be  a  lihcral  man,  as  many  people 
construe  that  almost  indefinable  term;  but  I  have  scrupulously 
sought  to  be  just  to  all  men.  The  character  of  a  just  man  is 
enough  for  me.  I  esteem  and  reasonably  desire  the  approba- 
tion of  good  men ;  but  I  love  the  right  more.  I  can  do  with- 
out the  first,  but  not  the  last. 

But  I  must  depart  from  my  usual  course  to  notice  certain 
charges  against  me  by  W.  H.  Gray,  in  his  "History  of  Ore- 
gon." My  nephew,  George  H.  Burnett,  Esq.,  of  Salem,  Ore- 
gon, was  a  guest  at  my  house  in  San  Francisco  in  January, 
1878,  and  mentioned  to  me  the  fact  that  such  charges  had 
been  made.  I  had  never  seen  the  work  at  that  time.  In  May, 
1878,  I  procured  and  read  the  book.  I  notice  these  charges 
because  they  are  in  the  form  of  Jiistoncal  facts  or  opinions. 
Had  Mr.  Gray  made  these  charges  verbally,  or  m  a  newspa- 
per article,  I  should  never  have  noticed  them  in  any  form. 
misstatements  of  w.  h.  gray. 

On  pages  374-5  Mr  Gray,  in  speaking  of  the  members  of 
the  legislative  committee  of  1844,  says : 

Peter  H.  Burnett  was  a  lawyer  from  Missouri,  who  came 
to  Oregon  to  seek  his  fortune,  as  well  as  a  religion  that  would 
pay  best  and  give  him  the  most  influence ;  which  in  the  legis- 
lative committee  M^as  sufficient  to  induce  that  body  to  pay  no 
attention  to  any  organic  law  or  principle  laid  down  for  the 
government  of  the  settlements.  In  fact,  he  asserted  that  there 
were  no  constitutional  provisions  laid  down  or  adopted  by 
the  people  in  general  convention  at  Champoeg  the  year  pre- 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  183 

vioiis.  ^Ir.  Burnett  was  iiiKiiiestioiiably  the  most  intelligent 
lawyer  then  in  th(^  country.  ITe  was  a  very  ambitious  man — 
smooth,  deceitful,  and  insinuating  in  his  manners. 

As  regards  the  impntation  of  improper  motives  to  me  in 
the  above  extract,  if  intended  as  the  assertion  of  fact,  such 
assertions  are  untrue;  and,  if  intended  as  expressions  of  opin- 
ions, such  o]iinions  ai-(>  mistaken.  These  charges  are  made 
not  only  without  i)i"oof,  l)ut  against  both  the  evidence  and 
the  fact. 

I  went  to  Oregon  for  three  purposes: 

1.  To  assist  in  building  up  a  great  American  community 
on  the  Pacific  Coast. 

'2.     To  i-estore  the  health  of  Mrs.  Burnett. 

3.     To  become  able  to  pay  my  debts. 

Before  I  became  a  believer  in  the  truth  of  the  Christian 
religion,  I  had  sought  fortune  with  avidity,  but,  after  that 
fundamental  change  in  my  views,  I  ceased  to  pursue  riches, 
and  ray  only  husiness  object  was  make  a  decent  living  for 
my  family,  and  pay  what  I  ow^ed.  Considering  the  large 
amount  of  my  indebtedness,  I  could  not  have  been  so  vis- 
ionary as  to  suppt)se  I  could  accomplish  in  distant  and  isolated 
Oregon  more  than  the  three  objects  mentioned. 

As  regards  my  change  of  religion,  and  the  motives  which 
led  to  it,  I  have  already  stated  the  simple  truth.  At  the  time 
1  joined  the  Old  Church  I  was  independent  in  my  pecuniary 
circumstances,  so  far  as  a  deceit  living  was  concerned.  I 
had  a  claim  of  640  acres  of  most  excellent  land,  well  im- 
jiroved,  and  well  stocked  with  domestic  animals  and  fowls. 
With  the  industrious  and  sober  habits  of  myself  and  family, 
we  were  secure  of  a  good  living. 

As  to  my  influence  in  the  committee,  it  could  not  possibly 
have  arisen  from  any  change  of  religion,  for  these  simple 
and  conclusive  reasons :  That  I  was  then  a  Protestant,  without 
any  idea  of  becoming  a  Catholic,  and  every  member  was  op- 
posed to  the  Catholic  religion.  My  influence  arose  from  the. 
fact  of  my  qualifications  and  my  good  character.  Waldo, 
McCarver,  Gilmore,  and  Keizer  had  traveled  wath  me  across 


184  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

the  plains,  and  had  seen  me  fully  tested  in  that  severe  school 
of  human  nature.  Waldo  knew  me  by  reputation,  and  Gil- 
more  personally,  in  Missouri. 

As  to  the  assertion  that  I  was  very  "ambitious,"  the  fact 
is  not  correctly  stated.  I  had  a  reasonable  desire  for  dis- 
tinction, but  never  so  great  as  to  induce  me  to  sacrifice  my 
personal  independence  or  compromise  my  true  dignity.  I 
never  sought  any  position  under  the  Provisional  Government 
of  Oregon,  and  I  do  not  remember  to  have  personally  asked 
any  citizen  to  vote  for  me.  I  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
legislative  body  in  1844,  and  again  in  1848,  and  judge  of  the 
sui)reme  cpurt  in  1845,  without  any  serious  efforts  on  my  part. 
I  have  been  a  candidate  before  the  people  six  times:  once  in 
^Missouri,  twice  in  Oregon,  and  three  times  in  California ;  and 
I  was  seccessful  in  every  case.  I  resigned  the  office  of  dis- 
trict attorney  in  Missouri  to  go  to  Oregon  in  1843,  and  my 
seat  in  the  legislature  of  Oregon  in  1848  to  come  to  Califor- 
nia, and  the  office  of  governor  of  this  State  in  January,  1851, 
when  the  salary  was  $10,000  per  annum.  I  was  appointed 
on  the  14th  of  August,  1848,  by  President  Polk,  one  of  the 
Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  of  the  Territory  of  Oregon. 
My  commission  did  not  reach  me  until  the  spring  of  1849,  in 
California.  This  appointment  I  declined,  as  I  could  not 
accept  it  and  pay  my  debts.  This  was  done  before  any  move- 
ment was  made  to  organize  a  State  Government  in  California, 
and  before  I  had  any  expectation  of  being  governor.  I  can 
safely  say  that  the  remark  of  President  Jefferson,  in  regard 
to  the  office-holders  of  his  time,  that  "deaths  were  few  and 
resignations  none,"  can  not  .justly  apply  to  me. 

As  to  the  charge  of  being  deceitful,  it  is  the  precise  oppo- 
site of  the  truth.  No  man  of  decent  manners  and  good  char- 
acter ever  called  upon  me  without  receiving  my  candid  opin- 
ion, where  I  had  any  mature  judgment  upon  the  question. 
I  am  not  a  disj)utatious  spirit,  ready  to  engage  in  a  wordy 
quarrel  upon  any  and  every  subject,  however  trivial ;  but  in 
regard  to  all  important  subjects,  on  all  proper  occasions,  I 
am  frank  to  speak  just  what  I  think. 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  185 

As  to  the  falsity  of  all  these  charges,  I  can  refer  to  all  good 
men  who  have  known  nie  longest  and  best.  I  lived  in  Mis- 
souri some  twenty-one  years,  and  have  resided  in  California 
nearly  thirty  years,  and  I  appeal  to  all  good  men  who  have 
known  me.  without  regard  to  their  religion  or  ]ilnee  of  na- 
tivity. 

THE     (QUESTION     WHETHER    THERE     WERE     ANY     CONSTITUTIONAl, 
PROVISIONS    IN    THE   LAWS    OF    1843    CONSIDERED. 

The  legislative  committee  of  1811:  did  maintain  the  posi- 
tion that  there  were  no  constitutional  provisions  adopted  by 
the  people  at  their  mass  meeting,  July  5,  1813. 

It  appears  that  there  were  two  publications  claiming  to  be 
copies  of  these  laws;  one  by  Charles  Saxton,  published  in 
1846,  and  the  other  by  the  compiler  of  the  "Oregon  Ar- 
chives," in  1853.  (Gray's  "Oregon,''  352.)  I  shall  use 
the  copy  given  by  Mr.  Gray,  as  he  ought  to  know  best,  and 
which  is  found  in  his  history,  beginning  on  page  353. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  people  held  May  2,  1843,  at  Champoeg, 
the  proposition  to  establish  a  Provisional  Government  was 
put  to  vote;  and,  upon  a  division,  there  were  found  to  be 
52  for  and  50  against  it.     (Gray's  "Oregon,"  279.) 

At  that  meeting,  Robert  Moore,  David  Hill,  Robert 
Shortess,  Alanson  Beers,  AV.  H.  Gray,  Thomas  J.  Hubbard, 
James  A,  O'Neal,  Robert  Newell,  and  William  Dougherty 
[William  M.  Doughty?]  were  chosen  to  act  as  a  legislative 
committee,  and  instructed  to  make  their  report  on  the  5th  of 
July,  1843.  at  Champoeg.     (Gray,  280-81.) 

On  the  5th  of  July,  1843,  said  connnittee  made  their  re- 
port, which  was  adopted  at  the  mass  meeting  of  citizens  at 
Champoeg.  The  (juestion  whether  there  were  any,  and,  if  so. 
what  constitutional  provisions  in  the  laws  adopted  at  said 
meeting,  was  one  that  admitted  of  discussion:  i)ut,  upon  as 
full  a  consideration  of  the  sub.ject  as  our  limited  time  and 
opportunities  allowed,  we  became  satisfied  that  there  were 
none. 

In  their  report  the  committee  say,  "the  legislative  com- 
mittee    recommend     that     the     following    oruunic     lairs    be 


186  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

adopted."  The  term  organic  does  not  necessarily  mean  con- 
stitutional, because  whether  the  laws  were  constitutional  or 
not,  they  were  equally  organic.  We  were  aware  of  the  fact 
that  there  were  no  lawyers  among  the  members  of  the  com- 
mittee, and  that  there  were  then  no  law-books  in  the  country, 
except  one  copy  of  the  statutes  of  Iowa ;  but  we  knew  tliat  the 
meinliei's  were  Americans,  and  that  all  Americans  competent 
to  I'cad  a  newspaper  must  know  that  the  fundamental  laws  of 
the  United  States,  and  of  the  several  states,  were  called  con- 
stiUifions;  and  hence  we  supposed  that  the  committee  would 
sui'cly  have  used  the  plain,  ordinary,  and  appropriate  term 
constitution  to  designate  their  fundamental  law,  had  they  in- 
tended it  as  such. 

But,  besides  the  want  of  proper  language  to  designate  a 
constitution,  the  nature  of  the  laws  themselves  seemed  to 
show  a  different  intent.  From  the  face  of  the  code,  no  one 
could  tell  where  the  constitutional  laws  ended  and  the  statu- 
tory began.  It  was  either  all  constitution  or  all  statute. 
All  were  adopted  at  the  same  public  meeting,  and  were  recom- 
mended by  the  same  committee.  That  committee  "recom- 
mended that  the  following  organic  laws  be  adopted."  Now, 
whatever  laws  were  recommended  by  them  were  all  of  the 
same  character,  (u*  they  failed  to  distinguish  one  portion  from 
another.  There  being  no  mode  of  amendment  provided,  these 
laws,  if  constitutional,  could  only  be  amended  in  violation  of 
their  own  terms;  that  is,  by  revolution.  If  considered  as 
statutory  provisions,  then  there  was  a  plain  mode  of  amend- 
ment provided  in  article  VI,  section  2,  which  enacts  that  "the 
legislative  power  shall  be  vested  in  a  committee  of  nine  per- 
sons, to  be  elected  by  the  qualified  electors  at  the  annual 
election. ' ' 

The  code  goes  into  the  most  minute  provisions,  such  as  fix- 
ing the  fees  of  the  recorder  and  treasurer,  and  for  solemniz- 
ing marriage.  It  also  contains  a  militia  law,  and  a  law  on 
land  claims,  and  a  resolution  making  the  statute  laws  of  Iowa 
the  laws  of  Oregon.  Such  pi'ovisions,  in  their  very  nature, 
are  but  statutory. 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  187 

Considering  the  "organic  laws,"  (so  named  by  the  com- 
mittee) as  composing  a  constitution,  not  amendable  except  by 
revolution,  the  legislative  committee  of  1844  had  nothing  to 
do  worth  mentioning.  In  this  view  it  was  a  useless  body, 
constituted  for  an  idle  and  vain  purpose.  We  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  our  legislative  committee  had  practical  legis- 
lative power,  and  that  it  was  our  duty  to  exercise  it.  While 
we  were  not  disposed  to  make  useless  changes,  we  were  obliged 
to  amend  the  code  in  many  respects,  as  will  be  seen  from  what 
follows. 

Article  VI.  section  2,  vests  "the  judicial  power  in  a  su- 
preme court,  consisting  of  the  supreme  judge,  and  two  justices 
of  the  peace,  a  probate  court,  and  justice  court."  If  a  ma- 
jority of  the  persons  composing  the  supreme  court,  under 
this  quaint  and  original  theory,  could  make  the  decision,  then 
the  two  justices  of  the  peace  could  overrule  the  supreme 
judge.  If,  on  the  contrary,  it  required  the  unanimous  con- 
sent of  all  three,  then  there  would  often  be  no  decision  at  all. 

Our  connnittee  amended  this  by  the  act  of  June  27,  1844. 
The  first  section  of  the  second  article  of  that  act  is  as  follows: 
"Section  1.  The  judicial  power  shall  be  vested  ui  the  circuit 
courts  and  as  many  justices  of  the  peace  as  shall  from  time  to 
time  be  appointed  or  elected  according  to  law."  The  second 
section  provides  for  the  election  of  one  judge,  and  makes  it 
his  duty  to  hold  two  terms  of  the  circuit  court  in  each  county, 
at  such  times  and  places  as  shall  be  directed  by  law;  and  the 
third  section  fixes  the  jurisdiction  of  the  circuit  courts,  in- 
cluding probate  powers. 

The  fifth  article  of  section  2  vested  the  executive  power  in 
a  committee  of  three  persons.  This  provision  Avas  adopted 
not  because  it  met  the  approbation  of  the  legislative  committee 
of  1843,  but  from  necessity,  as  their  instructions  were  against 
a  governor  (Gray's  "Oregon,"  349).  We  repealed  this  pro- 
vision, and  vested  the  executive  power  in  a  single  person. 

Article  XVII.  All  male  persons  of  the  age  of  sixteen  years 
and  upward,  and  all  females  of  the  age  of  fourteen  years  and 
upward,  shall  have  the  right  to  nuirry.     When  either  of  the 


188  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

parties  shall  be  under  twenty-one  years  of  age.  the  consent 
of  the  parents  or  gnardians  of  such  minors  shall  be  necessary 
1()  the  validity  of  such  matrimonial  engagement.  Every  or- 
dained minister  of  the  gospel,  of  any  religious  denomination, 
the  supi'eme  judge,  and  all  justices  of  the  peace,  are  hereby 
authorized  to  solemnize  marriage  according  to  the  law,  to 
have  the  same  recorded,  and  pay  the  recorder's  fee.  The 
legal  fee  for  mai'riage  shall  l)e  ^1,  and  foi'  recording  50  cents. 

This  extreme  law  made  the  marriage  of  persons  under  the 
age  of  twenty-one  years,  without  the  consent  of  their  parents 
or  guardians,  invalid,  and  therefore  void;  thus  subjecting 
the  young  people  to  the  charge  and  consequences  of  living  in 
a  state  ()f  adultery,  and  their  innocent  children  to  all  the 
consequences  of  bastardy. 

Our  committee  passed  the  following  act : 

An  Act  Amendaiory  of  the  Act  Regarding  Marnage. 

Section  1.  That  all  males  of  the  age  of  sixteen  years  and 
upward,  and  all  females  of  the  age  of  twelve  and  upward, 
shall  l)e  deemed  competent  to  enter  into  the  contract  of  mar- 
riage. 

Sec.  2.  That  when  eithei-  of  the  parties  about  to  enter  into 
the  marriage  union  shall  be  minors,  the  nmle  under  the  age 
of  twenty-one  year,  or  the  female  under  the  oge  of  eighteen, 
no  ]iei"son  authorized  to  solemnize  the  rights  of  matrimony 
shall  do  so  without  the  consent  of  parent  or  guardian  of  such 
minor;  and  in  case  such  person  shall  solemnize  such  mar- 
riage without  the  consent  of  the  parent  or  guardian  of  such 
minor,  he  shall  be  liable  to  pay  such  j^arent  or  guardian  the 
sum  of  $100.  to  be  recovered  by  action  of  debt  or  assumpsit 
lief  ore  the  proper  court:  Provided,  however,  that  the  want 
of  such  consent  shall  not  invalidate  such  marriage. 

Sec.  8.  That  all  acts  and  parts  of  acts  coming  in  conflict 
with  this  act  be  and  the  same  are  hereby  repealed. 

The  legislative  committee  of  1843  was  properly  called  a 
ccnuiiittee,  because  its  duty  was  to  prepare  a  code  to  be 
submitted  to  the  mass  meeting  of  citizens,  held  on  the  5th  of 
July,  1843,  for  their  approval  or  rejection;  the  legislative 
power  being  exercised  by  the  people  themselves  on  that  oc- 
casi(m.  But,  as  already  statedj  the  legislative  power  was 
vested  by  the  sixth  article,  section  2,  of  the  laws  of  1843,  in 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.     189 

a  committee  of  nine  persons.  To  call  a  legislative  body  a 
committee  was  a  misnomer;  and  we  amended  that  provision 
by  vesting  the  legislative  power  in  a  Honse  of  Representatives 
composed  of  members  elected  annnally  by  the  people. 

The  laws  of  1843  made  no  provision  for  the  support  of  the 
government,  except  i)utting  in  circulation  a  subsci-iption 
p;iper,  as  follows: 

We,  the  subscribers,  hereby  pledge  ourselves  to  pay  annu- 
ally to  the  treasurer  of  Oregon  Territoiy  the  sum  affixed  to 
our  respective  names,  for  defraying  the  expenses  of  the  gov- 
ernment:  Provided,  That  in  all  cases  each  individual  sub- 
scriber may  at  any  time  withdraw  his  name  from  said  sub- 
scription, upon  paying  up  all  arrearages  and  notifying  the 
tivasurer  of  the  colony  of  such  desire  to  withdraw. 

Our  committee  were  fully  satisfied  that  no  government 
could  be  practically  administered  without  taxation ;  and  we 
therefore  passed  a  revenue  law  containing  twelve  sections. 

The  law  of  1843  in  relation  to  land  claims  is  as  follows: 

Article  I.  Any  person  now  holding  or  hereafter  wishing 
to  establish  a  claim  to  land  in  this  Territory,  shall  designate 
the  extent  of  his  claim  by  natural  boundaries,  or  by  mai'ks  at 
the  corners  and  upon  the  lines  of  said  claim,  recorded  in  the 
office  of  the  Territorial  Recorder,  in  a  book  to  be  kept  by  him 
fcr  that  purpose,  Avithin  twenty  days  from  the  time  of  making 
said  claim :  Pr&vided,  That  those  who  shall  be  already  in 
possession  of  land  shall  be  allowed  one  year  from  the  pas- 
sage of  this  act  to  file  a  description  of  their  claims  in  the  re- 
corder's office. 

Art.  II.  All  claimants  shall,  within  six  months  from  the 
time  of  recording  their  claims,  make  permanent  improvement 
upon  the  same,  by  building  or  inclosing,  and  also  become  oc- 
cupant upon  said  claims  within  one  year  of  the  date  of  said 
record. 

Ai't.  III.  No  individual  shall  be  allowed  to  hold  a  claim 
of  more  than  one  square  mile,  or  six  hundred  and  forty  acres, 
in  a  square  or  oblong  form,  according  to  the  natural  situa- 
tion of  the  premises,  nor  shall  any  individual  be  al)le  to  hold 
more  than  one  claim  at  the  same  time.  Any  person  complying 
with  the  provisions  of  these  ordinances  shall  be  entitled  to 
the  same  process  against  trespass  as  in  other  cases  provided 
bv  law. 


190  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

Art.  IV.  No  person  shall  bo  entitled  to  hold  snch  a  claim 
npon  city  of  town  lots,  extensive  water  privileges,  or  other 
situation  necessary  for  the  transaction  of  mercantile  or 
mannfacturing  operations:  Provided,  That  nothing  in  these 
hiws  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  affect  any  claim  of  any  mis- 
sion of  a  religions  character  made  prior  to  this  time,  of  any 
extent  not  more  than  six  miles  square. 

Oin-  coiiimittee  passed  the  following  act,  June  25,  1844: 

.1;;  Act  in  rdaiion  to  Land  Claims. 

Section  1.  That  all  persons  who  have  heretofore  made,  or 
shall  hereafter  make,  permanent  improvements  upon  a  place, 
with  a  hotia  fide  intention  of  occupying  and  holding  the  same 
for  himself,  and  shall  continue  to  occupy  and  cultivate  the 
same,  shall  be  entitled  to  hold  six  hundred  and  forty  acres, 
and  shall  hold  only  one  claim  at  the  same  time:  Provided, 
A  man  may  hold  town  lots  in  addition  to  his  claim. 

Sec.  2.  That  all  claims  hereafter  made  shall  be  in  a  square 
form,  if  the  nature  of  the  ground  shall  permit;  and  in  case 
the  situation  will  not  permit,  shall  be  in  an  oblong  form. 

Sec.  3.  That  in  all  cases  where  claims  are  already  made, 
and  in  all  cases  where  there  are  agreed  lines  between  the 
parties  occupying  adjoining  tracts,  such  claims  shall  be  valid 
to  the  extent  of  six  hundred  and  forty  acres,  although  not  in 
a  S(iuare  or  oblong  form. 

Sec.  4.  That  in  all  cases  where  claims  shall  hereafter  be 
made,  such  permanent  improvements  shall  be  made  within 
two  months  from  the  time  of  taking  up  such  claim,  and  the 
first  settler  or  his  successor  shall  be  deemed  to  hold  the  prior 
right. 

Sec.  5.  That  no  person  shall  hold  a  claim  under  the  pro- 
visions of  this  act  except  free  males  over  the  age  of  eighteen, 
who  would  be  entitled  to  vote  if  of  lawful  age,  and  widows : 
Provided,  No  married  man  shall  be  debarred  from  holding  a 
claim  under  this  act  because  he  is  under  the  age  of  eighteen. 

Sec.  6.  That  all  laws  heretofore  passed  in  regard  to  land 
claims  be  and  the  same  are  hereby  repealed. 

Sec.  7.  That  all  persons  complying  with  the  provisions  of 
this  act  shall  be  deemed  in  possession  to  the  extent  of  six 
hundred  and  forty  acres,  or  less,  as  the  ease  may  be^  and  shall 
have  the  remedy  of  forcible  entry  and  detainer  against  in- 
truders, and  the  action  of  trespass  against  trespassers. 

On  December  24,  1844,  we  passed  the  following  explanatory 
and  amendatory  act: 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  191 

Section  1.  That  the  word  "oeenpaney."  in  said  act,  shall 
be  so  construed  as  to  require  the  claimant  to  either  personally 
reside  upon  his  claim  himself,  or  to  occupy  the  same  by  the 
personal  residence  of  his  tenant. 

Sec.  2.  That  any  person  shall  be  authorized  to  take  six 
hundred  acres  of  his  claim  in  the  prairie,  and  forty  acres  in 
tlic  timber,  and  such  parts  of  his  clahn  need  not  be  adjoining 
to  each  other. 

Sec.  3.  That  when  any  two  persons  take  up  their  claims 
jointly,  not  exceeding-  twelve  hundred  and  eighty  acres,  they 
may  hold  the  same  jointly  for  the  term  of  one  year,  by  mak- 
ing the  improvements  required  by  said  act  upon  any  part 
of  said  claim,  and  may  hold  the  same  longer  than  one  year 
if  they  make  the  said  im})rovements  within  the  year  upon 
each  six  hundred  and  forty  acres. 

The  land  law  of  1844  dispensed  with  recording  of  claims,  be- 
cause, under  the  then  existing  condition  of  the  country,  it 
was  an  onerous  burden  upon  the  new  immigrant.  The  great 
body  of  the  immigration  arrived  late  in  the  fall,  just  as  the 
rainy  season  set  in;  and  to  require  each  locater  of  a  claim 
to  travel  from  twenty  to  one  hundred  miles  to  the  recorder's 
office,  and  return  through  an  Oregon  winter,  was  indeed  a 
harsh  condition.  Under  the  land  law  of  1843,  the  old  set- 
tler was  allowed  one  year  within  which  to  record  his  claim, 
while  the  new  settlers  were  only  allowed  20  days.  Besides, 
i-eeording  a  claim  without  a  proper  survey  was  of  very  doubt- 
ful utility,  as  parties  would  be  very  apt  to  include  within 
their  lines  more  than  six  hundred  and  forty  acres. 

By  the  land  law  of  1843,  as  will  be  seen,  all  persons,  of 
every  age,  sex,  or  conditioUj  could  hold  claims.  If  a  man 
had  several  sons,  he  could  hold  one  claim  for  himself  and 
each  of  his  sons,  though  under  age;  and,  as  each  claimant 
had  six  months  within  which  to  make  his  improvements,  and 
one  year  within  which  to  become  an  occupant,  from  the  date 
of  the  record,  the  act  left  open  the  door  to  speculation,  and 
monopoly  to  a  grievous  extent.  A  man  having  a  number  of 
children  could  record  one  claim  in  the  name  of  each  child 
one  month  before  the  annual  arrival  of  the  new  immigrants, 
and   that  record  would  hold  the  land  for  six  months;  thus 


192  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

forcing  the  late  comers  either  to  go  farther  for  locations,  or 
purchase  these  claims  of  his  children.  Besides,  this  act  did 
not  require  the  locater  to  make  his  improvements  with  the 
h(y)ia  fide  intention  of  occupying  and  holding  the  claim  for 
himself,  but  only  required  the  improvements  to  be  made; 
thus  allowing  claims  to  be  made  for  speculative  purposes. 

But  one  of  the  most  objectionable  provisions  of  the  land 
law  of  1843  was  the  proviso  allowing  each  mission  six  miles 
scpiare,  or  36  sections  of  land.  From  what  Mr.  Gray  says, 
page  314,  it  appears  that  this  proviso  was  adopted  to  gain 
the  support  of  those  connected  with  the  Methodist  and  Cath- 
olic missions;  as,  without  such  support,  it  was  feared  the 
attenq)!  to  establish  a  government  at  that  time  would  fail. 
The  connnittee  of  1843,  in  their  short  experi'ence.  learned  one 
great  truth ;  that  civil  government  is  a  practical  science ;  and 
that,  while  a  true  statesman  can  adapt  his  legislation  to  ex- 
isting circumstances,  he  can  not  create  or  control  them ;  and 
for  that  reason  he  is  often  compelled  to  choose  between  evils, 
and  to  support  measures  that  his  individual  judgment  will 
not  approve.  Our  legislative  connnittee  of  1844  were  placed 
in  more  independent  circumstances ;  and,  having  no  fear  of 
the  mission  influence,  we  repealed  this  proviso. 

THE  LEGISLATIVE  COMMITTEE  OP  1844  — MISTAKES  OF  W.  11.  GRAY. 

On  page  383  Mr.  Gray,  speaking  of  the  legislative  com- 
mittee of  1844,  says: 

"In  fact,  the  whole  proceedings  seemed  only  to  mix  up  and 
confuse  the  people;  so  much  so  that  some  doubted  the  ex- 
istence of  any  legal  authority  in  the  country,  and  the  leading 
men  of  the  immigration  of  1843  denounced  the  organization 
as  a  missionary  arrangement  to  secure  the  most  valuable 
fa  inning  lands  in  the  country." 

The  writer  is  correct  as  to  the  fact  of  confusion  and  oppo- 
sition among  the  people,  but  most  sadly  mistaken  as  to  the 
true  cause.  It  was  not  the  measures  passed  by  the  legisla- 
tive committee  of  1844.  but  the  laws  of  1843  that  caused  the 
confusion  and  o]>position.     It  is  very  true  that  many  of  "the 


RECoLLE("rioNs  OF  AN  Old  Pioneer.  193 

It'adiilii'  nu'ii  of  the  iiuiniiii'ation  of  1843  denonnced  the  or- 
^•anization  as  a  inissionary  arrangement  to  secure  the  best 
farming-  lands  in  the  eonntry. "  They  had  nnieh  apparent 
reason  for  their  opposition,  and  tliat  reason  was  found  in  the 
laws  of  1843,  especially  in  the  ])roviso  allowing  each  mission 
six  miles  square,  and  not  in  the  land  law  of  1844,  which  re- 
jx'aled  this  objectionable  proviso.  Whatever  else  may  be  said 
against  the  laws  of  1844,  tlu>y  were  plain,  simiile,  and  con- 
sistent, as  a  whole,  and  could  not  have  produced  the  con- 
fusion mentioned. 

The  first  time  I  was  \n  Oregon  City,  to  the  best  of  my 
recollection,  was  whiMi  I  went  there  to  take  my  seat  in  the 
legislative  committee  in  June,  1844.  Previous  to  that  time  I 
do  not  remember  to  have  seen  the  laws  of  1843.  After  all 
the  examination  I  could  give  them,  I  saw  that  no  regular  and 
efficient  government  could  be  sustained  without  a  revenue ; 
that  no  certain  and  reliable  revenue  could  be  had  without 
taxation;  that  no  system  of  taxation  could  be  enforced  unless 
the  great  and  overwhelming  majority  of  the  people  were  sat- 
isfied with  the  government,  and  that  such  majority  would 
not  support  the  organization  unless  they  believed  they  were 
receiving  an  equivalent  in  the  form  of  protection  for  the 
money  they  paid  in  the  shape  of  taxes.  Many  good  men 
doubted  our  legal  right  to  organize  any  government.  Our 
object  was  to  gain  the  consent  of  all  good  men ;  and,  to  do 
this,  we  must  make  good  laws.  Of  course,  the  bad  would 
oppose  all  government. 

In  consulting  upon  our  then  condition,  we  were  for  a  time 
nnich  perplexed  to  know  what  peaceable  course  to  pursue,  in 
order  to  secure  the  consent  of  all  good  men  to  our  organiza- 
tion. We  knew  that  Americans  were  devotedly  attached  to 
two  things:  Land  and  the  privilege  of  voting.  Our  com- 
mittee, therefore,  passed  an  act  to  provide  by  taxation  the 
means  necessary  to  support  the  government,  the  fourth  sec- 
tion of  which  was  as  follows:  "Sec.  4.  That  any  person 
refusing  to  pay  tax,  as   in   this  act  required,  shall  have  no 


194  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

l)('iiofi1  of  tlio  laws  of  Oi'egon,  and  shall  be  <lis<iua]ified  from 
voting  at  any  election  in  this  country." 

By  this  provision  we  plainly  said  to  each  citizen  substan- 
tially as  follows :  "If  you  are  not  willing  to  pay  your  pro- 
portion of  the  expenses  of  this  government,  you  can  not  sue 
in  our  courts  or  vote  at  our  elections,  but  you  must  remain  an 
outlaw.  If  any  one  should  squat  or  trespass  on  your  claim, 
or  refuse  to  pay  you  what  he  owes,  you  can  have  no  pro- 
tection from  our  organization.  If  you  can  do  without  our 
assistance,  we  certainly  can  do  without  yours." 

This  provision  very  soon  had  its  legitimate  effect.  As  the 
elections  a]iproached,  those  who  had  been  opposed  began  to 
doubt,  and  finally  yielded.  The  friends  of  the  organization 
were  active,  kind,  and  wise  in  their  course  toward  those  op- 
j)osed.  When  one  opposed  to  the  government  would  state 
that  fact,  some  friend  would  kindly  remind  him  that  his  claim 
was  liable  to  be  "jumped,"  and  that  he  could  not  alone  de- 
fend his  rights  against  the  violent  and  unprincipled;  and 
that  it  was  a  desolate  and  painful  condition  for  a  citizen,  in 
a  civilized  community,  to  be  an  outlaw. 

After  the  laws  passed  by  the  legislative  committee  of  1844 
became  known,  there  was  no  serious  opposition  anywhere. 
It  is  my  solemn  opinion  that  the  organization  could  not  have 
been  kept  up  under  the  laws  of  1843. 

On  page  375,  Mr.  Gray,  speaking  of  the  legislative  com- 
mittee of  1844,  says : 

"On  motion  of  Mr.  Lovejoy  (another  lawyer),  the  several 
members  were  excused  from  producing  their  credentials." 

This  statement  is  true  so  far  as  it  goes;  but,  without  the 
explanatory  facts,  it  might  convey  a  false  impression.  The 
laws  of  1843  made  no  provision  as  to  the  manner  of  conduct- 
ing elections,  except  by  adopting  the  laws  of  Iowa;  and  as 
there  was  but  one  copy  in  the  country,  and  this  was  the  first 
election  held  in  Oregon,  and  as  two-thirds  of  the  voters  were 
late  immigrants,  the  various  of^cers  of  the  election  knew 
nothing  of  their  duties,  and  gave  no  credentials  to  the  mem- 
bers  elect;   and,   of   course,    they   could   produce   none.     We 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  195 

knew  that  wo  had  been  fairly  elected,  and  our  respective  con- 
stituents also  knew  the  fact,  and  no  one  was  found  to  dis- 
pute it;  and,  as  credentials  are  only  evidence  of  the  fact  of 
the  election  of  the  person  mentioned,  we  had  in  this  case  the 
next  best  evidence  to  prove  our  election.  We  did  the  best  we 
could  under  the  circumstances. 

"Such  bein<i-  the  composition  of  the  h'uislative  committee 
of  Oreg'on  in  1<S44.  it  is  not  surprising  that  interests  of  classes 
and  cliques  should  find  advocates,  and  that  the  absolute  wants 
of  the  country  should  be  neglected.  The  whole  time  of  the 
session  seems  to  have  been  taken  up  in  the  discussion  of  per- 
sonal bills."     (Page  378.) 

I  find  it  dil^icult  to  justly  characteri/e  this  sweeping  mis- 
statement. 

The  two  sessions  of  the  committee  of  1844  occupied  to- 
gether fifteen  to  seventeen  days;  and  in  that  time  we  passed 
43  bills,  some  of  them  of  considerable  length,  and  most  of 
them  of  general  importance.  Among  these  43  acts  there  were 
not  exceeding  eight  that  could  be  properly  termed  personal, 
viz. :  Act  granting  Hugh  Biu-ns  a  right  to  keep  a  public 
ferry;  act  authorizing  Robert  Moore  to  establish  and  keep  a 
ferry ;  act  to  authorize  John  McLoughlin  to  construct  a  canal 
around  the  Willamette  Falls;  act  for  the  relief  of  John  Con- 
nor ;  act  appointing  Jesse  Applegate  engineer ;  act  authoriz- 
ing L.  H.  Judson  and  W.  H.  Wilson  to  construct  a  mill-race 
in  Champoeg  County;  act  amending  the  several  acts  regu-^ 
lating  ferries;  act  for  the  relief  of  J.  L.  Meek. 

These  acts  were  all  just  in  themselves,  and  some  of  them  of 
public  importance.  Public  ferries  are  public  conveniences. 
The  act  to  authorize  John  McLoughlin  to  construct  a  canal 
enabled  him  to  bring  the  water  to  propel  his  extensive  flour 
mill,  and  was  of  much  public  benefit.  The  act  for  the 
relief  of  John  Connor  was  a  short  act  of  one  section,  re- 
mitting a  fine  and  .restoring  him  to  citizenship.  The  act  ap- 
pointing Jesse  Applegate  engineer  authorized  him  to  survey 
a  route  for  a  canal  at  the  expense  of  J.  E.  Long,  and  report 
the  result  to  the  next  session  of  the  legislature.     The  act  au- 


196  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

thori/ijiii'  Jiidson  and  Wilson  to  construct  a  mill-race  was  of  a 
similar  nature  to  the  one  in  res^ard  to  John  ATcLouiihlin. 
The  act  to  amend  the  several  acts  regulating  ferries  simply 
fixed  the  rate  of  toll  of  the  two  ferries  across  the  "Willamette 
River,  at  Oregon  City.  The  act  for  the  relief  of  J.  L.  Meek- 
is  a  short  (me,  giving  him  further  time  to  finish  the  collection 
ol*  the  I'evenue  for  the  year  1844. 

The  acts  of  the  legislative  committee  of  1844  will  fill  some 
thirty  printed  pag'es,  while  the  laAvs  of  1843  only  occupy 
seven  pages  of  Gray's  "History."  If  we  spent  a  part  of  our 
time  in  the  discussion  of  personal  bills,  we  passed  but  a  few 
of  them,  and  did  a  large  amount  of  other  legislative  work. 

"The  proposed  constitutional  revision  was  also  strongly 
recommended  by  the  executive  committee,  and  the  legislative 
committee  went  through  the  farce  of  calling  a  convention,  and 
increased  the  number  of  representatives,  and  called  it  a  leg- 
islature."    (Page  383.) 

The  executive  connnittee,  in  their  comnumication  to  our 
conuuittee,  dated  December  16,  1844,  says : 

We  would  advise  that  provision  be  made  by  this  l)ody  for 
the  framing  and  adoption  of  a  constitution  for  Oregon  previ- 
ous to  the  next  annual  election,  which  may  serve  as  a  more 
thorough  guide  to  her  officers  and  a  more  firm  basis  of  her 
laws." 

It  will  be  seen  that,  while  the  executive  connnittee  recom- 
mended that  provision  should  be  made  for  the  framing  and 
adoption  of  a  constitution  previous  to  the  next  annual  elec- 
tion, they  did  not  suggest  the  mode  in  which  this  should  be 
done.  Our  legislative  committee  thougrht  that  a  convention, 
composed  of  delegates  elected  by  the  people  for  the  sole  and 
o)ilij  purpose  of  framing  the  fundamental  law,  was  the  Ameri- 
can, and  the  proper  mode.  When  the  people  come  to  choose 
delegates  to  a  constitutional  convention,  they  are  very  apt 
to  duly  appreciate  the  great  importance  of  the  work  to  be 
done,  and  will  therefore  generally  select  the  best  and  most 
competent  men  for  that  great  purpose.  The  body  that  forms 
a  constitution  should  have  but  one  task  to  accomplish,  for  the 


Recollections  of  aii  Old  Pioneer.  197 

siiiipK'  and  conclusive  reason  that  nothing  is  more  difficult  than 
to  frame  a  g'ood  constitution.  The  greatest  statesmen  and  the 
mightiest  intellects  among  men  have  essentially  differed  as  to 
the  true  theory  of  a  constitution.  The  members  of  a  constitu- 
tional ])ody  should  not  have  their  attention  distracted  hy  or- 
dinary statutory  legislation.  A  perfect  constitution  has  never 
yet  been  framed,  and,  most  likely,  never  will  be. 

While  we  could  not  see  the  gi'eat  and  immediate  nccessUy 
of  a  constitution  for  mere  temporary  government,  we  thought 
that,  if  the  subject  sought  was  necessary  at  all,  then  the 
woi'k  sh(mld  be  well  and  thoroughly  done,  so  that  our  con- 
stitution would  be  an  honor  to  our  new  country.  Believing 
as  we  did,  that  a  constitutional  convention  was  the  only  ap- 
pi'o])riate  and  competent  body  to  frame  a  constitution  that 
would  stand  the  test  of  fair  criticism,  and  be  beneficial  in  its 
practical  operation,  and  not  seeing  any  pressing  necessity  for 
immediate  action,  we  did  not  go  "through  the  farce  of  call- 
ing a  convention,"  as  asserted  by  the  author;  but  we  passed 
the  following  act,  December  24,  1844 : 

Section  1.  That  the  executive  committee  shall,  in  the  man- 
ner prescribed  by  law  for  notifying  electicms  in  Oregon,  notify 
the  inhabitants  of  all  the  respective  counties  qualified  to  vote 
for  members  of  the  legislature  at  their  next  annual  election, 
to  give  in  their  votes  for  or  against  the  call  of  a  convention. 

Sec.  2.  The  said  votes  shall  be  in  open  meeting  received, 
assorted,  and  counted,  and  a  ti'ue  return  thereof  made  to  the 
executive  committee,  agreeable  to  the  re(iuisitions  of  the  law 
regulating  elections. 

Sec.  .'5.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  executive  to  lay  the  re- 
sult of  the  said  vote  before  the  legislative  committee  for 
their  information. 

While  we  had  oui-  doubts  as  to  the  necessity  of  a  consti- 
tution for  a  mei-e  tempoi'ary  government  (which  we  then  had 
every  reason  to  l)elieve  would  last  only  a  year  or  two),  we 
thought  it  but  just  to  submit  the  question  of  calling  a  con- 
vention to  the  people  for  their  decision.  It  is  usual  to  submit 
such  a  question  to  the  people,  as  was  lately  done  in  California 

The  treaty  of  June  15,  1846,  between  Great  Britain  and  the 


198  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

United  Stales,  settled  the  (luestioii  of  sovereignty  over  Ore- 
gon in  favor  of  our  country ;  and  the  act  of  Congress  creating 
a  Territorial  Government  was  passed  August  14,  1848.  The 
treaty  was  delayed  beyond  our  reasonable  expectations;  and 
the  creation  of  a  Territorial  organization  was  postponed  by 
the  Mexican  AVar,  which  was  not  foreseen  by  our  com- 
nrittee  in  December,  1844. 

We  did  increase  the  niunber  of  representatives  from  9 
to  13,  and  we  really  thought  we  were  moderate  in  this  re- 
spect. According  to  Mr.  Gray's  estimate,  the  immigration 
of  1843  amounted  to  875  persons,  and  the  whole  population  at 
the  end  of  the  year  to  about  twelve  hundred  people.  (Page 
360-61.)  If,  then,  some  three  hundred  and  twenty-five  per- 
sons were  entitled,  under  the  laws  of  1843,  to  nine  members 
in  the  legislative  committee,  how  many  representatives  should 
1200  have  under  the  law  of  1844?  We  only  increased  the 
number  from  9  to  13,  when  the  same  ratio  of  representa- 
tion to  population  would  have  given  us  27.  We  did  call  the 
law-making  body  of  Oregon  a  legislature,  and  left  off  the 
word  "committee"  for  reasons  already  stated. 


*A  BRIMFIELD  HEROINE— MRS.  TABITHA  BROWN. 

How  a  plucky  woman  from  Hampden  County,  Massacliu- 
sette,  made  her  way  to  Oregon  and  started  the  Pacific  Univer- 
sity. A  thrilling  story  of  peril  from  exposure,  starvation, 
and  Indians.  The  heroine  a  Massachusetts  woman  of  sixty- 
six  years. 

(The  following  letter  has  recently  come  to  light,  showing  what 
hardships  a  company  of  emigrants  from  Missouri  to  Oregon  endured 
in  1846.  It  was  written  by  Mrs.  Tabitha  Brown,  the  widow  of  Rev. 
Clark  Brown,  who  preached  in  Brimfield  from  1797  to  1803.  Mrs. 
Brown  was  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Joseph  Moffet,  physician  in  Brim- 
field,  his  native  place,  some  40  years.  Mrs.  Brown  was  born  in  1780, 
ard  was  therefore  sixty-six  years  old  when  she  made  the  journey 
that  she  describes.  This  letter  was  written  in  1854,  In  her  seventy- 
fifth  year.  For  some  time  after  becoming  a  widow  she  was  a  teacher 
in  Maryland  and  Virginia,  and  afterwards,  to  improve  her  situation 
and  to  help  her  boys,  she  removed  to  Missouri,  where  she  lived  a 
good  many  years.  Within  this  period  the  other  members  of  her 
father's  family  became  widely  scattered,  and  their  locations  unknown 
to  her.  In  1846  she  stated  for  Oregon  with  her  son  and  daughter 
and  their  families,  a  Captain  John  Brown,  brother  of  her  deceased 
husband,  accompanying  them.  She  was  eight  months  on  the  way, 
and  the  amount  of  suffering  she  passed  through,  and  the  courage 
with  which  she  met  it,  will  be  seen  in  the  letter  itself.) 

Forest  Grove,  Oregon  Territory,  August,  1854. 
My  Brother  and  Sister: 

It  is  impossible  for  me  to  express  to  you  the  unspeakable  pleasure 
and  happiness  your  letter  of  the  29th  of  June  gave  me.  Not  hearing 
from  you  for  so  great  a  length  of  time,  I  had  concluded  myself  to  be 
the  last  one  of  my  father's  family  remaining  here,  a  pilgrim  in  the 
wide  world,  to  complete  the  work  that  God  gave  me  to  do.  Oh,  that 
i  could  be  present  with  you  and  Margaret  and  relate  in  the  hearing 


♦Reprinted  from  "Congregational  Work"  June,  1903.    Compare  Quarterly, 
September,  1902,  (No.  3,  vol.  III.) 


200  DoruMENTS. 

iif  your  chlldi'eii  tlio  imniproua  vicissitndos  and  dangers  T  liavo  on- 
countered  by  land  and  sea  since  I  parted  with  you  in  Brimfield.  It 
would  fill  a  volume  of  many  pages.  But  I  will  give  a  few  items 
from  the  time  I  left  Missouri,  in  April,  1846,  for  Oregon. 

THE   PARTY   AND   THEIR  OUTFIT. 

I  expected  all  three  of  my  children  to  accompany  me,  but  Mathano 
was  detained  by  sickness,  and  his  wife  was  unwilling  to  leave  her 
parents.  I  provided  for  myself  a  good  ox  wagon-team,  a  good  sup- 
])ly  of  what  was  requisite  for  the  comfort  of  myself,  Captain  Brown 
and  my  driver.  Uncle  John  insisted  on  coming,  au'l  crossed  the 
plains  on  horseback.  Orus  Brown,  with  his  wife  and  eight  children, 
Virgil  K.  Pringle,  Pherne  Brown,  husband  and  five  children,  fitted 
out  their  separate  families  and  joined  a  train  of  forty  or  more  for 
Oregon,  in  high  expectation  of  gaining  the  wished-for  land  of  prom- 
ise. Our  journey,  with  little  exception,  was  pleasing  and  prosperous 
until  after  we  passed  Fort  Hall.  Then  we  were  within  eight  hundred 
miles  of  Oregon  City,  if  we  had  kept  on  the  old  road  down  the 
C'olumbia  River. 

THE  FALSE  GUIDE. 

But  three  or  four  trains  of  emigrants  were  decoyed  off  by  a  ras- 
cally fellow  who  came  out  from  the  settlement  in  Oregon  assuring 
us  that  he  had  found  a  new  cut-off,  that  if  we  would  follow  him  we 
woulil  be  in  tire  settlement  long  before  those  who  had  gone  down 
the  Columbia.  This  was  in  August.  The  idea  of  shortening  a  long 
journey  caused  us  to  yield  to  his  advice.  Our  sufferings  from  that 
time  no  tongue  can  tell.  He  said  he  would  clear  the  road  before  us, 
so  that  we  should  have  no  trouble  in  rolling  our  wagons  after  him. 
Rut  he  roblied  us  of  what  he  could  by  lying,  and  left  us  to  the  depre- 
dations of  Indians  and  wild  beasts,  and  to  starvation.  But  God  was 
with  us.  We  had  sixty  miles  of  desert  without  grass  or  water, 
mountains  to  climb,  cattle  giving  out,  wagons  breaking,  emigrants 
sick  and  dying,  hostile  Indians  to  gimrd  against  by  night  and  <lay, 
if  we  would  save  ourselves  and  our  horses  and  cattle  from  being 
nrrowed  or  stolen. 

We  were  carried  hundreds  of  miles  south  of  Oregon  into  Utah 
Territory  and  California;  fell  in  with  the  Clamotte  [Klamath]  and 
Rogue  River  Indians,  lost  nearly  all  our  cattle,  passed  the  Umpqua 
Mountains,  12  miles  through.  I  rode  through  in  three  days  at  the 
risk  of  my  life,  on  horseback,  having  lost  my  wagoa  and  all  that 
T  had  but  the  horse  I  was  on.  Our  families  were  the  first  that 
started  through  the  canyon,  so  that  we  got  through  the  mud  and 
rocks  much  better  than  those  that  followed.  Out  of  hundreds  of 
wagons,   only   one  came   through   without   breaking.     The  canyon  was 


Documents.  201 

strowii  with  ilcad  p;ittl(\  lirolcoii  wayoiis,  liods,  olotlnng,  and  evory- 
tliino;  but  provisions,  of  which  latter  we  were  nearly  all  destitute. 
Some  people  were  in  the  canyon  two  or  three  weeks  before  they 
could  get  through.  Some  died  without  any  warning,  from  fatigue 
and  starvation.  Others  ate  the  flesh  of  cattle  that  were  lying  dead 
by  the  wayside. 

After  struggling  through  mud  and  water  up  to  our  horses'  sides 
much  of  the  way  in  crossing  this  12-mile  mountain,  we  opened  into 
tlie  beautiful  T^mpqua  Valley,  inhabited  only  by  Indians  and  wild 
beasts.  We  liml  still  another  mountain  to  cross,  the  Oalipose,  besides 
many  miles  to  travel  through  mud,  snow,  hail,  and  rain. 

A  DEEADFUL  JOUENEY. 

Winter  had  set  in.  We  were  yet  a  long  distance  from  any  white 
settlement.  The  word  w^as,  "fly,  everyone  that  can,  from  starvation; 
except  those  who  are  compelled  to  stay  by  the  cattle  to  recruit  them 
for  further  travel."  Mr.  Pringle  and  Pherne  insisted  on 
my  going  ahead  with  Uncle  John  to  try  and  save  our  own  lives. 
They  were  obliged  to  stay  back  a  few  days  to  recruit  their  cattle. 
They  divided  the  last  bit  of  bacon,  of  which  I  had  three  slices;  T 
had  also  a  cup  full  of  tea.  No  bread.  We  saddled  our  horses  and 
set  ofP,  not  knowing  that  we  should  ever  see  each  other  again.  Cap- 
tain Brown  was  too  old  and  feeble  to  render  any  assistance  to  me. 
I  was  obliged  to  ride  ahead  as  a  pilot,  hoping  to  overtake  four  or 
five  wagons  that  left  camp  the  day  before.  Near  sunset  we  came 
up  with  the  families  that  had  left  that  morning.  They  had  nothing 
to  eat,  and  their  cattle  had  given  out.  We  all  camped  in  an  oak 
grove  for  the  night,  and  in  the  morning  I  divided  my  last  morsel 
with  them  and  left  them  to  take  care  of  themselves.  I  hurried 
Captain  Brown  so  as  to  overtake  the  three  wagons  ahead.  We 
l>assed  lieautif\il  mountains  and  valleys,  saw  but  two  Indians  in  the 
distance  during  the  day.  In  the  afternoon  Captain  Brown  com- 
])lained  of  sickness,  and  could  only  walk  his  horse  at  a  distance  be- 
hind. He  had  a  swimming  in  his  head  and  a  pain  in  his  stomach. 
In  two  or  three  hours  he  became  delirious  and  fell  from  his  horse. 
I  f\-as  afraiil  to  jump  down  from  my  horse  to  assist  him,  as  it  was 
one  that  a  woman  had  never  ridden  before.  He  tried  to  rise  up  on 
his  feet,  but  could  not.  I  rode  close  to  him  and  set  the  end  of  his 
cane,  which  I  had  in  my  hand,  hard  in  the  ground  to  help  him  up. 
1  then  urged  him  to  walk  a  little.  He  tottered  along  a  few  yards  and 
then  gave  out.  I  then  saw  a  little  sunken  spot  a  few  steps  ahead 
and  led  his  horse  to  it.  and  with  much  difficulty  got  him  raised  to 
the  sadiUe.  \  then  told  liim  to  hold  fast  to  the  horse's  mane  and  I 
would    lead   liv    the   liridle.     Two   miles  ahead    was.  another   mountain 


202  DOOIIMENTR. 

to  climb  over.  As  wo  roar'lio<l  tho  foot  of  it  ho  was  able  to  take 
the  bridle  in  his  own  hand  and  wo  passed  over  safely  into  a  large 
valley,   a  wide,   solitary  place,   but  no  wagons  in   sight. 

The  sun  was  now  setting,  the  wind  was  blowing,  and  the  rain  was 
drifting  upon  the  sides  of  the  distant  mountain.  Poor  me!  I  crossed 
the  plain  to  where  three  mountain  spurs  met.  Here  the  shades  of 
night  were  gathering  fast,  and  I  could  see  the  wagon  tracks  no 
further.  Alighting  from  my  horse,  I  flung  off  saddle  and  saddle-pack 
and  tied  the  horse  fast  to  a  tree  with  a  lasso  rope.  The  Captain 
asked  me  what  I  was  going  to  do.  My  answer  was,  ' '  I  am  going  to 
camp  for  the  night. ' '  He  gave  a  groan  and  fell  to  the  ground. 
I  gathered  my  wagon  sheet,  which  I  had  put  under  my  saddle, 
flung  it  over  a  projecting  limb  of  a  tree,  and  made  me  a  fine  tent. 
I  then  stripped  the  Captain's  horse  and  tied  him,  placed  saddle, 
blankets  and  bridles  under  the  tent,  then  helped  up  the  bewildered 
old  gentleman  and  introduced  him  to  his  new  lodging  upon  the  bare 
ground.  His  senses  were  gone.  Covering  him  as  well  as  I  could 
with  blankets,  I  seated  myself  upon  my  feet  behind  him,  expecting 
he  would  be  a  corpse  before  morning. 

THE  SITUATION. 

Pause  for  a  moment  and  consider  the  situation.  Worse  than  alone, 
in  a  savage  wilderness,  without  food,  without  fire,  cold  and  shivering 
wolves  fighting  and  howling  all  around  me.  Dark  clouds  hid  the 
stars.  All  as  solitary  as  death.  But  that  same  kind  Providence 
that  I  had  always  known  was  watching  over  me  still.  .  I  committed 
all  to  Him  and  felt  no  fear.  As  soon  as  light  dawned,  I  pulled  down 
my  tent,  saddled  my  horse,  found  the  Captain  able  to  stand  on  his 
feet.  Just  at  this  moment  one  of  the  emigrants  whom  I  was  trying 
to  overtake  came  up.  He  was  in  search  of  venison.  Half  a  mile 
ahead  were  the  wagons  I  hoped  to  overtake,  and  we  were  soon  there 
and  ate  plentifully  of  fresh  meat.  Within  eight  feet  of  where  my 
tent  had  been  set  fresh  tracks  of  two  Indians  were  to  be  seen,  but 
I  did  not  know  that  they  were  there.  They  killed  and  I'obbed  Mr. 
Newton,  only  a  short  distance  off,  but  would  not  kill  his  wife  be- 
cause she  was  a  woman.  They  killed  another  man  on  our  cut-o*tf, 
but  the  rest  of  the  emigrants  escaped  with  their  lives.  We  traveled 
on  for  a  few  days  and  came  to  the  foot  of  the  Calipose  Mountain. 
Here  my  children  and  my  grandchildren  came  up  with  us,  a  joyful 
meeting.  They  had  been  near  starving.  Mr.  Pringle  tried  to  shoot 
a  wolf,  but  he  was  too  weak  and  trembling  to  hold  the  rifle  steady. 
They  all  cried  because  they  had  nothing  to  eat;  but  just  at  this 
time  their  own  son  came  to  them  with  a  supply,  and  all  cried  again. 
Winter  had  now  set   in.     We  were   many  days   crossing  the   Calipose 


Documents.  203 

]\I(>uiit;ii)i,  alile  to  go  ahead  only  a  mile  or  two  each  day.  The  road 
had  1o  be  cut  and  opened  for  us,  and  the  mountain  was  covered  with 
snow.  Provisions  gave  out  and  Mr.  Pringle  set  off  on  horseback  to 
the  settlements  for  relief,  not  knowing  how  long  he  would  be  away, 
or  whether  he  would  ever  get  through.  In  a  week  or  so  our  scanty 
])rovisions  were  all  gone  aud  we  were  again  in  a  state  of  starvation. 
Many  tears  were  slied  througii  the  day,  by  all  save  one.  She  had 
passed  tlirough  many  trials  suflticient  to  convince  her  that  tears 
would  avail  nothing  in  our  extremities.  Through  all  my  sutferings 
in  crossing  the  plains,  I  not  once  sought  relief  by  the  shedding  of 
tears,  nor  thought  we  should  not  live  to  reach  the  settlement.  The 
same  faith  that  I  ever  had  in  the  blessings  of  kind  Providence 
strengthened  in  proportion  to  the  trials  I  had  to  endure.  As  tlie 
only  alternative,  or  last  resort  for  the  present  time,  Mr.  Pringles's 
oldest  sou,  CUark,  sliot  down  one  of  liis  father's  best  working  oxen 
and  dressed  it.  It  had  not  a  particle  of  fat  on  it,  but  we  had  some- 
thing to  eat — poor  bones  to  pick  without  bread  or  salt. 

BLESSED   BELIEF. 

Orus  Brown's  party  was  six  days  ahead  of  ours  in  starting;  he 
had  gone  down  the  old  emigrant  route  and  reached  the  settlements 
in  September.  Soon  after  he  heard  of  the  suffering  emigrants  at 
the  south  and  set  oft"  in  haste  with  four  pack  horses  and  provisions 
for  our  relief.  He  met  Mr.  Pringle  and  turned  about.  In  a  few  days 
they  were  at  our  camp.  We  had  all  retired  to  rest  in  our  tents, 
hoping  to  forget  our  misery  until  daylight  should  remind  us  again 
of  our  sad  fate.  In  the  stillness  of  the  night  the  footsteps  of  horses 
were  heard  rushing  toward  our  tents.  Directly  a  halloo.  It  was  the 
well-known  voice  of  Orus  Brown  and  Virgil  Pringle.  You  can  realize 
the  joy.  Orus,  by  his  persuasive  insistence,  encouraged  us  to  more 
effort  to  reach  the  settlements.  Five  miles  from  where  we  kad  en- 
camped we  fell  into  the  company  of  half-breed  French  and  Indians 
with  paekhorses.  We  hired  six  of  them  and  pushed  ahead  again. 
Our  provisions  were  becoming  short  and  we  were  once  more  on  an 
allowance  until  reaching  the  first  settlers.  There  our  hardest  strug- 
gles were  ended.  On  Christmas  day,  at  2  P.  M.  I  entered  tke  house 
of  a  Methodist  minister,  the  first  house  I  had  set  my  feet  in  for 
nine  months.  For  two  or  three  weeks  of  my  journey  down  the 
Willamette  I  had  felt  something  in  the  end  of  my  glove  finger  which 
1  supposed  to  be  a  button;  on  examination  at  my  new  home  in  Salem, 
I  found  it  to  be  a  6^/4 -cent  piece.  This  was  the  whole  of  my  cash 
capital  to  commence  business  with  in  Oregon.  With  it  I  purchased 
three   needles.     I   traded   off   some   of   my   old   clothes   to   the   squaws 


204  Documents. 

for    liiickskiii,    worked    tliom    into    gloves    for    the    Oregon    ladies   and 
geiilloiiien,   which   cleared   me   upwards   of  $30. 

THE   BEGINNING    OF   PACIFIC    UNIVERSITY. 

Later  I  accepted  the  invitation  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clark,  of  Tualaten 
Plains,  to  spend  the  winter  with  them.  I  said  to  Mr  (Jlark  one  day, 
"Why  has  Proviilenee  frowned  on  me  and  left  me  poor  in  this  world. 
Had  he  blessed  me  with  riches,  as  he  has  many  others,  T  know  right 
well  wliat  I  would  do."  "What  would  you  do'?"  '^I  would  estab- 
lish myself  in  a  comfortable  house  and  receive  all  poor  children  and 
be  a  mother  to  them."  He  fixed  his  keen  eyes  on  me  to  see  if  I  was 
in  earnest.  ' '  Yes,  I  am, ' '  said  I.  "If  so,  I  will  try, ' '  said  he,  ' '  to 
help  you."  He  purposed  to  take  an  agency  and  get  assistance  to 
establish  a  school  in  the  plains.  I  should  go  into  the  log  meeting- 
iiouse  and  receive  all  the  children,  rich  and  poor.  Those  parents 
who  were  able  were  to  pay  $1  a  week  for  board,  tuition,  washing, 
and  all.  I  agreed  to  labor  for  one  year  for  nothing,  while  Mr. 
Clark  and  others  were  to  assist  as  far  as  they  were  able  in  fur- 
nishing provisions.  The  time  fixed  upon  to  begin  was  March,  1848, 
when  I  found  everything  prepared  for  me  to  go  into  the  old  meeting- 
house and  cluck  up  my  chickens.  The  neighbors  had  collected  what 
broken  knives  and  forks,  tin  pans,  and  dishes  they  could  part  with, 
for  the  Oregon  pioneer  to  commence  house-keeping  with.  I  had  a 
well-educated  lady  from  the  East,  a  missionary's  wife,  for  a  teacher, 
and  my  family  increased  rai)idly.  In  the  summer  they  put  me  up  a 
boarding-house.  I  now  had  30  boarders  of  both  sexes,  and  of  all 
ages,  from  four  years  old  to  twenty-one.  T  managed  them  and  did 
all  my  work  except  washing.  That  was  done  by  the  scholars.  In 
the  spring  of  '49  we  called  for  trustees.  Had  eight  appointed.  They 
voted  me  the  whole  charge  of  the  boarding-house  free  of  rent,  and 
I  was  to  provide  for  myself.  The  price  of  board  was  established 
at  $2  per  week.  Whatever  I  made  over  my  expenses  was  my  own. 
In  '51  I  had  40  in  my  family  at  $2.50  per  week;  mixed  with  my  own 
hands  3,423  pounds  of  flour  in  less  than  five  months.  Mr.Clark  made 
over  to  the  trustees  a  quarter  section  of  land  for  a  town  plot.  A 
large  and  handsome  building  is  on  the  site  we  selected  at  the  first 
starting.  It  has  been  under  town  incorporation  for  two  years,  and 
at  the  last  session  of  the  legislature  a  charter  was  granted  for  a 
university  to  be  called  Pacific  University,  with  a  limitation  of 
$50,000.00.  The  president  and  professor  are  already  here  from  Ver- 
mont. The  teacher  and  his  lady  for  the  academy  are  from  New 
York.  I  have  endeavored  to  give  general  outlines  of  what  I  have 
done.  You  must  be  judges  whether  I  have  been  doing  good  or  evil. 
1  have  labored  for  myself  and  the  rising  generation,  but  I  have  not 


Documents.  205 

quit  hard  work,  and  live  at  my  ease,  independent  as  to  worldly  con- 
cerns. I  own  a  nicely  furnished  white  frame  house  on  a  lot  in  town, 
within  a  short  distance  of  the  public  buildings.  That  I  rent  for 
.$100  per  year.  I  have  eight  other  town  lots,  without  buildings, 
worth  $150  each.  I  have  eight  cows  and  a  number  of  young  cattle. 
The  cows  I  rent  out  for  their  milk  and  one-half  of  their  increase.  I 
have  rising  $1,100  cash  due  me;  $400  of  it  I  have  donated  to  the 
University,  besides  $100  I  gave  to  the  Academy  three  years  ago. 
This  much  I  have  been  able  to  accumulate  by  my  own  industry,  in- 
dependent of  my  children,  since  I  drew  GV^  cents  from  the  finger  of 
my  glove. 


I 


PUBLICATIONS 

OF  THE 

Oregon  Historical  Society 


SOURCES  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  OREGON 

Volume    I 

Number  1.— .Touknal  of  Medorem  Crawford— An  Account  of  Hrs 
Trip  Across  the  Plains  in  1842.    Price,  25  Cents. 

Number  2.— The  Indian  Council  at  Walla  Walla,  May  and  .Tune, 
1855,  BY  Col.  Lawrence  Kip— A  Journal.    Price,  25  Cents. 

Numbers  3  to  6  Inclusive.— The  Correspondence  and  Journals  of 
Captain  Nathaniel  J.  Wyeth,  1831-6.— A  Record  of  Two  Expeditions, 
FOR  the  Occupation  op  the  Oregon  Country,  with  Maps,  Introduction 
and  Index.    Price,  81.10. 

The  Proceedings  of  the  Oregon  Historical  Society  for  189K-9, 
Including  Paper  by  Silas  B.  Smith,  on  "Beginnings  in  Oregon," 
97  Pages.    Price,  25  Cents. 

The  Proceedings  of  the  Oregon  Historical  Society  for  1899-1900, 
Including  Two  Historical  Papers,  120  Pages.    Price,  25  Cents. 


QUARTERLY  OF  THE  OREGON  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

No.  3,  Vol.  IV,  September  1903. 

James  K.  ITellp— History  of  the  Preparation  of  the  First  Code  of 

Oregon 18,5 

Miles  C.  Moore— A  Pioneer  Railroad  Builder:    Dorsey  S.  Baker       -  195 

Capt.  John  Mullan,  U.  S.  ^.— From  Walla  Walla  to  San  Francisco    -  202 

William  M.  Co/iuV;— Indian  Wars  of  Southern  Oregon       -       -       -       -  227 

John  3/tnto— MiNTO's  Pass  :  Its  History  and  an  Indian  Tradition    -  241 
Reminiscences  (secured  by  H.  S.  Lyman)— 

Anson  Sterling  Cone 251 

Mrs.  Rebeka  Hopkins     ------..--..  2.59 

Mrs.  Anna  Tremewan -261 

Louis  Labonte's  Recollections  of  Men 264 

Communications- 
Jos.  H.  iSharp— Early  Schools  In  Lane  County        ------  267 

8.  A.  Clarke — The  Montures  on  French  Prairie      ------  268 

Documents— Oregon  Material  Taken  from  a  File  of  an  Independence  (Mo.) 
and  Weston  (Mo.)  Paper  for  1844  and  1845;  also  Some  Minor  Extracts 
from  Other  Papers  in  that  Vicinity        -----..-270 


No.  4,  Vol.  IV,  December,  1903. 

William  Alfred  3/orris— The  Origin  and  Authorship  of  the  Bancroft 

Pacific  States  Publications:  a  History  of  a  History.     -      -  287 

Clarence  B.  jBafir^cy— Pioneer  Papers  of  Puget  Sound         -       -       -       -  365 

In  Memoriam  of  Willard  H.  Rees 386 

Short  Biography  of  Joseph  Holman        - 392 

Documents— Letter  of  Smith,  Sublette  and  Jackson— Migration  to  and  Set- 
tlement of  Oregon 895 


No.  1,  Vol.  V,  March,  1904. 

Clarence  B.  Bagley—"Ts.E  Mercer   Immigration:"   Two   Cargoes  of 

Maidens  for  the  Sound  Country         -- 1 

Thomas  W.  I^osch— The  Evolution  of  Spokane  and  Stevens  Counties  25 
T.  W.  Z»ai;enpo»-<— Extract  from  "Recollections  of  an  Indian  Agent"  34 
JbTin  3JBn<o —Antecedents  of  the  Oregon  Pioneers  and  the  Light 

These  Throw  on  Their  Motives 38 

Peter  IT.  ^wrneW- "Recollections  and  Opinions  of  an  Old  Pioneer." 

Chapter  III 64 


PEICE:  FIFTY  CENTS  PER  NUMBER,  TWO  DOLLARS  PER  YEAR. 


UM1YER5ITT  OF  OREQON. 


THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL  confers  the  decrees  of 
Master  of  Arts,  (and  in  prospect,  of  Doctor  of  Phi- 
Josophjr,)  Civil  and  Sanitarj^  Engineer  (C.  E.),  Elec- 
trical Engineer  (E.  E.),  Chemical  Engineer  (Ch.E.,) 
and  Mining  Engineer  (Min.  E.J 


THE  COLLEGE  Oh  LITERATURE,  SCIENCE,  AND  THE 
ARTS  confers  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  on 
graduates  from  the  following  groups:  (1)  General 
Classical;  (2)  General  Literary,  (3)  General  Scien- 
tiiic;  (4)  Civic-Historical.  It  offers  Collegiate  Courses 
not  leading  to  a  degree  as  follows:  (1)  Preparatory 
to  Law  or  Journalism;  (2)  Course  for  Teachers. 


THE  COLLEGE  OF  SCIENCE  AND  ENGINEERING,— 
A. — The  School  of  Applied  Science  confers  the  de- 
gree of  Bachelor  of  Science  on  graduates  from 
the  following  groups ;  (1)  General  Science;  (2) 
Chemistry;  (3)  Phjrsics;  (4)  Biology;  (5)  Geol- 
ogj^  and  Mineralogy.  It  offers  a  Course  Pre- 
paratory to  Medicine. 
B. —  The  School  of  Engineering:  (I)  Civil  and  San- 
itary; (2)  Electrical;  (3)  Chemical. 


THE  SCHOOL   OF  MINES  AND  MINING. 
THE  SCHOOL   OF  MEDICINE  at  Portland. 
THE  SCHOOL   OF  LAW  at  Portland. 
THE  SCHOOL  OF  MUSIC. 
Address 

The  President, 

Eugene,  Oregon. 


THE    QUARTERLY 


Oregon  Historical  Society. 


Volume  V.]  SEPTEMBER,    1904  [Number  3 


CONTENTS. 

Ansel  F.  ^emcnttaj/— BOTANISTS  OF  the  Oregon  Country,  -       -      -     207 

Literary   Remains  of  David  Douglas,  Botanist  of  the  Oregon 

Country— I: 215 

Reprint  of  his  "Sketch  of  a  Journey  to  the  Northwestern  Part  of  the 

Continent  of  North  America  During  the  Years  1824-20-20-27;"  with 

Editorial  Prefatory  Notex,  and  "A  Brief  Memoir  of  the  Life  of  David 

Douglas,"  by  Sir  W.  J.  Hooker. 

Peter  H.  J5ifrtie<<— Recollections  and  Opinions  of  an  Old  Pioneer.— 

Continued,    ---------------     272 


PRICE :    FIFTY  CENTS  PER  NUMBER,  TWO  DOLLARS  PER  YEAR 

Entered  at  the  post  office  atPortland,  Oregon,  as  secondrclass  matter. 


The  Oregon  Historical  Society 

Organized  December  17,  1898 


C.  B.  BELLINGER President 

WM.  D.  FENTON Vice-President 

P,  G.  YOUNG Secretary 

CHABLE8  E.  LADD Tbeasitbek 

George  H.  Himes,  Assistant  Secretary. 


DIRECTORS 

THE  GOVERNOR  OF  OREGON,  ex  ojfflcio. 

THE  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION,  ex  officio. 

Term  Expires  at  Annual  Meeting  in  December,  1904, 
H.  W.  SCOTT.    MRS.  HARRIET  K.  McARTHUR. 

Term  Expires  at  Annual  Meeting  in  December,  1905, 
F.  G.  YOUNG,    WM.  D.  FENTON. 

Term  Expires  at  Annual  Meeting  in  December,  1906,' 
JAMES  R.  ROBERTSON,    JOSEPH  R.  WILSON. 

Tferm  Expires  at  Annual  Meeting  in  December,  1907, 
C.  B.  BELLINGER,    MRS.  MARIA  L.  MYRICK. 


The  Quarterly  is  sent  free  to  all  members  of  the  Society.    The  annual  dues 
are  two  dollars.    The  fee  for  life  membership  is  twenty-flve  dollars. 

Contributions  to  The  Quarterly  and  correspondence  relative  to  historical 
materials,  or  pertaining  to  the  affairs  of  this  Society,  should  be  addressed  to 

F.  Q.  TOUNQ, 

Eugene,  Oregon.  Secretaiy^. 

Subscriptions  for   Th»   Quarterly,  or  .for   the  other   publications   of  the 
Society,  should  be  sent  to 

GEORGS    H.   HIMES, 
City  HAiiL,  Pobti^nd,  Oregon.  Auistant  Secretary. 


THE    QUARTERLY 

OF    THE 

Oregon  Histoeical  Society. 

Volume  V.]  SEPTEMBER,    1904  [Number  3 

iOT/^KIlSTS  ©r  TiE  OIEQOM 

ITIT. 


By  Ansel  F.  Hem  en  way. 

This  paper  will  attempt  to  consider  those  who  have  made 
the  more  important  botanical  collections  and  researches  in 
"The  Ore^fon  Country,"  that  is  in  that  part  of  Northwest 
America  which  was  once  called  the  Oregon  Territory.  It  in- 
cluded what  is  now  Oreg'on,  Washington,  Idaho,  and  parts  of 
jMontana  and  Wyoming. 

The  fii-st  botanical  collectors  to  visit  ''The  Oregon  Coun- 
try" came  with  exploring  expeditions.  They  made  collec- 
tions along  the  Coast,  but  were  not  careful  in  keeping  record 
of  the  localities  from  which  they  obtained  their  specimens ; 
so  that  when  the  collections  were  taken  to  Europe,  specimens 
from  Oregon,  California.  South  America,  and  various  islands 
of  the  Pacific  Avere  mixed.  The  species  names  of  some  of  our 
indigenous  plants  are  all  there  is  to  remind  us  that  these 
collectors  ever  existed. 

Thaddaeus  Haenke  was  perhaps  the  first  botanist  to  visit 
Oregon.  He  collected  specimens  along  the  Western  Coast 
of  the  American  continent  from  Patagonia  to  Bering's  Strait. 
He  first  saw  the  coast  in  1789.  He  died  in  Bolivia  in  1817. 
His  collections  are  now^  at  Madrid  and  at  Prague, 


20S  Ansel  F.  Hemenway. 

Archibald  ]\Ienzies,  a  Scottish  botanist,  first  came  to  the 
Northwest  Coast  in  a  trading  vessel  in  1786,  or,  as  some  aii- 
thrrities  sm.v,  in  1779.  In  Vancouver's  expedition  he  was  sur- 
iz'eon  on  the  ship  Discovery.  In  the  account  of  Vancouver's 
voyage  about  all  the  mention  of  Menzies  is  the  statement  that 
they  named  an  island  in  the  Columbia  after  him.  His  col- 
lections were  sent  to  England. 

Josef  M.  IMocino.  a  Spanish  botanist,  coasted  from  Cali- 
fornia to  Nootka  in  1792.  There  were  several  Russian  botan- 
ists that  made  collections  in  Oregon  and  California,  between 
1816  and  1824.  Among  them  may  be  mentioned  G.  H.  v(m 
Ijangsdorff.  A.  von  Chamisso.  Johann  F.  Eschscholtz,  and 
Baron   von   Wrangel. 

The  most  important  of  the  early  botanists  of  the  Pacific 
Coast  was  David  Douglas.  As  the  Quarterly  begins,  in  the 
pages  following  this  sketch,  a  reprint  of  the  original  memoir 
of  the  life  of  Douglas  and  of  his  letters  and  journal  descril)- 
ing  his  explorations  in  the  Oregon  country,  the  reader  is  re- 
ferred to  that  account.  With  Douglas  came  Dr.  John 
Scouler,  a  physician  and  scientist.  They  sailed  around  South 
America,  then  northward,  entering  the  Columbia  April  7, 
1825.  They  tarried  at  its  mouth  and  began  their  collec- 
tions by  finding  the  pretty  salal  blossoms,  Gaultheria  Shallon. 
The  rest  of  the  month  of  April  was  spent  at  Fort  George. 
As  it  rained  nearly  every  day,  they  did  not  have  a  pleasant 
time  for  botanical  excursions.  They  next  went  to  Fort  Van- 
couver, where  for  ten  days  they  made  extensive  collections. 
Returning  to  Fort  George,  they  made  botanical  explorations 
till  the  last  of  May. 

Dr.  Scouler  makes  mention  of  the  abundance  of  Camas, 
Camassia  Esculentia,  the  bulbs  of  which  formed  so  important 
part  of  the  Indians'  food.  They  found  some  rare  flowers, 
such  as  Pyrolas  and  the  Orchids,  Calypso  borealis  and  Coral- 
lorhiza  inatta.  Then  leaving  Douglas,  Dr.  Scouler  crossed 
the  bar  of  the  Columbia  for  the  second  time  and  sailed  on  a 
trading  vessel  along  the  coast  of  Washington  up  to  Nootka. 
On  July  7  the  vessel  started  back  and  arrived  at  the  Columbia 


Botanists  of  Oregon  Country.  209 

September  7,  1825.  Durinsr  this  trip  Seouler  visited  almost 
every  accessible  bay  or  inlet  which  he  passed.  Along  the 
coast  of  Washington  the  lichens  and  mosses  were  so  plentiful 
that  he  could  find  forty  different  species  in  an  hour.  He 
also  mentions  the  abundance  of  Saxifrage  and  mimulus  on 
the  rocky  banks  of  the  bays  and  rivers.  Many  of  the  Indian 
tribes  were  so  treacherous  that  they  did  not  dare  to  leave 
tlie  vessel  to  make  collections  of  furs  or  plants. 

Returning  to  Fort  George  and  finding  it  deserted.  Dr. 
Scolder  proceeded  to  Fort  Vancouver,  where  he  found  Doug- 
las. For  fifteen  days  Douglas  and  Seouler  made  excursions 
and  examined  specimens;  but  as  the  weather  had  been  very 
dry,  they  found  but  few  flowers.  Dr.  Seouler  left  Douglas 
September  20,  and  on  October  25  sailed  out  of  the  Columbia 
for  the  Sandwich  Islands. 

One  of  the  first  generalizations  that  Dr.  Seouler  makes 
about  "The  Oregon  Country"  in  his  "Journal  of  a  Voyage 
to  Northwest  America — Columbia.  Vancouver,  and  Nootka 
Sound."  is  that  the  damp  climate  favors  an  abundant  growth 
of  mosses  and  lichens.  In  this  journal  (still  in  manuscript, 
but  soon  to  be  published  in  the  Quarterly)  he  does  not  attempt 
to  give  many  names  of  the  flowers  he  found  nor  the  species 
of  those  he  does  mention.  As  he  was  a  physician,  he  seemed 
to  be  much  more  careful  in  his  zoological  notes.  He  gives 
a  minute  description  of  the  external  and  internal  organs  of 
almost  every  new  species  of  fish  or  bird  he  found,  while  he 
describes  in  detail  but  few  flowers. 

Thomas  Nuttall.  the  botanist,  who  visited  the  Columbia 
valley  in  1834-5,  did,  perhaps,  the  most  work  for  the  botanical 
knowledge  of  the  flora  of  the  United  States  as  a  whole.  He 
was  born  in  England  in  1786.  A  love  of  natural  science,  he 
says,  and  perhaps  also  a  hope  to  improve  his  position  in  the 
world  brought  him  to  the  United  States  when  only  22  years 
old.  In  spite  of  poverty  and  consequent  necessity  of  work- 
ing for  a  living,  he  had  at  this  age  a  good  knowledge  of  the 
language  and  history  of  his  country  and  was  somewhat  fa- 
miliar with  natural  historv  and  even  with  Latin  and  Greek. 


210  Ansel  F.  Hemenway. 

He  had  beeu  interested  in  mineralogy,  but  his  first  visit  to 
Professor  Parton,  a  Philadelphia  botanist,  "decided  his  voca- 
tion to  the  worship  of  flora,  to  whose  shrine  he  remained  de- 
voted to  the  last  days  of  his  life." 

In  1810-11  Nnttall,  with  Mr.  John  Bradbury,  went  up 
the  Missouri  River  to  the  Mandan  villagre.  They  accom- 
panied to  that  point  Wilson  P.  Hunt's  overland  expedition, 
a  part  of  the  Astor  enterprise.  Later  he  explored  the  Mis- 
sissippi and  Ohio  valleys.  As  a  result  of  these  investiga- 
tions he  published  in  1818  "The  Genera  of  the  North  Ameri- 
can Plants."  "Upon  this  w^ork  principally  stands  the  repu- 
tation of  Mr.  Nuttall  as  a  profound  botanist."  Then  he  ex- 
plored the  Arkansas  River  and  its  tributaries,  traveling  more 
than  5,000  miles  in  a  period  of  sixteen  months,  mainly  over  a 
country  never  before  visited  by  scientific  explorers.  In 
1832  he  wrote  a  "Manual  of  the  Ornithology  of  the  United 
States  and  Canada." 

In  March.  1834,  Nuttall  started  for  the  Northwest  Coast 
with  the  Wyeth  Expedition,  arriving  at  the  Snake  River  in 
the  following  August.  Then  they  went  to  The  Dalles  and 
down  the  Columbia  to  Fort  Vancouver.  Nuttall  made  several 
short  trips  into  the  surrounding  country  collecting  botanical 
specimens,  exploring  the  Willamette  as  far  as  the  falls.  On 
December  13,  he  started  for  the  Sandwich  Islands  to  winter. 
In  the  following  spring  he  returned  and  made  further  ex- 
cursions, going  up  the  Columbia  as  far  as  The  Dalles.  In 
October  he  went  again  to  winter  in  the  Sandwich  Islands. 
The  next  summer  he  spent  in  California,  after  which  lie  re- 
turned to  his  home  in  Massachusetts.  The  results  of  this 
journey  were  published  in  1840  in  the  "Transactions  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society."  Thomas  Nuttall  spent  the 
last  seventeen  years  of  his  life  in  England,  where  he  died 
September  10,  1859. 

IMl".  Nuttall  did  not  enjoy  himself  in  society;  he  had  such 
a  retiring  disposition.     "To  me,"  said  Mr.  Nuttall,  "hard- 


Botanists  of  Oregon  Country.  211 

sliii)s  and  privations  are  cheaply  purchased  if  I  may  but  roam 
ovt'i-  the  wild  domain  of  Primeval  Nature  and  behold. 

'Another  Flora  there  of  bolder  hues, 
And  richer  sweets  beyond  our  garden's  pride.'  " 

Elias  Durand  in  his  "Memoir  of  Thomas  Nuttall,"  says: 
"No  other  explorer  of  the  botany  of  North  America  has  per- 
sonally made  more  discoveries,  no  writer  except  perhaps  Asa 
dray  has  described  more  new  genera  and  species." 

Mr.  W.  D.  Brackenridge  and  Dr.  Charles  Pickering,  bot- 
anists with  the  United  States  Exploring  Expedition,  under 
Ijieutenant  Wilkes,  went  from  the  Columbia  by  land  to  Cali- 
fornia in  1841.  An  account  of  their  collections  was  given  by 
Dr.  Torrey  in  the  Botany  of  the  Expedition,  to  which  the 
writer  has  not  had  access. 

Dr.  John  S.  Newberry  and  Dr.  J.  T.  Cooper  made  some 
botanical  explorations  in  Oregon  and  Washington  in  con- 
nection with  the  Pacific  Railroad  Surveys.  In  the  report  of 
this  Survey,  Vol.  VI,  part  III,  Dr.  Newberry  gives  some  gen- 
eral observations  on  the  plant  life  in  Northern  California  and 
•Oregon  and  also  a  description  of  the  forest  trees  in  the  same 
i-egion.  Most  of  the  botanical  names  of  the  trees  he  men- 
tions have  been  changed  since  his  time.  From  this  report 
we  may  conclude  that  he  made  collections  in  the  Cascade  and 
Coast  ^Mountains,  the  Klamath,  Des  Chutes,  and  Willamette 
Valleys,  as  well  as  in  California  and  Nevada.  In  A-^oi.  XII.. 
Part  II.,  there  is  a  botanical  report  by  Dr.  J.  T.  Cooper,  who 
visited  many  parts  of  Washington  and  Oregon.  He  does 
not  mention  as  many  trees  as  Dr.  Newberry^  but  he  gives  a 
description  of  most  of  our  common  shrubs.  He  also  made 
some  observations  on  the  life  in  fresh  and  salt  water. 

]\r.  Duflot  de  Mofras,  who  was  sent  by  the  French  govern- 
ment on  an  expedition  to  the  west  coast  of  North  America 
in  1840-2.  seems  to  have  interested  himself  in  making  a 
botanical  collection.  In  an  appendix  to  his  "Explorations 
du  Territoire  de  Oregon  des  Californies"  there  is  a  catalogue 
of  the  i)rincipal  plants  of  the  Northwest  Coast.      It  cnuiiioi-- 


212  Ansel  F.  Hemenway. 

ates  about  290  species,  but  has  not  the  form  and  accuracy 
to  be  of  much  scientific  value. 

Captain  John  C.  Fremont  had  predilections  for  botany, 
but  his  passage  through  the  Oregon  country  (on  the  trail  of 
the  pioneers  to  Fort  Vancouver  and  thence  along  the  eastern 
slope  of  the  Cascade  range  to  California)  was  accomplished 
during  autumn  and  winter  months,  unfavorable  for  attention 
to  plant  life  and  the  work  of  collecting.  His  collections  are 
described  by  Dr.  Torrey  in  "Plantae  Fremontianae"  in  the 
"Smithsonian  Contributions"  for  1850. 

Fremont  mentions  meeting  a  German  botanist  named 
Luders  on  the  Columbia,  at  a  little  bay  below  the  Cascades, 
which  was  called  after  him  Luders'  Bay. 

Professor  A.  Wood  made  important  collections  on  his 
journey  from  San  Diego  through  Oregon  in  1866. 

In  recent  times  there  have  been  so  many  who  have  more 
or  less  extensively  investigated  the  flora  of  this  part  of  the 
United  States  that  only  a  few  of  the  more  important  of 
them  will  be  mentioned.  The  following  have  made  important 
collections  or  investigations  in  Oregon:  Messrs.  Joseph  and 
Thomas  Howell,  of  Milwaukie;  Mr.  R.  D.  Nevius,  of  The 
Dalles;  Professor  Henderson,  now  in  the  University  of  Idaho; 
Professor  J.  G.  Leramon,  of  California,  and  Professor  B.  J. 
Hawthorne,  of  the  University  of  Oregon.  Mr.  W.  Suksdorf. 
of  White  Salmon;  Mr.  W.  C.  Cusick,  of  Union,  and  Professor 
C.  V.  Piper,  of  Pullman,  have  made  important  collections 
in  Washington.  The  work  of  Dr.  Henry  N.  Bolander  and 
Mr.  E.  Hall  also  covered  a  wide  range  of  collections  on  this 
coast. 

The  one  who  has  done  the  most  substantial  work  for  the 
botany  of  the  northwestern  part  of  the  United  States,  Mr. 
Thomas  Howell,  is  worthy  of  a  more  detailed  discussion.  He 
came  to  Oregon  in  1850.  He  wished  to  know  the  plants  and 
trees  that  grew  about  him,  so  he  began  collecting  as  early 
as  1876.  But  he  soon  found  that  there  was  no  work  that 
described  completely  the  flora  in  this  section  of  the  United 
States.     He  undertook,  to  overcome  this  difficulty,  the  enor- 


Botanists  of  Oregon  Country.  213 

uiuus  task  of  familiarizing  himself  with  the  plants  of  Oregon, 
Washington,  and  Idaho  and  then  collecting  and  writing  de- 
scriptions of  them.  Mr.  Howell  thus  began  the  writing  of  his 
"F]t)ra  of  Northwest  America"  in  1882.  When  he  had  pre- 
pared the  first  fascicle  of  this  work  he  found  another  obstacle 
to  surmount,  for  there  was  no  typesetter  in  Oregon  able  to 
"set  up"  the  technical  matter.  But  the  indefatigable  col- 
lector was  not  to  be  thus  hindered  from  bringing  together 
the  results  of  years  of  field  experience,  so  he  learned  to  set 
type,  and  during  the  past  eight  years  has  "set  up"  form 
after  form  until  the  816  pages  have  been  printed.  It  is  the 
only  botanical  work  that  covers  this  part  of  the  United 
States. 

Mr.  Howell 's  descriptions  are  usually  general  enough  to 
include  possible  variation.  While  he  has  divided  several 
families,  he  has  not  favored  the  elevation  of  every  variety 
to  the  rank  of  a  species.  He  has  followed  the  arrangement  of 
Bentham  and  Hooker.  His  work  describes  3,150  species; 
2.370  of  which  are  herbaceous  flowering  plants.  The  rest  are 
trees,  shrubs,  sedges,  and  rushes.  As  Mr.  Howell  wished 
to  see  for  himself  every  floM^er  he  described,  he  necessarily  had 
to  endure  many  hardships  in  making  journeys  to  out-of-the- 
way  places.  He  has  done  all  this  work  purely  because  he 
loved  the  science,  without  hope  of  any  remuneration  at  the 
end  worth  considering  and  with  practically  no  aid  but  the 
encouragement  of  his  friends.  During  the  printing  of  the 
"Flora"  his  friend,  Mr.  Martin  Grorman.  gave  him  aid  of  a 
more  practical  value  by  reading  and  revising  the  proofs.  Mr. 
Howell  has  donated  his  large  collection  of  plants  to  the 
herbarium  of  the  University  of  Oregon,  where  it  is  now  being 
deposited.  The  people  of  this  State  might  well  honor  Mr. 
Howell  for  his  unselfish  efforts  to  advance  the  scientific 
knowledge  of  our  Northwest  Coast. 

The  great  diversity  of  soil  and  variation  of  climate  and 
altitude  in  this  Oregon  Country  has  offered  a  very  rich  field 
for  botanical  investigations.  Our  plants  have  remained  so 
long  undescribed   that   they  seem   to  a   botanical   student   to 


214  Ansel  F.  Hemenway. 

take  delight  in  showing  all  sorts  of  variation  irom  their 
Eastern  cousins.  Our  lower  forms  of  plant  life,  which  are 
very  numerous,  have  not  yet  been  thoroughly  investigated 
or  described,  but  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  Mr.  Howell  will  re- 
ceive enough  encouragement  to  induce  him  to  write  a  second 
volume  which  will  describe  these  lower  forms. 

Bibliography  of  sources  of  material  not  mentioned  in  the 
paper : 

David  Douglas:  Journal  of  Mr.  Douglas's  travels  in  Hook- 
er's Companion  to  the  Botanical  Magazine,  Vol.  II.,  London. 

David  Douglas,  Botanist,  Leisure  Hour,  Vol.  32,  page  206. 
London. 

Discoverer  of  the  Giant  Pines,  Leisure  Hour,  Vol.  XL, 
page  454.      London. 

An  Early  Hero  of  the  Pacific,  Overland  Mo.,  August, 
1871. 

Thomas  Nuttall:  Popular  Science  Mo.,  Vol.  46,  page  689, 
1895.  ,    '  I  h 

U.  S.  Exploring  Expedition  Reports: 

Vol.  XV.  Botany,  Phanerogamia,  by  Asa  Gray,  published 
1854-56. 

Vol.  XVI.  Botany,  Cryptogamia,  by  W.  D.  Brackenridge, 
published  1854-56. 

Vol.  XVII.  Botany,  Phaenogamia.  by  John  Torrey,  pub- 
lished in  1874. 


UTEMiY  iEH/^lKlS  OP  hmih 

mW^MS,  iOT/^PlST  2F  TBIE 

OKEQ0K1  CO«PTiT. 

[Reprinted  from  "The  Companion  to  the  Botanical  Magazine,"  Volume  II, 
London,  1830.1 

EDITORIAL  PREFATORY   NOTES. 

Several  of  the  following  numbers  of  the  Quarterly  will 
be  taken  up  largely  with  the  publication  of  the  journals  of 
two  scientists,  David  Douglas  and  Dr.  John  Scouler.  These 
men  rendered  the  different  branches  of  natural  history  con- 
spicuous services  through  explorations  conducted  in  the  "Ore- 
gon Country."  Dr.  Scouler  came  as  surgeon  to  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company's  vessel,  the  William  and  Anne,  and  gave  his 
attention  mainly  to  the  fauna  of  the  Pacific  Northwest  during 
the  year  1825.  Mr.  Douglas  came  at  the  same  time  and  con- 
tinued his  work  in  this  region  mainly  as  collector  of  plants 
with  intense,  one  might  almost  say  desperate,  zeal  during 
the  major  part  of  the  time  from  1825  to  1833. 

The  journal  kept  by  Dr.  Scouler  during  his  explorations 
in  the  Pacific  Northwest  has,  I  believe,  never  been  published. 
Through  the  keen  search  for  Oregon  material,  conducted  by 
Mr.  Charles  E.  Ladd,  of  Portland,  it  was  secured  for  the 
region  to  which  it  mainly  pertains,  and  it  was  generously 
turned  over  to  the  Oregon  Historical  Society.  It  will  be 
published  in  the  pages  of  the  Quarterly  along  with  the  re- 
print of  the  Douglas  material.  Probably  not  a  copy  of  the 
work  containing  the  Douglas  narrative  is  to  be  found  in  Ore- 
gon. It  is  believed  that  the  value  of  both  of  these  docu- 
ments will  be  materially  enhanced  by  their  being  brought 
into  conjunction.  They  will  be  found  to  be  very  interesting 
and  exceedingly  important  sources  of  Oregon  history. 

These  documents  represent  the  best  type  of  contemporary 
records  of  extensive  and  intimate  experiences  with  the   In- 


216  F.  G.  Young. 

dians  and  with  the  Hudson  Bay  people.  They  contain  ac- 
curate observations  of  the  conditions  in  Oregon  during  a 
decade  for  which  other  sources  are  very  scarce.  Students  of 
nature  in  the  Pacific  Northwest  will  take  keenest  delight  in 
every  word  of  these  pioneers  of  science  on  this  coast.  These 
modest  accounts  of  the  noble  daring  of  lonely  travelers  as 
they  took  their  lives  into  their  hands  and  penetrated  the  vast 
solitudes  of  "Old  Oregon,"  suffering  extreme  privations  and 
enduring  appalling  hardships  for  the  benefit  of  mankind, 
will  appeal  to  all.  Now  and  then  they  meet  with  natives  ready 
to  stoop  to  acts  of  basest  treachery.  When  we  consider  the 
motives  of  these  pioneers,  their  fortitude  and  their  persist- 
ence, I  think  that  we  shall  be  impressed  with  the  fact  that 
the  quality  of  their  heroism  is  unique. 

An  explorer  in  that  early  time  covering  the  ground  so 
thoroughly  as  did  Douglas  was  of  necessity  brought  into  in- 
timate contact  with  pretty  much  all  the  white  people  estab 
lished  here.  He  saw  all  that  was  here  and  all  that  was  being 
planned.  His  records,  therefore,  afford  not  a  little  help  to- 
ward an  understanding  of  the  forces  and  tendencies  shaping 
affairs  on  Oregon  soil. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  it  is  this  Douglas  for  whom 
the  Douglas  spruce  {Pseudotsuga  Dmiglassi)  was  named. 
Wliile  it  is  quite  fitting  that  the  tree  that  is  the  monarch 
of  the  forests  of  the  Pacific  Northwest — the  largest  and  most 
important  timber  tree— should  bear  the  name  of  this  in- 
defatigable explorer  of  the  flora  and  fauna  of  that  region, 
yet  the  reader  of  his  journals  and  letters  will  be  struck  with 
the  fact  that  it  was  the  sugar  pine  {Finns  Lambertiana)  that 
impressed  him  most.  He  was  virtually  a  worshiper  of  it. 
There  was  no  limit  to  the  sacrifice  he  was  willing  to  make 
to  secure  specimens  of  its  cones  and  twigs.  Having  found  it 
he  went  into  ecstasies  over  it. 

This  number  of  the  Quarterly  contains  the  first  install- 
ment of  the  memoir,  journal  and  letters  of  Douglas.  It  is 
the  record  of  these  investigations  of  the  flora  of  the  Pacific 
Noi'thwest  and   of   California   that   won    for  him   high   rank 


Botanists  of  Oregon  Country.  217 

aiiiDiiir  the  botanists  of  the  world.  The  collections  of  Douglas 
furnished  the  major  portion  of  the  materials  of  several  "in- 
estimable works."  These,  says  Dr.  Hooker,  "will  constitute 
a  lasting  memorial  of  Mr.  Douglas 's  zeal  and  abilities ;  whilst 
not  only  in  this  country  (Great  Britain),  but  throughout 
Europe  and  in  the  United  States  of  America,  there  is  scarcely 
a  spot  of  ground  deserving  the  name  of  a  garden  Avhich  does 
not  owe  many  of  its  most  powerful  attractions  to  the  living 
roots  and  seeds  which  have  been  sent  by  him  to  the  Horticul- 
tui'al  Society  of  London."  A  list  of  154  plants  is  given 
in  the  body  of  the  records  as  introduced  from  the  Pacific 
Northwest  into  Europe  by  Douglas.  A  list  of  forty-seven 
more  represents  those  secured  in  California.  Douglas's  own 
statement  of  his  collections,  to  be  found  in  a  letter  written 
October  23,  1832— which  w^as  a  year  before  his  w^ork  in  the 
Pacific  Northwest  closed— is  as  follows:  "I  think  that  I 
added  not  less  than  150  undescribed  species  this  year,  includ- 
ing some  new  genera,  which  will  bring  up  the  entire  amount 
of  flowering  plants  to  scarcely  less  than  7.000  distinct 
species." 

GENERAL    SCHEDULE    OF    DOUGLAS 's    MOVEMENTS. 

Leaves  England  in  company  with  Dr.  Scouler  for  the 
Columbia  July  25,  1821.  Enters  the  Columbia  April  7,  1825. 
Leaves  Fort  Vancouver  with  the  Annual  Express  for  Eng- 
land (overland  to  Hudson  Bay)  March  20,  1827.  Leaves 
England  for  second  exploration  of  the  Columbia  country  Oc- 
tober, 1829.  Arrives  in  the  Columbia  June  3,  1830.  Ar- 
i-ives  in  California  from  the  Colum))ia  December  22,  1830. 
Goes  to  the  Sandwich  Islands  August,  1832.  Returns  to  Fort 
Vancouver  October,  1832.  Leaves  for  the  Sandwich  Islands 
November,  1833.      Was  killed  there  July  12,  1831. 

AN  OUTLINE  OF  HIS  EXPLORATIONS. 

On  the  outward  voyage  the  William  and  Anne  touches 
at  the  Madeira  Islands,  Rio  Janeiro,  Juan  Fernandez,  and 
Gallipagos  Islands.  The  notes  of  the  naturalists  indicate 
that  they  are  very  active  at  the  above  points  and  through- 


218  F.  G.  YouNa. 

out,  the  voyajj:o.  The  vessel  arrives  opposite  the  month  of 
the  Columbia  on  February  12,  1825.  It  crosses  the  Colum- 
bia bar  April  7th.  For  some  two  weeks  botanical  operations 
are  carried  on  near  the  mouth  of  the  river.  Both  sides 
are  visited  and  expectations  are  realized.  Fort  George  is 
about  to  be  abandoned.  Douglas  makes  the  newly  located 
Fort  Vancouver  his  headquarters  from  April  20  to  May  10. 
In  company  with  Dr.  Scouler  he  goes  down  the  Columbia. 
Returning  alone  at  the  end  of  the  month  he  departs  up 
the  Columbia  June  20  to  a  point  a  few  miles  above  Celilo 
Falls.  On  July  19  starts  to  return  down  the  river  that 
he  may  prosecute  researches  at  the  coast.  Arrives  at  Van- 
couver August  5th.  Dries  and  packs  collections  until 
the  18th.  On  August  19  ascends  the  Willamette,  passing  the 
falls  and  continuing  for  two  days  beyond  to  a  village  of 
Calapooia  Indians  twenty-four  miles  above  the  falls.  Camps 
several  days  near  a  "saline"  spring.  A  hunting  party  goes 
west  over  a  ridge  of  mountains.  At  this  camp  Douglas's 
attention  is  first  called  to  the  seed  of  "a  remarkably  large 
pine."  These  seeds  were  carried  by  the  natives  in  pouches 
and  eaten  by  them  as  nuts.  He  learned  that  the  tree  grew 
in  the  mountains  to  the  south.  Returns  to  Vancouver  "richly 
fraught"  with  "treasure  collected." 

Spends  a  few  days  in  arranging  specimens  and  drying 
seeds.  On  the  5th  of  September,  with  an  Indian  chief  as 
guide,  he  proceeds  to  the  Cascades,  where  he  tries  to  reach 
the  summits  of  the  mountains,  first  on  the  north  side  and  then 
on  the  south.  On  the  13th  he  re-embarks  for  Vancouver. 
Spends  the  rest  of  the  month  of  August  packing  collections. 
Dr.  Scouler  returns  from  a  voyage  to  the  north.  A  wound  in 
Douglas's  knee,  received  in  packing,  disables  him  for  several 
weeks.  On  October  22  he  starts  down  the  Columbia  in  a 
small  canoe,  accompanied  by  four  Indians.  He  aims  to  visit 
Dr.  Scouler  and  old  shipmates  on  the  William  juid  Anne, 
which  is  about  to  weigh  anchor  for  England.  He  misses  the 
vessel  and  continues  on  a  trip  to  Grays  Harbor  and  the  Che- 
halis   River,   as   he   had   planned.      Sufifers    great    liai'dships, 


Botanists  of  Oregon  Country.  219 

exposed  to  a  season  of  incessant  rains,  the  wound  in  his  knee 
still  giving:  him  much  trouble.  From  the  upper  Chehalis  he 
crosses  over  to  the  Cowlitz  and  passes  down  to  the  Columbia. 
Reaches  Vancouver  November  15  from  a  very  unsatisfactory 
trip.  Poor  health  and  inclemency  of  weather  preclude  any 
tliouglit  of  botauy  from  November  15  to  December  30.  On 
December  18  the  Annual  Express  arrived  at  Vancouver.  .^s 
it  had  left  Hudson  Bay  before  ship  had  arrived  from 
p]ngland,  he  was  "heavily  disappointed"  in  not  receiving 
anything  from  home.  On  December  24  rain  drives  him  from 
his  ])ark  hut.  Dr.  McLoughlin  invites  him  into  his  half- 
finished  house.  On  Christmas  Day  his  troublesome  knee  pre- 
vents his  joining  the  gentlemen  in  an  after-breakfast  airing 
on  horseback. 

An  extended  account  of  the  fauna  of  the  Columbia  fol- 
lows. Douglas  evidently  turned  his  investigations  in  that 
direction  during  the  remaining  winter  months. 

He  feels  constrained  to  devote  another  season  to  ex- 
plorations of  the  Columbia  coiuitry,  even  though  this  decision 
meets  with  the  disapproval  of  the  Horticultural  Society  of 
London.  His  plans  now  are  to  return  home  by  crossing  the 
continent  to  Hudson  Bay  in  the  spring  of  1827.  Should 
circumstances  forbid  his  doing  that  he  will  proceed  to  Eng- 
land by  sea. 

Pi-oposes  to  make  Walla  Walla,  Spokane,  and  Kettle  Falls 
liis  headquarters  during  the  spring  and  summer  months  of 
1826  that  he  may  do  justice  to  the  upper  country.  Hopes 
to  send  the  most  of  his  collections  by  the  vessel  leaving  Van- 
couver in  November  and  to  carry  package  of  seed  across  to 
Hudson  Bay  in  the  spring  of  1827.  On  March  20,  in  com- 
pany with  McLeod  and  Ermetinger,  he  starts  up  the  Colum- 
bia. They  have  trying  experiences  with  the  Indians  in  pass- 
ing Celilo  Falls.  Reach  Priest  Rapids  April  1.  On  April 
6  they  arrive  at  the  establishment  on  the  Okanogan  River. 
Proceeds  thence  to  the  junction  of  the  Spokane  with  the 
Columbia.  Botanizes  there  until  the  19th,  then  accompanies 
l)arty  to  Fort  Colville,  near  Kettle  Falls.     On  May  9  he  starts 


220  F.  G.  Young. 

for  abaiuloiied  establishment  at  Spokane  that  he  miyht  meet 
there  a  Canadian  who  possessed  extensive  knowledge  of  the 
country  and  its  productions,  and  who,  Douglas  wished,  sliould 
repair  his  gun.  On  the  13th  he  goes  back  to  Kettle  Falls. 
l-5otaiiiz(>s  th(>  surrounding  country.  June  5  starts  for  Walla 
Walla.  From  Ihe  17th  to  the  24th  makes  firet  excursion  to 
the  Blue  Mountains.  Between  June  2H  and  July  3  makes 
second  trip  to  the  Blue  IMountains.  On  the  10th  starts  down 
the  Columbia  to  meet  company  bringing  letters.  Anxiety 
much  allayed  on  receiving  letters,  read  and  reread.  On  the 
18th  goes  with  a  party  up  the  Snake  to  "its  forks"  (150 
miles).  On  the  25th  makes  side  trips  into  the  Blue  Moun- 
tains. On  the  31st  starts  overland  to  Kettle  Falls  via  Spo- 
kane. In  crossing  Cedar  River  loses  seeds,  notebook  and 
knapsack.  From  August  7  to  15  busy  collecting  plants. 
Hearing  of  chance  to  send  collections  by  last  direct  vessel  to 
England  for  some  years,  he  prepares  to  start  for  Vancouver. 
Troubles  between  Indian  parties  prevent  his  securing  a  guide. 
On  the  19th  sets  out  with  one  Indian.  On  the  23rd  arrives 
at  Okanogan  settlement.  Meets  there  McDonald  and  Ermet- 
inger.  ' '  At  noon  of  the  last  day  of  August,  the  day  previous 
to  that  (the  1st  of  September)  on  which  the  ship  was  fixed 
to  sail,  landed  at  Point  Vancouver,  whence  in  poor  plight, 
weary  and  travel-soiled,  glad  at  heart,  though  possessing 
nothing  but  a  shirt,  leather  trousers  and  an  old  hat,  having 
lost  my  jacket,  neck-kerchief  and  w^orn  out  my  shoes,  I  made 
my  way  to  the  fort,  having  traversed  800  miles  of  the  Colum- 
bia Valley  in  twelve  days,  unattended  by  a  single  person  ex- 
cept my  Indian  guide."  September  1  gets  chests  into  boat 
leaving  for  the  Dryad.  September  2  to  15  gleans  seeds  of 
species  of  plants  collected  the  year  before. 

On  the  20th  of  September  starts  on  an  expedition  to  the 
Umpqua,  "or  Aguilar  River."  to  procure  cones  of  "gigantic 
pine."  On  the  22nd  arrives  at  McLeod's  encampment  at 
McKay's  abandoned  establishment  on  the  Willamette.  Coun- 
try having  been  burned  ovei*.  conditions  are  very  unfavorable 
for  botanizing.     Adventure  with  "grisly  bear"  in  the  upper 


Botanists  of  Oregon  Country.  221 

Willamette  Valle}'.  On  the  16th  strike  the  Umpqiia.  Douglas 
soon  sets  out  for  the  upper  courses  of  the  river  in  search  for 
the  "much-wished-for"  pine.  Lies  stunned  for  several  hours 
from  fall  into  deep  iiully.  On  the  24th  experienced  terrible 
storm.  At  midday  of  the  2r)th  reached  his  "lou^-wished- 
i'ov  pine."  Loses  no  time  in  examininii-  trees  and  collecting' 
l\vi>:s  and  cones.  Is  impressed  with  it  as  "beautiful  and 
iumiensely  grand."  Makes  and  records  measurements  of  a 
large  tree.  The  report  of  his  gun,  fired  to  bring  down  cones, 
i-eveals  his  presence  to  eight  Indians.  Thes  show  spirit  of 
fiendish  hostility  and  render  his  situation  perilous  in  the  ex- 
treme. Douglas's  coolness  and  his  tactics,  showing  a  grim 
determination  to  defend  himself,  cowed  them.  October  28 
to  November  7  travels  to  camp  on  lower  Umpqua,  and  is 
there  exposed  to  severe  drenching  winter  storm  and  threat- 
ened by  skulking  bands  of  hostile  Indians.  Starts  back  to 
Vancouver,  which  is  reached  after  a  journey  of  twelve  days 
of  extreme  misery,  disheartened  by  the  loss  of  nearly  the 
whole  of  his  collections  while  crossing  the  Santiam. 

December  9  revisits  coast  in  hopes  of  replacing  some  of 
the  objects  he  had  lost.  The  undertaking  still  more  un- 
fortunate than  the  first.  Suffers  wreck  of  canoe  and  returns 
home  to  Vancouver  sick  of  effects  of  wet  and  cold.  On  the 
6th  of  March  once  more  visited  the  sea  and  was  again  driven 
Ijack  by  bad  weather,  having  failed  this  third  and  last  time. 

On  March  20,  1827.  by  the  Annual  Express,  in  company 
with  Dr.  McLoughlin,  he  started  for  England.  It  is  "an 
interesting  country"  he  could  "not  quit  without  much  re- 
gret." Goes  via  Fort  Colville  and  Kettle  Falls.  The  long, 
arduous  tramp  across  the  continent  is  described  in  detail. 
Arrived  at  the  York  Factory,  Hudson  Bay,  about  August 
11.  Botanized  a  month.  Sailed  from  Hudson's  Bay  Sep- 
tember 15.      Arrives  at  Portsmouth  on  the  11th  of  October. 

His  great  success  in  so  perilous  an  exploration  made  him 
a  "lion  among  the  learned  and  scientific  men  in  London."" 
Dr.  Hooker  summarizes  the  results  of  Douglas's  expedition. 
Plans  are  soon  made  for  another.      This  time  he  was  Xo  do 


222  F.  G.  Young. 

for  California  what  had  been  done  for  the  Columbia  region. 
He  was  not,  however,  able  to  stay  away  from  the  Oregon 
country.  He  was  equipped  also  for  making  astronomical, 
meteorological,  geographical,  and  other  observations,  and  was 
to  extend  his  explorations  even  into  Siberia. 

Left  England  October,  1829.  Arrives  .  in  Oregon  on 
June  3,  1830.  Spends  six  months  in  Oregon,  but  the  journal 
of  his  activities  from  this  time  on  on  the  Pacific  Coast  in  Ore- 
gon and  California  is  lost.  We  have  only  brief  accounts  in 
letters.  The  journals  of  his  former  expedition  had  from  time 
to  time  been  carefully  dispatched  to  the  Horticultural  Society 
of  London,  which  had  been  his  main  support.  But  soon  after 
starting  on  his  second  exploration  changes  took  place  in  the 
Horticultural  Society  which  impelled  Douglas  to  resign  as 
its  collector,  and  there  was  then  no  one  to  whom  he  was 
bound  to  conmnmicate  the  results  of  his  investigations.  It 
will  be  noticed  later  also  that  he  met  with  a  very  disastrous 
accident,  in  which  he  lost  many  of  his  records. 

Arrives  at  Monterey  from  the  Colmnbia  December  22,  1830. 
Goes  to  the  Sandwich  Islands  August,  1832.  Early  in  March, 
1833,  was  at  Puget  Sound.  On  March  19  starts  up  the  Co- 
lumbia to  Okanogan  with  a  cattle  party.  His  plans  to  go  to 
Thompson's  River,  Alexandria,  and  upper  Caledonia,  and  to 
come  down  through  the  Fraser  River  country.  On  the  13th  of 
June  is  wrecked  at  Stony  Islands  in  the  Fraser  River  and 
loses  his  botanical  notes  and  journal.  He  returns  broken  in 
strength  and  spirit.  Coming  back  via  Thompson 's  River  and 
Okanogan  he  tarries  for  a  time  at  Walla  Walla.  Made  oc- 
casional journeys  with  Mr.  Pambrun  to  the  Blue  Moiuitains. 
Attempted  the  ascent  of  Mount  Hood. 

Soon  starts  for  the  Sandwich  Islands  with  the  intention 
of  proceeding  from  there  to  England.  He  makes  ascent  of 
Mount  Roa  and  on  July  12,  1834,  is  found  dead  in  a  pit  dug 
as  a  trap  for  wild  cattle  on  the  islands. 


a  lllEFnEnODl  ©FTInlE  UrC  OF 

HE,  hmm  iioq^L/^i,  wdth 
EXTMCTs  fmn  ms 

LETTElSo 

By  Sir  W.  J.  Hooker. 

It  is  not  willingly  that  the  following-  record  of  the  suc- 
cessful labours  of  ]\Tr.  David  Douglas  in  the  field  of  natural 
history  and  of  his  lamented  death  has  been  so  long  withheld 
from  the  pul^lic ;  a  circumstance  the  more  to  be  i-egretted,  be- 
cause his  melancholy  fate  excited  a  degree  of  interest  in  the 
scientific  world  which  has  rarely  been  equalled,  especially  to- 
wards  one  who  had  hitherto  been  almost  as  unlaiown  to  fame 
as  to  fortune.  But  the  writer  of  this  article  was  anxious 
to  satisfy  public  curiosity  by  the  mention  of  some  further 
particulars  than  what  related  merely  to  Mr.  Douglas's  bo- 
tanical discoveries;  and  this  could-  scarcely  be  done  but 
through  the  medium  of  those  friends  whose  personal  ac- 
quaintance was  of  long  standing,  and  especially  such  as  knew 
something  of  his  early  life.  This  has  at  length  been  accom- 
plished through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Douglas's  elder  brother, 
Mr.  John  Douglas,  and  of  INIr.  Booth,  the  very  skillful  and 
scientific  gardener  at  Carclew,the  seat  of  of  Sir  Charles  Lemon, 
Bart.  It  is  to  Mr.  Booth,  indeed,  that  I  am  indebted  for  al- 
most all  that  iTlates  to  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  previous 
to  his  entering  the  service  of  the  Horticultural  Society,  and 
for  the  copies  of  some  letters,  as  well  as  several  particulars 
relative  to  his  future  career. 

David  Douglas  was  born  at  Scone,  near  Perth,  in  1799,  be- 
ing the  son  of  John  Douglas  and  Jean  Drummond,*  his  wife. 


*  It  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that  the  mother  of  Mr.  Douglas  should  have  borne 
the  same  name  with  that  of  another  enthusiastic  naturalist,  who  nearly  at  the 
same  age,  and  after  devoting  a  similar  number  of  years  to  scientific  researches 
upon  the  same  vast  continent  of  North  America,  met  with  an  untimely  grave 


224  Sir  W.  J.  Hooker. 

His  father  was  a  stone  iiiasoii,  possessed  of  good  abilities  and 
a.  store  of  ii'eneral  iiiforniatioii.  rarely  surpassed  by  persons 
ill  his  sphere  of  life.  His  family  consisted  of  three  daughters 
and  as  many  sons,  of  whom  the  subject  of  this  notice  was 
the  second.  At  about  three  years  of  age  he  was  sent  to  scliool 
in   the  village,  where  the  good  old  dame, 

"Gentle  of  heart  nor  knowing  well  to  rule," 

soon  found  herself  mastered  by  her  high-spirited  little  scholar, 
who 

"Much  had  grieved  on  that  ill-fated  morn, 
When  he  was  first  to  school  reluctant  borne," 

and  took  every  opportunity  of  showing  his  dislike  to  the  re- 
straint by  playing  truant,  or  defying  the  worthy  lady's  au- 
thority. At  the  parish  school  of  Kinnoul,  kept  by  Mr.  Wil- 
son, whither  he  was  soon  sent,  David  Douglas  evinced  a 
similar  preference  to  fishing  and  bird-nesting  over  book 
learning ;  he  was  often  punished  for  coming  late,  not  knowing 
his  lessons,  and  playing  the  truant;  but  no  chastisement  af- 
fected him  so  much  as  the  being  kept  in  school  after  the  usua] 
hour  of  dismissal.  His  boyish  days  were  not  remarkable  for 
any  particular  incidents.  Like  others  at  his  time  of  life,  he 
was  lively  and  active,  and  never  failed  of  playing  his  part 
in  the  usual  sports  of  the  village ;  a  taste  for  rambling,  and 
much  fondness  for  objects  of  Natural  History  being,  how- 
ever, very  strongly  evinced.  He  collected  all  sorts  of  birds, 
though  he  often  found  it  difficult  to  maintain  some  of  these 
favorites,  especially  the  hawks  and  owds.  For  the  sake  of 
feeding  a  nest  of  the  latter,  the  poor  boy,  after  exhausting 
all  his  skill  in  catching  mice  and  small  birds,  used  frequently 
to  spend  the  daily  penny  with  which  he  should  have  procured 
bread  for  his  own  lunch,  in  buying  bullock's  liver  for  his 
owlets,  though  a  walk  of  six  miles  to  and  from  school  might 
well  have  sharpened  his  youthful  appetite.  He  was  likewise 
much  attached  to  fishing,  and  very  expert  at  it,  and  when  he 


soon  after  arriving  at  a  neighboring  island,  almost  at  the  very  same  period  as  the 
subject  of  this  memoir.  It  will  be  seen  at  once  that  I  allude  to  Mr.  Thomas 
Drummond. 


Memoir  of  David  Douglas.  225 

could  not  obtain  the  proper  tackle,  had  recourse  to  the  sim- 
ple means  of  a  willow  wand,  string,  and  crooked  pin,  with 
which  he  was  often  successful.  From  his  earliest  years 
nothing  gave  Douglas  so  much  delight  as  conversing  about 
travelers  and  foreign  countries,  and  the  books  Avhich  pleased 
him  best  were  "Sinbad  the  Sailor"  and  "Robinson  Crusoe." 
The  decided  taste  which  he  showed  for  gardening  and  collect- 
ing plants  caused  him  to  be  employed,  at  the  age  of  10  or 
11  years,  in  the  common  operations  of  the  nursery  ground, 
attached  to  the  garden  of  the  Earl  of  Mansfield,  at  Scone, 
under  the  superintendence  of  his  kind  friend  and  master,  Mr. 
Beattie,  with  the  ultimate  view  of  his  becoming  a  gardener. 
Here  his  independent,  active,  and  mischievous  disposition 
sometimes  led  him  into  quarrels  with  the  other  boys,  who,  on 
complaining  of  David  to  their  master,  only  received  the  re- 
ply, "I  like  a  devil  better  than  a  dult,"  an  answer  which 
showed  that  he  was  a  favorite,  and  put  a  stop  to  further  ac- 
cusations. In  the  gardens  of  the  Earl  of  Mansfield  he  served 
a  seven  years'  apprenticeship,  during  which  time  it  is  ad- 
mitted by  all  who  knew  him  that  no  one  could  be  more  in- 
dustrious and  anxious  to  excel  than  he  was,  his  whole  heart 
and  mind  being  devoted  to  the  attainment  of  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  his  business.  The  first  department  in  which 
he  was  placed  was  the  flower  garden,  at  that  time  under  the 
superintendence  of  Mr.  McGillivray,  a  young  man  who  had 
received  a  tolerable  education,  and  was  pretty  well  acquainted 
with  the  names  of  plants  and  the  rudiments  of  Botany.  From 
him  Douglas  gathered  a  great  deal  of  infonnation,  and  beinir 
gifted  with  an  excellent  memory,  he  soon  became  as  familiar 
with  the  collection  of  plants  at  Scone  as  his  instructor.  Here 
the  subject  of  this  notice  found  himself  in  a  situation  alto- 
gether to  his  mind,  and  here,  it  may  be  said,  he  acquired 
that  taste  for  botanical  pursuits  which  he  so  ardently  fol- 
lowed in  after  life.  He  had  always  a  fondness  for  books, 
and  when  the  labor  of  the  day  was  over,  the  evenings,  in 
winter,  invariably  found  him  engaged  in  the  perusal  of  such 
works  as  he  had  obtained  frt)m  his  friends  and  acquaintances. 


226  Sir  W.  J.  Hooker. 

or  in  inakinii'  extracts  from  them  of  portions  which  took  his 
fancy,  and  which  he  would  afterwards  commit  to  memory. 
In  sunnner,  again,  tlie  evenings  were  usually  devoted  to  short 
liotanical  excursions,  in  company  with  such  of  the  other 
ymiiiu  iiM'ij  jiK  wci'o  of  a  siiiiihir  tui'ii  of  niiiifl  to  liiiiisclf,  l)uf 
whether  he  had  then  any  intention  of  becoiuing  a  botanical 
collector  we  have  now  no  means  of  ascertaining.  He  had  a 
small  garden  at  home,  where  he  deposited  the  living  plants 
that  he  brought  home.  It  may  be  stated  that  these  excur- 
sions were  never  pursued  on  the  Sabbath  day,  his  father  hav- 
ing strictly  prohibited  young  Douglas  from  doing  so,  and 
this  rule  he  at  no  time  broke.  The  hours  which  might  be 
called  his  own  were  spent  in  arranging  his  specimens  and 
in  reading  with  avidity  all  the  works  on  Travels  and  Natural 
History  to  which  he  could  obtain  access.  Having  applied  to 
an  old  friend  for  a  loan  of  some  books  on  these  subjects,  the 
gentleman  (Mr.  Scott),  to  David's  siu-prise,  placed  a  Bible 
in  his  hands,  accompanied  with  the  truly  kind  admonition, 
"There,  David,  I  can  not  recommend  a  better  or  more  im- 
portant book  for  your  perusal." 

It  has  frequently  occurred  to  us,  when  admiring  the  many 
beautiful  productions  with  which  the  subject  of  this  memoir 
has  enriched  our  gardens,  that,  but  for  his  intercourse  with 
tAvo  individuals,  Messrs.  R.  and  J.  Brown,  of  the  Perth  nur 
sery,  these  acquisitions,  in  all  probability,  would  have  been 

"The  flowers  on  desert  Isles  that  perish." 

At  this  period  of  Douglas's  life,  these  gentlemen  were  very 
intimate  with  Mr.  Beattie.  and  their  visits  to  Scone  afforded 
opportunities  to  him  to  gain  their  acquaintance.  Both  were 
good  British  Botanists,  and  so  fond  of  the  study  as  annually 
to  devote  a  part  of  the  summer  to  botanizing  in  the  High- 
lands ;  hence  their  excursions  were  often  the  subject  of  con- 
versation, and  it  is  believed  that  from  hearing  them  recount 
their  adventures  and  describe  the  romantic  scenery  of  the 
places  they  had  visited  in  search  of  plants,  Douglas  secretly 
formed  the  resolution  of  imitating  their  example. 


Memoir  of  David  Douglas.  227 

Having  completed  the  customary  term  m  the  ornamental 
department,  he  was  removed  to  the  forcing  and  kitchen  gar- 
den, in  the  affairs  of  which  he  appeared  to  take  as  lively  an 
interest  as  he  had  previously  done  in  those  of  the  flower 
garden.  Lee's  Introduction  to  Botany,  and  Bonn's  Cata- 
logue, his  former  textbooks,  if  they  may  be  so  termed,  were 
now  laid  aside,  and  Nicol's  Gardener's  Calendar  taken  in 
their  stead.  The  useful  publications  of  Mr.  Loudon,  which 
ought  to  be  in  the  hands  of  every  young  gardener,  had  not 
then  made  their  appearance ;  so  that  his  means  of  gaining  a 
theoretical  knowledge  of  his  business  were  very  limited,  when 
compared  with  the  facilities  of  the  present  day ;  but  what  was 
of  more  consequence  to  one  in  his  situation,  he  had  ample 
scope  for  making  himself  master  of  the  practical  part,  and  it 
is  but  justice  to  state  that,  when  he  had  finished  his  appren- 
ticeship, he  only  wanted  age  and  experience  in  the  manage- 
ment of  men  to  qualify  him  for  undertaking  a  situation  of 
the  first  importance. 

His  active  habits  and  obliging  disposition  gained  the 
friendship  of  Mr.  Beattie,  by  whom  he  was  recommended  to 
the  late  Mr.  Alexander  Stewart,  gardener  at  Valleyfield,  near 
Culross,  the  seat  of  the  late  Sir  Robert  Preston,  a  place  then 
celebrated  for  a  very  select  collection  of  plants.  Thither 
David  Douglas  went  in  1818,  after  having  spent  the  preced- 
ing winter  months  in  a  private  school  in  Perth,  revising 
especially  such  rules  in  arithmetic  as  he  thought  might  be 
useful,  and  in  which  he  either  had  found  or  considered  him- 
self deficient.  He  was  not  long  in  his  new  situation  when 
a  fresh  impulse  seized  him.  The  kitchen  garden  lost  its  at- 
traction, and  his  mind  became  wholly  bent  on  Botany,  more 
especially  as  regarded  exotic  plants,  of  which  we  believe  one 
of  the  very  best  private  collections  in  Scotland  was  then 
cultivated  at  Valleyfield.  Mr.  SteAvart  finding  him  careful 
of  the  plants  committed  to  his  charge,  and  desirous  of  im- 
provement, encouraged  him  by  every  means  in  his  power. 
He  treated  him  with  kindness  and  allowed  him  to  participate 
iu  the  advantages  which  he  had  himself  derived  from  having 


228  Sir  W.  J.  Hook  eh. 

access  to  Sir  R.  Preston's  botanical  library,  a  privilege  of 
the  utmost  value  to  one  cireunistaneed  like  Douglas,  and  en 
dowed  with  such  faculties  of  mind  and  memory  as  he  pos- 
sessed. He  remained  about  two  years  at  Valleyfield,  being 
foreman  during  the  last  twelve  months  to  Mr.  Stewart,  when 
he  made  application  and  succeeded  in  gaining  admission  to 
the  botanical  garden  at  Glasgow.  In  this  impro\ing  situa- 
tion it  is  almost  needless  to  say  that  he  spent  his  time  most 
advantageously  and  with  so  much  industry  and  application 
to  his  professional  duties  as  to  have  gained  the  friendship 
and  esteem  of  all  who  knew  him,  and  more  especially  of  the 
able  and  intelligent  curator  of  that  establishment,  Mr 
Stewart  Murray,  who  always  evinced  the  deepest  interest  in 
Douglas's  success  in  life.  Whilst  in  this  situation  he  was  a 
diligent  attendant  at  the  botanical  lectures  given  by  the  pro- 
fessor of  Botany  in  the  hall  of  the  garden,  and  was  his 
favorite  companion  in  some  distant  excursions  to  the  High- 
lands and  islands  of  Scotland,  where  his  great  activity,  un- 
daunted courage,  singular  abstemiousness,  and  energetic  zeal 
at  once  pointed  him  out  as  an  individual  eminently  calculated 
to  do  himself  credit  as  a  scientific  traveler. 

It  was  our  privilege,  and  that  of  Mr.  Murray,  to  recom- 
mend Mr.  Douglas  to  Joseph  Sabine,  Esq.,  then  honorary' 
secretary  of  the  Horticultural  Society,  as  a  botanical  col- 
lector; and  to  London  he  directed  his  course  accordingly  in 
the  spring  of  1823.  His  first  destination  was  China,  but  in- 
telligence having  about  that  time  been  received  of  a  ruptm^e 
between  the  British  and  Chinese,  he  was  dispatched,  in  the 
latter  end  of  May,  to  the  United  States,  where  he  procured 
many  fine  plants,  and  greatly  increased  the  Society's  collec- 
tion of  fruit  trees.  He  returned  late  in  the  autumn  of  the 
same  year,  and  in  1824  an  opportunity  having  offered 
through  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  of  sending  him  to  ex- 
plore the  botanical  riches  of  the  country  in  the  Northwest 
America,  adjoining  the  Columbia  River,  and  southward  to 
wards  California,  he  sailed  in  July  for  the  purpose  of  prose- 
cuting this  mission. 


Memoir  of  David  Douglas.  229 

AVe  are  now  come  to  tlie  most  iiiterestinji'  period  of  Mv. 
Douylas's  life,  when  lie  was  abont  to  midertake  a  long  voyage 
and  to  expk)re  remote  regions,  hitherto  nntrodden  by  the  foot 
t>f  any  naturalist.  In  these  situations,  far  indeed  fi^)ra 
the  abodes  of  civilized  society,  frequently  with  no  other  com- 
panion than  a  faithful  dog,  or  a  wild  Indian  as  a  guide,  we 
should  have  known  little  or  nothing  of  his  adventures  were 
it  not  for  a  journal  which  he  kept  with  great  care  (consider- 
ing the  difficulties,  not  to  say  dangers,  which  so  frequently 
beset  him  in  his  long  and  painful  journeyings),  and  which 
has  been  deposited  in  the  library  of  the  Horticultural  So- 
ciety of  London.  From  that  journal  is  here  selected  w^hat- 
ever  is  likely  to  prove  interesting  to  our  readers ;  and  these 
extracts,  with  some  occasional  observations  and  extracts  from 
the  few  letters  which  were  received  by  his  friends  during 
the  continuance  of  this  mission,  will  prove  more  than  an\^ 
language  we  can  employ,  Mr.  Douglas's  high  qualifications 
as  a  naturalist  and  traveler. 


Jif  CTCM  Sr^  JSUIKIET  T2  TMEMSRT  M- 
WEJTiiKl  MlTiSrTSIECflNlTlPEPT 

@F  MOKTi  ^nmim  humn^  the 

TEi^li  1  §2^-25-26-27= 

By  David  Douglas,  F.  L.  S. 

While  so  much  geographical  information  has,  of  late 
years,  been  added  to  the  general  stock  of  knowledge,  and  so 
many  distinguished  individuals  have  assiduously  devoted 
their  talents  to  the  investigation  of  the  northern  parts  of 
this  country,  the  Horticultural  Society  of  London,  desirous  of 
disseminating  among  the  gardens  of  Britain  the  vegetable 
treasures  of  those  widely  extended  and  highly  diversified 
countries,  resolved  on  sending  a  person  experienced  in  the 
modes  of  collecting  and  preserving  botanical  subjects, 
and  of  transmitting  seeds  to  England.  I  had  the  pleasure 
of  being  the  individual  selected,  having  previously  extensively 
traveled  on  the  eastern  parts  of  the  same  Continent  for  a 
similar  purpose.  Before  entering  on  this  brief  statement,  I 
must  beg  to  return  my  grateful  thanks  to  John  Henry  Pelly, 
Esq.,  Governorj  and  Nicholas  Garry,  Esq.,  Deputy-Governor 
of  the  Honorable  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  for  the  kind 
assistance  I,  on  all  occasions,  experienced  at  their  hands,  and 
for  much  valuable  information  received  both  before  and  after 
my  arrival  in  England.  To  the  enlightened  zeal  with  which 
these  gentlemen  forward  every  enterprise  for  the  advance- 
ment of  science,  and  to  the  warm  interest  they  always  showed 
on  my  behalf,  I  am  happy  to  have  this  occasion  of  bearing 
my  grateful,  though  feeble  testimony.  I  also  beg  leave  to 
thank  the  different  residents,  partners,  and  agents  of  this 
company,  both  individually  and  collectively. 

I  embarked  on  Sunday,  the  25th  of  July,  on  board  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company's  brig,  William  and  Ann[e],  Captain 
Henry  Hanwell,  destined  for  the  entrance  of  the  lliver  Colum- 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.      231 

bia.  'l\)  beguile  the  niouotoiiy  attending  long  voyages,  I  lielJ 
myself  fortunate  in  having  a  companion  in  Dr.  Scouler* 
of  Glasgow,  a  man  skilled  in  several,  and  devotedly  attached 
to  all,  branches  of  Natural  History,  a  pupil  of  Dr.  Hooker, 
by  whom  he  was  powerfully  reconnnended  to  the  H.  B.  C.  as 
surgeon  to  the  vessel,  in  order  that  he  might  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  i)rosecuting  his  favourite  pursuit.  A  few  days  of 
favorable  weather  carried  us  clear  of  the  shores  of  England, 
and  on  the  9th  of  August  we  passed  the  high  grounds  of  the 
Island  of  Porto  Santo,  and  anchored  on  the  following  after- 
noon in  the  Bay  of  B^unchal,  Madeira.  So  far  as  the  ex- 
perience of  a  two  days'  visit  went,  I  was  much  gratified  with 
this  delightful  island.  My  companion  and  I  visited  the  sum 
mit  of  one  of  the  highest  mountains,  stocking  our  herbaria 
with  several  interesting,  though  not  new  plants;  we  also 
walked  into  the  vineyards  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  town, 
saw  the  hospital,  churches,  and  other  establishments,  and 
resumed  our  voyage  on  the  12th  of  August  towards  Rio 
Janeiro.  As  we  approached  the  Equator,  the  temperature 
increased,  its  greatest  height  being  84  degrees  in  the  shade 
at  3  P.  M.  on  the  21st,  and  its  mininnim  59  degrees.  The 
mornings  were  peculiarly  pleasant  and  fine.  Near  the  Cape 
de  Verd  Islands,  the  Exocaetus  volitaiis  was  frequently  seen, 
skimming  from  wave  to  wave,  and  sometimes  dropping  on 
the  deck  of  our  vessel,  which  lay  very  low  in  the  water;  the 
screaming  noise  of  Phaeton  aethereus  and  the  never  absent 
Procellaria  -pelayia,  or  Mother  Gary's  Chicken,  formed  the 
only  alleviation  to  the  motonony  of  sky  and  water.  For  ten 
degrees  on  each  side  of  the  Line,  the  weather  was  very  varia- 
ble, sometimes  calm,  sometimes  with  thunder  and  lightning, 
and  sudden  gusts  of  wind,  which  rendered  this  part  of  our 
voyage  somewhat  tedious.  We,  however,  arrived  within  sight 
of  Cape  Frio  on  the  26th  of  September.  Towards  evening 
the  ship  was  surrounded  by  a  vast  variety  of  sea  birds,  and  I 
saw  for  the  first  time  the  Albatross,  Diomedea  exulans. 


*  Lately  Professor  of  Natural  History  in  the  Andersonian  University,  Glasgow, 
and  now  Professor  of  Geology  in  the  Royal  Dublin  Institution. 


232      Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

Tlu'  iiiatiiiiHcont  prospect  of  the  liarboi-  of  Kio  is  well 
known.  One  feature  in  Brazilian  scenery  which  particularly 
strikes  the  European  eye  is,  that  the  pahns  always  grow 
largest  on  the  summit  of  the  highest  hills.  During  my  stay 
I  had  the  pleasure  to  become  known  to  William  Harrison, 
Esq.,  residing  at  Botofogo,  through  whose  instrumentality 
many  beautiful  plants*  have  been  introduced  to  England, 
and  who  bestows  great  pains  on  collecting  subjects  in  other 
departments  of  Natural  History,  illustrative  of  Brazil.  In 
company  with  this  gentleman  and  his  relation,  Mr.  Henry 
Harrison,  I  made  a  short  journey  to  the  interior,  where  I 
was  excessively  gratified  with  the  rich  luxuriance  of  the 
fonest,  though  the  season  was  too  early  to  display  it  in  all 
its  glory,  and  particularly  delighted  with  the  curious  and 
endlessly  varied  forms  of  the  Orchideae.  Mr.  Harrison  culti- 
vates with  great  success  about  seventy  species  of  this  family 
of  plants,  by  simply  nailing  them  to  the  garden  wall,  and 
giving  them  the  assistance  of  the  bark  or  wood  whereon  they 
naturally  grew,  to  aid  them  in  climbing  and  supporting 
themselves.  He  possesses  also  an  aviary,  containing  several 
rare  and  beautiful  native  birds. 

I  also  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  late  Jolui  Dickson, 
Esq.,  surgeon,  R.  N.^  who  was  never  so  happy  as  when  he 
had  the  opportunity  of  doing  any  act  of  kindness.  On  the 
15th  of  October  I  quitted  this  charming  place  with  much 
regret,  increased  by  having  been  scarcely  able  to  add  any 
dried  plants  to  my  collection,  owing  to  the  earliness  of  the 
season  and  the  continued  rain.  For  a  few  days,  until  we 
got  clear  of  land,  the  weather  was  changeable,  accompanied 
by  wet  in  the  evenings. 

At  4  a.  m.  on  Tuesday^  the  19th  of  October,  a  fine  breeze 
sprang  up,  and  we  bore  away  for  the  south,  gradually  leav- 
ing the  fine  weather.      Off  the  River  Plata,  in  latitude  37  de 
grees  south,  longitude   37   degrees  west,   immense  shoals  of 
Fucus  pynfo finis  passed  the  ship,  some  specimens  of  which 

*  Of  these,  especially  the  Epiphytes,  a  very  great  number  have  been  figured  in 
the  Botanical  Magazine  and  Register. 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.      2^S 

mecisiired  sixty  iVet  in  length,  with  a  stem,  at  the  thickest 
part,  of  three  inches  in  diameter.  On  the  root  was  a  variety 
of  Asterias,  Beroe,  and  other  Molluscae.  In  this  parallel 
Procellaria  Capevsis  and  P.  fuligittosa  began  to  be  connnon, 
and  I  captured  several  with  a  small  hook  and  line.  In  pass- 
ing between  the  mainland  and  the  Falkland  Islands,  Novem- 
ber 5,  an  indescribable  and  piercing  chillness  told  us  we  were 
draM'ing  near  the  dreary  and  inhospitable  regions  of  Cape 
Horn,  of  which  in  a  few  days  longer  we  became  fully  aware 

While  within  the  parallels  of  50  degrees  and  59  degrees 
south  latitude,  I  caught  sixty-nine  specimens  of  Diomedeae. 
consisting  of  D.  exidans,  fuliginosa,  and  cJdororhynchos ;  the 
last,  though  a  smaller  bird  than  the  first,  reigns  lord  para- 
mount over  the  rest,  and  compels  them  all  to  flee  at  his  ap- 
proach. It  is  stated  by  most  authors  that  these  birds  are 
taken  with  the  greatest  ease  during  calm  weather,  but  I  have 
invariably  found  the  reverse  to  hold  good ;  it  was  only  during 
the  driving  gusts  of  a  storm  that  I  could  secure  them,  and 
on  such  occasions  they  fight  voraciously  about  the  bait,  the 
hook  often  being  received  into  the  stomach.  The  appearance 
of  these  birds  is  grand  and  majestic;  the  largest  which  T 
ever  saw  measuring  twelve  feet  four  inches,  from  tip  to  tip 
of  the  extended  wings,  and  four  feet  from  the  point  of  the 
beak  to  the  end  of  the  tail.  As  respects  their  flight,  the  same 
remarks  apply  to  all  the  species.  When  sitting  on  the  water 
their  wings  are  raised  exactly  like  a  swan ;  when  feeding 
they  are  somewhat  higher,  with  a  constantly  tremulous  motion 
like  those  of  the  hawk  tribe;  and  when  elevating  themselves 
from  the  water  to  soar  in  the  air  they  first  walk  the  water, 
skinnning  the  surface  with  the  points  of  their  pinions  for  the 
distance  of  several  hundred  yards,  before  they  seem  able  to 
raise  themselves,  which  they  finally  do  with  the  utmost  grace, 
and  with  scarcely  any  apparent  movement  of  their  wings. 
They  are  of  a  bold  and  savage  disposition,  which  is  especially 
displayed  when  they  are  captured. 

Of  Larus  and  Procellaria  I  caught  many  by  the  same 
means— a  hook  baited  with  fat  pork.      In  these  latitudes  a 


234      Journal  and  Lettp:rs  of  David  Douglas. 

white-striped  ])(>ri)c)ise  was  observed,  of  smaller  size,  but  equal 
velocity  in  its  inotious  with  the  common  one.  Till  we  passed 
the  50  degrees  parallel  of  south  latitude  on  the  Pacific  side  of 
the  continent,  we  were  subject  to  boisterous  weather,  high 
seas,  hail,  rain,  and  thick  fogs.  On  the  14th  of  December 
the  Island  of  Massafuera  was  distinctly  seen,  distant  seven 
leagues,  appearing  like  a  dark  bare  rock.  We  passed  near 
enough  to  ascertain  that  it  was  far  from  being  fertile,  though 
a  little  verdure  might  be  descried  in  the  valleys,  with  some 
stunted  trees  on  the  hills,  and  a  few  goats  browsing  on  the 
rocky  clefts.  A  high  surf  breaking  on  the  beach  prevented 
a  boat  from  being  sent  on  shore,  and  we  consequently  bore 
away  for  the  Island  of  Juan  Fernandez;  the  wand  failing, 
however,  we  did  not  reach  it  till  ten  days  afterwards.  This 
classic  island,  which  might  be  properly  termed  the  Madeira 
of  the  southern  hemisphere,  is  very  mountainous  and  vol- 
canic; its  hills  beautifully  clothed  with  verdure  to  their 
summits,  which,  except  in  very  clear  weather,  are  enveloped 
with  clouds,  the  scorched  and  rocky  soil  admirably  contrasting 
with  the  deep  green  of  its  lovely  vegetation.  On  the  second 
day  we  landed  in  Cumberland  Bay,  so  named  by  Anson  in 
1741.  As  we  approached  the  shore  we  were  surprised  to  ob- 
serve a  small  vessel  lying  in  the  bay,  and  on  the  beach  a  little 
hut,  with  smoke  arising  from  it.  M^hen  on  the  point  of 
stepping  from  the  boat  a  man,  to  our  astonishment,  sprang 
from  the  bushes  and  directed  us  to  a  sheltered  creek.  He  gave 
us  the  following  account  of  his  adventures.  His  name  is 
William  CJark,  a  native  of  Whitechapel,  London,  and  being  a 
sailor,  came  to  the  coast  of  Chili  about  five  years  ago,  in  a 
Liverpool  vessel,  called  Solland,  and  was  there  discharged. 
He  is  now  in  the  employment  of  the  Spaniards,  who  visit 
Juan  Fernandez  for  the  purpose  of  killing  seals  and  wild  cat- 
tle, both  of  which  are  plentiful.  His  companions,  five  Span- 
iards, were  on  the  other  side  of  the  island,  following  their 
customary  pursuit,  and  came  to  see  him  once  a  week,  during 
which  time  he  was  left  to  take  charge  of  the  little  bark  and 
other  pi'operty.      The  poor  fellow,  when  he  first  observed  us. 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.      235 

took  us  for  pirates,  as  we  were  all  armed,  and  abandoning  his 
hut.  fled  to  the  woods,  but  hearing  ils  speak  English,  he  sprang 
from  his  retreat  and  welcomed  us  with  a  pleasure  which  it 
would  be  difficult,  to  describe.  He  had  spent  five  weeks  here, 
and  meant  to  .stay  about  as  much  longer.  His  cloihing  con- 
sisted of  a  pair  of  coarse  woolen  trousers,  of  which  it  would 
he  hard  to  detect  the  original  material  and  color,  with  a 
cotton  and  a  flannel  shirt,  and  a  hat  (he  preferred,  however, 
going  bareheaded),  but  no  coat.  The  surgeon  and  I  gave 
him  all  that  we  could  spare  from  our  own  slender  stock,  for 
which  he  was  very  thankful.  His  little  hut  was  built  of 
stones  and  turf,  thatched  with  the  straw  of  the  wild  oat.  In 
t>ne  corner  lay  a  bundle  of  straw  and  his  blanket ;  a  log  of 
Avood  to  sit  upon  composed  all  the  furniture.  His  only  cook- 
ing utensil  was  a  common  castiron  pot,  with  a  wooden  bottom, 
in  which  he  boiled  his  food  by  sinking  it  a  few  inches  in  the 
floor  of  his  dwellingj  and  placing  the  fire  round  the  sides. 
He  longed  to  taste  roast  beef  (having  had  none  for  seven 
years),  and  one  day  tried  to  bake  some,  as  he  termed  it;  but 
the  bottom  of  his  culinary  apparatus,  as  might  be  expected, 
gave  way  in  the  process,  so  that  poor  Clarke  was  unable  to 
accomplish  his  new  fashion  of  preparing  the  national  dish. 

It  was  agreeable  to  find  that  this  poor  exile  possessed  a 
good  deal  of  information ;  his  library  amounted  to  seventeen 
volumes — a  Bible  and  common  prayer  book,  which  he  kept 
concealed  in  a  secret  place  when  his  Spanish  companions 
were  with  him ;  some  odd  volumes  of  "Tales  of  my  Landlord" 
and  "Old  Mortality;"  several  of  voyages,  and  Cowper'.=5 
poems,  out  of  which  he  had  learnt  by  heart  the  one  upon 
Alexander  Selkirk;  and  what  is  still  more  worthy  of  notice, 
a  finely  boimd  copy  of  "Robinson  Crusoe,"  of  which  the  poor 
fellow  might  himself  be  considered  the  latest  and  most  com- 
plete edition.  Like  most  English  sailore,  he  had  no  aversion 
to  rum ;  I  gave  him  a  single  dram,  which,  as  he  had  been  long 
unaccustomed  to  it,  made  him  forget  his  exile,  and,  like  the 
heroes  of  Troy, 

"He  fought  his  battles  o'er  again,  .        j 

And  slew  the  slain  three  times." 


236      Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

A  few  years  ago  the  Spaniards  formed  a  colony  here,  but 
it  is  now  abandoned,  the  houses  and  fort  are  destroyed,  and 
twenty-six  pieces  of  large  cannon  lay  upon  the  beach.  The 
vestiges  of  a  church  are  still  to  be  seen,  witKthe  following  in- 
scription upon  the  lintel  of  the  door:  ''La  casa  de  Dios  es  la 
piierta  del  cielo,  y  se  color ada,  24  Septemhre,  1811."  The 
house  of  God  is  the  gate  of  heaven,  built  24th  September, 
1811.  Near  this  is  a  circular  oven  built  of  London  fire-brick, 
seven  feet  in  diameter  within,  bearing  a  date  1741,  and  there 
fore  probably  built  by  Anson  during  his  residence.  Some 
pigeons,  of  a  small  blue  species,  now  occupy  it  as  their  cote. 
There  were  eggs  in.  but  no  young  ones;  I  pointed  it  out  to 
Clark,  and  advised  him  to  make  use  of  this  colony.  In  the 
old  gardens  were  Pea,ches  of  three  or  four  sorts,  growing 
hixuriantly  with  fruit  about  half  ripe;  Quinces,  Apples,  and 
Fears.  We  took  some  of  these  fruits  for  puddings,  with 
abundance  of  Figs  in  a  vigorous  state  of  bearing.  Vines 
thrive  well,  and  were  in  blossom.  The  only  fruit  which  was, 
however,  in  perfection,  was  a  large,  pale-reddish  Strawberry, 
of  which  the  fruit  had  a  not  unpleasant  flavour;  the  leaves, 
stem,  and  calix  very  downy.  I  dried  a  paper  full  of  its  seeds 
lest  the  species  should  prove  indigenous  to  this  island  or  the 
coast  of  Chili. 

Before  leaving  Juan  Fernandez  I  sowed  a  small  quantity 
of  Vine,  Pears,  and  other  fruit-seeds  which  I  had  brought 
with  me,  and  a  portion  of  culinary  vegetables,  leaving  some 
with  Clark,  whom  I  recommended  to  try  them  in  various 
parts  of  the  island,  as  radishes  were  the  only  vegetable  he 
had.  We  spent  part  of  a  day  in  fishing,  and  caught  a  sort  of 
rock  cod  and  a  small  fish,  which  was  unknown  to  me.  Both 
were  good  eating.  On  quitting  the  shore  Clark  presented  us 
with  a  fine  female  goat  (not,  however,  one  that  had  belonged 
to  Robinson  Crusoe,  as  it  was  quite  young)  ;  we  left  him 
standing  on  a  large  stone  on  the  beach,  expecting  to  see  us 
again  the  next  morning,  but  hardly  had  we  reached  the  ship 
when  a  strong  easterly  wind  set  in,  and  we  were  speedily 
carried  far  from  that  enchanting  spot,  and  from  my  new  and 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.       237 

iiilen^stiiiii-  a('((iuuiitaii('e,  Clai-k.  No  pen,  indeed,  can  correctly 
describe  the  charniiiiu'  and  i-ural  apjiearance  of  this  island,* 
the  nunierons  rills  descendinii'  through  the  valleys,  ovei'- 
shadowed  l)y  luxuriant  verdure,  and  terminating'  in  dark  re- 
cesses and  rocky  dells,  where  waved  the  feathery  fronds  of 
Lonialia,  ^Ispidia,  and  Polypodia,  several  species  of  which  are 
new  and  of  truly  pi'incely  form  and  growth.      On  the  hills 


*Mrs.  Marie  Graham  (now  Mrs.  Callcott)  gives  a  no  less  charming  account  of 
Juan  Fernandez,  and  the  view  from  her  talented  pencil  engraved  in  her  "Journal 
of  a  Residence  in  Chili"  bears  her  out  in  her  description.  "It  is,"  she  says,  "the 
most  picturesque  place  I  ever  saw,  being  composed  of  high  perpendicular  rocks, 
wooded  nearly  to  the  top,  with  beautiful  valleys  ;  and  the  ruins  of  the  little  town 
in  the  largest  of  these  heightens  the  effect.  It  was  too  late  to  go  ashore  when  we 
anchored  ;  but  it  was  bright  moonlight,  and  we  stayed  long  on  the  deck  at  night, 
admiring  the  extraordinary  beauty  of  the  time."  "The  valleys  are  exceedingly 
fertile,  and  watered  by  copious  streams,  which  occasionally  form  small  marshes, 
where  the  Pankc  grows  very  lu.xurlantly,  as  well  as  water  cresses  and  other 
aquatic  plants.  The  little  valley  where  the  town  is,  or  rather  was,  is  full  of  fruit 
trees,  and  flowers,  and  sweet  herbs,  now  grown  wild  ;  and  near  the  shore  it  is  cov- 
ered with  radishes  and  seaside  oats.  After  dinner  I  walked  to  the  valley  called 
Lord  Anson's  park;  and  on  our  way  found  numbers  of  European  shrubs  and  herbs, 

'Where  once  the  garden  smiled, 
And  still  where  many  a  garden-flower  grows  wild:' 

and  in  the  half-ruined  hedges,  which  denote  the  boundaries  of  former  fields,  we 
found  apples,  pears,  and  quince  trees,  with  cherries  almost  ripe.  The  ascent  is 
steep  and  rapid  from  the  beach,  even  in  the  valleys,  and  the  long  grass  was  dry 
and  slippery,  so  that  it  rendered  the  walk  rather  fatiguing,  and  we  were  glad  to 
sit  down  under  a  large  quince  tree  on  a  carpet  of  balm,  bordered  with  roses,  now 
neglected,  and  rest,  and  feast  our  eyes  with  the  lovely  view  before  us.  Lord  Anson 
has  not  exaggerated  the  beauty  of  the  place,  or  the  delights  of  the  climate  ;  we 
were  rather  early  for  its  fruits  ;  but  even  at  this  time  we  have  gathered  delicious 
figs,  and  cherries,  and  pears,  that  a  few  more  days'  sun  would  have  perfected.  I 
was  quite  sorry  to  leave  our  station  in  the  park  and  return  to  the  landing  place 
to  embark  for  the  dark  close  ship." 

"The  next  morning,"  she  remarked,  "I  had  reached  a  lonely  spot,  where  no 
trace  of  man  could  be  seen,  and  where  I  seemed  to  have  no  communication  with 
any  living  being.  I  liad  been  some  hours  alone  in  this  magnificent  wilderness  . 
and  thought  at  first  I  might  begin  with  exaltation  to  cry, 

'I  am  monarch  of  all  I  survey. 
My  right  there  is  none  to  dispute.' 

yet  I  very  soon  felt  that  utter  lonliness  is  as  disagreeable  as  unnatural;  and  Uow- 
per's  exquisite  lines  again  served  me — 

'Oh  solitude  !  where  are  the  charms 
That  sages  have  been  seen  in  thy  face? 
Better  dwell  in  the  midst  of  alarms. 
Than  reign  in  this  horrible  place.' 

And  I  repeated  over  and  over  the  whole  of  the  poem,  till  I  saw  two  of  my  com- 
panions of  the  morning  coming  down  the  hill,  when  I  hurried  to  meet  them,  as  if 
I  had  really  been  'out  of  humanity's  i-each.'  "—Ed. 


238      Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

grow  several  kinds  of  Escallonia,  Berheris,  Lobelia,  Hordeum. 
and  Avena.  During  my  short  stay  I  g-athered  seventy  dis- 
tinct and  highly  interesting  plants.  The  species  of  birds 
were  few,  and  not  beautifnl ;  I  killed  a  Strix,  and  several  of 
the  dark  kind  of  Columha,  which  is  very  abundant. 

Our  course  was  then  directed  to  the  Oallipagos,  lying  un- 
der the  Equator,  in  longitude  80  degrees  west,  which  we  pleas- 
antly gained  on  the  9th  of  January,  1825,  having  kept  our 
Christmas  day  in  latitude  37  degrees  south,  longitude  84  de- 
grees west,  by  feasting  on  the  goat  which  Clark  had  given  us, 
and  drinking  the  health  of  our  friends  in  England.  The 
heat  is  by  means  so  oppressive  in  the  same  latitude  on  the 
Pacitic  as  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  for  though  the  difference  in 
the  mercury  is  trifling,  there  is  a  cooling  breeze  which  always 
renders  the  air  agreeable.  We  passed  along  the  east  side  of 
Chatham  Island,  which  is  mountainous,  and  apparently  bare 
of  vegetation;  and  went  on  shore  the  following  day  on  James's 
Island,  about  thirty-seven  miles  further  west.  The  whole 
of  the  Gallipagos  are  mountainous  and  volcanic,  with  vestiges 
of  many  craters,  covered  with  lava,  but  the  hills  do  not  seem 
to  exceed  2,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  Their  verdure 
is  scanty,  as  compared  with  most  tropical  countries,  owing, 
apparently,  to  the  parched  nature  of  the  soil  and  the  absence 
of  springs  of  fresh  water.  The  only  spring  I  saw  was  flow- 
ing from  a  crevice  in  one  of  the  craters;  some  of  the  trees 
attained  a  considerable  size  in  the  valleys,  but  they  are  not 
numerous,  and  with  little  variety  of  species.  The  birds, 
however,  are  abundant,  and  some  of  them  exceedingly  hand- 
some, but  so  ignorant  were  they  of  man's  devices  that  they 
suffered  themselves  to  be  killed  with  a  stick,  so  that  a  gun 
was  only  needed  when  they  sat  high  on  the  top  of  a  tree  or 
rock.  Many  of  the  smaller  kinds  perched  on  my  hat,  and 
even  unconsciously  settled  on  the  gun  (that  instrument  (,'f 
their  destruction)  which  I  carried  on  my  shoulder.  During 
my  visits  to  the  island  of  two  hours  a  day  for  three  days  T 
killed  forty-five  individuals  of  nineteen  genera,  all  of  which 
I  skinned  carefully,  and  had  then  the  mortification  of  losing 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.      239 

all  but  one,  a  species  of  Sula,  from  the  constant  rain  that 
prevailed  for  twelve  days  after  leaving  the  Gallipagos. 
Among  them  were  two  kinds  of  Pelican,  fonr  of  Sula,  and  four 
Hawks  (one  of  the  latter  was  particularly  fine,  of  nearly  an 
orange  color),  and  a  very  small  Pigeon.  A  species  of  rock 
cod  was  so  abundant  near  the  shore  as  to  be  taken  withoul 
any  bait,  and  the  sharks  were  so  voracious  as  to  bite  con- 
tinually at  the  oars,  as  their  points  were  raised  from  the  water. 
The  woods  teemed  with  land  tortoises;  some  weighed  400 
pounds,  and  the  shores  with  turtle.  With  my  collection  of 
plants  I  was  almost  as  unfortunate  as  that  of  birds — out  of 
the  175  species  which  I  gathered  I  could  save  but  fifty,  and 
these  in  a  very  miserable  state,  as  I  had  no  place  below  in 
the  vessel  where  I  might  store  them,  nor  could  I  pack  them 
damp,  and  the  rain  ruined  everything  exposed  on  the  deck. 
There  wa.s  nothing,  however,  which  I  regretted  so  much  as 
the  destruction  of  a  specimen  of  a  new  Lacerta.  from  twenty 
to  thirty  inches  long  ,  of  a  dark  orange  color,  and  with  a 
rough,  warty  skin.  We  had  made  good  soup  of  these  crea 
tiu'es  when  upon  the  island.  Never  did  I  experience  greater 
mortification  than  from  the  loss  of  these  collections,  the 
Gallipagos  have  been  so  little  visited  by  scientific  persons, 
that  everything  becomes  of  interest  which  is  brought  from 
thence,  and  I  have  now  little  or  nothing  to  show  that  I  have 
been  there !  I  have,  however,  secured  seeds,  in  a  good  state, 
of  a  very  singular  species  of  Cactus,  which  grows  in  the  val- 
leys. The  trunk  is  two  or  three  feet  in  diameter,  and  from 
forty  to  fifty  feet  high;  it  belongs  to  the  section  Opuntia,  and 
has  large  bright  yellow  flowers,  and  very  long  flexible  spines. 
Also  of  a  fine  Gossypium  or  cotton  plant,  which  is  a  shrub 
four  to  ten  feet  high,  with  yellow  blossoms  and  yellow  cotton; 
and  of  a  plant  which  will  probably  be  found  to  belong  to  the 
Co)iifeme.  The  thermometer  stood  frequently  at  96  degrees, 
and  the  heat  was  most  oppressive ;  on  one  occasion,  when  the 
rain  ceased  for  an  hour,  and  the  sun  broke  forth,  it  raised 
such  a  steam  from  the  ground  as  proved  almost  suffocating. 
After  leaving  James's  Island,   we  passed   along  the  east 


240      Journal  and   I.etters  of  David  Douglas. 

side  of  Albeiiiai'le  Island,  so  near  as  to  ascertain  that  it  was 
inhabited,  from  seeino;  lio'hts  upon  it  after  dark;  some  blue 
lio'hts  which  were  sent  off  from  our  ship  were  also  answered, 
but  instead  of  being  able  to  land,  we  were  suddenly  driven  off 
the  slicre  by  a  tremendous  thunder  stoi-m.  Never  did  T  wit- 
ness aiiytliinii'  eifual  in  grandeur  and  singularity  to  the  vivid- 
ness and  curious  forms  of  the  flashes  of  lightning;  four  tons 
of  water  were  obtained  from  the  sails  and  deck,  which  proved 
a  most  acceptable  relief  to  us,  increasing  our  allowance,  and 
enabling  us  to  wash  our  clothes.  The  remainder  of  our 
voyage  within  the  tropics  was  attended  with  variable  winds, 
frequent  rain,  and  almost  nightly  storms  of  thunder  and 
lightning.  In  latitude  34  degrees  north,  I  caught  an  unde- 
scribed  species  of  Albatross,  akin  to  Diomedea  fuliginosa.  but 
a  smaller  and  less  powerful  bird.  The  D.  exulans,  as  found 
in  the  higher  latitiides  of  the  Pacific,  is  much  smaller  than  it 
is  in  the  Southern  Hemisphere,  and  will  probably  prove  a 
distinct  species.  Our  second  mate,  who  kindly  assisted  me 
in  taking  these  birds  (and,  as  I  mentioned  before,  they  can 
only  be  captured  in  the  most  stormy  weather),  fell  upon 
the  wet  deck,  being  driven  down  by  the  violence  of  the  gale, 
and  fractured  his  thigh  so  severely  as  to  suffer  most  dreadful 
torture  for  several  succeeding  weeks. 

On  the  12th  of  February  we  were  in  the  latitude  of  the 
Columbia  River,  longitude  136  degrees  west,  but  the  weather 
was  so  boisterous,  with  such  a  tremendously  heavy  sea  run- 
ning, that  we  were  obliged  to  lay  to,  day  afte-r  day.  endeavor- 
ing repeatedly  to  enter,  for  six  weeks,  up  to  the  1st  of  April, 
and  suffered  more  storms  than  we  had  done  during  the  whole 
of  our  previous  voyage  of  eight  months.  On  the  3rd  of  April 
we  saw  Cape  Disappointment  twenty-eight  miles  ahead,  and 
were  approaching  it  with  a  fair  breeze  when  a  strong  westerly 
wind  again  drove  us  out  to  sea ;  a  second  attempt  was  made 
three  days  after,  when  we  got  within  four  miles,  but  with 
no  better  success.  In  short,  we  could  declare  the  hurricanes 
of  Northwest  America  to  be  a  thousand  times  worse  than 
those  of  the  noted  Cape  Horn.  In  this  latitude  there  is 
abundance  of  a  small  species  of  Physalis,  of  a  transparent 


Journal  and   Letters  of  David  Douglas.      241 

azure  hue,  which  were  frequently  washed  on  the  main-yard 
by  the  spray  breaking  over  the  vessel. 

At  last,  on  the  morning  of  the  7tli.  a  favorable  wind  ris- 
ing, we  were  within  forty  miles  of  the  entrance  to  the  harbour, 
and  joy  and  expectation  sat  on  every  countenance,  all  hands 
endeavoring  to  make  themselves  useful  in  accomplishing  this 
wished-for  object.  Dr.  Scouler  and  I  kept  the  soundings, 
and  safely  passed  over  the  sandbar,  where  many  vessels  have 
been  injured  and  others  lost.  AVe  happily  gained  the  much- 
desired  harbor,  and  anchored  in  Baker's  Bay,  on  the  north- 
side  of  the  Columbia,  at  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Several 
cannon  shots  were  immediately  fired  to  announce  our  arrival 
to  the  establishment  seven  miles  up  the  river,  but  they  were 
not  answered.  Thus  terminated  my  long  and  tedious  voyage 
of  eight  months  and  fourteen  days.  TJie  joy  of  viewing  land, 
and  the  hope  of  being  able,  in  a  few^  days,  to  range  through 
this  long-desired  spot,  and  to  resume  my  wonted  pursuits  and 
enjoyments,  may  be  easily  imagined.  We  spent  the  evening 
in  great  mirth,  and  went  to  rest  early  at  night,  happy  to  be 
able  to  sleep  without  the  noise  and  motion  and  other  dis- 
agreeable attendants  of  a  long  sea  voyage.  I  think  I  may 
truly  reckon  this  as  among  the  happiest  moments  of  my  life. 

The  following  day,  April  8.  was  so  rainy  and  cold  that 
we  could  not  leave  the  ship,  but  the  next  morning  Dr.  Scouler 
and  I  went  ashore  on  Cape  Disappointment.  On  stepping 
out  of  the  boat  we  picked  up  Fuhiis  Spectahilis  {B.  Beg.  t. 
1444)  and  Gnulihcyia  Shallon,  with  several  other  plants  which 
had  only  been  kno\^^l  to  us  in  the  Herbaria,  or  by  name. 
Many  species  of  Vaccinium.  not  however  yet  in  flower,  with 
TiarcUa  and  Ileuchem,  both  in  full  blossom,  grew  in  the 
woods.  In  a  few  hours  we  returned  to  the  ship,  amply 
gratified.  AYe  found  that  during  our  absence  a  canoe  with 
one  Canadian  and  several  Indians  had  been  sent  from  the 
fort,  bringing  fresh  provisions,  potatoes  and  butter.  The 
latter  also  offered  game,  dried  salmon  and  fresh  sturgeon, 
willi  dried  roots  and  preserved  berries  of  several  kinds,  for 
harlt-r.  and  as  they  jnit  many  questions  to  us,  by  the  aid  of 


242      Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

a  little  Enu'lisli  jiiid  many  sig'iis,  we  viewed  them  with  imieh 
curiosity  and  intei-est.  The  natives  showed  themselves  suffi- 
ciently shrewd  in  bargaining  for  the  trinkets,  molasses,  and 
bread  which  we  gave  them  in  exchange  for  their  provisions. 
The  practice  of  compressing  the  forehead,  of  perforating:  the 
seplum  of  the  nose  and  ears,  and  inserting  shells,  bits  of  cop- 
pei-,  beads,  or  in  fact  any  kind  of  hardware,  gives  a  stranger 
a  curious  idea  of  the  singular  habits  of  these  people. 

On  Monday,  the  11th,  the  ship  went  up  the  river,  and 
anchored  on  the  side  opposite  the  establishment  at  Point 
Ellis,  and  the  following  day  we  werte  received  by  Mr.  Mc- 
Kenzie,  the  person  then  in  charge,  who  informed  us  they 
were  about  to  abandon  the  present  place  for  a  more  com- 
modious situation  ninety  miles  up  the  river,  on  the  north 
side.  Also,  that  the  chief  factor,  John  McLoughlin,  Esq., 
was  there,  but  would  be  down  as  soon  as  he  received  intelli- 
gence of  the  ship's  arrival.  From  Mr.  McKenzie  we  ex- 
perienced great  attention,,  and  though  we  did  not  quit  the 
vessel  till  the  19th,  I  was  daily  on  shore.  With  respect  to  the 
appearance  of  the  country,  my  expectations  were  fully  real- 
ized, in  its  fertility  and  variety  of  aspect  and  of  soil.  The 
greater  part,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  was  covered  with 
Pines  of  various  species.  The  Atlantic  side  of  this  great 
continent  much  exceeds  the  western  coast  in  the  variety  of  its 
kinds  of  forest  trees;  there  are  no  Beeches,  Magnolias, 
Gleditschias,  or  Juglans..  and  only  one  kind  of  Oak  and  of 
Ash  on  the  Pacific  side. 

Cape  Disappointment,  on  the  southern  [northern]  bank 
of  the  river  at  the  ocean,  is  a  remarkable  promontory  of  rock, 
forming  a  good  sea-mark,  elevated  about  700  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea,  and  covered  with  Pines  and  brushAvood.  The 
country  to  the  northward,  near  the  ocean,  is  hilly.  The 
opposite  point,  called  Point  Round,  or  Point  Adams  of 
Lewis  and  Clark,  is  low,  and  in  many  places  swampy;  a 
ridge  of  low  hills  runs  for  about  forty  miles  southward, 
skirting  the  sea,  as  far  as  Cape  Lookout  [Tillamook  Head], 
so  named  by  Vancouver.      The  breadth  of  the  Columbia  is 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.      243 

about  five  miles  at  its  month,  not  including  Baker's  Bay, 
which  has  a  deep  bend ;  the  current  is  very  rapid,  and  pro- 
duces great  agitation  when  the  wind  blows  from  the  west- 
ward, dashing  the  water  over  the  sand-bar  quite  across  the 
river,  so  that  no  channel  can  be  perceived,  and  it  becomes 
impossible  for  a  vessel  to  go  out  or  in  with  safety. 

My  paper  for  preserving  plants  being  all  in  the  hold  of  the 
ship,  I  could  do  but  little  in  collecting,  though  we  continued 
our  excursions  every  day,  when  the  weather  permitted,  and 
were  frequently  meeting  with  objects  which  caused  us  much 
gTatification.  Nothing  gave  me,  I  think,  greater  pleasure, 
than  to  find  Hookeria  liicens  in  abundance  in  the  damp,  shady 
forests,  growing  with  a  plant  whose  name  also  reminded  me 
of  another  valued  friend,  the  Menziesia  femiginea.  All  my 
paper  and  trunks  were  sent  ashore  on  the  16th,  and  on  the 
19th  I  embarked  in  a  small  boat  with  ]Mr.  John  McLoughlin, 
the  chief  factor,  who  received  me  with  demonstrations  of  the 
most  kindly  feeling,  and  showed  me  every  civility  which  it 
was  in  his  power  to  bestow. 

The  folhnving  night,  at  10  p.  m.,  we  arrived  at  Fort  Van- 
couver, ninety  miles  from  the  sea.  the  spot  where  the  officers 
of  Captain  Vancouver  completed  their  survey  of  the  river 
in  1792.  The  scenery  round  this  place  is  sublimely  grand — 
lofty,  well-wooded  hills,  mountains  covered  with  perpetual 
snow,  extensive  natural  meadows,  and  plains  of  deep,  fertile, 
alluvial  deposit,  covered  with  a  rich  sward  of  grass,  and  a 
profusion  of  flowering  plants.  The  most  remarkable  moun- 
tains are  Mounts  Hood  and  Jefferson,  of  Vancouver,  which 
are  at  all  seasons  covered  with  snow  as  low  down  as  the 
summit  of  the  hills  by  which  they  are  surrounded.  From 
this  period  to  the  10th  of  May,  my  labour  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  this  place  was  well  rewarded  by  Fihes  sanguineum 
(Bot.  Reg.  t.  1349.  Bot.  Mag.  t.  3335),  (a  lovely  slirub), 
which  grows  abundantly  on  the  rocky  shores  of  the  Colmnbia 
and  its  tributary  streams,  producing  a  great  profusion  of 
flowers  and  but  little  fniit,  except  in  the  shady  woods, 
where   the   lilossoms    are   comj^ai-atively     few;     I   also    found 


244      Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

Berheris  AquifoUum  (Bot.  Reg.  t.  1425),  B.  glwmacea 
(Ejusd.  t.  1426.  De  Cancl.  B.  nervosa  of  Pui'sh),  Acer 
macro  pit  yll  Km  (Hook,  Fl.  Bar.  Am.  v.  1.  t.  38),  and  Scilla 
esculenta  (Bot.  Mag.  t.  2774),  the  Quamash  of  the  natives, 
who  prepare  its  roots  in  the  following  manner.  A  round 
hole  is  scraped  in  the  ground,  in  which  are  placed  a  number 
of  stones  and  a  fire  is  kept  burning  on  them  till  they  are 
red  hot,  when  it  is  removed  and  replaced  by  some  brush- 
wood and  straw,  on  which  the  roots  are  laid  (covered  with 
leaves,  moss,  or  str»aw,  with  a  layer  of  earth),  and  they  re- 
main there  until  they  are  baked  or  roasted,  a  process  which 
occupies  a  few  hours,  after  which  they  are  taken  out  and 
hung  up  to  dry.  Sometimes  the  natives  bruise  these  roots  or 
pound  them  into  cakes  and  round  lumps,  which  they  lay 
upon  the  shelves  in  their  lodges  for  winter  use.  When 
cooked  they  have  a  sweetish  and  by  no  means  unpleasant 
taste,  and  a  very  palatable  beverage  might  probably  be  pre- 
pared from  them.  Lewis  and  Clark  observe  that  they  are 
apt  to  produce  bow^el  complaint  if  eaten  in  large  quantities, 
as  they  certainly  do  flatulence.  The  plant  abounds  in  all 
alluvial  plains,  on  the  margins  of  woods  and  banks  of  rivei"S. 
Pyrola  aphylla  (Hook  Fl.  Bor.  Am.  t.  137),  Caprifolium 
occidentale  (B.  Reg.  t  1457),  and  a  multitude  of  other 
plants,  delighted  me  highly ;  nor  can  I  pass  over  the  beauty, 
I  might  say  the  grandeur,  of  Lwpinus  polyphyllus  Bot.  Reg. 
t.  1096,  and  var.  alhiforiis,  t.  1377),  covering  immense  tracts 
of  low  land  on  the  banks  of  streams,  with  here  and  there  a 
white-flowered  variety,  and  growing  to  a  height  of  six  or 
eight  feet,  wherever  the  ground  was  partially  overflowed. 
The  Gaultheria  Shallon  (Bot.  Mag.  t.  2843,  Bot.  Reg.  t.  1372), 
is  called  by  the  natives  Salal  and  not  Shallon,  as  stated  by 
Pursh,  whose  figure  and  description  are,  however,  good;  it 
grows  abundantly  in  the  cool  pine  forests,  most  luxuriantly 
in  the  shady  places  near  the  ocean.  I  have  seen  it  as  far  as 
forty  miles  above  the  Grand  Rapids  of  the  Columbia  River, 
but  it  is  not  so  vigorous  as  when  found  nearer  the  sea.  The 
fruit  is  abundant  and  very  good,  so  that  I  hope  it  will  ere 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.      245 

loii^'  find  a  place  in  the  fruit  gaixleii  as  well  as  the  orna- 
mental border.  I  aJso  gathered,  among  other  curious  plants, 
a  noble  species  of  Arbutus.  A.  procera  (Bot.  Reg.  t.  1753). 
We  had  abundance  of  excellent  salmon,  brought  to  us  by  the 
native  tribes,  which  they  sold  veiy  cheap.  I  retm^ned  to 
Fort  Vancouver  at  the  end  of  the  month,  having  increased 
my  collection  of  plants  by  seventy-five  species,  and  also  killed 
four  quadrupeds  and  a  few  birds. 

Till  the  20th  of  June,  I  employed  myself  in  the  vicinity 
of  Fort  Vancouver  in  procuring  seeds  of  early  flowering 
plants,  and  collecting  various  objects  of  natm^al  history, 
when  I  availed  myself  of  the  departure  of  the  boats  for  the 
inland  establishments,  to  accompany  them  as  far  as  seemed 
advisable.  Starting  from  the  mouth  of  the  river  at  8  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  in  a  small  boat  with  one  Canadian  and  five 
Indians,  we  proceeded  about  forty  miles  that  day.  The  cur- 
rent was  strong,  owing  to  the  melting  of  the  snow  on  the 
mountains,  and  when  we  came  to  open  parts  of  the  banks, 
unobstructed  by  timber  or  rocks,  I  botanized  as  we  went  along. 
We  supped  on  roasted  sturgeon  and  bread,  with  a  basin  of 
tea,  and  slept  in  the  boat  which  we  dragged  on  shore.  The 
next  day  we  passed  the  Grand  Rapids,  forty-six  miles  above 
the  Fort ;  the  scenery  at  this  place  is  wild  and  romantic,  with 
high  mountains  on  each  side,  clothed  with  timber  of  immense 
size.  The  Rapid  is  formed  by  the  river  passing  through  a 
narrow  channel,  170  yards  wide ;  the  channel  is  rocky,  ob- 
structed by  large  stones  and  small  islands,  with  a  fall  of  147 
feet,  the  whole  rapid  being  about  two  miles  long.  In  many 
places  the  banks  rise  perpendicular  to  a  height  of  several 
hundred  feet,  over  which  are  some  fine  water  fails;  the  rocks 
are  chiefly  secondary,  sandstcme,  limestone,  and  blue  granite 
Whole  petrified  trees  are  visible  close  to  the  water's  edge, 
both  of  Pine  and  Ace)'  Macropliyllum. 

This  being  the  season  of  salmon  fishing,  I  had  oppor- 
tunities of  seeing  prodigious  numbers  taken  simply  with  a 
small  hoop  or  a  scoop-net,  fastened  to  the  end  of  a  pole.  The 
fish  are  of  excellent  ([uality  and  average  about  fifteen  pounds 


246      Journal  and   Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

in  weight.  In  the  still  parts  of  the  water,  iunnense  quantities 
are  caught  in  these  nets,  to  which  are  attached  spindles  formed 
of  the  wood  of  Thuja  plicata,  which  is  very  buoyant  and  which 
serve  as  corks,  while  small  oblong  stones  answer  the  purpose 
of  lead.  The  rope  of  the  net  is  made  from  a  species  of  Salix, 
or  from  the  Thuja,  and  the  cord  of  Apocynum  piscatonum 
{A.  hyjjerici folium?),  a  gigantic  species  peculiar  to  this 
country,  whose  fibre  affords  a  great  quantity  of  flax. 

The  country  continues  mountainous  as  far  as  the  lower 
branch  of  the  Multnomak  River,  the  Belle  Vue  I'oint  of  Van- 
cover,  about  seventy  miles  from  the  ocean,  where  the  banks 
again  become  low,  and  the  background  rises  gradually.  On 
the  south,  towards  the  head  water  of  the  Multnomak,  we  saw 
a  ridge  of  snowy  mountains,  and  one  which  was  very  conspicu- 
ous and  of  a  conical  form  in  the  distance,  far  exceeding  the 
others  in  height.  This,  I  have  no  doubt,  is  Mount  Jefferson, 
of  Lewis  and  Clark.  Another  was  equally  striking  due 
east,  and  one  due  north;  the  former.  Mount  Hood,  and  the 
latter  Mount  Saint  Helens,  of  Vancouver;  their  height  must 
be  very  great,  at  least  10,000  or  12,000  feet,  and  I  am  in- 
formed that  two-thirds  are  continually  wrapped  in  snow,  of 
which  there  is  hardly  any  sensible  diminution  even  in  sum- 
mer, immense  barriers  of  ice  rendering  every  attempt  to 
reach  the  summits  quite  impracticable.  From  the  Grand 
Rapid  to  the  Great  Falls,  seventy  miles,  the  banks  are  steep, 
rocky,  and  in  many  places  rugged;  and  the  hills  gradually 
diminish  in  elevation,  and  are  thinly  covered  with  stunted 
timber  and  shrubs  but  a  few  feet  high.  Here  we  were  no 
longer  fanned  by  the  huge  Pine,  the  Thuja  and  Acer,  nor 
gratified  by  observing  the  perpetual  quiver  of  the  beautiful 
Populus  tremuloides.  Far  as  the  eye  can  reach  there  is  but 
a  dreary  waste  of  barren  soil,  thinly  covered  with  scanty 
herbage.  Here,  however,  I  found  the  beautiful  Clarckia 
pulchella  (Bot.  Mag.  t  2918),  Calochortus  niacrocarpus 
(Bot.  Reg.  t.  1152),  Lupimis  aridus  (Bot.  Reg.  t.  1242),  and 
leucopkyllus  (Bot.  Reg.  t.  1124),  Brodiaea  grandiflora  (Bot. 
Mag.  t.  2877,  Bot.  Reg.  t.  1183),    etc.      The  present  bed  of 


Journal  and  T.etters  of  David  Douglas.      247 

the  river  at  the  falls  is  600  feet  lower  than  the  former  one, 
and  of  decomposed  gi-anite.  I  could  not  at  this  season  go 
hiii'her  than  a  few  miles  above  the  falls,  but  was  amply  re- 
jiaid  by  Piirshia  iridentafn*  (Hook.  Fl.  Bor.  Am.  t.  1.  t. 
58),  Bartonia  alhicauUs  (Bot.  Reg.  t.  1446),  Bartonias  al- 
hicmdis,  B.  (Bot.  Mag.  t.  2894.  Bot.  Reg.  1174),  and  several 
Penisiemons,  |  and  seeds  of  many  desirable  plants,  many  of 
which  I  secured  during  this  expedition. 

Early  in  the  mor)ning  of  the  19th  of  July,  I  descended 
the  river  in  an  Indian  canoe  for  the  purpose  of  prosecut- 
ing my  researches  on  the  coast,  a  design  which  was  in  a 
great  measure  frustrated  by  the  tribe  among  whom  I 
lived  going  to  war  with  the  nations  residing  to  the  north- 
wartl,  in  that  very  direction  which  I  intended  to  follow. 
During  my  stay  several  persons  were  killed  and  some 
wounded  in  a  quarrel.  The  principal  chief  in  the  village, 
Cockqua,  treated  me  with  the  utmost  fidelity,  and  even  built 
me  a  small  cabin  in  his  own  lodge,  but  the  immense  number 
of  fleas  occasioned  me  to  remove  to  within  a  few  yards  of 
the  river;  still  my  friend  was  so  much  intei'ested  in  my 
safety  that  he  watched  himself  a  whole  night,  at  the  time 
when  he  expected  the  war  party.  In  the  morning  about 
300  men  in  their  war  garments,  danced  the  war  dance,  and 
sang  several  death  songs,  which  caused  in  me  certainly  a 
most  uncomfortable  sensation,  and  the  following  morning 
brought  us  seventeen  canoes,  carrying  nearly  400  men, 
when  after  several  harangues,  it  was  mutually  agreed  to 
suspend  hostilities  for  the  present. 

A  sturgeon  was  caught  by  one  of  my  companions  which 
measured  twelve  feet  nine  inches  from  the  snout  to  the  tip 
of  the  tail,  and  seven  feet  round  the  thickest  part,  and  its 
weight  exceeded  500  pounds.  Among  the  plants  which  I 
found  on  this  occasion  were  Lupinus  littoralis  (Bot.  Mag.  t. 

*To  this  genus  the  Cerocarpus  of  Humboldt  and  Kunth  is  very  nearly  allied, 
of  which  a  species  was  afterwards  found  by  Mr.  Douglas  in  California.— Ed. 

tSee  Bot.  Reg.  and  Bot.  Mag.  for  several  of  these  beautiful  genus  introduced 
by  Mr.  Douglas.— Ed. 


248         JoiIRNAT.    AND    LeTTERS    OF    DaVID    DoUGLAS. 

21)52),  Ciirvx  Meiizicsii,  Jkhchs  Meiiziesii  ;iii<l  filohcKsKS,  Vac- 
oinkim  O'vatum,  parvifolium  (Hook  Fl.  Bor.  Am.  v.  1.  t. 
128),  and  ovalifolium  (Hook.  Fl.  Bor.  Am.  v.  1.  t.  127).  I 
also  obtained  seeds  of  the  beautiful  Spiraea  ariaefolia  (Bot 
Reg.  t.  1367),  of  Gaultheria  Shallon,  Ribes  sangumem,  Ber- 
beris.  and  other  valuable  and  interesting  plants. 

Before  taking  leave  of  my  Indian  friends,  I  purchased 
several  articles  of  wearing  apparel,  things  used  in  their 
domestic  economy,  etc.,  for  which  I  paid  in  trinkets  and 
tobacco.  I  arrived  at  Fort  Vancouver  again  on  the  5th  of 
August,  and  employed  myself  until  the  18th  in  drying  the 
specimens  I  had  collected,  and  making  short  journeys  in 
(piest  of  seeds  and  other  plants ;  my  labours  being  materially 
retarded  by  the  rainy  weather.  As  there  were  no  houses 
yet  built  on  this  new  station,  I  first  occupied  a  tent  which 
was  kindly  offered  me,  and  then  removed  to  a  lodge  of  deer 
skin,  which  soon,  however,  became  too  small  for  me  in  con- 
sequence of  the  augmentation  of  my  collections,  and  where 
also  I  found  some  difficulty  in  drying  my  plants  and  seeds. 
A  hut  constructed  of  the  bark  of  Thuja  occide'ntalis  was  my 
next  habitation,  and  there  I  shall  probably  take  up  my  win- 
ter quarters.  I  have  only  been  in  a  house  three  nights  since 
my  arrival  in  Northwest  America,  and  these  were  the  first 
after  my  debarkation.  On  my  journeys  I  occupy  a  tent 
wherever  it  is  practicable  to  carry  one;  which,  however,  is 
not  often,  so  that  a  canoe  turned  upside  down  is  my  occa- 
sional shelter;  but  more  frequently  I  lie  under  the  boughs 
of  a  pine  tree,  without  anything  further.  In  England,  peo- 
ple shiver  at  the  idea  of  sleeping  with  a  window  open;  here 
each  person  takes  his  blanket  and  stretches  himself,  with 
all  possible  complacency  on  the  sand,  or  under  a  bush,  as 
may  happen,  just  as  if  he  were  going  to  bed.  I  must  con- 
fess that  although  I  always  stood  this  bivouacking  remark- 
ably well,  and  experienced  no  bad  effects  from  it,  I  at  first 
regarded  it  with  a  sort  of  dread,  but  now  habit  has  rendered 
the  practice  so  comfortable  to  me,  that  I  look  upon  any- 
thing more  as  mere  superfluity. 


Journal  and  Lettkrs  of  David  Douglas.      249 

But  to  I'etuiMi  I'l'diii  this  digression:  I  agaiu  set  tvtt'  on 
the  19th  for  the  purpose  of  ascending  the  River  ^Tultnomak, 
one  of  the  southern  tributaries  of  the  Colimibia.  This  is 
a  very  fine  stream,  with  remarkably  fertile  banks;  thirty- 
six  miles  above  the  junction  ^\nth  the  Columbia  are  falls  of 
fort.v-three  feet  perpendieula.il  height,  over  which  the  whole 
breadth  of  the  river  is  precipitated,  farming  one  unbroken 
sheet  at  this  season  of  the  year,  but  in  spring  and  autumn 
divided  into  tlu-ee  channels.  There  is  but  little  current 
thus  far,  as  the  stream  is  gorged  back  by  the  waters  of  the 
Columbia.  The  portage  over  the  falls  is  no  small  under- 
taking. I  killed  several  of  the  Cervus  Leucunis,  or  long 
white-tailed  deer,  as  well  as  some  of  the  black-tailed  kind, 
('.  macrotis.  Two  days  farther  took  me  to  the  village  of 
the  Calapoori  Indians,  a  peaceful,  well-disposed  people, 
tweuty-fom"  miles  above  the  falls,  and  where  I  formed  my 
camp  for  several  days.  A  hunting  party  started  from 
hence,  proceeding  westerly  over  the  ridge  of  mountains. 
Near  my  encampment  was  a  saline  spring,  to  which  the  deer 
frequently  resorted,  as  well  as  the  beautiful  ringed  species 
of  Columha,  whose  elegant  movements  when  picking  up  and 
licking  the  saline  particles  that  were  found  round  the  edge 
afforded  me  great  amusement.  In  the  extensive  plains, 
bounded  on  the  west  by  the  mountainous  woody  part  of  the 
coast,  and  on  the  east  by  high  mountains,  and  as  also  on  the 
l)anks  of  the  River  Sandiam.  one  of  the  rapid  branches  of  the 
Multuomak,  grows  abundance  of  the  Escholtzia  Califonii-ca 
(Bot.  Reg.  t.  1168.  Bot.  Mag.  t.  2287),  also  his  tenax  (Bot. 
Reg.  t.  1218,  Bot.  ^lag.  t.  3343).  Nicotiana  miiltivalvis  (Bot. 
Reg.  t.  1067),  two  new  species  of  Trichostemma,  and  many 
other  delightful  plants.  I  procured  some  curious  kinds  of 
Myoxus,  Mus,  Arctoniys,.  a  new  species  of  Canis,  of  singidai* 
habits,  and  a  genus  of  animals  which  had  been  hitherto  unde- 
scribed  (probably  Geomys  Douglasii  of  Richardson's  Fauna 
Boreali- Americana).  In  the  tobacco  pouches  of  the  natives 
I  found  the  seeds  of  a  remarkably  large  Pine,  which  they  eat 
as  nuts,  and  from  whom  I  learned  that  it  grows  on  the  moun- 


250      Journal  and  Lettf^^rs  of  David  Douglas. 

hiiiis  lo  tlie  south;  no  time  was  lost  in  ascertaining  the  ex- 
istence of  this  truly  grand  tree,  which  I  named  Pinus  Lam- 
hertiana ;  but  no  perfect  seeds  could  I  find,  and  I  returned  to 
my  rendezvous  at  Fort  Vancouver,  richly  fraught  with  the 
treasure  I  had  collected. 

A  few  days  were  devoted  to  arranging  my  last  collection, 
and  drying  the  seeds  I  had  gathered,  without  loss  of  time,  on 
the  5th  of  September,  having  engaged  a  chief  as  my  guide, 
and  accompanied  by  one  Canadian,  I  started  on  a  journey  to 
the  Grand  Rapids.  Two  days  were  consumed  in  ascending 
the  Columbia,  though  I  was  favoured  with  a  fair  wind ;  I 
pitched  my  camp  close  to  Chumtalia's  (my  guide)  house,  tak- 
ing the  precaution  of  having  the  ground  well  drenched  with 
water,  to  prevent  the  annoyance  of  fleas,  from  which,  however, 
I  did  not  wholly  escape.  On  the  Saturday  morning,  as  soon 
as  Chumtalia  learned  that  it  was  my  intention  to  visit  the 
summit  of  the  mountains  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  he 
forthwith  fell  sick,  and  presently  framed  an  excuse  for  not 
accompanying  me  on  the  expedition.  He,  however,  sent  a 
young-er  brother  to  guide  me,  together  with  two  young  men 
from  the  village,  and  I  left  the  Canadian  at  the  tent,  to  take 
care  of  my  books,  etc.,  charging  Chumtalia  to  supply  him  with 
salmon,  and  to  see  that  no  harm  should  befall  him.  To  en- 
courage my  guides,  I  was  under  the  necessity  of  giving  them 
the  whole  of  the  provisions  the  first  day,  except  four  small 
biscuits  and  a  little  tea  and  sugar;  at  our  first  encampment, 
about  tAvo-thircls  up  the  mountain,  Ave  left  our  blankets,  in- 
tending, after  having  reached  the  summit,  to  return  thither 
and  sleep.  But  our  path  being  dreadfully  fatiguing,  climbing- 
over  the  shelving  detached  rocks  and  fallen  timber,  the  night 
overtook  us  ere  we  had  reached  the  top.  I  killed  a  half- 
grown  eagle,  on  which  we  fared,  and  with  a  little  tea,  made 
in  an  open  kettle,  and  drunk  out  of  vessels  formed  of  bark, 
we  i)assed  a  tolerable  night,  with(uit  any  bedding'.  Previous 
to  lying  down,  1  used  the  precaution  of  drying  all  ray  clothes, 
which  were  drenched  with  perspiration  from  the  violent 
exercise   I   had   taken.       The   following   day,    in    the   dusk   of 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.       251 

evening:,  I  regained  my  camp,  faint  and  weak,  but  mueli 
pleased  to  find  that  all  had  none  well  during  my  absence.  My 
feet  suffered  so  severely  from  this  three  days'  journey  that 
I  was  totally  unable  to  prosecute  my  fatiguing  researches 
without  taking  some  rest,  and  therefore  amused  myself  with 
fishing  and  shooting  seals  {I'hocn  vitcUina) ,  which  were 
sport  inn'  in  vast  nnml)ers  in  the  rapid  where  the  salmon  are 
particularly  abundant.  Two  days  after  1  succeeded  in  per- 
suading Chumtalia  to  attend  me  to  the  mountains  on  the 
south  side  of  the  river,  which  he  willingly  did.  The  ascent 
was  easier  than  the  former  one,  and  I  reached  the  top  after 
a  labourious  walk  of  fifteen  hours,  having  had  the  good  for- 
tune to  fine  a  new  species  of  Pine,  Pin  us  Nohills  and  P.  ama- 
bilis,  the  grandest  trees  of  the  tribe.  Hclonias  tenax,.  with  a 
new  Rhododendron  and  a  second  Pterispora  (?),  also  some 
interesting  individuals  of  the  genus  Bihes,  rewarded  my 
fabour;  on  the  rocky  part  of  the  mountain,  Arhvtus  tomentosa 
(Bot.  Mag.  t.  3320.  Bot.  Reg.  t.  1791),  was  not  rare,  and  I 
procured  seeds  of  several  species  of  Pentstemon.  On  the 
morning  of  the  13th  I  re-embarked  in  my  canoe  and  soon 
after  midday  reached  Fort  Vancouver,  so  different  is  the 
length  of  time  occupied  in  ascending  and  descending  the  river. 
There  I  had  the  pleasure  to  find  Dr.  Scouler  returned  from 
his  noi'tliern  voyage,  and  so  delighted  was  I  to  hear  of  his 
success,  and  he  to  be  informed  of  my  movements,  that  we 
sat  and  talked  over  our  respective  journeys,  till  the  sun,  rising 
over  the  noble  stream,  apprised  us  that  a  new  day  had  begun, 
and  sent  us  oft'  to  seek  a  few  hours'  repose.  The  rest  of  this 
month  was  devoted  to  packing  my  collections,  consisting  of 
sixteen  large  bundles  of  dried  plants  from  America,  and  eight 
gathered  in  other  places,  a  large  chest  of  seeds,  one  of  birds 
and  quadrupeds,  and  another  containing  various  articles  of 
dress,  etc.  A  portion  of  each  kind  of  the  seeds  was  reserved 
in  order  to  be  sent  aci'oss  the  c(mtinent  in  the  ensuing  spring. 
An  originally  slight  wound  which  I  had  received,  now  be- 
coming troublesome,  compelled  me  to  desist  from  my  labours 
iV=r  some  weeks,  by  which  I  lost  a  valuable  portion  of  time. 


252      Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

at  an  iniportaut  season  of  the  year;  from  the  23rd  of  October 
to  the  15th  of  November,  was  thus  passed.* 

In  consequence  of  receiving  this  wound  on  ray  left  knee, 
by  falling  on  a  rusty  nail,  when  employed  in  packing  the 
last  of  my  l)oxes,  T  was  unfoi-tunately  prevented  from  carry- 
ing my  collection  to  the  shi]i  myself,  aud  accordingly  wrote 
a  note  to  Captain  llanwell,  re(iuesting  he  would  have  the  good- 
ness to  place  them  in  an  aiiy  situation,  particularly  the  seeds, 
and  that,  if  possible,  their  place  of  deposit  should  be  above 
the  level  of  the  water.  To  this  note  I  received  a  very  kind 
answer,  assuring  me  that  my  directions  should  be  attended 
to.  On  the  7th  my  leg  became  violently  inflamed,  and  a 
large  abcess  formed  on  the  Imee  joint,  which  did  not  sup- 
purate until  the  16th.  This  unfortunate  circumstance,  oc- 
curring at  the  period  when  I  wanted  to  be  employed  in  gather- 
ing seeds,  gave  me  much  uneasiness ;  but  learning,  on  the  22nd 
of  October,  that  the  ship  had  been  detained  by  contrary  winds, 
and  finding  myself  better,  and  being  also  very  desirous  of 
losing  as  little  time  as  possible  at  this  important  season,  I 
left  Fort  Vancouver  in  a  small  canoe,  with  four  Indians,  for 
l:he  purpose  of  visiting  my  old  shipmates,  on  my  way  to 
Whitby's  Harbour  of  Vancouver,  or  the  mouth  of  the  Chee- 
lieelie  River,  in  latitude  48  degrees  north,  near  which  place 
grow  some  plants  of  which  I  had  previously  obtained  but 
imperfect  or  no  specimens,  or  of  which  I  wished  to  collect 
the  seeds.  Among  them  was  HeJonias  tenax,  a  very  desira- 
ble plant  for  cultivation.  I  camped  at  the  junction  of  the 
Multnomak  River  with  the  Columbia,  after  having  made  a 
distance  of  twenty  railed,  when  a  strong  westerly  wind  setting 
in  from  the  sea  obliged  me  to  have  my  canoe  examined,  and 
new-gummed  before  starting  again;  I  had  not  proceeded  many 
miles  when  it  struck  against  the  stump  of  a  tree,  which  split 
it  from  one  end  to  the  other,  and  compelled  me  to  paddle 
hastily  to  shore  with  the  water  rushing  in  upon  me.  During 
the  time  the  Indians  were  employed  in  repairing  the  damage, 


*As  the  period  included  within  these  dates  covers  the  time  during  which 
Douglas  made  the  arduous  trip  to  Grays  Hai'bor  the  transcriber  must  have  been 
confu.sed.— Ed.  Qxjartekly. 


Journal  and  Lettp:rs  of  David  Douglas.       253 

I  turned  cook,  made  a  basin  of  tea  for  myself  and  cooked 
some  salmon  for  my  companions,  after  which  we  proceeded 
on  our  route.  About  8  o'clock  the  same  evening  we  put 
ashore  at  the  villao-e  of  Oak  Point,  to  procure  some  food, 
wlien  an  Indian  handed  me  a  letter  from  Dr.  Scouler,  the 
suroron  of  the  ship,  in  whicli  my  friend  informed  me  that 
Ihcy  would  not  probal)ly  leave  the  bay  for  some  days,  and  as 
the  vessel  had  been  seen  there  that  mornino:,  I  was  desirous  of 
writing-  to  Mr.  Sabine  at  the  latest  possible  date.  After  ob- 
taining: a  few  dried  salmon,  and  a  wild  goose,  we  proceeded 
four  miles  farthei-  down  the  river  till  midnight,  when  we 
stopped  to  take  a  little  supper,  hoping  before  <laybreak  the 
next  morning  to  reach  the  sea,  from  whence  we  were  still 
about  foi-ty-five  miles  distant.  At  4  o'clock  in  the  morning 
a  strong  breeze  set  in  from  the  sea,  which  produced  a  very 
angry  swell  on  the  river,  and  obliged  me  to  coast  along  its 
shore  (a  measure  indeed  almost  necessary  under  any  state 
of  wind,  because  my  canoe  was  in  so  frail  a  condition)  and 
afterwards  to  haul  our  bark  across  a  narrow  neck  of  land  at 
Tongue  Point,  when  unfortunately  a  sudden  change  of  wind 
enabling  the  ship  in  the  bay  to  weigh  her  anchor  we  missed 
her  by  just  one  single  hour!  This  was  a  severe  disappoint- 
ment, as  besides  not  seeing  Dr.  Scouler.  I  had  my  letters  writ- 
ten all  ready  to  hand  on  board. 

Leaving  my  canoe  men  to  lie  down  and  sleep,  I  took  my 
gun  and  knapsack,  and  proceeded  along  the  bay  in  search  of 
seeds.  At  dark  I  returned  to  the  lodge  of  Madsue,  or  "Thun- 
der." one  of  the  Chenook  chiefs,  where  I  found  his  brother. 
Tha-a-mnx,  a  chief  of  the  Cheeheelie  River,  on  Whitby's 
Harbour,  and  as  he  was  then  going  home  I  acceded  to  his  re- 
quest to  accompany  me.  The  following  morning  Com  Comly, 
the  chief  of  all  the  Chenooks  on  the  north  side  of  the  river, 
sent  his  canoe  with  twelve  Indians  to  ferry  me  across  the 
Columbia  to  Baker's  Bay.  on  the  south  [north]  side,  which 
they  perfoi-mcd  with  great  skill,  though  a.  violent  storm  over- 
took us  in  the  middle  of  the  channel,  by  which  we  lost  a  few 
|i(  unds  of  flour  and  a  little  tea,  all  the  provisions  we  had  ex- 


254      Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

eept  s<uiie  ounces  of  chocolate,  whicli  I  carried  in  my  pocket. 
This  canoe  was  so  much  larger  and  more  commodious  than 
my  own,  that  I  had  succeeded  in  bargaining  for  the  loan  of 
it,  and  I  attribute  my  preservation  to  the  strength  of  the  boat 
and  dexterity  of  the  Indians;  by  which,  though  the  sea  re- 
peatedly broke  over  us,  we  reached  the  shore  in  perfect  safety, 
and  encamped  at  sunset  near  Knight's  River,  in  Baker's  Bay. 
In  the  evening  I  gave  the  two  chiefs  a  dram  of  well-watered 
rum,  which  pernicious  li(|uc:r  they  will,  generally  speaking, 
make  any  sacrifice  to  obtain.  I  found,  however,  an  exception 
in  my  new  guide ;  on  my  enquiring  the  reason  of  his  tem- 
perance, he  informed  me  that  some  years  ago  he  used  to  get 
drunk,  and  become  very  quarrelsome ;  so  much  so,  that  the 
young  men  of  the  village  had  to  take  and  bind  him  hand  and 
foot,  which  he  looks  upon  as  a  great  disgrace,  and  will  taste 
spirits  no  more.  In  lieu  of  drinking,  however,  I  found  him 
an  expensive  companion,  from  his  addiction  to  tobacco.  So 
greedily  would  he  seize  the  pipe  and  inhale  every  particle 
of  smoke,  that  regularly  five  or  six  times  a  day  he  would  fall 
down  in  a  state  of  stupefaction.  In  self-defense  I  M^as 
obliged  to  smoke,  when  I  fomid  that  my  mode  of  using  the 
Indian  weed  diverted  my  companion  as  much  as  his  had  me. 
"Oh,"  cried  he,  "why  do  you  throw  away  the  food?  (smoke). 
See,  I  take  it  in  my  belly." 

The  following  day,  during  the  whole  of  which  the  rain 
fell  in  torrents,  we  made  a  small  portage  of  four  miles  over 
Cape  Disappointment,  the  north  point  of  the  Columbia,  to 
a  small  rivulet  that  falls  into  the  ocean,  twelve  miles  to  the 
northward.  I  found  the  labour  of  dragging  my  canoe  occa- 
sionally over  the  rocks,  stumps,  and  gulleys  that  intercepted 
our  way  extremely  ti*ying,  especially  as  my  knee  became  more 
and  more  stiff  and  troublesome  from  the  damp  and  cold. 
On  reaching  the  bay,  I  proceeded  along  it  for  a  few  miles, 
when  the  thick  fog  obliged  me  to  encamp  under  a  shelving 
rock,  overshadowed  with  large  pines,  a  little  above  tide  mark. 
After  a  comfortless  nighl  I  resinned  my  journey  at  daylight, 
and   having  been  disappointed   of  procuring   any   salmon   at 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.      255 

the  village  which  we  passed,  because  it  was  abandoned,  we 
pushed  on  with  as  much  speed  as  possible  to  Cape  Foul- 
weather,*  which  we  gained,  after  proceeding  forty  miles  along 
the  coast.  The  rain  continuing  to  fall  heavily  the  next  day, 
we  sent  the  canoe  back  to  the  Columbia  from  this  place,  it 
being  also  impossible,  with  so  few  hands,  to  carry  it  over  a 
portage  of  sixteen  miles.  The  Indians,  too,  were  solicitous 
to  leave  me.  when  they  knew  that  all  the  provisions  were  ex- 
hausted. The  wind  increased  about  midnight,  two  or  three 
hours  after  they  had  departed,  to  a  perfect  hurricane,  accom- 
panied with  sleet  and  hail,  which  obliged  us  twice  to  shift 
our  camp,  as  the  sea  rose  unusually  high  and  almost  reached 
us,  and  which  also  rendered  me  very  anxious  about  the  safety 
of  the  Indians,  who,  as  I  afterward  learned,  were  so  fortunate 
as  to  gain  the  shelter  of  a  creek  until  the  storm  abated.  "We 
had  no  protection,  save  what  was  afforded  by  our  wet  blankets 
and  a  few  pine  branches,  and  were  destitute  of  provisions. '  A 
few  berries  of  Ardutus  Uva-Lrsi  were  all  that  could  be  got 
at  this  place,  and  the  wind  and  heavy  rain  almost  rendered  it 
impossible  to  keep  up  any  fire.  All  the  wild  fowl  had  tied 
to  the  more  sheltered  spots;  not  a  bird  of  any  kind  could  be 
seen.  Long  ere  daylight  we  were  ready  to  leave  Cape  Foul- 
weather;!  well  convinced  that  it  deserv'ed  its  name,  as  there 
appeared  no  likelihood  of  procuring  food,  we  walked  along 
the  sandy  beach  to  endeavor  to  reach  Whitby  Harbour,;]; 
where  my  §ruide  expected  to  meet  a  fishing  party.  On  arriv- 
ing there,  when  we  found  the  village  deserted,  I  can  hardly  de- 
scribe the  state  I  was  in.  While  my  guide  and  the  Indians  were 
collecting  some  drift-wcod,  I  made  a  small  booth  of  pine 
branches,  straw  and  old  mats.  ]My  blanket  having  been 
drenched  all  day,  and  the  heavy  rain  affording  no  oppor- 

[*The  point  on  the  north  side  of  the  entrance  to  W^illapa  Harbor.  Douglas 
used  Vancouver's  nomenclature  which  did  not  always  stick.— Ed.  Quarterly.] 

tOn  the  map  belonging  to  the  Flora  Boreali  Americana,  and  drawn  up  under 
Mr.  Douglas's  inspection,  probably  by  error,  Cape  Foulweather  is  represented  as 
on  the  south  side  of  the  Columbia  and  Whitby  Harbor  on  the  north.  [The  name 
"Foulweather"  has  been  retained  to  designate  a  headland  about  one  hundred  miles 
south  of  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.— Ed.  QrARTERi.Y.] 

\X  Gray's  Harbor.— Ed.  Quarterly.] 


256      Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

t unity  of  dj-yinti'  it,  I  deemed  it  imprudent  to  lie  down  to  sleep, 
and  accoi-dinuly  spent  the  night  sitting  over  the  fire.  The 
following  day  found  me  so  broken  down  with  fatigue  and 
starvation,  and  my  knee  so  much  worse,  that  I  could  not  stir 
(tut.  We  fared  most  scantily  on  the  roots  of  Sdfjittdria 
sdfi'dtifol'ui  and  LupiiiKs  liftoraJis,  called  in  the  Chenook  lan- 
guage SoniuchhiH.  till,  crawling  out  a  few  steps  with  my  gun, 
I  providentially  saw  some  wild  birds,  and  killed  five  ducks  at 
one  shot.  These  were  soon  cooked,  though  one  of  the  Indians 
ate  his  share  raw.  To  save  time  in  plucking  the  fowl,  I 
singed  off  the  feathers,  and,  with  a  basin  of  tea,  made  a  good 
supper  on  one  of  them.  I  had  certainly  been  very  hungry, 
yet.  strange  to  say,  as  soon  as  I  saw  the  birds  fall,  my  appetite 
fled,  and  I  could  hardly  persuade  myself  I  had  been  in  such 
want. 

Our  fiiie  having  attracted  the  attention  of  my  guide's 
friends  living  on  the  other  side  of  the  bay,  who  were  looking 
out  for  him,  they  sent  a  canoe.  Arriving  at  midnight,  I  was 
asleep,  and  did  not  know  of  the  fortunate  circumstance  till 
he  woke  me  in  the  morning,  for  he  had  not  allowed  them  to 
make  any  noise  to  disturb  me,  since  I  had  taken  little  or  no 
rest  during  three  preceding  nights.  As  we  were  crossing 
the  bay  together  I  killed  two  gulls,  one  large  and  white,  with 
a  bluish  hue  on  the  wings,  which  were  tipped  with  black,  the 
other  of  equal  size,  but  all  mottled  with  gray,  also  a  species 
of  Colynihus:  but  I  had  no  opportunity  of  preserving  them. 
I  reached  my  guide's  house  at  dusk,  and  remained  there 
several  days,  partaking  of  whatever  they  could  spare,  and 
treated  with  all  the  kindness  and  hospitality  which  Indian 
courtesy  could  suggest.  During  this  time  I  procured  a  little 
seed  of  Helonias  tenax.  though  not  so  much  as  I  could  wish, 
owing  to  the  lateness  of  the  season,  with  abundance  of  the 
seeds  of  a  splendid  Carex,  and  a  Lupine  (L.  littoralis).  The 
roots  of  the  latter  plant  are  collected  by  the  natives,  and 
roasted  on  the  embers,  and  they  are  tlie  Liquorice  alluded  to 
by  Lewis  and  Clark ;   they  contain    nuich    farinaceous  sub- 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.      257 

stance,  and  are  a  very  nutritive  food;  as  mentioned  above, 
the  natives  call  them  Somuchtan. 

On  the  7th  of  November  I  proceeded  up  the  River  Chee- 
heelie,  with  ray  guide,  in  a  canoe,  stoppino-  at  such  places  as 
presented  anything  new.  On  the  11th  I  had  attained  a  dis- 
tance of  sixty  miles  from  the  ocean,  when,  discouraged  by 
the  deluges  of  rain  which  fell,  and  finding  that  ray  canoe  was 
too  large  to  proceed  further,  owing  to  the  cascades  and  occa- 
sional shallowness  of  the  water,  I  discontinued  ray  voyage, 
which  was  intended  to  extend  to  the  source  of  the  river,  and 
dismissed  my  guide,  after  making  him  such  presents  as  I 
deemed  were  well  deserved  by  the  zeal  and  kindness  I  had 
experienced  at  his  hands.  Before  leaving  me,  however,  this 
man,  called  "The  Beard"  by  his  tribe,  entreated  me  to  shave 
hira,  as  he  raakes  sorae  pretensions  to  civilization,  and  irai- 
tates  English  manners  with  considerable  nicety.  T  complied 
with  his  request,  and  invited  him  to  come  and  see  rae  at  the 
New  Year  at  the  fort,  when  I  would  give  him  a  smoke  and  a 
dram,  and  shave  him  again.  He  asked  me  farther,  "to  let 
all  King  George's  chiefs  know  about  him  when  I  spoke  to 
them  on  paper. ' '  This  river  is  a  large  stream  nearly  as  wide 
as  the  Thames,  very  rapid,  inteiTupted  in  many  parts  with 
cascades  and  having  steep  and  rocky  banks  covered  with 
woods,  like  those  found  on  the  Columbia. 

At  the  village  Avhere  I  stopped  I  bargained  with  an  Indian 
to  carry  my  luggage  on  his  horse  to  the  Cowalidsk  River. 
ff)rty  miles  distant,  a  considerable  stream,  which  empties 
itself  into  the  Columbia.  I  had  sorae  difficulty  in  arranging 
with  the  fellow,  and  found  hira  the  most  mercenary  rascal 
I  ever  yet  met.  Having  no  alternative,  I  had  to  give  him 
twenty  shots  of  annnunition,  two  feet  of  tobacco,  a  few  flints, 
and  a  little  verraillion. 

This  distance,  though  not  more  than  forty  miles,  took  two 
days;  the  low  places  in  the  plain  were  so  many  lakes,  the 
rivulets  had  overflowed  their  banks,  and  the  difficulty  of 
ascending  and  descending  the  numerous  woody  hills  was 
ureatlv  increased  bv  these  causes.     It  rained  both  days;  we 


258      Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

had  consumed  all  the  berries  I  had  collected,  and  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie, who  accompanied  me,  suffered  severely  from  eating 
the  roots  of  a  species  of  Narthecium.  Fortunately  we  found 
at  the  Cowalidsk  a  small  boat  which  Schachanaway,  the  chief 
had  borrowed  from  the  establishment  a  few  days  before;  and 
ho  also  ^-(We  us  some  roots,  di'ied  salmon,  and  a  goose  {Anas 
Ca)i<t<leHsis.)  The  following  day  we  descended  the  river  to 
the  Columbia,  and  on  the  15th  of  November  landed  a  I  Forr 
Vancouver.  Seeds  of  Helonias  tenax,  Euhus  spectahilis 
(Bot.  Reg.  t.  1424),  were  the  only  things  I  saved  in  this  un- 
fortunate journey. 

IMy  return  up  the  Columbia  was  effected  by  means  of  my 
cloak  and  blanket,  which  I  used  as  sails.  It  was  midnight 
of  the  15th  when  I  reached  Fort  Vancouver,  after  an  absence 
of  twenty -five  days,  during  which  I  experienced  more  fatigue 
and  gleaned  less  than  in  any  trip  I  ever  made  in  this  country. 

From  this  period,  the  middle  of  November,  to  the  end  of 
December,  my  infirm  state  of  health,  and  the  prevalence  of 
the  rainy  season  entirely  precluded  any  thonght  of  Botany. 
At  midday  of  the  18th,  the  annual  express,  consisting  of  two 
boats  and  forty  men,  arrived  at  Fort  Vancouver,  from  Hud- 
son's Bay.  whence  they  had  started  on  the  21st  of  July.  At 
a  distance  of  several  miles  we  had  descried  them,  rapidly  de- 
scending the  stream,  and  as  in  this  remote  country,  it  is  only 
once  a  year  that  the  post,  if  T  may  so  call  it,  arrives  from  Eng- 
land, we  eagerly  hurried  to  welcome  our  guests,  each  con- 
gratulating himself  on  the  prospect  of  receiving  letters  from 
home.  I,  for  one,  was  heavily  disappointed ;  to  my  great  re- 
gret, the  party  informed  me  that  there  was  no  parcel,  letter, 
nor  article  of  any  kind  for  me,  and  though  this  was  aceonnted 
for  by  the  circumstance  that  they  had  quitted  Hudson's  Bay 
before  the  arrival  of  the  ship  which  sailed  for  that  port  from 
England  in  the  month  of  May,  still  it  was  tantalizing  to  reflect 
that  whatever  might  have  been  sent  to  me  by  that  vessel,  must 
now  lie  on  the  other  side  of  the  great  Continent  of  America 
until  November  of  next  year.  Mr.  McLeod.  the  gentleman 
in  charge  of  this  expedition,  informed  me  that  he  had  met 


Journal  and   Letters  of  David  Douglas.       259 

Captaiu  Frauklin's  party  on  Cumberland  Lake,  on  their  way 
to  Bear  Lake,  their  winter  residence.  I  learned  also  that  a 
^Ir.  Drummond,  whom,  from  the  description,  I  could  not 
but. hope  was  my  old  botanical  acquaintance,  the  nurseryman 
at  Forfar,  was  attached,  as  Naturalist,  to  the  expedition,  and 
that  he  had  accompanied  Mr.  McLeod  so  far  as  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  where  he  meant  to  spend  the  winter  season  near 
Peace  River  and  Smoking  River.  Mr.  McLeod,  whom  I  find 
to  be  a  very  agreeable  person,  informs  me  that  he  has  passed 
the  last  five  yeai's  on  Mackenzie's  River,  of  the  country  lying- 
near  which  he  possesses  more  knowledge  than  any  other  per- 
son. The  natives,  whose  language  he  speaks  fluently,  assui'c 
him  that  there  is  a  river,  running  parallel  with  Mackenzie's 
River,  to  the  west,  and  equaling  it  in  size,  which  falls  into 
the  sea  near  Icy  Cape.  He  had  assembled  the  Indians  with 
a  view  to  making  a  journey  in  that  direction,  when  orders 
arrived  which  obliged  him  to  start  for  Hudson's  Bay.  In 
this  gentleman  may  be  seen  what  perseverance  can  effect,  as 
he  had  visited  the  Polar  Sea,  and  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific 
Oceans  in  the  short  space  of  eleven  months.  The  sea,  to  the 
westward  of  Mackenzie's  River,  is  said  to  be  open  after  July, 
so  that  little  difficulty  or  exertion  would  be  found  in  going  to 
ley  Cape  by  land. 

During  the  brief  intervals  of  good  weather  I  crawled  out 
whenever  my  wounded  leg  enabled  me  to  move,  and  taking 
my  gun  collected  some  birds,  or  went  to  the  woods  in  search 
of  mosses  and  other  cryptogamic  plants.  Till  the  15th  of 
December  there  was  hardly  any  frost,  and  the  weather,  when 
dry,  was  very  pleasant,  though  the  cold  was  considerable  dur- 
ing nights.  But  on  the  24th  of  that  month,  the  rain  fell  in 
such  torrents  that  my  little  hut  of  Thuja  bark  became  un- 
tenantable, the  water  standing  fourteen  inches  deep  on  the 
floor;  ]\fl'.  McLoughlin  kindly  invited  me  to  take  up  my  quar- 
ters with  him  in  his  half-finished  house,  and  thither  I  re- 
moved all  my  little  articles  on  the  morning  of  Christmas 
Dav.      After  morning  service  was  over,  the  gentlemen  of  the 


260      Journal  and   I.ktters  ok  David  Douglas. 

fi)rt  took  au  airing  on  horseback,  in  which  my  troublesome 
knee,  much  to  my  vexation,  prevented  my  joining. 

January  1,  1826:  The  commencement  of  a  new  year,  in 
such  a  far-removed  corner  of  the  globe,  where  I  am  almost 
cut  off  from  all  civilized  society,  suggests  many  reflections. 
On  New  Year's  Day,  1824,  I  w^as  on  the  Atlantic,  returning 
to  my  native  land  from  North  America;  on  the  same  day,  this 
time  twelvemonth,  I  was  scudding  over  the  Pacific,  between 
the  Island  of  Juan  Fernandez  and  the  Gallipagos;  and  as  to 
where  I  may  be  ere  another  year  revolves,  is  known  only  to 
the  all-wise  Disposer  of  events. 

ACCOUNT   of  the  ZOOLOGY   OP   THE   COLUMBIA. 

So  few  events  occurred  between  this  date  and  the  1st  of 
March  that  my  journal  is  not  worth  transcribing.  I  may, 
however,  mention  some  birds  of  this  country  that  came  under 
my  notice;  and  first,  the  Silver-lieaded  Eagle  {Aquila  leuco- 
cephala  of  Richardson  and  Swainson!),  a  grand  creature, 
abundant  wherever  there  are  rivers  containing  fish.  These 
birds  perch  on  dead  trees  and  stumps  overhanging  the  water, 
and  are  invariably  found  near  cascades  and  falls.  They  are 
Avary  and  difficult  to  be  killed,  although  other  species  of  eagles 
do  sometimes  overcome  them.  The  voice  is  a  shrill  whistle. 
They  build  their  nests  in  large  trees,  not  confining  themselves 
to  dead  trunks,  and  appear  always  to  select  the  most  con- 
spicuous situations,  such  as  the  tops  of  steep  rocks,  points 
and  necks  of  land,  where  they  may  be  almost  certainly  looked 
for.  Two,  three,  and  four  young  ones  are  hatched  at  a  time, 
which  keep  the  nest,  and  continue  on  the  tree  much  longer 
than  most  birds,  seldom  quitting  the  vicinity  of  the  place 
where  they  are  reared.  The  color  of  the  first  plumage  is  a 
brownish-black,  which  in  the  first  spring  assumes  a  mottled 
grey,  lightest  on  the  head  and  tail ;  the  second  year  these 
parts  become  perfectly  white,  and  the  body  black.  I  killed 
one  of  these  birds  flying,  last  July,  during  an  excursion  of 
twelve  days,  which  I  had  made  principally  for  the  sake  of 
obtaining  the  roots  or  seeds  of  a  Cyperus  mentioned  by  Pursh 


Journal  and  Letters  of   David  Douglas.      261 

ill  his  preface.  The  bird,  a  fine  large  male,  was  perched  on 
;i  stump  ck)se  to  the  vilhige  of  Cockqua,  one  of  the  principal 
chiefs  of  the  Chenook  nation.  This  tribe  was  at  war  with 
the  ('latsops  and  some  other  Indians,  as  mentioned  before, 
and  many  were  the  feats  of  strength  and  dexterity  which 
they  performed,  in  order  to  show  their  superior  power,  among 
which  were  hitting  a  mark  with  bow  and  arrows,  antl  a  gun. 
One  individual  passed  the  arrows  through  a  small  hoop  of 
grass,  six  inches  in  diameter,  thrown  up  in  the  air  by  another 
pers(m,  and  then  with  his  rifle  struck  a  mark  110  yards  dis- 
tant, explaining  that  none  of  King  George's  chiefs  could  do 
the  like,  any  more  than  chaunt  the  death  song,  and  dance  war 
dances  with  him.  On  this  bravado,  deeming  it  a  good  oppor- 
tunity to  show  myself  a  fair  marksman,  the  poor  Silver- 
Headed  Eagle  was  made  to  pay  for  it.  I  lifted  my  gun, 
which  was  charged  with  swan  shot,  walked  to  within  forty- 
five  yards  of  the  birdj  and  throwing  a  stone  to  raise  him, 
brought  him  down  when  flying.  This  had  the  desired  effect; 
many  of  the  natives,  who  never  think  of  the  possibility  of 
shooting  an  object  in  motion,  laid  their  hands  on  their  mouths 
in  token  of  fear,  a  common  gesture  with  them.  The  fellow, 
however,  still  showing  himself  inclined  to  maintain  his  superi- 
ority, gave  me  a  shot  at  his  hat,  which  he  threw  up  himself, 
when  my  shot  carried  away  all  the  crown,  leaving  nothing 
but  the  brim.  My  fame  was  hereupon  sounded  through  the 
whole  country,  and  a  high  value  attached  to  my  gun.  Ever 
since  I  have  found  it  of  the  utmost  importance  to  bring  down 
a  bird  flying  when  I  go  near  any  of  their  lodges,  at  the  same 
time  taking  care  to  make  it  appear  as  a  little  matter,  not  done 
on  purpose  to  be  observed.  With  regard  to  the  hat  in  ques- 
tion, I  may  mention  that  it  was  woven  of  the  roots  of  Heloitias 
tenax,  which  the  Indians  of  the  Columbia  call  Quip-Quip,  and 
on  my  observing  the  tissue  with  attention,  Cockqua  promised 
that  his  little  girl,  12  years  of  age,  should  make  me  tln'ee 
or  four  after  the  European  shape,  giving  me  at  the  same 
time  his  own  hat,  and  a  large  collection  of  baskets,  cups,  and 
pouches  of  the  same  material,  for  which   I  paid  in  tobacco, 


262      Journal  and  Lettkks  of  David  Douglas. 

knives,  nails,  and  gun-fliuts.  Tlie  roots  of  Cyperns  and 
Thuja  are  also  used  for  the  same  purpose.  Coekqua  kept 
his  promise,  and  after  three  months  brought  me  the  hats, 
one  on  which  had  initials  woven  in  with  a  dark-stained  Fucus. 
I  gave  him  for  these  and  for  ten  pieces  of  wood,  made  of 
Spiraea  Capitata,  each  tipped  with  a  beaver's  tooth,  and  used 
in  playing  one  of  their  games,  one  blanket,  value  7  shillings, 
and  some  beads,  rings,  and  needles,  as  a  present  to  the  little 
girl  who  wrought  the  hats.  When  returning  last  summer 
from  the  Grand  Rapids,  I  saw  one  of  these  Silver-headed 
Eagles  take  a  small  sturgeon  out  of  the  water,  and  as  he  was 
soaring  over  my  head,  I  lifted  my  gun  and  brought  him  down. 
The  claws  of  the  bird  were  so  firmly  clenched  through  the 
cartilaginous  substance  of  the  fish's  back,  that  he  would  not 
let  go  till  I  introduced  a  needle  into  the  vertebrae  of  his 
neck.  The  sturgeon  measured  fifteen  inches  long,  and 
weighed  fom  pounds. 

The  large  Brown  Eagle  is  less  plentiful  than  most  species 
of  its  tribe,  and  not  so  shy.  It  is  also  less  ferocious  than  the 
Silver-headed  Eagle,  of  which  it  stands  in  great  fear.  I  was 
able  to  kill  but  one,  and  an  examination  of  its  stomach,  which 
was  full  of  small  birds,  seemed  to  show  that  it  does  not  live 
on  fish. 

The  Small  Eagle  appears  to  be  rare,  as  I  never  saw  more 
than  one  pair,  of  which  I  killed  one.  Its  fiight  is  very  quick, 
and  though  inferior  in  size  and  strength  to  the  other  Eagles 
of  this  country,  it  boldly  pursues  them  all.  I  can  not  say 
what  is  the  nature  of  its  food.  The  legs  and  feet  are  of  a 
light  and  bright  blue. 

The  hunters  inform  me  that  the  Calumet  Eagle  {Aquila 
Chrysaetos,  Richardson  and  Swainson),  is  found  two  degrees 
south  of  the  Columbia,  in  the  winter  season,  and  I  saw  two 
specimens  which  had  been  killed  there. 

A  species  of  Buzzard  or  Vultu7-e  {Sarcoramphos  Cali- 
forniaHUs  of  Vigors)  is  the  largest  bird  seen  here,  except  the 
Wild  Swan.  I  killed  only  one  of  these  interesting  birds,  but 
the  buckshot  which  went  through  its  head  spoiled  the  speci- 


Journal  and  TjEtteks  of  David  Douglas.      263 

men  for  {n-eservatioii,  whicli  I  exceedingly  regret,  as  I  am 
sure  the  species  is  yet  undescribed.  I  have  since  fired  at 
many  of  them  with  every  kind  of  smaller  shot,  but  without 
effect.  Seldom  more  than  one  or  two  of  these  Buzzards  are 
seen  together;  but  when  they  can  find  the  carcass  of  any  dead 
animal,  they  gorge  so  gluttonously  that  it  is  easy  to  knock 
them  down  with  a  stick.  I  shall  shortly  try  to  take  them 
with  a  baited  steel  trap.  The  color  of  this  species  is  similar 
to  the  Canadian  Buzzard  which  I  sent  home,  the  beak  and 
legs  bright  yellow.  Its  wing-feathers  are  highly  prized  by 
the  Canadian  voyagers  for  making  the  stems  of  their  to- 
bacco pipes. 

Of  the  Hawk  tribe  I  have  seen  but  four  species,  and  was 
al)le  to  preserve  only  two  of  these.  One  is  pure  white,  and 
about  the  size  of  a  sparrow-hawk,  a  very  active  bird,  and  in 
constant  pursuit  of  all  the  other  sorts,  which  invariably  shun 
its  society. 

The  Magpie,  so  common  with  us,  and  abundant  also  in  the 
upper  part  of  the  country  at  all  seasons,  is  very  rare  near 
the  coast;  there  seems  to  be  no  specific  difference  between  it 
and  the  bird  of  Europe,  except  that  this  is  larger,  and  the 
feathers  in  the  tail  of  the  male  are  of  a  brighter  and  more 
azure  purple.  The  American  Magpies  have  the  same  trick  as 
ours  of  annoying  horses  which  have  any  sore  about  them.  T 
preserved  a  pair  of  them. 

The  Wood  Partridge  is  not  a  rare  bird,  although  by  no 
means  so  abundant  as  many  of  the  tribe  on  the  other  side  of 
the  continent.  These  birds  frequent  high  gravelly  soils  on 
the  outskirts  of  woods,  among  hazel  bushes  and  other  brush- 
wood ;  but  are  so  shy  that  the  breaking  of  a  twig  is  sufficient 
to  raise  them,  as  they  generally  harbor  in  the  low  thickets, 
it  is  only  by  a  chance  shot  on  the  wing  that  they  can  be  se- 
cured. I  preserved  two  pairs  of  this  fine  species,  but  had 
the  misfortune  to  lose  one  of  the  males,  which  could  not  after- 
wards be  replaced,  by  the  depredations  of  a  rascally  rat,  who 
mutilated  it  so  much  as  to  render  the  specimen  unfit  for  send- 
ing home.      On  the  Multnomak  River  there  is    a  species  of 


264      Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

l*ai-li-iiliie,  very  diniiimtivo  in  size,  not  so  lai'ge  as  an  English 
Thrush,  with  a  long-  azure  crest,  and  head  and  neck  of  the 
same  hue,  the  rest  of  the  bird  being  an  uniform  pea-grey. 
I  have  not  seen  it  myself,  but  have  provided  one  of  the 
hunters  with  shot  to  procure  it  for  me. 

In  the  upper  country  are  two  or  three  kinds  of  Grouse; 
one  a  very  hxrge  bright  grey  bird,  as  large  as  the  smaller  size 
of  Turkeys,  is  plentiful  and  easily  procured;  another,  about 
the  size  of  a  hen,  of  a  blackish  color,  is  also  abundant ;  it 
cackles  exactly  like  the  domestic  fowl,  and  never  flies,  but 
runs  along  the  ground. 

The  Large  Grouse  I  have  not  seen  alive,  but  often  ob- 
served its  tail-feathers  and  part  of  the  skin,  decorating  the 
war-caps  of  the  Indians  from  the  interior. 

A  species  very  distinct  from  the  Cuculus  cristatus  of  Wil- 
son, is  the  Small  Blue  Jay  {Garrulus  Stelleri  1  Vieillot)  ;  in- 
deed I  do  not  remember  to  have  read  any  desci'iption  at  all 
according  with  it.  Unlike  the  conmiou  Jay  of  our  country, 
which  is  very  shy,  and  in  autumn  is  seen  in  large  flocks,  but 
never  near  houses,  the  Jay  of  the  Columbia  is  very  tame,  and 
visits  the  dung-hills  of  the  Indian  villages,  like  an  English 
robin,  sometimes  thirty  or  forty  of  the  birds  coming  together. 
It  is  of  a  darker  blue  than  the  European  kind,  and  has  a 
black  crest.      Three  of  them  are  preserved. 

The  Large  Horned  Owl  seems  not  very  abundant;  I  never 
saw  more  than  twelve  or  fourteen.  One  I  killed  by  the  light 
of  the  moon,  having  watched  for  it  during  several  successive 
evenings;  it  was  not,  however,  the  species  I  was  in  quest  of, 
which  is  much  larger  than  the  Snowy  Owl,  and  of  a  yellowish 
))rown  color. 

There  are  two  species  of  Crow,  one  large  and  the  other 
small ;  the  lesser  kind  is  shyer  and  not  so  abundant,  being  only 
seen  on  the  banks  of  rivers  and  near  old  encampments,  where 
it  feeds  upon  carrion.  This  bird  is  in  my  collection ;  it  was 
killed  in  February. 

In  the  Wild  Fowl  there  appears  little  difference  from  what 
iiencrallv   inhabit  the  wild  districts  of   America.       The  com- 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.      265 

mou  Vanadian  Wild  Goose  {Anas  Canadensis  'I),  with  the 
(rrey  or  Calling  Goose,  and  the  Small  White  Goose,  are  abuu- 
dixnt  im  all  the  lakes,  marshes,  and  low  grounds,  as  well  as 
on  the  sand  banks  in  the  Columbia.  They  migrate  to  the 
northward  in  April,  and  return  in  October.  The  male  of  the 
Grey  Goose  is  a  handsome  mottled  bird.  A  pair  of  each  of 
these  Geese  is  in  my  collection. 

There  are  thi-ee  species,  or  else  distinct  varieties  of  the 
Sican.  First,  the  Common  Swan,  then  a  smaller  bird  of  the 
same  color;  and  thirdly,  another,  equal  in  size  to  the  fii*st, 
bluish  grey  on  the  back,  neck,  and  head,  and  white  on  the 
belly;  it  is  probably  specifically  distinct,  as  the  color  is  pre- 
served in  all  stages  of  its  growth,  and  it  is  not  so  common  as 
the  rest.  All  these  frequent  like  places  as  the  Geese,  and 
migrate  at  the  same  time.  To  my  regret,  I  was  only  able  to 
obtain  one  specimen,  a  female  of  the  last  species. 

Of  the  ten  or  twelve  species  of  Ducks  found  on  the  Colum- 
bia. I  could  obtain  but  three. 

jNIy  desire  of  preserving  animals  and  birds  was  often  frus- 
trated by  the  heavy  rains  that  fell  at  this  season.  Among 
the  kinds  of  the  latter  which  chiefly  deserve  attention  are, 
Tetrao  Sabini  and  Richardsoni,  Sarcocamphos  Calif ornica, 
Corvus  Stelleri,  and  some  species  of  the  genus  Anas.  There 
are  several  kinds  of  Cervus,  Canis,  Mus,  and  Myoxus,  though 
the  variety  of  quadrupeds  is  by  no  means  so  great  in  the 
northwest  as  in  many  parts  of  America. 

The  Elk  {Cervus  Alces),  which  the  hunters  say  agrees 
precisely  with  the  Bichc  of  the  other  side  of  this  great  con- 
tinent, is  found  in  all  the  woody  country,  and  particularly 
abundant  near  the  coast.  There  are  two  other  species  of 
Deer — one  is  light  grey,  white  on  the  belly  and  inside  the  legs, 
with  a  very  long  tail,  a  foot  to  fifteen  inches  long.  It  is 
called  by  the  hunters  le  Chevreuil,  or  Jumping  Deer  {Cervus 
leucurus),  and  is  very  small,  with  horns  about  eighteen  inches 
long,  and  much  curved  inward,  very  round,  and  not  more  than 
once  or  twice  branched. 

The    other    species    is    the    Black-tailed    Deer     {Cervus 


■2()()      Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

nuicroiis  of  ►^ay),  iif  a  darker  luie  on  the  back,  and  bluisli- 
•irey,  the  belly  yellow;  its  tail  is  shorter,  not  exceeding  from 
eight  inches  to  a  foot,  and  the  ears  remarkably  large,  much 
like  those  of  an  Ass,  and  of  the  same  dark  color  as  the  tail. 
This  is  a  considerably  larger  animal  than  the  Ckevreuil,  and 
less  plentiful ;  both  are  found  in  the  upland  countries,  all 
through  the  great  range  of  mountains  which  extend  across 
the  lands  of  the  Snake  and  Flathead  Indians.  I  sent  last 
October  to  England  a  young  Chevreuil  which  I  had  killed  on 
the  Multnomak  River,  where  these  creatures  are  remarkably 
abundant.  As  nothing  could  be  more  interesting  to  me  than 
a  knowledge  of  this  genus.  I  have  instructed  several  of  the 
hunters  in  the  mode  of  preparing  the  skin,  and  furnished 
them  with  a  small  quantity  of  preserving  powder;  so  that  I 
do  hope  to  obtain  at  least  a  pair  of  each. 

There  are  two  sorts  of  h'ahhit  and  one  of  Hare,  but  none 
of  them  have  I  seen  alive;  the  latter,  which  is  only  found  in 
the  interior,  is  said  to  be  very  large. 

On  the  Multnomali  there  is  a  most  singular  kind  of  Fox, 
smaller  than  any  other  except  the  White  Fox  of  Northeast 
America,  its  extreme  length  being  only  from  thirty-three  to 
forty  inches.  The  hair  is  remarkably  short  and  very  coarse, 
and  what  is  most  singular,  each  hair  is  brown  at  the  bottom, 
white  in  the  middle,  and  black  at  the  points,  which  gives  the 
creature  a  light  grey  colour;  the  belly  white,  and  the  sides  of 
the  neck  and  body  as  well  as  the  forehead,  brown;  the  ears 
and  nose  somewhat  black,  and  it  has  a  grey  beard  and  a  black 
stroke  from  the  shoulders  to  the  tip  of  the  tail.  The  pro- 
pensity which  this  Fox  exhibits  for  climbing  trees  distin- 
guishes it  from  all  the  other  species ;  he  mounts  with  as  much 
facility  as  a  Squirrel.  The  first  I  saw  was  on  the  Multnomak, 
where  this  kind  of  Fox  is  by  no  means  rare. 

A  large  Lynx  (FeMs  rufa,  Richardson  and  Guldenst)  was 
started  by  Mr.  McLeod  and  me  when  we  were  on  a  hunting 
excursion  in  the  month  of  February.  The  small  Bulldog  be- 
longing to  that  gentleman  caught  it  by  the  thi'oat  and  killed 
i1  without  any  further  trouble.      It  was  a  full  grown  female, 


Journal  and  Letters  ok  David  Douglas.      267 

and  the  skin  not  being  niiieli  injnred,  I  mean  to  have  it  neatly 
jireserved.  > 

Several  kinds  of  Mice  and  Rals  are  found  on  the  banks  of 
the  rivers,  but  I  have  been  nnable  to  eateh  any  more  of  a 
singular  species  with  pouches,  of  which  large  numbers  had 
visited  us  last  autumn.  The  Ground  Rat,  or  Arcfomjis 
[Arcfoniys  bracliyurusi) .  of  whose  skins  the  Cheiiook  and 
other  tribes  of  Indians  ni;d\e  their  robes,  I  hear  are  plentiful 
in  the  upper  parts  of  the  Cowalidsk  River,  but  my  enfeebled 
state  when  I  was  there  last  November  prevented  my  hunting 
for  any,  and  my  subsequent  attempts  have  been  unsuccessful. 

On  the  Multnomak  River,  about  thirty-six  miles  above  its 
junction  with  the  Cohunbia,  there  are  fine  falls,  about  forty 
three  feet  in  perpendicular  height,  across  the  whole  river  in 
an  oblique  direction ;  when  the  water  is  low  they  are  divided 
into  three  principal  channels,  but  when  it  is  high  the  whole 
stream  rushes  over  in  one  unbroken  sheet.  This  place  was 
at  one  time  considered  the  finest  hunting  ground  for  Beaver 
(Castor  Fiber,  var.  Americanus) ,  west  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, and  much  have  I  been  gratified  in  viewing  the  lodges 
and  dams  constructed  by  that  wise  and  industrious  little 
animal.  The  same  place  is  frequented  by  large  numbers  of 
a  species  of  Peer  (probably  the  Cerviis  Wapiti  described  as 
being  seen  by  Captain  Franklin's  party)  ;  but  though  seven- 
teen of  these  creatures,  male  and  female,  were  killed  during  a 
stay  that  I  made  there  in  autumn,  1825,  only  a  small  young 
male,  about  four  months  could  be  ceded  to  me  for  preserva- 
tion, owing  to  the  great  scarcity  of  provision. 

The  quantity  of  salmon  (Salmo  Scoulerif  Richardson) 
taken  in  the  Columbia  is  almost  inci-edible.  and  the  Indians 
resort  in  great  numbers  to  the  best  fishing  spots,  often  travel- 
ing several  hundred  miles  for  this  purpose.  The  salmon  are 
captured  in  the  following  manner :  Before  the  water  rises, 
small  channels  are  made  among  the  rocks  and  stones,  dividing 
the  stream  into  branches,  over  which  is  erected  a  platform  or 
stage  on  which  a  person  can  stand.  These  are  made  to  be  raised, 
or  let  dow)i,  as  the  water  falls  or  rises.    A  scoop  net,  which  is 


268      Journal  and   Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

fastened  round  a  liooj)  and  held  by  a  pole  twelve  or  fifteen 
feet  long,  is  then  dropped  into  the  channel,  which  it  exactly 
fits,  and  the  current  of  the  water  carrying  it  down,  the  poor 
salmon  swims  into  it  without  being  aware,  when  the  individual 
who  watches  the  net  instantly  draws  it  and  flinas  the  fish  on 
shoi-e.  The  handle  of  the  net  is  secured  by  a  rope  to  the  plat- 
form, lest  the  force  of  the  w^ater  shouJd  drive  it  out  of  the 
fisher's  hand.  The  hoop  is  made  of  Acer  Circiiiatum.,  the  net 
of  the  bark  of  an  Apocynum.  W'hich  is  very  durable  and  tough, 
and  the  pole  of  pine  wood.  The  salmon  is  of  good  quality, 
generally  weighing  from  fifteen  to  twenty-five  pounds,  some- 
times more.  I  measured  two— the  first  was  three  feet  five 
inches  long  from  the  snout  to  the  tip  of  the  tail,  and  ten  inches 
broad  at  the  thickest  part,  it  weighed  thirty-five  pounds;  the 
other  was  three  feet  four  inches  in  length,  nine  inches  broad, 
and  a  little  lighter  Both  were  purchased  for  two  inches  of  to- 
bacco (about  half  an  ounce),  and  value  two  pence.  In  Eng- 
land the  same  quantity  of  salmon  could  not  be  obtained  under 
£2  or  £3,  nor  would  it  eat  so  nicely  crisped  (a  great  point 
with  epicures)  as  mine  has  done ;  when  cooked  under  the  shade 
of  a  princely  pine  far  removed  from  the  abodes  of  civilized 
life.  It  is  wonderful  how"  much  comfort,  at  least  how  much 
of  the  feeling  of  it.  can  consist  with  such  a  place,  and  under 
such  circumstances,  where  I  have  been  surrounded  by  hun- 
dreds of  individuals  who  had  never  seen  such  a  white  face  as 
mine  before,  and  whose  intentions,  w^ere  I  only  to  judge  by 
their  weapons  and  appearance,  were  very  hostile.  Great  Avas 
their  astonishment  when,  after  having  eaten  my  salmon,  I 
prepared  an  effervescing  draught,  and  swallowed  it,  hoiling. 
as  they  believed.  Their  belief  in  good  and  bad  spirits  made 
them  consider  me  as  one  of  the  latter"  class,  and  when,  be- 
sides drinking  this  "boiling  water,"  they  saw  me  light  a 
tobacco  pipe  with  my  lens,  they  called  me  OUa  Piska,  which 
in  Chenook  language  signifies  Fire.  A  pair  of  spectacles 
which  I  placed  on  my  nose  caused  no  less  surprise,  and  tho 
hand  was  innnediatcly  laid  on  the  mouth  in  token  of  dread 
and  astonishment.      On  sandA^  shores  the  salmon  is  caught  as 


Journal  and   Letters  of  David  Douglas.      269 

in  Entrland.  with  a  drauiiht  net,  also  made  of  Apocynum 
bark,  and  floated  with  bits  of  wood,  particularly  where  the 
bottom  of  the  river  is  free  from  rocks  or  stumps. 

The  Sfiirgpon  {Acciix'iisrr  traitsrnoiita'nus.,  Richardson) 
attains  a  leiiiith  of  ten  fed,  and  a  weisiht  of  400  to  500  pounds 
ill  the  Columbia,  (^m^  of  these  was  presented  me  b}^  my  In- 
dian friend,  Coekqna.  some  months  a^'o,  and  as  to  eat  the 
whole  was  a  feat  even  surpassing  the  powers  of  "one  of  King 
George's  chiefs,"  I  requested  him  to  select  the  part  which  he 
considered  the  best,  and  cook  it  for  me.  This  request  he  took 
as  a  great  compliment,  and  I  nmst  do  him  the  justice  to  say 
that  he  afforded  me  the  most  comfortable  meal  I  had  enjoyed 
for  a  considerable  time,  out  of  the  head  and  spine  of  this  fish. 

A  small  Trout  is  also  found  abundantly  in  the  creeks  of 
the  Columbia. 

Among  the  most  interesting  of  the  plants  which  I  gathered 
last  year  is  a  species  of  Tobacco,  the  Nicotiana  pulvendcnta  of 
Pursh,  correctly  surmised  by  Nuttall  to  grow  on  this  side  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains;  though  whether  this  country,  or  the 
Rocky  Mountains  themselves,  or  the  banks  of  the  Missouri, 
be  its  original  habitat,  I  am  quite  unable  to  say.  I  am,  how- 
ever, inclined  to  think  that  it  is  indigenous  to  the  mountains, 
where  the  hunters  say  that  it  grows  plentifully,  especially  in 
the  country  of  the  Snake  Indians,  who  may  have  brought  it 
from  the  headwaters  of  the  Missouri,  which  they  annually 
visit,  and  distributed  it  thus  in  both  directions,  east  and  west 
of  the  great  chain  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  I  first  saw  a 
single  plant  of  it  in  the  hand  of  an  Indian  at  the  Great  Falls 
of  the  Columbia,  but  though  I  offered  two  ounces  of  manufac- 
tured tobacco,  an  enormous  remuneration,  he  Avould  on  no 
account  part  with  it.  The  Nicotiana  is  never  sowed  by  the  In- 
dians near  the  villages  lest  it  should  be  pulled  and  used  before 
it  comes  to  perfect  maturity;  they  select  for  its  cultivation  an 
open  place  in  the  wood,  where  they  burn  a  dead  tree  or  stump, 
and  strewing  the  ashes  over  the  ground,  plant  tlie  tobacco 
there.  Fortunately,  I  happened  to  detect  one  of  these  little 
plantations,  and  supplied  myself,  without  delay  or  iunnediate 


270      Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

stipulations  for  payment,  with  both  specimens  for  drying  and 
seeds.  The  owner,  whom  I  shortly  met,  seeing  the  prize  under 
my  arm,  appeared  much  displeased,  but  was  propitiated  with 
a  present  of  European  tobacco,  and  becoming  good  friends 
with  me,  gave  the  above  description  of  its  culture,  saying  that 
Avood  ashes  invariably  made  it  grow  very  large. 

I  was  much  disappointed  at  being  unable  to  obtain  cones 
of  a  fine  Pinus  which  grows  abundantly  on  the  banks  of  the 
Columbia.  The  trees  were  too  large  to  be  felled  with  my 
hatchet,  and,  as  to  climbing,  I  had  already  learned  the  pro- 
priety of  leaving  no  property  below  on  such  occasions.  The 
top  of  the  tree,  whei'e  the  cones  hang,  was  also  too  weak  to 
bear  me,  and  its  height  so  great  that  all  my  attempts  to  bring 
them  down  by  firing  at  them  with  swan-shot  were  unsuccessful. 

On  the  20th  of  February,  Jean  Baptiste  McKay,  one  of 
the  hunters,  returned  to  the  establishment  from  his  hunting- 
excursion  to  the  southward,  and  brought  me  one  cone  of  the 
species  of  Pinus,  which  I  had  requested  him  to  procure  last 
August,  when  I  was  at  the  Multnomak.  The  first  knowledge  I 
had  of  this  grand  tree  was  derived  from  the  very  large  seeds 
and  scales  of  the  cone  which  I  had  seen  in  the  Indian's  shot- 
pouch.  After  treating  the  latter  to  a  smoke,  which  must 
be  done  before  any  questions  are  put.  I  inquired  and  found 
that  he  had  brought  this  prize  from  the  mountains  to  the 
southward,  and  as  McKay  was  going  in  that  direction,  I 
liegged  him  to  procure  me  twelve  cones,  a  bag  of  seeds,  a  few 
twigs  and  some  of  the  gum.  Being,  however,  late  in  autumn 
ere  he  arrived  at  the  place  where  the  trees  grow,  all  the  seed 
was  gone,  and  he  therefore  brought  only  a  cone  to  show  me ; 
but  as  he  gave  strict  orders  to  his  Indian  friends,  I  feel  cer- 
tain of  securing  abundance  of  it  in  the  summer.  This  species 
belongs  to  Pursh's  second  section;  the  tree  measures  from 
twenty  to  fifty  feet  in  circumference,  and  is  one  hundred  and 
seventy  to  two  hundred  and  twenty  feet  high,  nearly  un- 
braiiched  to  within  a  short  distance  of  the  top  where  it  forms 
a  perfect  umbel.  The  trunk  is  remarkably  straight,  the  wood 
fine,  and  yielding  a  great  quantity  of  resin.      Growing  trees. 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.       271 

which  have  been  burned  by  the  natives  to  save  the  trouble 
of  felling-  them  or  of  collecting  other  fuel,  a  practice  to  which 
they  are  greatly  addicted,  produce  a  quantity  of  a  saccharine 
substance,  used  for  seasoning  in  the  same  way  as  sugar  is  by 
civilized  nations.  The  cone  measured  sixteen  inches  and  a 
half  in  length,  and  was  ten  inches  round  at  the  thickest  part. 
The  country  of  the  TJmptqua  Indians,  two  degrees  south  of 
the  Columbiaj  produces  this  tree  in  the  greatest  abundance. 
The  seeds  are  collected  in  the  end  of  summer,  dried,  pounded, 
and  made  into  a  sort  of  cake  which  is  considered  a  great 
dainty.  To  mj^  inquiries  respecting  it,  the  poor  Indian  an- 
swered by  repeated  assurances  that  he  would  give  me  plenty 
of  this  cake  when  I  visited  his  country,  which  is  the  surest 
proof  of  its  being  much  prized,  as  these  people  will,  on  every 
occasion,  offer  the  greatest  rarity  or  delicacy  to  a  stranger. 
The  same  person  brought  me  also  an  Elk's  snare  and  a  netted 
purse  of  ingenious  workmanship,  made  of  a  most  durable 
grass,  which,  from  what  I  have  seen,  will  probably  prove  a 
new  species  of  Ilelonias.  Of  this  plant  he  has  also  promised 
to  procure  me  roots  and  seeds. 

(To  be  continued.) 


IIECOLLCCTIQMS  £S  0F11N11QPS  IP  m 

By  Petkb  H.  Burnett. 

CHAPTER  V. 

The  Act  in  Ixcgard  to  Slavery  and  Free  Negroes  and  3Iulat- 
toes— Misrepresentations  of  W.  H.  Gray. 

Mr.  Gray,  in  speaking  of  the  legislative  committee  of  1844. 
says : 

"There  was  one  inhuman  act  passed  by  this  legislative 
committee,  which  should  stamp  the  names  of  its  supporters 
with  disgrace  and  infamy."      (Page  378.) 

"The  principal  provisions  of  this  bill  were,  that  in  case 
a  colored  man  was  brought  to  the  country  by  any  master  of 
a  vessel,  he  must  give  bonds  to  take  him  away  again  or  be 
fined ;  and  in  case  the  negro  was  found,  or  came  here  from  any 
quarter,  the  sheriff  was  to  catch  him  and  flog  him  forty  lashes 
at  a  time,  till  he  left  the  country."    (Page  278.) 

"The  principles  of  Burnett's  bill  made  it  a  crime  for  a 
white  man  to  bring  a  negro  to  the  country,  and  a  crime  for 
a  negro  to  come  voluntarily ;  so  that  in  any  case,  if  he  were 
found  in  the  country  he  was  guilty  of  a  crime,  and  punish- 
ment or  slavery  was  his  doom."    (Page  379.) 

"At  the  adjourned  session  in  December  we  find  the  execu- 
tive urging  the  legislative  connnittee  ...  to  amend  their  act 
relative  to  the  corporal  punishment  of  the  blacks,  etc."  (Page 
379.) 

"To  the  honor  of  the  country,  Peter  H.  Burnett's  negro- 
whipping  law  was  never  enforced  in  a  single  instance  against 
a  white  or  black  man,  as  no  ofScer  of  the  provisional  govern- 
ment felt  it  incumbent  upon  himself  to  attempt  to  enforce  it. ' ' 
(Page  383.) 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  273 

This  is  all  the  information  given  by  Mr.  Gray  as  to  the 
provisions  of  this  act,  and  nothing  is  said  as  to  its  amendment. 
The  act  is  as  follows : 

An  Act  in  Regard  to  Slavery  and  Free  Negroes  and  Mu- 

LATTOES. 

Be  it  enacted  by  tlie  legislative  committee  of  Oregon  as 
follows : 

Section  1.  That  slavery  and  involuntary  servitude  shall 
be  forever  prohibited  in  Oregon. 

Sec.  2.  That  in  all  cases  where  slaves  shall  have  been, 
or  shall  hereafter  be,  brought  into  Oregon,  the  owners  of  such 
slaves  respectively  shall  have  the  term  of  three  years  from  the 
introducti(m  of  such  slaves  to  remove  them  out  of  the  country. 

Sec.  3.  That  if  such  owners  of  slaves  shall  neglect  or 
refuse  to  remove  such  slaves  from  the  country  within  the  time 
specified  in  the  preceding  section,  such  slaves  shall  be  free. 

Sec.  4.  That  when  any  free  negro  or  mulatto  shall  have 
come  to  Oregon,  he  or  she  (as  the  case  may  be),  if  of  the  age 
of  eighteen  or  upward,  shall  remove  from  and  leave  the 
country  within  the  term  of  two  years  for  males  and  three  years 
for  females  from  the  passage  of  this  act ;  and  that  if  any  free 
negro  or  mulatto  shall  hereafter  come  to  Oregon,  if  of  the  age 
aforesaid,  he  or  she  shall  quit  or  leave  the  country  within  the 
term  of  two  years  for  males  and  three  years  for  females  from 
his  or  her  arrival  in  the  country. 

Sec.  5.  That  if  such  free  negro  or  mulatto  be  under  the 
age  aforesaid*  the  terms  of  time  specified  in  the  preceding 
section  shall  begin  to  run  when  he  or  she  shall  arive  at 
such  age. 

Sec.  6.  That  if  any  such  free  negro  or  nuilatto  shall  fail 
to  quit  the  country  as  required  by  this  act,  he  or  she  may  be 
arrested  upon  a  warrant  issued  by  some  justice  of  the  peace, 
and,  if  guilty  upon  trial  before  such  justice,  shall  receive  upon 
his  or  her  bare  back  not  less  than  twenty  nor  more  than  thirty- 
nine  stripes,  to  be  inflicted  by  the  constable  of  the  proper 
county. 

Sec.  7.  That  if  any  free  negro  or  mulatto  shall  fail  to 
quit  the  country  within  the  term  of  six  months  after  receiving 
such  stripes,  he  or  she  shall  again  receive  the  same  punishment 
once  in  every  six  months  until  he  or  she  shall  quit  the  country. 


274  Pkter  H.  Burnett. 

Sec.  8.  Tluit  when  any  slave  shall  obtain  his  or  her  free- 
dom, the  time  specified  in  the  fourth  section  shall  beg-in  to  rim 
from  the  time  when  such  freedom  shall  be  obtained. 

United  States  of  America,, 
State  of  Oregon, 
Sec^ketary  's  Op'fice. 

Salem,  Jnne  10th,  1878. 
I,  S.  F.  Chadwick,  Secretary  of  the  State  of  Oreg'on,  do 
hereby  certify  that  I  am  the  custodian  of  the  great  seal  of  the 
State  of  Oregon.  That  the  foregoing  copy  of  original  bill  for 
an  act  in  regard  to  slavery  and  free  negroes  and  mulattoes 
])assed  the  legislative  committee  of  the  Territory  of  Oregon 
Jnne  26,  1844,  has  been  by  me  compared  with  the  original  bill 
for  an  act.  etc.,  on  file  in  this  ofifice,  and  said  copy  is  a  correct 
transcript  therefrom,  and  of  the  whole  and  of  the  original  bill. 
In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereto  set  my  hand  and  affixed 
the  Great  Seal  of  the  State  of  Oregon,  the  day  and  year  above 
written. 

[seal]  S.  F.  Chadv^ick, 

Secretary  of  the  State  of  Oregon. 
By  Thomas  B.  Jackson, 

Assistant  Secretary  of  State. 

The  executive  committee,  in  their  communication  to  the 
legislative  committee,  dated  December  16,  1844,  made  this 
recommendation : 

"We  would  recommend  that  the  act  passed  by  this  assem- 
bly in  June  last,  relative  to  blacks  and  nmlattoes,  be  so 
amended  as  to  exclude  corporal  punishment,  and  require 
bonds  for  good  behavior  in  its  stead."  (Oregon  Laws  and 
Archives,  58.) 

At  the  December  session  I  introduced  the  following  bill, 
which  was  passed  December  19,  1844: 

An  Act  Amendatory  of  an  Act  passed  June  28,  1844,  in 
regard  to  slavery  and  for  other  pltrposes. 

Be  it  Enacted  hy  the  Legislative  Committee  of  Oregon  as 
follows  : 

Section  1.  That  the  sixth  and  seventh  sections  of  said  act 
are  hereby  repealed. 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  275 

Sec.  2.  That  if  any  such  free  iieyro  oi-  mulatto  shall  fail 
to  (luit  and  leave  the  country,  as  required  by  the  act  to  which 
this  is  amendatory,  he  or  she  may  be  arrested  upon  a  warrant 
issued  by  some  justice  of  the  peace  -.  and  if  g'uilty  upon  trial 
before  such  justice  had,  the  said  justice  shall  issue  his  order 
to  any  officer  competent  to  execute  process,  directing  said 
officer  to  give  ten  days'  public  notice,  by  at  least  four  written 
or  printed  advertisements,  that  he  will  publicly  hire  out  such 
free  negro  or  nuilatto  to  the  lowest  bidder,  on  a  day  and  at  a 
place  therein  specified.  On  the  day  and  at  the  place  mentioned 
in  said  notice,  such  officer  shall  expose  such  free  negro  or 
mulatto  to  public  hiring;  and  the  person  who  will  obligate 
himself  to  remove  such  free  negro  or  nuilatto  from  the  country 
for  the  shortest  term  of  service,  shall  enter  into  a  bond,  with 
good  and  sufficient  security  to  Oregon,  in  a  penalty  of  at  least 
one  thousand  dollars,  binding  himself  to  remove  said  negro  or 
mulatto  out  of  the  coimtry  within  six  months  after  such 
service  shall  expire;  which  bond  shall  be  filed  in  the  clerk's 
office  in  the  proper  ccmnty ;  and  upon  failure  to  perform  the 
conditions  of  said  bond,  the  attorney  prosecuting  for  Oregon 
shall  commence  suit  upon  a  certified  copy  of  such  bond  in 
the  circuit  court  against  such  delinquent  and  his  sureties. 

It  will  be  readily  seen  how  much  the  original  act  differs 
from  Mr.  Gray's  statement  of  its  substance. 

Not  a  word  is  said  in  the  original  act  about  the  criminality 
of  the  master  of  a  vessel  in  bringing  a  colored  man  into  the 
country.  The  assertion  that  "the  sheriff'  was  to  catch  the 
negro  and  flog  him  forty  lashes  at  a  time  until  he  left  the 
countr-y, "  is  not  only  untrue,  but  the  statement  conveys  the 
idea  that  the  sheriff  was  himself  to  be  the  sole  judge,  both 
as  to  the  guilt  of  the  negro  and  as  to  how  often  the  flogging 
should  ])e  repeated.  The  act,  on  the  ccmtrary,  required  a 
judicial  trial  before  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  that  the  punish- 
ment should  only  be  afflicted  in  obedience  to  his  ordei*  by  a 
constable.  The  general  right  of  appeal  to  a  higher  court  ex- 
isted in  these,  as  in  other  cases,  under  Section  3,  Article  II., 
of  the  "Act  regulating  the  judiciary  and  for  other  purposes." 

The  statement  that  the  principles  of  the  original  act 
"made  it  a  crime  for  a  white  man  to  bring  a  negro  to  the 
cimntry"  is  equally"  untrue,  as  will  be  readily  seen.      A  cruue 


276  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

is  an  offense  for  which  the  party  may  be  arrested,  tried,  con- 
victed, and  punished;  and  there  is  no  provision  in  the  act 
authorizing  the  arrest  of  a  white  man  for  any  act  whatever. 

It  is  perfectly  clear  that  Mr.  Gray  either  willfully  mis- 
represented the  original  act,  or  attempted  to  state  its  sub- 
stance from  memory;  and  if  the  latter  be  true,  then,  as  his 
memory  was  bad  and  his  prejudices  great,  he  misrepresented 
the  measure,  and  made  it  much  worse  than  it  really  was. 
There  can  be  no  excuse  for  the  misrepresentation  of  an  act 
by  a  grave  historian,  especially  one  that  he  condemns  in  the 
harshest  language,  w'hen  he  has  easy  access  to  the  act  itself. 

But  he  not  only  essentially  misrepresents  the  original  act 
itself,  but  entirely  ignores  the  amendatory  bill ;  and  does  it 
in  such  a  way  as  to  increase  the  censure  of  the  legislative 
committee  of  1844.  There  are  two  modes  of  falsehood;  false 
statement  of  fact,  and  false  suppression  of  the  truth.  The 
historian  first  misrepresents  the  substance  of  the  original  act, 
then  informs  the  reader  that  the  executive  urged  its  amend- 
ment, and  then  suppresses  the  fact  that  the  act  was  amended. 
This  mode  of  historical  misstatement  and  suppression  left- 
the  reader  to  say  to  himself :  ' '  These  men  first  passed  an  act 
containing  objectionable  provisions,  and  then  obstinately  re- 
fused to  amendj  when  their  attention  was  urgently  called  to 
the  error."  Throughout  his  history  of  this  act  he  repre- 
sents it  as  unamended  and  as  in  full  force  according  to  its 
own  terms;  and  his  last  words  in  regard  to  it  are  that  "Bur- 
nett's negro-whipping  law  was  never  enforced  in  a  single 
instance  against  a  white  or  black  man,  as  no  officer  of  the 
provisional  govertiment  felt  it  incumbent  upon  himself  to 
attempt  to  enforce  it." 

It  will  be  seen  by  an  inspection  of  the  original  act  itself 
that  it  was  prospective,  and  that  not  a  single  case  could  possi- 
bly arise  under  it  until  the  expiration  of  two  years  after  its 
passage;  and  that  no  officer  was  required  to  act  until  he  was 
commanded  to  do  so  by  the  regular  warrant  or  order  of  a 
justice  of  the  peace.  In  the  meantime,  and  eighteen  months 
before  a  single  case  could  possibly  arise  under  the  act,  it  was 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  277 

amended  by  the  very  same  body  that  passed  the  original  bill, 
and  at  the  instance  of  the  very  same  member  who  intro- 
dnced  it. 

An  act  that  is  simply  prospective,  and  does  not  take  effect 
until  two  years  after  the  date  of  its  passage,  is  an  incomplete 
measure,  liable  to  be  amended  at  any  time  before  it  goes 
into  operation;  and,  if  amended  before  any  one  suffers  any 
injury  from  its  eiToneous  provisions,  those  provisions  are  as 
if  they  never  had  been.  It  is  like  a  bill  imperfect  when  first 
introduced  by  a  member  of  a  legislative  body,  and  so  amended 
by  the  author,  before  its  final  passage,  as  to  remove  its  ob- 
jectionable features.  In  such  case  no  sensible  man  would 
censure  the  introducer  for  mistakes  he  himself  had  corrected. 
All  that  could  be  said  is,  that  the  second  sober  thought  of 
the  member  was  better  than  his  first  hasty  thought. 

It  -was  substantially  so  in  this  case.  In  the  hurry  of  the 
June  session  of  18-44  I  could  not  think  of  any  other  mode  of 
enforcing  the  act  but  the  one  adopted ;  but  by  the  December 
session  of  1844  I  had  found  another  and  less  objectionable 
remedy,  and  promptly  adopted  it.  This  remedy  was  not  the 
one  urged  by  the  executive  committee,  as  will  easily  be  seen. 
Neither  myself  nor  the  other  members  who  voted  for  the 
original  bill  are  responsible  for  the  objectionable  features  of 
the  measure,  because  we  ourselves  corrected  the  error.  I 
maintain  as  true  this  general  proposition :  that  a  person  who 
commits  a  mistake,  and  then  corrects  it  himself,  before  any 
one  suffers  in  consequence  of  it,  deserves  a  commendation  in- 
stead of  a  censure;  because  the  act  of  correction  shows  a  love 
of  justice,  and  a.  magnanimous  willingness  to  admit  and  cor- 
rect error.  All  the  intense  indignation  of  the  historian  is, 
therefore,  thrown  away  upon  an  imaginary  evil,  about  which 
he  is  as  much  mistaken  as  the  girl  that  wept  over  the  imagin- 
ary death  of  her  imaginary  infant. 

On  page  378  the  historian  gives,  professedly  from  the 
Journal,  the  yeas  and  nays  upon  the  final  passage  of  the 
original  bill,  as  follows:  "Yeas,  Burnett,  Gilmore,  Keizer, 
Waldo,  Newell,  and  Mr.  Speaker  MeCarver— 8;  nays.  Love- 


278  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

j(ty  aiiil  Hill  — 2."  He  llieii  informs  us,  as  already  stated, 
that  the  executive  urged  the  amendment  of  the  act  at  the 
December  session,  1844;  and  then,  on  pages  380-3,  gives  the 
communication  of  the  executive  committee  in  full.  Now,  as 
he  had  the  Journal  before  him,  why  did  he  not  follow  it  up 
to  the  short  December  session,  and  ascertain  what  the  legisla- 
tive committee  had  done,  if  anything,  in  regard  to  amending 
this  act? 

His  history  of  the  proceedings  of  the  committee  of  1844 
is  very  short;  but,  concise  as  it  is,  it  is  full  of  flagrant  mis- 
representations. There  was  one  act,  however,  that  he  affirma- 
tively approved;  and  yet,  so  great  was  his  prejudice,  that  he 
wrongfully  imputes  a  bad  motive  for  a  confessedly  good  act. 
He  says,  on  page  379:  "Mr.  Burnett  claimed  great  credit 
for  getting  up  a  prohibitory  liquor  law,  and  made  several 
speeches  in  favor  of  sustaining  it,  that  being  a  popular  meas- 
ure among  a  majority  of  the  citizens." 

All  our  legislation  under  the  provisional  government  was 
based  upon  the  settled  conviction  that  Oregon  would  be  the 
first  American  State  on  the  Pacific.  We  considered  ourselves 
as  the  founders  of  a  new  State  of  the  great  American  Union. 

At  the  time  this  measure  was  passed,  each  State  had  the 
constitutional  right  to  determine  who  should  be  citizens  and 
who  residents.  Any  person  born  on  the  soil  of  a  State  had 
the  natural,  moral,  and  legal  right  to  a  residence  within  the 
State,  while  conducting  himself  properly;  because  the  place 
of  one's  birth  is  an  accidental  circumstance,  over  which  he 
can  have  no  control.  But,  for  the  very  reason  that  every 
human  being  has  the  right  of  domicile  in  the  place  of  his 
nativity,  he  is  not,  as  a  matter  of  right,  entitled  to  a  residence 
in  another  community.  If  that  other  community  denies  him 
the  privilege  of  such  residence,  it  denies  him  no  right,  natural 
or  acquired,  but  only  refuses  a  favor  asked.  The  territory 
of  a  State  belongs  to  its  people,  as  if  they  constituted  one 
family;  and  no  one  not  a  native  has  a  right  to  complain  that 
he  is  not  allowed  to  form  one  of  this  family.  Although 
every  one,  under  the  broad   and  enlarged  principles  t)f  law 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  279 

and  justice,  has  the  riglit  to  ({iiit  his  origiiia]  doiuicik^  at  his 
pleasure,  he  has  not  the  equal  right  to  acquire  a  new  residence 
in  another  community  against  its  consent.  "The  bird  has 
the  right  to  leave  its  parent-nest,"  but  has  not  for  that  rea- 
son, the  equal  right  to  occupy  the  nest  of  another  bird.  A 
man  may  demand  his  rights,  and  justly  complain  when  they 
are  denied ;  but  he  can  not  demand  favors,  and  can  not  rea- 
sonably complain  when  they  are  refused. 

The  principle  is  no  doubt  correct  that  when  a  State,  for 
reasons  satisfactory  to  itself,  denies  the  right  of  suffrage  and 
office  to  a  certain  clasSj  it  is  sometimes  the  best  humanity  also 
to  deny  the  privilege  of  a  residence.  If  the  prejudices  or 
the  just  reasons  of  a  comnuuiity  are  so  great  that  they  can 
not  or  will  not  trust  a  certain  class  with  those  privileges  that 
are  indispensable  to  the  improvement  and  elevation  of  such 
class,  it  is  most  consistent  in  some  cases  to  refuse  that  class 
a  residence.  Placed  in  a  degraded  and  subordinate  political 
and  social  position,  which  continually  reminds  them  of  their 
inferiority,  and  of  the  utter  hopelessness  of  all  attempts  to 
improve  their  condition  as  a  class,  they  are  left  without 
adecjuate  motive  to,  [or"?]  ivastc  their  labor  for,  that  improve- 
ment which,  when  attained,  brings  them  no  reward.  To  have 
such  a  class  of  men  in  their  midst  is  injurious  to  the  dominant 
class  itself,  as  such  a  degraded  and  practically  defenseless 
condition  offers  so  many  temptations  to  tyrannical  abuse. 
One  of  the  great  objections  to  the  institution  of  slavery  was 
its  bad  influence  up(m  the  governing  race. 

Had  I  foreseen  the  civil  war,  and  the  changes  it  has  pro- 
duced, I  would  not  have  supported  such  a  measure.  But 
at  the  time  I  did  not  suppose  such  changes  could  be  brought 
alxmt;  and  the  fundamental  error  was  then  found  in  the 
organic  laws  of  Oregon  adopted  in  1843.  Article  IV.,  Sec- 
tion 2  of  those  laws  conferred  the  right  to  vote  and  hold 
olRce  upon  every  free  male  descendant  of  a  white  man,  in- 
habitant of  Oregon  Territory,  of  the  age  of  21  years  and  up- 
ward. ("Gray's  Oregon,"  354. )'  While  the  organic  laws 
of  1843   professedly  admitted   (dl  of  the  disfranchised  class 


280  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

to  reside  in  the  Territory,  they  were  so  framed  as  to  etifectually 
exclude  the  better  portion;  for  surely  every  intelligent  and 
independent  man  of  color  would  have  scorned  the  pitiful 
boon  offered  him  of  a  residence  under  conditions  so  humiliat- 
ing. 

For  years  I  had  been  opposed  to  slavery,  as  injurious  to 
both  races.  While  I  resided  in  Tennessee  and  Missouri  there 
was  no  discussion  upon  the  subject  of  manumitting  the 
slaves  in  those  States.  I  was  not  then  in  circumstances  that 
made  it  proper  to  discuss  the  question.  But  when  I  arrived 
in  Oregon,  the  first  opportunity  I  had  I  voted  against  slavery 
while  a  member  of  the  legislative  committee  of  1844.  I  pre- 
sided at  a  public  meeting  at  Sacramento  City  January  8, 
1849,  that  unanimously  voted  for  a  resolution  opposing 
slavery  in  California.  This  was  the  first  public  meeting  in 
this  country  that  expressed  its  opposition  to  that  institution. 
A  public  meeting  was  held  in  San  Francisco  February  17, 
1849,  which  endorsed  the  resolution  against  slavery  passed  at 
Sacramento.     ("Alta  California,"  February  22,  1849.) 

As  already  stated,  one  of  the  objects  I  had  in  view  in 
coming  to  this  coast  was  to  aid  in  building  up  a  great  Ameri- 
can connnunity  on  the  Pacific ;  and,  in  the  enthusiasm  of  my 
nature,  I  was  anxious  to  aid  in  founding  a  State  superior  in 
several  respects  to  those  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  I 
therefore  labored  to  avoid  the  evils  of  intoxication  and  of 
mixed  races,  one  of  which  was  disfranchised. 

W.  H.  Gray— Criticism  Upon  the  History  op  Oregon. 

It  is  more  charitable  to  impute  Mr.  Gray's  misrepresenta- 
tions to  inveterate  prejudice  than  to  deliberate  malice.  Some 
men  seem  to  become  the  slaves  of  prejudice  from  long  in- 
dulgence, until  it  grows  into  a  chronic  habit;  and  it  is  about 
as  easy  to  make  an  angel  of  a  goat  as  an  impartial  historian 
of  a  prejudiced  man.  His  book,  in  my  best  judgment,  is 
a  bitter,  prejudiced,  sectarian,  controversial  work,  in  the  form 
of  history;  wherein  the  author  acts  as  historian,  controvertist, 
and  witness. 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  281 

I  readily  admit  that  circuuistances  may  place  a  good  man 
in  this  unpleasant  position;  but,  if  so,  he  should  fully  eom- 
]M'ehend  the  extreme  delicacy  of  the  situation,  and  should  rise 
with  the  occasion  to  the  dignity  of  temperate  and  impartial 
history.  He  should  make  no  appeals  to  prejudice,  and  should 
not,  in  advance,  load  down  with  derisive  epithets  those  he, 
in  his  own  opinion,  is  finall.y  compelled  to  condemn ;  but  should 
err,  if  at  all,  on  the  side  of  charity,  and  not  against  it. 

The  great  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson,  in  speaking  of  Burnett's 
"History  of  his  own  Times,"  said:  "I  do  not  believe  that 
Burnett  intentionally  lied;  but  he  w^as  so  much  prejudiced 
that  he  took  no  pains  to  find  out  the  truth.  He  was  like  a 
man  who  resolves  to  regulate  his  time  by  a  certain  watch,  but 
will  not  inquire  whether  the  watch  is  right  or  not."  (Bos- 
well's  "Life  of  Johnson."  vol.  II.,  p.  264.) 

I  think  this  opinion  applicable  to  Gray's  "History."  I 
know  he  has  done  myself  and  the  legislative  committee  of 
1844  great  injustice;  and  I  have  every  reason  to  believe  that 
he  has  been  equally  unjust  to  others. 

For  example,  the  historian  gives  the  letter  of  Mr.  McBean, 
written  at  Fort  Nez  Perees,  dated  November  30,  1847,  and 
addressed  to  the  board  of  managers  of  the  fludson's  Bay 
Company  at  Fort  Vancouver,  and  the  letters  of  Mr.  Douglas 
and  Mr.  Hinman  to  Governor  Abernethy  (pages  519,  524,  and 
580).  I  will  give  so  much  of  these  last  two  letters  as  may  be 
necessai-y  to  the  point  I  make: 

Fort  Vancouver,  Decemher  7,  1847. 
George  Abernethy,  Esq.  — Sir:  Having  received  intelli- 
gence last  night  (on  the  4th),  by  special  express  from  Walla 
Walla,  of  the  destructimi  of  the  missionary  settlement  at  Wai- 
latpu  hy  thje  Cayuse  Indians  of  that  place.,  we  hasten  to  com- 
immicate  the  particulars  of  that  dreadful  event,  one  of  the 
most  atrocious  which  darken  the  annals  of  Indian  crime. 

James  Douglas. 

Fort  Vancover,  December  4,  1847. 
Mr.   George  Abernethy— Dear  Sir:     A  Frenchman   from 
Walla  Walla  arrived  at  my  place  on  last  Saturday,  and  in- 
formed me  that  he  was  on  his  way  to  Vancouver,  and  wished 


2H'2  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

iiir  1()  assist  in  proc'iirin*^'  him  a  eaiioe  iiniuediately.  I  was 
veiy  inquisitive  to  know  if  there  was  any  dil^iciilty  above. 
He  said  four  Frenchmen  had  died  recently,  and  he  wished  to 
<ivt  others  to  occupy  their  places. 

I  innnediately  got  him  a  canoe,  and  concluded  to  go  in  com- 
pany with  him  in  order  to  get  some  medicine  for  the  Indians, 
as  they  are  dying  otf  with  measles  and  other  diseases  very  fast. 
I  was  charged  with  indifference.  They  said  we  were  killing 
in  not  giving  them  medicines,  and  I  found,  if  we  were 
not  exposing  our  lives,  we  were  our  peace,  and  consequently  I 
set  out  for  this  place.  This  side  of  the  Cascades  I  was  made 
acquainted  with  the  horrible  massacre  that  took  place  at 
Wailatpu  last  Monday.  *  *  * 

Alansan  Hinman. 

The  words  "  (on  the  4th)  "  are  put  into  the  letter  of  Mr. 
Douglas  by  the  historian  to  call  the  attention  of  his  readers 
to  the  discrepancy  in  the  dates  of  the  two  letters.  Upon 
these  two  letters  he  makes  the  following  comments,  among 
others    (page  531) : 

There  is  one  other  fact  in  connection  with  this  transaction 
that  looks  dark  on  the  part  of  Sir  James  Douglas.  It  is  shown 
in  the  dates  of  the  several  letters.  Mr.  Hinman 's  is  dated 
December  4th;  Mr.  Douglas's,  December  7tli;  that  to  the  Sand- 
wich Islands,  December  9th.  Now,  between  the  fourth  and 
seventh  are  three  days.  In  a  case  of  so  nuich  importance  and 
professed  sympathy,  as  expressed  in  his  letter,  how  is  it  that 
three,  or  even  two,  days  are  allowed  to  pass  without  sending  a 
dispatch  informing  Governor  Abemethy  of  what  had  hap- 
pened, and  of  what  was  expected  to  take  place? 

The  distance  from  Wailatpu  (Dr.  Whitman's  mission)  to 
Walla.  Walla  (Fort  Nez  Perces)  was  about  twenty-five  miles, 
and  from  Walla  Walla  to  Wasco])um  (Mr.  Hinman 's  place 
at  the  Dalles)  about  one  hundi'ed  and  forty  miles.  The 
massacre  took  place  on  the  afternoon  of  Monday,  November 
29,  1847.  Mr.  McBean  states  in  his  letter,  dated  Tuesday, 
the  last  day  of  November,  1847,  that  he  was  first  apprised 
of  the  massacre  early  that  morning  by  Mr.  Hall,  who  arrived 
half  naked  and  covered  with  blood.  As  Mr.  Hall  started  at 
the   outset,   his    information     wa.s    not    satisfactoiy ;    and    he 


Recollections  of  am  Old  Pioneer.  283 

(MeBean)  sent  his  interpreter  and  another  man  to  the  mis- 
sion. As  the  two  messeniiers  had  to  travel  twenty-five  miles 
to  the  mission  and  the  same  distance  back  again,  Mr.  Me- 
Bean's  letter  mnst  have  been  written  late  on  Tnesday  night; 
and  the  messenger  lie  sent  to  Vanconver  mnst  have  l(^ft  on 
Wednesday  morning,  Dcccmhcr  1.  This  messengci-  nuisi 
have  traveled  the^  one  hnndred  aiid  forty  nviles  from  Waila 
Walla  to  the  Dalles  on  one  horse,  and  conld  not  have  reached 
there  before  late  on  Friday,  December  3.  To  do  this  he 
wonld  have  to  travel  abont  forty-six  miles  a  day.  To  go 
from  the  Dalles  to  Vanconver  in  a  canoe,  and  be  "Mnnd- 
hound''  at  Cape  Horn  (as  Mr.  Gray  states  on  page  517),  in 
much  less  time  than  three  days,  would  be  very  difficult  in- 
deed. No  one  knew  any  better  than  Mr.  Gray  the  distance 
traveled,  and  the  time  it  would  occupy  under  the  then  exist- 
ing circumstances. 

The  historian,  on  page  535,  gives  the  commnnication  of 
(lovernor  Abernethy  to  the  legislative  assembly  of  Oregon, 
dated  December  8,  1847.  How,  then,  could  Mr.  Hinman  be 
at  Vancouver  on  Saturday,  December  4,  1847?  And,  had 
he  written  his  letter  there  on  that  day,  why  did  it  not  reach 
(lOvernor  Abernethy  two  or  three  days  in  advance  of  that  of 
Mr.  Douglas,  dated  Decembei-  7?  But  there  is  on  the  face 
of  Mr'.  Hinman 's  letter  itself  conclusive  evidence  that  liis 
date,  (IS  given,  is  an  error.  He  says:  "A  Frenchman  from 
Walla  Walla  arrived  at  my  place  on  last  Saturday."  Now, 
if  his  letter  had  been  correctly  dated  December  4,  1847,  then 
the  "last  Saturday"  mentioned  wonld  have  been  November 
27,  two  days  before  the  massacre  took  place.  It  seems  plain 
that  Mr.  Hinman  and  the  Frenchman  arrived  at  Vancouver 
Monday  evening,  December  6,  and  that  Mr.  Hinman  wrote 
his  letter  that  evening,  and  Mr.  Douglas  his  the  next  day,  as 
he  states.  Upon  this  supposition  Mi'.  Hinman  could  correctly 
say,  "the  horrible  massacre  that  took  place  at  Wailatpu  last 
Mimday.  It  may  be  that  the  figure  6  in  Mr.  Hinman 's  letter 
was  mistaken  for  the  figure  4 ;  or  it  may  have  been  a  typo- 
gi'aphical    error    in   publishing   the   letter;    or   Mr.    Hinman. 


284  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

ill  the  cxcitciiicut  of  tlu'  iiioiiieiit.  niHy  have  mistaken  the  date. 
That,  thei-e  was  a  mistake  in  the  date  of  Mr.  Hinman's  letter, 
as  given  by  the  historian,  is  quite  certain. 

Would  an  impartial  historian  have  made  so  gross  a  mis- 
take as  this  against  any  man  of  respectable  standing,  whom 
he  accused  of  the  most  atrocious  crime?  Would  he  have 
seized  upon  this  discrepancy  in  dates  as  evidence,  without 
careful  investigation?  An  impartial  historian  will  put  him- 
self on  the  side  of  the  accused  when  weighing  and  scrutiniz- 
ing testimony,  however  guilty  he  may  think  him  to  be.  He 
will  not  form  an  opinion  that  the  accused  is  guilty  unless  he, 
the  impartial  historian,  thinks  the  good  and  legitimate  evi- 
dence amply  sufficient;  and  therefore,  in  his  view,  he  need 
not  rely,  even  in  part,  upon  false  testimony;  and  he  will  be 
the  more  cautious  and  careful,  in  proportion  to  the  gravity 
of  the  crime  charged.  The  massacre  being  a  most  noted  event, 
and  its  date  being  Monday,  November  29,  and  ]\Ir.  Hinman's 
letter  December  4,  it  was  easy  to  see  that  the  latter  day  was 
Saturday.  But  the  historian  "was  so  much  prejudiced  that 
he  took  no  pains  to  find  out  the  truth." 

It  seems  that  a  public  meeting  was  held  in  Oregon  on 
the  18th  of  February,  1841,  at  which  a  committee  of  nine 
persons  was  chosen  "to  form  a  constitution  and  draft  a  code 
of  laws;"  and  that  the  Rev.  F.  N.  Blanchet  was  one  of  this 
committee.  At  an  adjourned  meeting,  June  11,  1841,  the 
historian  says: 

His  Jesuitical  Reverence,  F.  N.  Blanchet,,  was  excused  from 
serving  on  the  committee,  at  his  own  request.  The  settlers 
and  uninitiated  were  informed  by  his  reverence  that  he  was 
unaccustomed  to  make  laws  for  the  people,  and  did  not  mider- 
stand  how  to  proceed;  while  divide  anel  conquer,  the  policy 
adopted  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  was  entered  into  with 
heart  and  soul  by  this  Reverend  Father  Blanchet  and  his 
associates.     (Pages  199,  200  and  202.) 

Now,  with  regard  to  the  question  of  motive,  why  should 
the  historian  apply  derisive  epithets  to  the  accused  at  any 
stage  of  the  inquiry,  and  more  especially  before  the  author 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  285 

had  submitted  liis  proofs!  In  other  words,  would  an  im- 
partial and  enlightened  historian  seek,  by  the  use  of  such 
epithets,  to  prejudice  his  readers  against  the  accused  in 
advance,  and  before  the  testimony  was  submitted?  It  will 
be  seen  that  the  writer  emphasizes  the  phrase,  "Ilis  Jesuitical 
Reverence,"  so  that  Ihc  rejidcr  may  not  forget  this  derisive 
and  bitter  expression.  A  decent  respect  for  the  feelings  of 
others,  as  well  as  a  due  regard  to  the  dignity  of  histt)ry,  would 
have  restrained  the  impartial  historian  from  the  use  of  such 
language  at  every  stage  of  the  investigation.  Whenever 
either  a  good  or  a  bad  motive  may  plausibly  be  given  for  the 
same  act,  the  historian  is  very  apt  to  impute  the  bad  motive, 
as  he  did  in  this  case.  I  do  not  think  a  sing'le  instance  can 
be  found  in  the  whole  book  of  624  pages  whero  the  author 
has  erred  on  the  side  of  charity.  He  is  not  one  of  those  noble 
and  exalted  natures  that  would  magnanimously  state  the  case 
more  clearly  in  behalf  of  the  accused  than  the  accused  would 
be  able  to  do  himself. 

In  reference  to  the  act  in  regard  to  slavery,  free  negroes, 
and  mulattoes,  I  find  these  entries  in  the  journal  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  July  1  and  3,  1845  ("Oregon  Laws 
and  Archives,"  pages  83  and  85)  : 

IMr.  Garrison  introduced  a  bill  to  repeal  the  several  acts  in 
regard  to  negroes  in  Oregon. 

The  House  went  into  committee  of  the  whole,  Mr.  Straight 
in  the  chair. 

Wh*n  the  committee  rose,  the  chairman  reported  that  the 
connnittee  had  had  under  consideration: 

The  bill  to  divorce  M.  J.  Rice ; 

The  act  to  repeal  the  several  acts  on  slavery ; 

An  act  to  fix  the  time  and  place  of  the  sittings  of  the 
Legislature; 

An  act  to  divorce  F.  Hathaway;    also 

The  report  of  the  committee  on  revision,  which  had  been 
adopted. 

Report  was  received,  and  the  bill  to  divorce  F.  Hathaway 
was  read  a  third  time  and  passed ;  also,  the  bill  to  divorce 
M.  J.  Rice;   also,  the  bill  concerning  acts  on  slavery. 


286  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

Thus,  Ihe  act  which  Mv.  (iray  asserts  could  not  be  ex- 
ecuted was  r-epealed  about  one  year  before  it  could  have  taken 
etieet  in  a  sin  tile  case,  Mr.  Gray  being  present  when  the  re- 
pealing act  was  passed.  The  historian  seems  to  have  had 
about  as  vague  a  conception  of  the  matter  he  was  treating 
as  a.  man  with  a  distorted  vision  would  have  of  the  country 
represented. 

p]]>ECTED  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court— Strange  Resolu- 
tion—Jesse Applegate. 

On  the  18th  of  August.  1845,  I  was  elected  by  the  House 
of  Representatives  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Oregon. 

On  the  4th  of  December,  1845,  the  House,  on  motion  of 
]\rr.  Gray,  passed  this  resolution : 

Fesolved,  That  the  Supreme  Judge  be  called  upon  to  inform 
the  House  whether  he  had  examined  the  laws  enacted  by  the 
pi'evious  legislature  of  this  territory ;  also,  to  inform  the 
House  how  many  of  said  laws  are  incompatible  with  the  or- 
ganic articles  of  compact,  adopted  by  the  people  on  the  25th 
of  July,  1845,  if  any  there  be.  ("  Oregon  Laws  and  Archives. ' ' 
127.)  ' 

To  this  strange  and  singular  resolution  I  made  a  firm 
but  respectful  answer,  declining  to  decide  in  advance,  and 
before  proper  cases  came  up  before  the  court,  whether  an 
entire  code  of  laws  was  constitutional  or  not. 

On  the  12th  of  December.  1845,  the  speaker  informed  the 
House  that  he  had  communications  from  the  Supreme  Judge, 
which  he  had  been  requested  to  present  to  the  House.  The 
conununications  were  read  and  referred  to  the  committee  on 
the  judiciary.  On  the  same  day  Mr.  McCarver.  from  the 
judiciary  committee,  reported  back  the  conununications  from 
the  Supreme  Judge,  which  were  then  referred  to  a  select 
committee  of  five,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Gray,  Hendrick,  Gar- 
rison, McClure.  and  McCarver.  ("Oregon  Laws  and 
Archives,"  140-41.) 

There  is  no  further  mention  of  these  communications  in 
the  journal,  as  no  report  was  ever  made  by  this  select  com- 
mittee.     There  was  not  a  single  lawyer  among  the  members 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  287 

of  1845;  and  it  is  quite  probable  that  this  committee  found 
it  veiy  difficult  to  coerce  a  Supreme  Court  to  decide  questions 
of  law  before  cases  were  properly  brought  before  it. 

My  extracts  from  the  laws  of  1844  are  taken  from  "Ore- 
jjtm  Laws  and  Archives,  by  L.  P.  Grover,  Commissioner," 
except  the  act  in  reg-ard  to  slavery,  and  the  fourth  section 
of  the  act  on  ways  and  means,  which  latter  is  found  in  Gray's 
"Oregon."  395,  as  part  of  Dr.  White's  report  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  War.  These  two  acts  are  not  found  in  Grover 's 
compilation.  The  act  in  regard  to  slavery,  free  negroes,  and 
mulattoes  is  a  certified  copy  from  the  original  on  file  in  the 
office  of  the  Secretary  of  State.  My  reference  to  the  journals 
of  1844  and  1845  are  to  the  same  compilation. 

In  the  summer  and  early  fall  of  1846  Jesse  Applegate,  at 
his  owTi  expense  as  I  then  understood,  opened  a  new  wagon 
road  into  the  Willamette  Valley  at  its  southern  end.  He  met 
the  emigrants  at  Fort  Hall  and  induced  a  portion  of  them 
to  come  by  that  route.  They  suffered  great  hardships  before 
they  reached  the  end  of  their  journey.  This  was  caused 
mainly  by  their  o^^^l  mistakes.  Though  he  was  much  cen- 
sured by  many  of  them,  he  was  not  to  blame.  He  had  per- 
formed one  of  the  most  noble  and  generous  acts,  and  deserved 
praise  rather  than  censure.  I  traveled  with  him  across  the 
plains  ^n  1843,  and  I  can  testify  that  he  was  a  noble,  in- 
tellectual, and  generous  man;  and  his  character  was  so  per- 
fect as  to  bear  any  and  all  tests,  under  any  and  all  circum- 
stances. The  Hon.  J.  W.  Nesmith,  in  his  address  before  the 
Oregon  pioneers  in  June,  1875,  paid  a  glowing  tribute  to  the 
character  of  "Uncle  Jesse  Applegate."  I  knew  him  long 
and  well,  and  shall  never  cease  to  love  him  so  long  as  I  live. 

I  left  him  in  Oregon  in  1848.  He  was  then  a  rich  man, 
for  that  time  and  that  country.  I  did  not  see  him  again  until 
1872,  a  period  of  nearly  twenty-four  years.  In  the  meantime 
he  had  become  a  gray-haired  old  man.  He  and  myself  are 
near  the  same  age,  he  being  about  two  years  the  younger. 
One  day,  without  my  knowing  that  he  was  in  California,  he 
walked   into  the  Pacific  Bank   in   San  Francisco.      I  knew. 


288  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

from  tliL'  serious  expression  of  his  face,  that  he  was  an  okl 
friend;  but,  for  the  moment,  I  could  not  place  him  or  call  his 
name.  He  was  so  much  afifected  that  his  eyes  filled  with 
tears,  and  he  could  not  speak.  I  shook  his  hand  cordially. 
invited  him  to  sit  down,  and  sat  down  by  him,  looking  him 
full  in  the  face  one  moment,  when  it  came  into  my  mind  that 
he  was  my  old  friend,  and  I  exclaimed,  "  Applegate ! "  and  we 
embraced  like  brothers. 

We  talked  about  one  hour,  and  in  this  conversation  he 
gave  me  his  history  since  I  left  Oregon.  He  removed  to  the 
Umpqua  Valley,  where  for  a  time  he  had  fine  lands,  stock, 
and  other  property.  At  length  he  determined  to  go  into  the 
mercantile  business,  for  which  he  had  little  or  no  capacity 
Said  he :  "  To  make  a  long  story  short.  I  did  business  upon 
this  theory.  I  sold  my  goods  on  credit  to  those  who  needed 
tliem  most,  not  to  those  who  were  ahle  to  pay,  lost  $30,000,  and 
quit  the  business." 

Any  one  knowing  Jesse  Applegate  as  I  do  would  at  once 
recognize  the  truth  of  this  statement.  It  was  just  like  the 
man.  His  fine  intellect  and  his  experience  in  life  said  no ; 
but  his  generous  heart  said  yes;  and  that  kind  heart  of  his 
overruled  his  better  judgment.  In  his  old  age  his  fortune  is 
gone ;  but  his  tiiie  friends  only  admire  and  love  him  the  more 
in  the  hour  of  misfortune. 

In  starting  from  ^lissouri  to  come  to  this  country  in  1843, 
Mr.  Applegate  announced  to  his  traveling  companions,  as  we 
have  been  credibly  informed,  that  he  meant  to  drive  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  from  the  countiy.  To  reach  the 
country  independent  of  them,  he  had  sold  or  mortgaged  his 
cattle  to  get  su]iplies  at  AA'alla  Walla.  On  arriving  at  Van- 
couver, he  found  Dr.  ^IcLoughlin  to  be  much  of  a  gentleman, 
and  disposed  to  aid  him  in  every  way  he  could.  The  doctor 
advised  him  to  keep  his  cattle,  and  gave  him  employment  as  a 
surveyor,  and  credit  for  all  he  required.  This  kind  treatment 
closed  Mr.  Applegate 's  open  statements  of  opposition  to  the 
company,  and  secured  his  friendship  and  his  influence  to  keep 
his  ^Missouri  friends  from  doing  violence  to  them.  He  carried 
this  kind  feeling  for  them  into  the  legislative  committee. 
(Gray,  pages  421-422.) 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  289 

As  already  stated,  a  portion  of  the  immigrants  left  their 
cattle  at  Walla  Walla.  This  they  did  under  an  agreement 
with  Mr.  INIcKinlay,  then  in  charge  of  the  fort,  that  we  should 
have  the  same  niunber  and  description  of  cattle  in  the  Wil- 
lamette Valley  from  the  herds  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 
AVhen  we  arrived  at  Vancouver,  Dr.  McLoughlin  and  Mr. 
Douglas  candidly  stated  to  us  that  our  American  tame  cattle 
would  suit  us  much  better  than  the  cattle  of  the  company, 
and  they  advised  us  to  bring  our  cattle  from  Walla  Walla 
during  the  next  spring.  The  same  advice  was  given  to  all 
the  immigrants  who  left  their  cattle  at  Walla  Walla.  We 
all  saw  at  once  that  this  advice  Avas  not  only  generous,  but 
practically  sound.  Mr.  Applegate,  as  I  understood  at  the 
time,  made  the  same  arrangement  with  ]Mr.  McKinlay  that 
others  of  us  did.  That  Mr.  Applegate  sold  or  mortgaged  his 
cattle  at  Walla  Walla  for  supplies  must  be  a  mistake.  He 
needed  but  little  if  anything  in  that  line;  and  to  have  mort- 
gaged so  many  cattle  for  so  small  an  amount  would  have  been 
the  greatest  of  folly.  He  could  not  have  needed  provisions, 
so  far  as  I  can  remember,  as  he  must  have  purchased  wheat 
and  potatoes  from  Dr.  Whitman  like  most  of  us. 

On  arriving  at  Vancouver.  Mr.  Applegate,  no  doubt,  found 
a  veiy  different  state  of  things  from  what  he  anticipated  when 
starting  from  Missouri.  He  did  find  Dr.  McLoughlin  and 
Mr.  Douglas  to  be  much  of  gentlemen;  for  it  was  very  difficult 
indeed  for  any  man.  who  was  himself  a  gentleman,  to  keep 
the  company  of  those  two  men  and  not  find  out  that  they  were 
both  gentlemen  in  the  true  sense  of  that  term.  Mr.  Apple- 
gate  no  doubt  concluded  that,  if  these  men  were  really  op- 
posed to  American  immigrants,  they  took  the  most  extraor- 
dinary w^ay  of  showing  it.  That  Mr.  Applegate  purchased  of 
the  companj^  at  Vancouver  some  supplies  on  credit  is  very 
probable,  because  he  was  amply  good  for  all  he  engaged  to 
pay.  He  was  honesty  personified,  and  was  an  admirable 
worker,  both  as  a  farmer  and  surveyor.  He  also  had  a  fine 
band  of  American  cattle;  and  such  cattle  were  then  the  most 
valuable  property  in  Oregon.      Jesse  Applegate  and  Daniel 


290  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

Waldo  \vere  the  owners  of  more  cattle  than  any  other  two 
men  in  our  immigration. 

The  Act  to  Prohibit  the  Introduction,  Manufacture,  Sale, 
AND  Barter  of  Ardent  Spirits. 

I  have  already  mentioned  the  happy  eondilion  of  society 
in  Oreji:on,  and  the  causes  which  produced  it.  This  only  con- 
tinued until  the  beginning'  of  1847. 

The  act  of  1844  to  prohibit  the  introduction,  manufacture, 
sale,  and  barter  of  ardent  spirits  was  amended  by  the  House 
of  Representatives  of  1845.  The  same  body  drew  up  and 
su))mitted  to  the  people,  for  their  approval  or  rejection,  a 
new  and  amended  organic  law,  which  was  adopted,  and  which 
conferred  upon  the  legislature  the  power  to  pass  laws  to  regu- 
late the  introduction,  manufacture,  and  sale  of  ardent  spirits. 
This  amendatory  bill  was  reported  by  W.  H.  Gray  from  the 
committee  on  ways  and  means,  and  was  passed  December  6, 
1845,  by  the  following  vote:  Yeas,  Gray,  Garrison,  Hen- 
dricka,  H.  Lee,  ^McClure,  and  McCarver— 7.  Nays,  Foisy, 
Hill,  Straight,  and  Newell— 4.  On  the  8th  a  motion  to  re- 
consider was  lost  by  the  following  tie  vote :  Yeas,  Hendricks, 
Hill,  B.  Lee,  Smith,  Straight,  and  Newell ;  nays,  Foisy,  Gray, 
Garrison,  H.  Lee,  McCarver,  and  McClure.  (Gray's  "Ore- 
gon," page  440.) 

The  amendatory  act  is  incorrectly  given  by  Mr.  Gray  on 
pages  440-41.  by  omitting  the  first  section  entirely.  The  first 
section  of  the  original  act  was  amended  by  inserting  the  word 
"give"  after  the  word  "barter"  in  two  places;  and  the  sec- 
ond section  was  amended  by  inserting  the  word  "give"  after 
the  word  "barter"  in  one  place,  and  the  word  "gift"  after 
the  word  "barter"  in  the  second  place. 

Section  4  of  the  original  act  was  as  follows; 

Sec.  4.  That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  all  sheriffs,  judges, 
justices  of  the  peace,  constables,  and  other  officers,  when  they 
have  reason  to  believe  that  this  act  has  l)een  violated,  to  give 
notice  thereof  to  some  justice  of  the  peace  or  judge  of  a  court, 
who  shall  immediately  issue  his  warrant  and  cause  the  offend- 
ing party  to  be  arrested;    and  if  such  officer  has  jurisdiction 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  291 

of  such  case,  he  shall  proceed  to  try  such  offender  without 
delay,  and  give  judgment  accordingly;  but  if  such  officer 
have  no  jurisdiction  to  try  such  case,  he  shall,  if  the  party  be 
guilty,  bind  him  over  to  appear  before  the  next  circuit  court. 

This  section  was  stricken  out,  and  the  following  inserted  in 
its  stead: 

Sec.  4.  Whenever  it  shall  come  to  the  knowledge  of  any 
officer  of  this  government,  or  any  private  citizen,  that  any 
kind  of  spirituous  liquors  are  being  distilled  or  manufactured 
in  Oregon,  they  are  hereby  authorized  and  required  to  proceed 
to  the  place  where  such  illicit  manufacture  is  known  to  exist. 
and  seize  the  distilling  apparatus,  and  deliver  the  same  to  the 
nearest  district  judge  or  justice  of  the  peace,  whose  duty  it 
shall  be  immediately  to  issue  his  warrant,  and  cause  the  house 
and  premises  of  the  person  against  whom  such  warrant  shall 
be  issued  to  be  further  searched;  and  in  case  any  kind  of 
spirituous  liquors  are  foimd  in  or  about  said  premises,  or  any 
implements  or  apparatus  that  have  the  appearance  of  having 
been  used  or  constructed  for  the  purpose  of  manufacturing 
any  kind  of  spirituous  liquors,  and  deliver  the  same  to  the 
judge  or  justice  of  the  peace  who  issued  the  said  warrant. 
Said  officer  shall  also  arrest  the  person  or  persons  in  or  about 
\^mose  premises  such  apparatus,  implements,  or  spirituous 
liquors  are  found,  and  conduct  him  or  them  to  said  judge  or 
justice  of  the  peace,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  proceed  against 
said  criminal  or  criminals,  and  dispose  of  the  articles  seized 
according  to  law. 

It  will  be  readily  seen  that  these  amendments  radically 
changed  the  original  act,  in  several  most  material  respects. 
By  the  amendment  to  the  second  section  of  the  act,  it  was 
made  a  criminal  offence  to  give  away  ardent  spirits.  This 
would  prevent  the  master  of  a  ship  entering  the  waters  of 
Oregon  from  giving  his  seamen  their  usual  daily  allowance  of 
liquor  while  the  vessel  remained  within  imr  jurisdiction.  So, 
a  private  citizen,  without  the  advice  of  a  physician,  could  not 
give  the  article  to  any  one,  for  any  purpose,  or  under  any 
circumstances. 

By  the  provision  of  the  fourth  section  as  amended,  all 
officers,  and  even  private  citizens,  were  not  only  authorized, 


292  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

but  required  (without  any  warrant  having  been  issued  first  by 
a  court  or  judicial  officer)  to  seize  the  distilling  apparatus; 
and  in  such  case  each  officer  and  each  private  citizen  was  to 
be  himself  the  judge  of  both  the  fact  and  law,  so  far  as  the 
duty  to  seize  the  apparatus  was  concerned.  This  was  giving 
to  each  individual  citizen  of  Oregon  a  most  extraordinary 
power,  and  making  its  exercise  obligatory. 

The  fifth  section  of  the  amendatory  act.  as  given  by  the  his- 
torian, Avas  as  follows : 

■  Section  5.  All  the  fines  or  penalties  recovered  under  this 
act  shall  go,  one-half  to  the  mformant  and  witnesses,  and  the 
other  half  to  the  officers  engaged  in  arresting  and  trying  the 
criminal  or  criminals ;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  all  officers  in 
whose  hands  such  fines  and  penalties  may  come  to  pay  over 
as  directed  in  this  section. 

This  was  a  most  unusual  and  extraordinary  provision.  To 
give  a  portion  of  the  penalty  recovered  to  the  informant  and 
arresting  officer  was  not  very  improper;  but  to  give  another 
portion  of  such  penalty  to  the  witnesses  and  judges,  thus 
making  them  interested  in  condemning  the  accused,  is  indeed 
most  extraordinary;  and  I  apprehend  that  such  a  provision 
never  before  occurred  in  the  history  of  legislation  among  civil- 
ized men.  The  author  of  this  fifth  section  must  have  had  great 
confidence  in  the  power  of  money. 

These  objectionable  features  were  so  great,  in  the  view 
of  Governor  Abernethy,  that  he  recommended  a  revision  of 
the  amendatory  act,  in  his  message  to  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, December  4,  1846.     (Gray,  442.) 

The  House  of  Representatives,  at  the  December  session, 
1846,  passed  an  act  entitled  "An  Act  to  regulate  the  manu- 
facture and  sale  of  wine  and  distilled  spirituous  liquors."  This 
act  Governor  Abernethy  returned  to  the  House  with  his  objec- 
tions, as  set  forth  in  his  veto  message  of  December  17,  1846. 
In  this  message  he  said,  among  other  things : 

The  act  lying  before  me  is  the  first  act  that  has  in  any 
manner  attempted  to  legalize  the  manufacture  and  sale  of 
ardent  spirits.  At  the  session  of  the  Legislature  in  June,  1844, 
an  act  was  passed  entitled  "An  Act  to  prevent  the  introduc- 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  293 

tioii,  sale  and  distillation  of  ardent  spirits  in  Oregon";  and, 
as  far  as  my  knowledge  extends,  the  passage  of  that  act  gave 
general  satisfaction  to  the  great  majority  of  the  people 
throughout  the  territory.  At  the  session  of  December.  1845, 
several  amendments  were  proposed  to  the  old  law,  and  passed. 
The  new  features  given  to  the  bill  by  those  amendments  did 
not  accord  with  the  views  of  the  people ;  the  insertion  of  the 
words  "give"  and  "gift"  in  the  first  and  second  sections  of 
the  bill,  they  thought^  was  taking  away  their  rights,  as  it  was 
considered  that  a  man  had  a  right  to  give  away  his  property 
if  he  chose.  There  were  several  other  objections  to  the  bill, 
which  I  set  forth  to  your  honorable  body  in  my  message.  I 
would  therefore  recommend  that  the  amendments  passed  at 
the  December  session  of  1845  be  repealed;  and  that  the  law 
passed  on  the  24th  of  June,  1844.  with  such  alterations  as  will 
make  it  agree  with  the  organic  law,  if  it  does  not  agree  with  it, 
be  again  made  the  law  of  the  land.  It  is  said  by  many  that  the 
Legislature  has  no  right  to  prohibit  the  introduction  or  sale  of 
liquor,  and  this  is  probably  the  strongest  argument  used  in 
defense  of  your  bill. 

The  bill  was  passed  over  the  veto  of  the  Governor  by  the 
:^^llowing  vote:  Yeas,  ^lessrs.  Boon,  Hall,  Hembree,  Louns- 
dale,  Loony,  Meek,  Summers,  Straight,  T 'Vault,  AYilliams,  and 
the  Speaker,  11 ;  nays,  Messrs.  Chamberlain,  McDonald, 
Newell,  Peers,  and  Dr.  W.  F.  Tolmie,  5. 

Mr.  Parker,  in  a  public  address  to  the  voters  of  Clackamas 
County,  in  May,  1846,  charged  that  rum  was  sold  at  Van- 
couver contraiy  to  law.  This  charge  was  based  upon  rumor. 
Mr.  Douglas,  in  a  communication  to  the  "Oregon  Spectator," 
published  June  llj  1846,  among  other  things  says: 

If.  with  reference  to  these  supplies,  Mr.  Parker  had  told  his 
hearers  that  her  majesty's  ship  Modeste  now  stationed  at  Fort 
Vancouver,  had,  with  other  supplies  for  ship  use  from  the 
stores  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  received  several  casks 
of  rmn;  or  if,  referring  to  the  company's  own  ships,  he  had 
stated  that  a  small  allowance  of  spirits  is  daily  served  out  to 
the  creivs  of  the  company's  vessels,  and  that  other  classes  of 
the  company's  servants,  according  to  long  accustomed  usage, 
receive  on  certain  rare  occasionfis  a  similar  indulgence,  he  would 
have  told  the  plain  and  simple  truth,  and  his  statement  would 
not  this  day  have  l)een  calk'd  in  ((uestion  by  me.     These  acts 


294  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

which  I  fully  admit ,  and  would  on  no  account  attempt  to  con- 
ceal, can  not  by  the  fair  rules  of  construction  be  considered  as 
infrin^-in^jf  upon  any  law  recognized  by  the  compact  which  we 
have  agreed  to  support,  in  connnon  with  the  other  inhabitants 
of  Oregon.     (Gray.  447.) 

It  seems  perfectly  plain  from  Mr.  Gray's  own  history  that 
the  final  overthrow  of  this  measure  was  mainly  brought  about 
by  the  following  causes: 

1.  The  extremely  harsh  and  erroneous  amendments  of 
1845. 

2.  The  mistake  of  the  same  body  in  using  the  word  "regu- 
late" instead  of  "prohibit"  in  the  organic  law  of  that  year. 

3.  The  sale  of  rmu  to  the  Modeste  by  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company. 

This  last  act,  however  excusable  it  may  be  considered  under 
the  then  existing  circumstances,  gave  the  opponents  a  plausible 
ground  for  objection. 

That  the  original  act  was  approved  by  the  people  is  shown 
by  the  following  extract  from  the  message  of  Governor  Aber- 
nethy,  dated  February  5th,  1849 : 

The  proposed  amendments  to  the  organic  law  will  come 
before  you  for  final  action :  to  amend  the  oath  of  office,  to 
make  the  clerks  of  the  different  counties  recorders  of  land 
claims,  etc.,  and  to  strike  out  the  word  "regulate"  and  insert 
the  word  "prohibit"  in  the  clause  relating  to  the  sale  of  ardent 
spirits.  The  last  amendment  came  before  the  people  for  a 
direct  vote,  and  I  am  happy  to  say  that  the  people  of  this 
territory  decided  through  the  ballot-box,  by  a  majority  of  the 
votes  given,  that  the  word  "prohibit"  should  be  inserted.  This 
makes  the  question  a  very  easy  one  for  you  to  decide  upon. 
("Oregon  Laws  and  Archives,"  pages  273-4.) 

Jesse  Applegate  was  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives in  1845,  but  his  name  does  not  appear  as  voting  upon  the 
final  passage  of  the  amendatory  bill,  he  having-  previously  re- 
signed his  seat. 

TREATY  OP  JUNE  15,   1846  —  POLICY  OP  THE  HUDSON'S  BAY   COM- 
PANY—H.  A.  G.  LEE— INDIAN  CHARACTP^R. 

On  the  15th  of  June,  1846,  a  treaty  was  concluded  between 
Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  which  acknowledged  the 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  295 

soverciiiiity  of  our  eountiy  over  that  portion  of  Oregon  lying 
south  of  the  49th  parallel  of  north  latitude.  This  was  known 
in  Oregon  as  early  as  December  of  that  year,  as  the  fact  is 
mentioned  in  Governor  Abernethy's  niessage,  dated  December 
1,1846.     ("  Oregon  Laws  and  Archives. "    158.) 

The  linal  settlement  of  the  conflicting  claims  of  the  two 
governments  in  this  manner  did  not  siu'prise  any  sensible 
man  in  Oregon,  so  far  as  I  remember.  It  was  what  we  had 
every  reason  to  expect.  We  knew,  to  a  moral  certainty,  that 
the  moment  we  brought  our  families,  cattle,  teams,  and  loaded 
wagons  to  the  banks  of  the  Columbia  River  in  1843,  the  ques- 
tion was  practically  decided  in  our  favor.  Oregon  was  not 
only  accessible  by  land  from  our  contiguous  territory,  but  we 
had  any  desirable  number  of  brave,  hardy  people  who  were 
fond  of  adventure,  and  perfectly  at  home  in  the  settlement  of 
new  countries.  We  could  bring  into  the  country  ten  immi- 
grants for  every  colonist  Great  Britain  could  induce  to  settle 
there.  We  w^ere  masters  of  the  situation,  and  fully  compre- 
hended our  position.  This  the  gentlemen  of  the  company 
understood  as  well  as  we  did.  In  repeated  conversations  with 
Dr.  IMcLoughlin,  soon  after  my  arrival  in  Oregon,  he  assured 
me  that  he  had  for  some  years  been  convinced  that  Oregon  was 
destined  soon  to  be  occupied  by  a  civilized  people.  The  reasons 
for  this  conclusion  were  most  obvious.  The  country,  with  its 
fertile  soil,  extensive  valleys,  magnificent  forests,  and  mild 
climate,  was  admirably  fitted  for  a  civilized  and  dense  popula- 
tion. Its  local  position  on  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  marked  it 
as  a  fit  abode  for  a  cultivated  race  of  men.  Besides,  the  natives 
had  almost  entirely  disappeared  from  the  lower  section  of 
Oregon.     Only  a  small  and  diseased  remnant  was  left. 

The  colonization  of  the  countr}%  either  by  British  or  Amer- 
icans, would  equally  destroy  the  fur  trade,  the  only  legitimate 
Inisiness  of  the  company.  No  doubt  the  gentlemen  connected 
with  that  company  thought  the  title  of  their  own  government 
to  Oregon  was  superior  to  ours  -,  while  we  Americans  believed 
we  had  the  better  title.  I  read  carefully  the  discussion  between 
Mr.  Buchanan,  our  Secretarv  of  State,  and  the  British  Min- 


2y6  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

ister;  and  while  I  thought  our  country  had  the  better  title, 
neither  claim  could  be  properly  called  a  plain,  indisputable 
riglit,  because  much  could  be  and  was  said  on  both  sides  of  the 
question.  But,  while  our  title  might  be  disputed,  there  was  no 
possible  doubt  as  to  the  main  fact,  that  we  had  settled  the 
country. 

When  the  managers  of  the  company  had  arrived  at  the 
conclusion  that  Oregon  must  be  inhabited  by  a  civilized  race 
of  men,  they  undoubtedly  determined  to  do  all  they  could 
reasonably  and  justly  to  colonize  it  with  their  own  people. 
These  gentlemen  were  as  loyal  in  their  allegiance  to  their  own 
country  as  we  were  to  ours,  and  were  prepared  to  go  as  far 
as  enlightened  love  of  country  would  lead  them,  and  no 
farther.  It  is  very  true  that  the  company,  by  expending  the 
larger  portion  if  not  all  of  its  large  capital,  could  have  colon- 
ized the  country  in  advance  of  the  Americans.  But,  what 
proper  inducement  had  the  company  thus  to  sacrifice  the 
property  of  its  stockholders'?  Colonization  was  not  its  legiti- 
mate business.  Why,  then,  should  a  mere  mercantile  corpora- 
tion waste  its  means  and  ruin  its  business  to  settle  Oregon? 
If  the  settlement  of  the  country  was  of  national  importance  to 
Great  Britain,  then  the  expense  should  have  been  borne  by  that 
government  itself,  and  not  by  the  few  subjects  who  happen 
to  be  stockholders  of  the  company.  Any  one  well  acquainted 
w^ith  all  the  facts  and  circumstances,  and  who  will  carefully 
and  thoroughly  examine  the  subject,  must  see  that  the  only 
motive  the  managers  of  the  company  had  to  settle  Oregon  with 
British  subjects,  in  preference  to  American  citizens,  w^as  one 
of  patriotism  or  love  of  country.  In  a  pecuniary  point  of 
view,  the  company  saved  more  money  for  its  stockholders  by 
the  treaty  than  it  could  have  done  had  the  country  fallen  to 
Great  Britain. 

But  while  the  managers  of  the  Company,  as  British  sub- 
jects, preferred  to  colonize  Oregon  with  their  own  people,  they 
were  not,  as  enlightened  and  Christian  men,  prepared  to  use 
criminal  means  to  accomplish  that  purpose.     In  the  address  of 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  297 

John  MeLoughlin  and  James  Douglas  to  the  citizens  of  Oregon 
in  March,  1845,  they  say,  among  other  things: 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  made  their  settlement  at  Fort 
Vancouver  under  the  authority  of  a  license  from  the  British 
government,  in  conformity  with  the  provisions  of  the  treaty 
between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  of  America, 
which  gives  them  the  right  of  occupying  as  much  land  as  they 
require  for  the  operation  of  their  business.  On  the  faith  of 
that  treaty  they  have  made  a  settlement  on  the  north  bank  of 
the  Columbia  River,  they  have  opened  roads  and  made  other 
improvements  at  a  great  outlay  of  capital;  they  have  held 
unmolested  possession  of  their  improvements  for  many  years, 
unquestioned  by  the  public  officers  of  either  government,  who 
have  since  the  existence  of  their  settlement  repeatedly  visited 
it;  they  have  carried  on  business  with  manifest  advantage  to 
the  country ;  they  have  given  the  protection  of  their  influence 
over  the  native  tribes  to  every  person  who  required  it,  without 
distinction  of  nation  or  party;  and  they  have  aft'orded  every 
.assistance  in  their  power  toward  developing  the  resources  of 
the  country,  and  promoting  the  industry  of  its  inhabit-* 
ants.     .     .     . 

Permit  us  to  assure  you,  gentlemen,  that  it  is  our  earnest 
wish  to  maintain  a  good  understanding  and  to  live  on  friendly 
terms  with  every  person  in  the  country.  We  entertain  the 
highest  respect  for  the  provisional  organization ;  and  knowing 
the  great  good  it  has  effected,  as  well  as  the  evil  it  has  pre- 
vented, we  wish  it  every  success,  and  hope,  as  we  desire,  to 
continue  to  live  in  the  exercise  and  interchange  of  good  offices 
with  the  f ramers  of  that  useful  institution. 

This  address  was  inclosed  with  the  following  letter  to  the 
executive  committee  of  Oregon: 

Vancover,  March  18,  1845. 
Gentlemen  :  I  am  sorry  to  inform  you  that  Mr.  Williamson 
is  surveying  a  piece  of  land  occupied  by  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  alongside  of  this  establishment,  with  a  view  of 
taking  it  as  a  claim ;  and,  as  he  is  an  American  citizen,  I  feel 
bound,  as  a  matter  of  courtesy,  to  make  the  same  known  to  you, 
trusting  that  you  will  feel  justified  in  taking  measures  to  have 
him  removed  from  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  premises,  in 
order  that  the  unanimity  now  happily  subsisting  between  the 
American  citizens  and  British  sub.jects  residing  in  this  country 
may  not  be  disturl^ed  or  interrupted.     I  beg  to  inclose  you  a 


298  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

copy  of  an  address  to  the  citizens  of  Oreyon,  which  will  exphiin 
to  you  our  situation  and  the  course  we  are  bound  to  pursue 
in  the  event  of  your  declining:  to  interfere.  I  am,  g^entlemen, 
your  obedient  humble  servant, 

j.  mcloughlin. 
William  Baily, 
OsBORN  Russell, 
P.  G.  Stewart^, 

Executive  Committee  of  Oregon. 

To  this  letter,  the  majority  of  the  executive  committee  of 
Oregon,  acting  for  the  whole,  made  this  reply : 

Oregon  City,  March  21,  1845. 

Sir:  We  beg  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letters- 
one  dated  11th  of  March  and  the  other  12th  of  ]\Iarch— accom- 
panied with  an  address  to  the  citizens  of  Oregon. 

We  regret  to  hear  that  unwarranted  liberties  have  been 
taken  by  an  American  citizen  upon  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany's premises,  and  it  atfords  us  great  pleasure  to  learn  that 
the  offender,  after  due  reflection,  desisted  from  the  insolent 
and  rash  measure. 

As  American  citizens,  we  beg  leave  to  offer  you  and  your 
esteemed  colleague  our  most  grateful  thanks  for  the  kind  and 
candid  manner  in  which  you  have  treated  this  matter,  as  we 
are  aware  that  an  infringement  on  the  rights  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  in  this  country,  by  an  American  citizen,  is  a 
breach  of  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  by  setting  at  naught 
her  most  solemn  treaties  with  Great  Britain. 

As  representatives  of  the  citizens  of  Oregon,  we  beg  your 
acceptance  of  our  sincere  acknowledgments  of  the  obligations 
we  are  under  to  yourself  and  your  honorable  associate  for  the 
high  regard  you  have  manifested  for  the  authorities  of  our 
provisional  government,  and  the  special  anxiety  you  have  ever 
shown  for  our  peace  and  prosperity ;  and  we  assure  you  that 
we  consider  ourselves  in  duty  bound  to  use  every  exertion  m 
our  power  to  put  down  every  cause  of  disturbance,  as  well  as 
to  promote  the  amicable  intercourse  and  kind  feelings  hitherto 
existing  between  ourselves  and  the  gentlemen  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  until  the  United  States  shall  extend  its  jurisdic- 
tion over  us,  and  our  authority  ceases  to  exist. 

We  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servants, 

OsBORN  Russell, 

John  McLoughlin,  Esq.  P.  G.  Stewart. 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  299 

These  papers  appear  in  Gray's  "Oregron,"  pages  409-11,  as 
a  portion  of  Dr.  White's  report  to  the  Secretaiy  of  War. 

This  attempt  to  locate  a  claim  in  the  vicinity  of  Vancouver 
was  made  by  Williamson  and  Alderman.  Williamson  was 
apparently  a  modest  and  respectable  yonng  man,  while  Alder- 
man was  a  most  notorious  character.  He  was  well  known  in 
( )re,u()n  from  his  violent  and  unprincipled  conduct.  He  was 
always  in  trouble  with  somebody.  He  went  to  California  in 
the  summer  or  fall  of  1848,  and  was  killed  in  the  latter 
portion  of  that  year,  at  Sutter's  Fort,  under  justifiable  cir- 
cumstances. 

I  have  given  these  extracts  from  the  address  to  the  citizens 
of  Oregon,  that  the  then  managers  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany might  speak  for  themselves ;  and  I  have  given  the  reply 
of  Messrs.  Russell  and  Stewart,  of  the  executive  committee,  to 
show  the  opinion  of  those  intelligent,  calm  and  faithful  Amer- 
ican officers  upon  the  general  subject. 

That  the  facts  stated  in  the  address  are  true  there  can  be 
no  reasonable  doubt.  The  facts  were  all  within  the  personal 
knowledge  of  Dr.  McLoughlin  and  Mr.  Douglas,  and  they 
could  not  be  mistaken  about  them.  If  untrue,  then  they  de- 
liberately and  knowingly  made  false  statements.  To  make 
statements  that  could  be  so  readily  contradicted  by  the  people 
of  Oregon,  if  untrue,  would  have  been  the  greatest  folly. 
Besides,  the  high  character  of  these  gentlemen,  especially  that 
of  Dr.  INIcLoughlin,  forbids  such  inference.  Dr.  McLoughlin, 
during  his  long  and  active  life,  gave  such  conclusive  proofs  of 
the  possession  of  the  most  exalted  virtue  that  no  man  of  re- 
spectable ability  and  good  character  would  at  this  late  day 
question  his  integrity  or  doubt  his  statement  of  facts  within 
his  OAvn  knowledge.  He  voluntarily  became,  and  afterward 
died,  an  American  citizen. 

But  the  truth  of  their  statements,  especially  that  one 
Avhich  declares  that  "they  had  given  the  protection  of  their 
iiiHuence  over  the  native  tribes  to  every  person  who  required 
it.  without  distinction  of  nation  or  party,"  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  no  American  immigrant  was  killed  by  the  Indians  in 


300  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

Oreg-on  until  late  in  the  fall  of  1847— seventeen  months  after 
the  treaty  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  settled 
the  question  of  sovereignty  over  that  portion  of  Oregon  south 
of  the  49th  parallel  of  north  latitude  in  our  favor,  and  twelve 
months  after  that  fact  was  known  in  that  country,  and  when 
the  company  could  not  have  had  any  adequate  motive  to  oppose 
American  immigration  to  acknowledged  American  territory. 
It  is  true,  some  thefts  were  committed  by  the  Indians  upon 
the  inmiigrants;  but  I  apprehend  that  these  were  not  more 
numerous  or  common  than  usual  with  Indians  under  like  cir- 
cumstances. While  it  is  not  my  intention  to  enter  at  large 
into  the  subject,  I  will  give  an  extract  from  the  long  letter  of 
H.  A.  Gr.  Lee  to  Dr.  E.  White,  assistant  Indian  agent,  dated 
Oregon  City,  March  4,  1845.  It  is,  in  my  judgment,  the  most 
sensible  and  just  description  of  Indian  character  I  have  ever 
seen  in  so  few  words.  After  stating,  among  other  things,  that 
"avarice  is  doubtless  the  ruling  passion  of  most  Indians,"  the 
writer  goes  on  to  say: 

The  lawless  bands  along  the  river,  from  Fort  Walla  Walla 
to  The  Dalles,  are  still  troublesome  to  the  immigrants ;  and  the 
immigrants  are  still  very  imprudent  in  breaking  up  into  small 
parties,  just  when  they  should  remain  united.  The  Indians 
are  tempted  by  the  unguarded  and  defenseless  state  of  the 
immigrants,  and  avail  themselves  of  the  opportunity  to  gratify 
their  cupidity.  Here  alknv  me  to  suggest  a  thought.  These 
robbers  furnish  us  a  true  miniature  likeness  of  the  whole 
Indian  population  whenever  they  fail  to  obtain  such  things 
as  they  wish  in  exchange  for  such  as  they  have  to  give.  These 
are  robbers  now.  because  they  have  nothing  to  give ;  all  others 
will  be  robbers  when,  with  what  they  have  to  give,  they  can 
not  procure  what  they  wish.  I  am  satisfied  of  the  correctness 
of  this  conclusion  from  all  that  I  have  witnessed  of  Indian 
character,  even  among  the  praiseworthy  Nez  Perces.  And 
should  the  government  of  the  United  States  withhold  her  pro- 
tection from  her  subjects  in  Oregon,  they  will  be  under  the 
necessity  of  entering  into  treaty  stipulations  with  the  Indians, 
in  violation  of  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  as  preferable  to 
a  resort  to  force  of  arms. 

Hitherto  the  immigrants  have  had  no  serious  difficulty 
in  passing  through  the  territory  of  these  tribes;    but  that 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  301 

their  i)asvsage  is  becoming  more  and  more  a  subject  of  interest 
to  the  Indians  is  abundantly  manifest.  They  collect  about 
the  road  from  every  part  of  the  country,  and  have  looked  on 
with  amazement;  but  the  novelty  of  the  scene  is  fast  losing 
its  power  to  hold  in  check  their  baser  passions.  The  next 
innnigration  will,  in  all  probability,  call  forth  developments 
of  Indian  character  which  have  been  almost  denied  an  exist- 
ence among  these  people.  Indeed,  sir,  had  you  not  taken 
the  precaution  to  conciliate  their  good  feelings  and  friendship 
toward  the  whites  just  at  the  time  they  were  meeting  each 
other,  it  is  to  be  doubted  whether  there  had  not  been  some 
serious  difficulties.  Individuals  on  both  sides  have  been  mutu- 
ally provoked  and  exasperated  during  the  passage  of  each 
immigration,  and  these  cases  are  constantly  multiplying. 
^luch  pi''udence  is  required  on  the  part  of  the  whites,  and 
unfortunately  they  have  very  little  by  the  time  they  reach 
the  Columbia  Valley.  Some  of  the  late  immigrants,  losing 
their  horses  and  very  naturally  supposing  them  stolen  by  the 
Indians,  went  to  the  bands  of  horses  owned  by  the  Indians 
and  took  as  many  as  they  wished.  You  are  too  well  acquainted 
with  Indians  to  suppose  that  such  a  course  caji  be  persisted 
in  without  producing  serious  results.  (Gray's  "Oregon," 
pages  414-416.) 

Governor  Abernethy,  in  his  message  to  the  Legislative 
Assembly  of  Oregon,  under  date  of  December  7,  1847,  says: 

Our  relation  with  the  Indians  becomes  every  year  more 
embarrassing.  They  see  the  white  man  occupy  their  lands, 
rapidly  filling  up  the  country,  and  they  put  in  a  claim  for 
])ay.  They  have  been  told  that  a  chief  would  come  out  from 
the  United  States  and  treat  with  them  for  their  lands:  but 
they  have  been  told  this  so  often  that  they  begin  to  doubt  the 
truth  of  it.  At  all  events,  they  say:  "He  will  not  come  till 
we  are  all  dead,  and  then  what  good  will  blankets  do  us? 
We  want  something  now."  This  leads  to  trouble  between  the 
settler  and  the  Indians  about  him.  Some  plan  should  be 
devised  by  which  a  fund  can  be  raised,  and  presents  made  to 
the  Indians  of  sufficient  value  to  keep  them  quiet,  until  an 
agent  arrives  from  the  United  States.  A  number  of  rob- 
beries have  been  connnitted  by  the  Indians  in  the  upper  coun- 
try upon  the  emigrants  as  they  were  passing  through  their 
territory.  This  should  not  be  allowed  to  pass.  An  appropria- 
tion should  be  made  by  you  sufficient  to  enable  the  Superin- 
tendent of  Indian  Affairs  to  take  a  small  party  in  the  spring. 


302  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

ami  demand  restitution  of  the  property,  or  its  equivalent  in 
horses.  Without  an  appropination,  a  suilficient  party  would 
not  be  induced  to  iio  up  there,  as  the  trip  is  an  expensive 
one.     ("Oreiion  Laws  and  Archives,"  page  210.) 

We  were  delicately  situated  in  Oregon  up  to  near  the 
close  of  1846,  when  news  of  the  treaty  between  Great  Britain 
and  the  T^'nited  States  reached  us.  We  knew  that  under 
foi-mer  treaties  the  citizens  and  subjects  of  both  governments 
were  privileged  to  occupy  the  country  jointly;  but  that  joint 
occupation  of  the  territory  did  not  mean  joint  occupation  of 
the  same  tract  of  land  or  of  the  same  premises,  but  the  part}^ 
fii-st  in  possession  was  entitled  to  continue  it  until  the  ques- 
tion of  sovereignty  should  be  settled.  Our  community  was 
c<miposed  of  American  citizens  and  British  subjects,  inter- 
mingled together  as  neighbors,  with  all  their  respective  na- 
tional attachments,  manners  and  prejudices;  and  we  had 
our  full  share  of  reckless  adventurers  and  other  bad  men. 
The  extremists  and  ultras  of  both  sides  would  have  brought 
us  into  armed  conflict,  and  perhaps  involved  the  two  countries 
in  war,  but  for  the  manly  good  sense  of  our  leading  men,  sup- 
ported by  the  great  majority  of  the  people. 

It  was  most  fortunate  for  us  that  the  executive  office  of 
our  little  provisional  government  was  at  all  times  filled,  not 
only  by  Americans,  but  by  those  who  were  well  fitted  for  that 
position,  both  as  to  capacity  and  conciliatory  firmness.  T 
have  already  spoken  of  Osborn  Russell  ajid  P.  G.  Stewart, 
who  acted  as  the  executive  committee  during  part  of  the  years 
1844  and  1845.  They  were  admirable  men  for  that  position. 
They  were  succeeded  by  George  Abernethy,  who  filled  the 
position  until  the  provisional  organizatiou  was  superseded 
by  the  regular  territorial  government,  luider  the  act  of  Con- 
gress of  August  14,  1848. 

Governor  Abernethy  was  precisely  fitted  for  the  position 
in  every  respect.  Though  he  had  no  regular  legal  education, 
he  was  a  man  of  admirable  good  sense,  of  calm,  dispassionate 
disposition,  of  amiable,  gentle  manners,  and  above  the  influ- 
ences of  passion  and  prejudice.     He  did  his  duty  most  faith- 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  303 

fully  to  the  utmost  of  his  ability;  and  his  ability  was  ample 
for  that  time  and  that  country.  He  fully  comprehended  the 
exact  situation,  and  acted  upon  the  maxim,  "Make  haste 
slowly,"  believing-  that  such  was  not  only  the  best  policy. 
but  the  best  justice.  Time  amply  vindicated  the  wisdom  and 
efficiency  of  the  course  he  pursued.  We  attained  all  our 
hopes  and  wishes  by  peaceful  means.  "Peace  hath  her  tri- 
umphs," greater  than  those  of  war,  because  the  triumphs 
of  peace  cost  so  much  less.  It  is  a  matter  of  doubt  whether, 
in  the  settlement  of  any  portion  of  America  by  the  whites, 
any  greater  wisdom,  forbearance,  and  good  sense  have  been 
shown,  except  in  the  celebrated  case  of  William  Penn. 

MASSACRE    OF    DR.    WHITMAN    AND    OTHERS— INDIAN    WAR- 
ITS  RESULT. 

On  Monday,  November  29,  1847,  the  most  horrible 
massacre  of  Dr.  Marcus  AVhitman,  his  lady,  and  others,  by 
the  Cayuse  Indians,  took  place;  which  event,  in  the  just 
language  of  Mr.  Douglas,  was  "one  of  the  most  atrocious 
which  darken  the  annals  of  Indian  crime."  Within  a  few 
days  other  peaceful  Americans  were  slaughtered,  until  the 
whole  number  of  victims  amounted  to  from  twelve  to  fifteen. 
This  painful  event  was  made  known  at  Oregon  City  on  De- 
cember 8,  1847,  as  already  stated. 

I  knew  Dr.  Whitman  well ;  I  first  saw  him  at  the  rendez- 
vous near  the  western  line  of  Missouri,  in  May,  1843 ;  saw 
him  again  at  Fort  Hall ;  and  again  at  his  own  mission  in  the 
fall  of  that  year,  as  already  stated.  I  remember  that  the 
first  I  heard  of  the  false  and  ungrateful  charge  made  by  a 
portion  of  our  immigrants  (an  account  of  which  I  have 
already  given)  was  from  his  own  lips.  I  was  standing  near 
his  house  when  he  came  to  me  with  the  painful  expression 
of  deep  concern  upon  his  countenance,  and  asked  me  to  come 
with  him  to  his  room.  I  did  so,  and  found  one  or  two  other 
gentlemen  there.  He  was  deeply  wounded,  as  he  had  ample 
cause  to  be,  by  this  unjustifiable  conduct  of  some  of  ouii 
people.  He  stated  to  us  the  facts.     I  again  saw  him  at  my 


394  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

hoinc  on  the  Tualatin  Plains  in  1844.  He  called  at  my  house. 
and,  findino-  I  was  in  the  woods  at  work,  he  came  to  me 
there.  This  was  the  last  time  I  ever  saw  him.  Our  relations 
were  of  the  most  cordial  and  friendly  character,  and  I  had 
the  greatest  respect  for  him. 

I  consider  Dr.  Whitman  to  have  been  a  brave,  kind, 
devoted,  and  intrepid  spirit,  without  malice  and  without  re- 
])roach.  In  my  best  judgment,  he  made  greater  sacrifices, 
endured  more  hardships,  and  encountered  more  perils  for 
Oregon  than  any  other  one  man ;  and  his  services  were  prac- 
tically more  efficient  than  those  of  any  other,  except  perhaps 
those  of  Dr.  Linn,  United  States  Senator  from  Missouri.  I 
say  perhaps,  for  I  am  in  doubt  as  to  which  of  these  two  men 
did  more  in  effect  for  Oregon. 

The  news  of  this  bloody  event  thrilled  and  roused  our 
people  at  once ;  and  within  a  very  short  time,  considering 
the  season  and  other  circumstances,  we  raised  an  army  of 
some  five  hundred  brave  and  hardy  men,  and  marched  them 
into  the  enemy's  country.  Several  battles  were  fought,  the 
result  of  which  is  well  and  concisely  stated  by  Governor  Aber 
nethy,  in  his  message  to  the  Legislative  Assembly  of  Oregon, 
under  date  of  February  5,  1849 : 

I  am  happy  to  inform  you  that,  through  aid  of  the  terri- 
tory to  go  in  pursuit  of  the  murderers  and  their  allies,  and 
of  those  who  contributed  so  liberally  to  the  support  of  our 
fellow  citizens  in  the  field,  the  war  has  been  brought  to  a 
successful  termination.  It  is  true  that  the  Indians  engaged 
in  the  massacre  were  not  captured  and  punished ;  they  were, 
however,  driven  from  their  homes,  their  country  taken  pos- 
session of,  and  they  made  to  understand  that  the  power  of 
the  white  man  is  far  superior  to  their  own.  The  Indians 
have  a  large  scope  of  country  to  roam  over,  all  of  which 
they  were  well  acquainted  with,  knew  every  pass,  and  by 
this  knowledge  could  escape  the  punishment  they  so  justly 
merited.  In  view  of  this  the  troops  were  recalled  and  dis- 
banded early  in  July  last,  leaving  a  small  force  under  the 
command  of  Captain  Martin  to  keep  possession  of  the  post  at 
Wailatpu,  and  a  few  men  at  Wascopum.  Captain  Martin 
remained  at  Wailatpu  until  the  middle  of  September,  when 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  305 

the  time  for  which  his  men  had  enlisted  expired.  He,  how- 
ever, before  leaving:,  sent  a  party  to  bring  in  the  last  com- 
pany of  emig-rants. 

The  appearance  of  so  many  armed  men  among  the  Indians 
in  their  own  country  had  a  very  salutary  effect  on  them ; 
this  is  seen  by  their  refusing  to  unite  with  the  Cayuse  Indians, 
by  their  profession  of  friendship  to  the  Americana,  and  by 
the  safety  with  which  the  immigration  passed  through  the 
Indian  country  the  past  season. 

Heretofore  robberies  have  been  committed  and  insults 
offered  to  Americans  as  they  pass  along,  burdened  with  their 
families  and  goods,  and  worn  down  with  the  fatigues  of  a 
long  journey,  and  this  was  on  the  increase ;  each  successive 
year  no  molestation  was  offered  in  any  way.  On  the  con- 
immigration  suffered  more  than  the  preceding  one.  But  this 
trary,  everv^  assistance  was  rendered  by  the  Indians  in  cross- 
ing rivers,  for  a  reasonable  compensation. 

Having  learned  the  power  and  ability  of  the  Americans, 
I  trust  the  necessity  of  calling  on  our  citizens  to  punish  them 
hereafter  Avill  be  obviated.  ("Oregon  Laws  and  Archives," 
page  272.) 

This  attack  of  the  Indians  was  attributed  by  some  persons, 
and  especially  by  ]\Ir.  Spaulding,  to  the  instigation  of  the 
Catholic  missionaries  in  that  country.  I  thought  the  charge 
most  unjust,  and  think  so  still.  The  charge  was  too  horrible 
in  its  very  nature  to  be  believed  unless  the  evidence  was 
conclusive  beyond  a  reasonable  doubt.  There  were  most 
ample  grounds  upon  which  to  account  for  the  massacre,  with- 
out accusing  these  missionaries  of  that  horrible  crime.  Mr. 
Spaulding  and  myself  agreed  to  discuss  the  matter  through 
the  columns  of  a  small  semi-monthly  newspaper,  published 
by  ]\Ir.  Griffin,  and  several  numbers  were  written  and  pub- 
lished by  each  of  us;  but  the  discovery  of  the  gold  mines  in 
California  put  a  stop  to  the  discussion. 


PUBLICATIONS 

OF  THE 

Oregon  Historical  Society 


SOURCES  OF  THE  HISTORY  OP  OREGON 

VoLuadB    I 

Number  1.— Journal  of  Medorem  Crawford— an  Account  of  His 
Trip  Across  the  Plains  in  1842.    Price,  25  Cents. 

Number  2.— The  Indian  Council  at  Walla  "Walla,  May  and  June, 
1855,  BY  Col.  Lawrence  Kip— A  Journal.    Price,  25  Cents. 

Numbers  3  to  6  Inclusive.— The  Correspondence  and  Journals  of 
Captain  Nathaniel  J.  Wyeth,  1831-6.— A  Record  of  Two  Expeditions, 
FOR  THE  Occupation  of  the  Oregon  Country,  with  Maps,  Introduction* 
and  Index.    Price,  $1.10. 

The  Proceedings  of  the  Oregon  Historical  Society  for  1898-9, 
Including  Paper  by  Silas  B.  Smith,  on  "Beginnings  in  Oregon," 
97  Pages.    Price,  25  Cents. 

The  Proceedings  of  the  Oregon  Historical  Society  for  1899-1900, 
Including  Two  Historical  Papers,  120  Pages.    Price,  25  Cents. 


QUARTERLY  OF  THE  OREGON  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

No.  4,  Vol.  IV,  December,  1903. 

William  Alfred  3forri»— The  Origin  and  Authorship  of  the  Bancroft 

Pacific  States  Publications:  a  History  of  a  History.     -      -  287 

Clarence  B.  Baglep—Vioj'fEER  Papers  of  Puget  Sound         ....  365 

In  Memokiam  of  Willard  H.  Rees 386 

Short  Biography  of  Joseph  Holman 392 

Documents— Letter  of  Smith,  Sublette  and  Jackson— Migration  to  and  Set- 
tlement of  Oregon 395 


No.  1,  Vol.  V,  March,  1904. 

Clarence  B.  Bagleii/—"TsE  Mercer   Immigration:"  Two   Cargoes  of 

Maidens  for  the  Sound  Country         .......  1 

TJiomasW.  Brosch,— The  Evolution  of  Spokane  and  Stevens  Counties  25 
T.  W.  Z)avenpor<— Extract  from  "Recollections  of  an  Indian  Agent"  34 
John  Minto  —Antecedents  of  the  Oregon  Pioneers  and  the  Light 

These  Throw  on  Their  Motives 38 

Peter  H.  5Mrne«— "Recollections  and  Opinions  of  an  Old  Pioneer."     > 
Chapter  III 64 


No.  2,  Vol.  V,  June,  1904. 

H.  W.  (S(3o<<— Beginnings  of  Oregon— Exploration  and  Early  Settle- 
ment AT  THE  Mouth  op  the  Columbia  River 101 

P.W.  Gillette— A  Brief  History  of  the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation 

Company 120 

W.  B.  Dillard—T-a-E  Beginnings  of  Lane  County 133 

F.  I.  ^errto«— Transplanting  Iowa's  Laws  to  Oregon      -      .      -      -  139 
Peter  H.  5w?-ne«— "Recollections  and  Opinions  of  an  Old  Pioneer." 

Chapter  IV 151 

Documents— A  Brimfield  Heroine— Mrs.  Tabltha  Brown 199 


PRICE:  FIFTY  CENTS  PER  NUMBER,  TWO  DOLLARS  PER  YEAR. 


UHiYER5lTT  OF  OREQON. 


THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL  confers  the  degrees  of 
Master  of  Arts,  (and  in  prospect,  of  Doctor  of  Phi- 
losopher,) Civil  and  Sanitarj^  Engineer  ( C.  E.J,  Elec- 
trical Engineer  (E.  E.J,  Chemical  Engineer  (Ch.E.,) 
and  Mining  Engineer  (Min.  E.) 


THE  COLLEGE  Oh  LITERATURE,  SCIENCE,  AND  THE 
ARTS  confers  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  on 
graduates  from  the  foUovring  groups:  (1)  General 
Classical;  (2)  General  Literarj^;  (3)  General  Scien- 
ti£c;  (4)  Civic-Historical ;  (5)  Philosophical,  Edu- 
cational. It  offers  Collegiate  Courses  not  leading 
to  a  degree  as  follows:  (1)  Preparator_y  to  Law  or 
Journalism. 


THE  COLLEGE  OF  SCIENCE  AND  ENGINEERING  — 
A.— The  School  of  Applied  Science  confers  the  de- 
gree of  Bachelor  of  Science  on  graduates  from 
the  following  groups ;  (1)  General  Science;  (2) 
Chemistrj^;  (3)  Phj^sics;  (4)  Biology;  (5)  Geol- 
ogx  and  Mineralogy.  It  offers  a  Course  Pre- 
paratory to  Medicine. 
B. —  The  School  of  Engineering:  (1)  Civil  and  San- 
itary; (2)  Electrical;  (3)  Chemical.  "■ 


THE  SCHOOL   OF  MINES  AND  MINING. 
THE  SCHOOL   OF  MEDICINE  at  Portland. 
THE  SCHOOL   OF  LAW  at  Portland. 
THE  SCHOOL  OF  MUSIC. 
Address 

The  President, 

Eugene,  Oregon. 


THE    QUARTERLY 


Oregoi  Historical  Society. 


Volume  V.] 


DECEMBER,    1904 


[NUMBBE  4 


CONTENTS. 

CTirtWes  JE;.  TTo^wcr^ow—" The  JuDXCiART  OF  Oregon" 307 

T.  W.  Davenport—'^  The  Lessons  of  History  and  Evolution  "     -      -        314 
David  Douolan,  F.  L.  S.—Bk:etcji  of   a  Journey  to  Northwestern 
Parts  of  the  Continent  of  North  America  During  the  Years 

1821-'25-'26-'27— ri. 325 

Peter  H.  Burnett—^''  Recollections  and  Opinions  of  an  Old  Pioneer" 

(concluded) 370 

Reviews:    J.  C.  Cooper— '■'■The  Yamhills,"  an  Indian  Romance; 

Olin  D.  Wheeler— "The  Trail  of  Lewis  and  Clark,  1804-1904      -         402 


PRICE :    FIFTY  CENTS  PER  NU3IBER,  TWO  DOLLARS  PER  YEAR 

Entered  at  the  post  office  at  Portland,  Oregon,  as  second-class  matter. 


The  Oregon  Historical  Society 

Organized  December  17,  1898 


C.  B.  BELLINGER President 

WM.  D.  FENTON Vice-President 

F.  G.  YOUNG . i Secretary 

CHARLES  E.  LADD Treasttber 

George  H.  Himbs,  Assistant  Secretary. 


DIRECTORS 

/ 
!rHE  GOVERNOR  OF  OREGON,  ex  officio. 

THE  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION,  ex  officio. 

Term  Expires  at  Annual  Meeting  in  December,  1905, 
F.  G.   YOUNG,    WM.  D.  FENTON. 

Term  Expires  iit  Annual  Meeting  in  December,  1906, 
JAMES  R.  ROBERTSON,    JOSEPH  R.  WILSON. 

Term  Expires  at  Annual  Meeting  in  December,  1907, 
C.  B.  BELLINGER,    MRS.  MARIA  L.  MYRICK. 

Term  Expires  at  Annual  Meeting  in  December,  1908, 
GEORGE  H.  HIMES.    MRS.  HARRIET  K.  McARTHUR. 


The  Quarterly  is  sent  free  to  all  members  of  the  Society,    The  annual  dues 
are  two  dollars.    The  fee  for  life  membership  is  tweuty-flve  dollars. 

Contributions  to  The  Quarterly  and  correspondence  relative  to  historical 
materials,  or  pertaining  to  the  affairs  of  this  Society,  should  be  addressed  to 

F.  Q.  YO^NQ, 

EiTQENE,  Oregon.  Secretaz:r- 

Subscriptions  for   I7»«   Quarterly,  or  for  the  other  publications  of  the 
Society,  should  be  sent  to 

GEOKGE    H.   HIMES, 
City  Hall,  Portland,  Oregon.  Assistant  Seeretaa-y. 


THE    QUARTERLY 


Oregon  Histoeical  Society. 


Volume  V.]  DECEMBER,    1904  .  [Number  4 


TB1E  JUBICI^ET  OF  OlEQOKIo 

By  Charles  E.  Wolverton. 

The  judiciary  of  this  State  as  a  system  or  department 
of  government  is  of  interesting  parentage.  It  was  born  of 
necessity,  in  primitive,  organic  times  in  the  history  of  the 
Northwest  and  consisted  of  a  single  supreme  judge,  in- 
vested with  none  other  than  probate  jurisdiction.  It  com- 
prised also  the  executive  department  of  government  and 
antedated  the  legislative.  It  was  above  the  law,  for  at  that 
time  the  common  law  had  not  become  our  peculiar  herit- 
age and  there  was  no  statute  book  to  control  its  action. 
It  was  truly  a  creature  of  circumstances.  An  event  of  no 
unusual  moment  if  it  were  in  these  times,  gave  rise  to  its 
organization — the  death  of  a  citizen  leaving  an  estate  to 
be  administered.  The  organization  Avas  accomplished  at 
a  meeting  of  the  settlers  by  the  election  of  a  judge,  a  clerk, 
and  a  high  sheriff,  all  anterior  to  the  formation  or  adop- 
tion of  any  provisional  or  organic  law.  It  was  resolved 
that  until  a  code  be  adopted  by  a  legislative  committee 
for  which  provision  was  also  made,  the  judge  should  be 
instructed  to  act  according  to  the  laws  of  the  State  of  New 
York.  A  writer  of  early  times  asserts,  however,  that  the 
instructions  were  to  act  "just  as  he  pleased."  Dr.  Ira  L. 
Babcock  was  the  person  chosen,  and  was  thus  made  both 


308  Charles  E.  Wolverton. 

judge  and  executive  of  the  settlement.  It  is  interesting  to 
note  that  there  was  not  a  copy  of  the  code  of  the  State  of 
New  York  at  the  time  in  the  country,  nor  for  a  number  of 
years  afterward,  but  a  copy  of  the  Iowa  code  was  brought 
in  about  two  years  later.  The  court,  it  is  said,  entered  at 
once  upon  its  duties  and  disposed  of  the  estate  to  the  en- 
lire  satisfaction  of  the  community.  The  next  step  in 
formative  development  was  the  creation  of  a  supreme 
court,  a  probate  court,  and  justices'  courts,  the  former  to 
consist  of  a  supreme  judge  and  two  justices  of  the  peace, 
with  a  jurisdiction  both  appellate  and  original.  Its  origi- 
nal jurisdiction  extended  to  cases  of  treason,  felony,  and 
breaches  of  the  peace,  and  to  civil  cases  where  the  sum 
claimed  exceeded  $50.  To  safeguard  justice  it  was  pro- 
vided that  no  justice  of  the  i3eace  should  assist  in  trying 
any  case  that  was  brought  before  the  supreme  court  by 
appeal  from  his  judgment.  The  idea  was  not  lost  sight 
of  as  it  was  later  incorporated  into  the  constitution  of  the 
State  when  the  supreme  court  was  composed  of  judges  at 
nisi  prius,  inhibiting  any  one  of  them  sitting  as  a  trier  of 
the  cause  in  the  first  instance  from  taking  part  in  the  de- 
cision in  the  appellate  jurisdiction.  But,  notwithstand- 
ing this  injunction  of  obvious  propriety,  the  criticism  was 
sometimes  indulged  that  the  manner  of  organization  gave 
rise  to  a  bond  of  sympathy  and  fellow-feeling  between  the 
judges,  the  tendency  of  which  was  to  affirm  the  action  of 
the  trial  court,  or,  perhaps,  rather  to  make  a  reversal 
more  difficult  than  if  the  supreme  court  was  entirely  a 
distinct  tribunal  in  its  personnel  as  well  as  in  its  jurisdic- 
tion from  that  entertaining  original  cognizance.  In  the 
further  development  of  government,  by  the  organic  law, 
the  judicial  power  was  vested  in  a  supreme  court  and  such 
inferior  courts  of  law,  equity,  and  arbitration  as  might 
from  time  to  time  be  established  by  law.  The  supreme 
court  consisted  of  one  judge  to  be  elected  by  the  house  of 


The  Judiciary  of  Oregon.  309 

representatives  with  appellate  jurisdiction,  but  with  power 
to  issue  writs  of  habeas  corpus,  mandamus,  quo  warranto, 
certiorari,  and  other  original  remedial  writs,  and  to  hear 
and  determine  the  same.  In  its  appellate  capacity  it  was 
also  accorded  authority  to  decide  upon  and  annul  any 
laws  enacted  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  the  articles  of 
the  organic  act,  thus  recognizing  a  fundamental  principle 
which  has  now  become  firmly  and  unalterably  established 
in  American  constitutional  jurisprudence,  that  an  act  be- 
yond the  authority  of  the  lawmaking  body  to  adopt  by 
reason  of  restrictions  and  limitations  placed  upon  its  pow- 
ers, is  void  and  without  binding  force  and  effect,  and  that 
the  judiciary  may  rightfully  so  determine  and  declare. 
This  state  of  initial  construction  was  followed  by  the  ter- 
ritorial government  established  by  Congress,  whereby  the 
judicial  power  of  the  territory  was  vested  in  a  supreme 
court,  district  courts,  and  others  of  less  authority.  The 
supreme  court  was  composed  of  a  chief  justice  and  two 
associate  justices  who  were  authorized  each  in  his  own 
district  to  hold  the  district  courts  as  well.  A  little  more 
than  a  decade  later  the  State  was  admitted  into  the  Union 
under  the  present  constitution  creating  the  supreme  court, 
to  consist  of  four  justices,  with  power  in  the  legislature  to 
enlarge  the  number  to  seven,  the  justices  being  charged 
with  the  duty  of  holding  and  presiding  over  the  circuit 
courts,  which  are  of  general  and  original  jurisdiction.  B}^ 
authority  of  another  clause  of  the  same  organic  law  the 
election  of  supreme  and  circuit  judges  has  been  since  pro- 
vided for  in  distinct  classes,  with  which  system  you  are 
familiar.  Under  the  constitution  the  powers  of  the  gov- 
ernment are  divided  into  three  separate  and  distinct  but 
co-ordinate  departments,  the  othcials  intrusted  with  the 
functions  thereto  being  all  elective,  with  the  inhibitive 
injunction  that  no  person  charged  with  official  duties 
under  one  of  these  departments  shall  exercise  an}'  of  the 


310  Charles  E.  Wolverton. 

functions  of  another  except  as  expressly  provided  for  in  the 
constitution  itself.  Thus  has  been  evolved  by  slow  de- 
grees the  judiciary  system  as  at  present  constituted,  aris- 
ing from  a  mere  improvision  to  meet  an  exigency  to  a 
perfectly  organized  functionary  with  precisely  defined, 
powers  and  exact  jurisdiction.  Many  judges  have  sat  and 
presided  in  the  tribunals  thus  organized,  all  with  honor, 
I  think,  without  exception,  and  not  a  few  with  signal 
ability  and  distinction,  two  of  the  most  illustrious  and  well 
beloved  of  whom  were  members  of  the  constitutional  con- 
vention and  are  still  in  active  business  emplo3'ment.  I 
refer  to  our  venerable  and  esteemed  fellow  citizens,  Judges 
George  H.  Williams  and  lleuben  P.  Boise. 

One  of  the  central  ideas  of  this  arrangement  of  the  de- 
partments of  government,  divorcing  them  from  the  contact 
and  control  of  each  other,  was,  no  doubt,  as  it  was  with  the 
framers  of  our  Federal  constitution,  to  establish  an  inde- 
pendent judiciary — -"the  firmest  bulwark  of  freedom" — 
emancipated  not  only  from  the  influence  of  its  coordinate 
participators  in  government,  but  also  from  the  merely  po- 
litical and  partisan  influences  so  often  promotive  of  indi- 
viduals to  official  position,  and  this  by  reason  of  the  nature 
of  the  business  with  which  it  is  intrusted — to  interpret  and 
construe  the  laws  adopted  and  promulgated  by  the  coordi- 
nate branches  and  to  determine  their  validity  from  a  con- 
stitutional point  of  view,  as  well  as  to  determine  all  man- 
ner of  contest  between  litigants,  including  the  State.  In 
exercising  this  high  function  of  construing  enactments, 
the  intendment  of  the  legislature  must  govern,  of  course, 
and  it  is  by  giving  heed  to  this  cardinal  principle  that 
new  policies  of  government  are  inaugurated  and  reforms 
set  on  foot,  but  it  was  not  designed  that  the  judiciary 
should  look  back  of  this  into  the  general  scramble  for 
power  and  to  permit  the  peculiar  motives  that  may  have 
induced  individual  action  to  influence  its  judgments.     If 


The  Judiciary  of  Oregon.  311 

it  were  otherwise  it  could  hardly  sit  as  an  impartial 
arbiter  in  many  cases  of  vital  moment  to  the  common- 
wealth and  its  citizens.  It  must  not  be  understood  b}'- 
this  that  the  court  should  be  unmindful  of  the  current 
of  events  that  set  in  motion  policies  of  government,  for 
it  is  by  giving  heed  to  them  that  it  is  enabled  to  inter- 
pret the  laws  and  ordinances  of  the  lawmaking  bodies 
and  to  administer  justice  intelligently.  Alike  with  the 
other  departments,  the  judiciary  is  subject  to  the  in- 
fluence of  public  opinion,  that  consensus  of  individual 
thought  that  moulds  and  gives  caste  to  measures  and 
political  action  in  government.  In  epitome,  it  should 
not  be  swayed  and  tossed  about  by  every  shifting  breeze 
that  is  in  one  quarter  to-day  and  in  another  to-morrow, 
but  it  should  be  ever  sensitive  of  the  gulf  streams,  the 
deep  running  currents,  which  are  of  the  sea.  Judgments 
can  not  stand  against  public  opinion  any  more  than  the 
promulgation  of  laws  and  executive  decrees,  for  they  will 
in  some  way  be  avoided  and  their  force  as  precedents  de- 
stroyed. A  peculiarly  striking  incident  of  the  kind  is  the 
decision  in  the  Dred  Scott  case,  which  in  its  political  as- 
pects has  been  accounted  vulnerable  and  has  been  wholly 
disregarded.  The  most  searching  yet  courteous  criticism 
of  this  case  was  one  made  by  the  illustrious  patriot  and 
citizen  whose  name  we  honor  on  this  occasion.  It  has 
gone  down  in  history  and  was  so  skillful  and  masterly  as 
to  defy  successful  disputation.  You  will  readily  recall  the 
political  conditions  then  prevalent.  Franklin  Pierce  was 
the  outgoing  and  James  Buchanan  the  incoming  presi- 
dent, both  of  whom  had  referred  in  public  utterances  to 
the  forthcoming  decision  of  the  supreme  court;  Roger  B. 
Taney,  who  rendered  the  prevailing  opinion,  was  chief 
justice;  and  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  the  champion  of  the 
Nebraska  Doctrine.  After  putting  numerous  questions 
touching  the  action  of  these  men  and  the  delay  in  the 


I 


312  Charles  E.  Wolverton. 

long  looked-for  decision,  Mr.  Lincoln  likened  these  things 
unto  "the  cautious  patting  and  petting  of  a  spirited  horse 
preparator}^  to  mounting  him  when  it  is  dreaded  that  he 
may  give  the  rider  a  fall."  Then  in  his  inimitable  style 
he  says:  "  We  can  not  absolutely  know  that  all  these  exact 
adaptations  are  the  result  of  preconcert,  but  when  we  see 
a  lot  of  framed  timbers,  different  portions  of  which  we 
know  have  been  gotten  out  at  different  times  and  places, 
and  by  different  workmen — Stephen,  Franklin,  Roger,  and 
James,  for  instance, — and  when  we  see  these  timbers 
joined  together,  and  see  they  exactly  make  the  frame  of  a 
house  or  a  mill,  all  the  tenons  and  mortices  exactly  fit- 
ting, and  all  the  lengths  and  proportions  of  the  different 
pieces  exactly  adapted  to  their  respective  places,  and  not 
a  piece  too  many  or  too  few — not  omitting  even  scaffold- 
ing— or,  if  a  single  piece  be  lacking,  we  see  the  place  in 
the  frame  exactly  fitted  and  prepared  yet  to  bring  such 
piece  in — in  such  a  case,  we  find  it  impossible  not  to  be- 
lieve that  Stephen  and  Franklin  and  Roger  and  James  all 
understood  one  another  from  the  beginning,  and  all 
worked  upon  a  common  plan  or  draft  drawn  up  before  the 
first  blow  was  struck." 

Personally,  I  have  felt  that  the  criticism  was  unjust  to 
the  distinguished  chief  justice,  whose  purity  of  character 
and  whose  uprightness  and  integrity  as  an  individual  and 
as  a  jurist  was  beyond  reproach,  as  it  leaves  the  impress 
that  he  had  prejudged  the  cause.  Such  a  thing  was  not 
to  be  thought  of  and  surely  was  not  intended  by  the  crit- 
icism, but  the  elucidation  was  at  once  so  felicitous  and 
apropos  as  to  lead  to  the  utter  rout  and  vanquishment  of 
Stephen  and  Franklin  and  James. 

Coming  back  to  our  own  State  judiciary,  it  is  not  to  be 
denied  that  at  times  there  has  been  cause  for  pertinent 
criticism,  but  these  have  been  rare,  and  from  the  earliest 
organization  it  has  merited  and  received  the  respect,  good 


The  Judiciary  op  Oregon.  313 

will,  and  esteem  of  the  people  of  the  commonwealth,  whose 
hands  are  the  support  and  mainstay  of  all  institutions  of 
a  republican  form  of  government,  and  this  is  the  highest 
encomium  that  can  come  to  a  public  functionary.  It  has 
consistently  maintained  a  commendable  independence  as 
a  department  in  the  State  government,  in  both  the  peculiar 
and  the  broad  sense  in  which  it  was  designed  and  in  suit- 
able accord  with  the  genius,  the  spirit,  and  disposition  of 
the  times,  and  it  is  earnestly  to  be  hoped  that  it  will  con- 
tinue to  grow  in  grace  and  in  the  confidence,  favor,  and 
esteem  of  every  citizen  from  the  humblest  to  the  greatest 
of  this,  our  beloved  commonwealth.  Such,  I  am  assured, 
will  be  its  conscientious  endeavor  to  be  signified  by  its 
good  works. 


TME  LESSOMS  OF  InllSTOlT  Mb 
E¥©LaTl©IM. 

By  T.  W.  Davenport. 

We  can  say  with  probable  truth  that  whatever  promotes 
the  comfort,  competence,  and  happiness  of  man,  in  a  word 
his  well  being,  must  be  considered  in  the  direct  line  of 
progress  and  the  proper  object  of  human  endeavor,  but 
when  we  come  to  examine  his  environment  we  find  him 
beset,  within  and  without,  by  enemies  that  compel  him  to 
expend  a  great  part  of  his  time  and  energy  in  fighting  for 
the  privilege  of  existence ;  and  examining  further  we  are 
forced  to  the  conclusion  that  much  of  his  remaining  time 
and  force  is  expended  in  useless  labor  or  for  the  procure- 
ment of  things  which  are  positively  harmful.  In  a  large 
view  and  contemplating  an  ideal  career  of  enlightenment, 
peace,  prosperity,  and  moral  excellence,  his  history  ap- 
pears to  be  a  perpetual  repetition  and  jumble  of  incon- 
sistencies whereof  no  intelligence  can  see  the  trend  or 
outcome.  And  of  all  his  foes,  himself  is  the  worst,  the 
most  inveterate.  That  wise  and  noble  woman,  Frances 
E.  Willard,  condensed  the  question  of  progression  when 
she  said,  "Our  problem  consists  in  saving  man  from  him- 
self." That  has  ever  been  the  problem  whether  under- 
taken designedly  by  such  superior  characters  as  Miss  Wil- 
lard or  the  spontaneous  operation  of  the  postulated  forces 
of  evolution. 

That  every  human  being,  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave, 
is  struggling  for  the  betterment  of  his  condition,  as  he 
sees  it,  (couched  in  Pope's  language,  "Oh  happiness  !  our 
beings  end  and  aim,")  and  that  he  follows  the  line  of  least 
resistance  to  obtain  it,  may  be  assumed  as  an  axiom  in 


Lessons  of  History  and  Evolution.  315 

human  affairs,  but  that  any  or  all  philosophers  can,  from 
the  heterogeneous  mass  of  human  history,  lay  bare  the 
chain  of  causation  from  age  to  age  and  demonstrate  an 
upward  movement,  is  so  far  merely  an  aspiration.  One 
form  of  government  follows  another;  republics  succeed 
monarchies  and  monarchies  succeed  republics  ;  nations 
rise  and  fall,  civilizations  wax  and  wane,  and  along  the 
whole  course  from  the  earliest  dawn  of  recorded  history 
to  the  present,  the  individual  man  has  shown  the  same  or 
equivalent  characteristics  and  powers,  the  ancient  as  com- 
petent physically,  intellectually,  and  morally  as  the  mod- 
ern ;  as  great  in  liis  capacities  and  achievements  in  all 
departments  of  human  endeavor,  language,  sculpture, 
painting,  poetry,  oratory,  devotion  of  self  to  altruistic  aims 
or  to  war,  in  all  as  forceful  if  not  superior  to  the  man  of 
to-day.  And  where  is  the  fitness  of  human  institutions 
and  the  measure  of  progress  to  be  found  anyway,  except 
in  the  individual?  In  him  is  the  fruition,  sum,  and  sub- 
stance of  it  all.  In  him  cultivated,  competent,  fraternal, 
industrious  in  all  works  hel})ful,  is  the  acme  of  all  schemes 
of  salvation. 

So,  the  question  now,  after  all  the  centuries  of  toil,  tur- 
moil, anguish,  and  destruction,  is.  What  form  of  govern- 
ment or  society  is  best  suited  to  and  most  promotive  of 
general  individual  improvement  and  excellence?  ,And 
as  the  individual  can  advance  only  by  the  volitional  exer- 
cise of  all  his  faculties  in  normal  proportion,  the  answer 
is  self-evident,  that  it  must  be  one  in  which  the  freedom 
of  the  individual  is  limited  only  by  the  equal  freedom  of 
others.  That  is,  a  government  wherein  justice  is  estab- 
lished upon  the  predicate  of  equal  natural  rights — in  a 
word,  the  right  of  progression  ;  but  that  such  a  govern- 
ment is  deducible  from  the  lessons  of  history,  is  one  of 
perpetual  doubt  and  debate,  for  the  reason  that  the  data 
are  too  voluminous,  too  uncertain,  too  much  omitted,  for 


316  T.  W.  Davenport. 

even  the  wisest  and  best  to  agree.  Witness  the  battle  be- 
tween tliose  intellectual  giants,  Macaulay  and  John  Stuart 
Mill,  after  which  the  forces  of  monarchy,  aristocracy,  and 
democracy  stood  as  before.  Indeed,  the  general  residuum 
of  such  contests  inclines  to  the  dictum  that  the  form  of 
government  best  adapted  to  a  people  is  to  be  found  by  ex- 
periment, which  to  a  conservative  means  the  one  in  which 
they  are  at  any  time  placed.  And  this  does  not  militate 
against  the  doctrine  of  evolution,  for  every  state  of  society 
is  merely  a  point  in  the  path  of  development,  to  be  left 
when  the  evolutionary  forces  compel  an  onward  move- 
ment. The  materialistic  school  of  evolutionists  of  which 
Herbert  Spencer  is  the  head,  does  not  admit  of  a  spiritual 
or  rational  principle  in  the  cosmos,  but  that  every  mani- 
festation of  life  and  organization  is  the  result  of  the  blind 
interaction  of  matter  and  motion  and  of  course  without 
design  or  purpose.  Their  essential  and  controlling  prin- 
ciple that  the  fittest  survive,  is  alike  applicable  to  human 
and  to  brute,  and  being  a  law  of  nature  is  a  sufficient  war- 
rant for  anything  that  takes  place.  With  such  fatalistic 
people,  what  ought  or  ought  not  to  be,  is  only  an  academic 
question  ;  as  a  stimulus  to  action  for  the  removal  of  ob- 
stacles in  the  upward  path,  is  irrelevant;  whatever  is,  is 
right;  at  least  it  is  irremediable.  Is  it  not  enough  to  say 
that  the  tendency  of  such  teaching  is  to  deter  human  effort 
and  therefore  bring  on  inertia  which  b}'  a  law  of  nature 
produces  decay?  Of  course  the  fittest  survive.  Who  doesn't 
know  that  that  is  a  bald  truism  ?  and  that  the  crucial  ques- 
tion is,  How  to  become  fit?  Is  it  by  lying  supinely  and 
muttering  "Do  what  we  may,  the  mills  of  the  gods  grind  on 
regardless  either  of  our  aid  or  our  hindrance  ?"  That 
seemed  to  be  the  predicament  of  Edward  L.  Youmans,  the 
ablest  and  most  active  promoter  of  Spencerianism  in 
America,  as  related  by  Henry  George  in  his  "Perplexed 
Philosopher." 


Lessons  of  History  and  Evolution.  317 

Mr.  George  writes  :  Talking  one  day  with  the  late  E.  L. 
Youmans,  the  great  popularizer  of  Spencerianisrn  in  the 
United  States,  a  man  of  warm  and  generous  sympathies, 
whose  philosophy  seemed  to  me  like  an  ill  fitting  coat  he 
had  accidentally  picked  up  and  put  on,  he  fell  into  speak- 
ing with  much  warmth  of  the  political  corruption  of  New 
York,  of  the  utter  carelessness  and  selfishness  of  the  rich, 
and  of  their  readiness  to  submit  to  it,  or  to  promote  it 
whenever  it  served  their  money-getting  purposes  to  do  so. 
He  became  so  indignant  as  he  went  on  that  he  raised  his 
voice  till  he  almost  shouted. 

Alluding  to  a  conversation  some  time  before,  in  which 
I  had  affirmed  and  he  had  denied  the  dut}'  of  taking  part 
in  politics,  I  said  to  him,  "  What  do  you  intend  to  do  about 
it  ?  "  Of  a  sudden  his  manner  and  tone  completely  changed, 
as  remembering  his  Spencerianism,  he  threw  himself  back 
and  replied,  with  something  like  a  sigh,  "Nothing!  you 
and  I  can  do  nothing  at  all.  It  is  all  a  matter  of  evolu- 
tion. We  can  only  wait  for  evolution.  Perhaps  in  four 
or  five  thousand  years  evolution  may  have  carried  men 
be^'ond  this  state  of  things.     But  we  can  do  nothing." 

Evidently  Professor  Youmans  had  only  a  partial  view 
of  the  synthetic  philosophy,  for  to  be  synthetic  it  must 
include  everything  that  is,  not  only  man  but  his  works, 
and  such  was  the  task  Mr.  Spencer  had  set  for  himself,  of 
accounting  for  all  that  is  knowable  concerning  human 
beings  in  their  ascent  from  protoplasm,  via  monkeydom, 
to  "beings  of  large  discourse  that  look  before  and  after." 

He  nowhere  says  that  man's  faculties  and  volition, 
though  derived  from  the  evolutionary  grind,  are  not  as- 
sisting factors  in  the  continuous  development. 

The  law  of  heredity  is  an  incident  of  evolution  and  he 
finds  the  genesis  of  it  in  the  registered  experiences  of  the 
race.  Conscience  was  evolved  from  the  fear  of  punish- 
ment transmitted  through  the  nervous  system.     And  it 


318  T.  W.  Davenport. 

would  not  do  to  admit  that  evolution  had  produced  an 
organ  for  which  there  was  no  use,  and  thus  bring  causa- 
tion to  an  untiniel}^  and  inglorious  end.  As  well  say  that 
an  eye  was  not  made  to  see,  or  a  leg  to  walk,  and  that  the 
use  of  them  did  not  contribute  to  fit  their  possessor  for 
adaptation  to  his  environment. 

Mr.  Spencer  was  too  good  a  logician  to  be  caught  in  a 
trap  like  this.  On  the  other  hand,  he  finds  use  for  the 
full  developed  conscience,  and  shows  that  malefactors  are 
unfit  and  will  not  survive  the  ordeal  of  the  social  compact. 
Whether  Mr.  Spencer  has  been  successful  in  following  the 
order  of  nature  and  pointing  out  how  things  came  to  be, 
is  a  matter  about  which  speculators  will  differ,  but  there 
is  one  consolation  for  those  who  are  not  content  to  sit 
down  and  wait  for  the  Spencerian  evolution  to  correct 
social  aberrations,  he  could  not  make  man  different  from 
what  he  is  whatever  his  ancestry  or  the  genesis  of  his 
being.  We  know  that  man's  volition  and  consequent 
action  can,  and  does,  influence  and  determine  conditions 
favorable  and  unfavorable  to  his  w^elfare.  He  can  go  up 
or  go  down  with  respect  to  his  normal,  physical,  or  mental 
constitution.  He  can  be  happy  or  he  can  be  miserable  in 
conformity  to  the  doctrine  of  evolution  and  without  vio- 
lating a  single  law  of  his  nature.  This  ma}'  seem  to  some 
to  involve  a  paradox,  but  we  should  bear  in  mind  that 
natural  laws  can  not  be  violated ;  that  wdiat  is  termed  a 
violation  is  merely  passing  from  the  operation  of  one  law 
to  that  of  another. 

A  person  basks  in  the  morning  sun  and  feels  an  invig- 
orating and  agreeable  warmth,  while  the  vertical  rays  at 
noon  diminish  his  strength  and  give  him  pain,  both  states 
being  in  harmony  with  natural  laws,  though  the  latter 
produces  abnormal  conditions.  Without  gravitation  our 
present  material  existence  would  be  unthinkable  ;  without 
a  proper  observance  of  it,  destruction  surely  awaits  us. 


Lessons  of  History  and  Evolution.  319 

This,  no  doubt,  is  one  of  the  mills  of  the  gods,  but  whether 
it  grinds  for  us  or  against  us  depends  upon  ourselves. 
And  passing  from  the  purely  physical  to  vital  phenomena, 
the  laws  are  no  less  imperative  and  the  consequences  no 
less  certain,  if  not  so  immediately  disastrous,  in  case  of  a 
departure  from  normal  relations.  There  is  no  moment  of 
man's  existence  when  he  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  causa- 
tion, but  this  may  not  imply  the  kind  of  fatality  that  dis- 
couraged Professor  Youmans. 

Granting  the  Spencerian  view,  that  he  is  an  organized 
aggregate  of  consequences,  the  result  of  natural  selection 
operating  through  all  preceding  environments,  aiid  thus 
an  heir  of  all  the  past,  still  he  has  risen  from  the  beast 
and  become  what  he  is,  a  volitional,  intellectual,  social, 
moral  being,  whose  acquired  faculties. are  not  useless  but 
are  assisting  factors  in  continuous  development. 

And  granting  that  the  exercise  of  them  is  within  the 
domain  of  law  and  a  resultant,  everything  is  in  motion  ; 
the  world  is  full  of  promptings  to  congruous  action  by 
rational  beings.  The  fall  of  rain  or  snow  is  a  sufficient 
inducement  to  seek  shelter  or  the  falling  tree  to  stand 
from  under.  The  life  within  and  without,  the  conse- 
quences of  individual  and  collective  actions,  the  experi- 
ences of  pleasure  and  pain,  furnish  abundant  incentives 
to  orderly  conduct.  But  man  misperceives,  misunder- 
stands, and  misadventures ;  all  men  more  or  less ;  some 
so  wayward  and  eccentric  as  to  encroach  upon  the  rights 
of  others,  and  therefore  requiring  restraint.  Hence  the 
need  of  government  and  the  resulting  questions,  of  what 
kind  shall  it  be,  how  much,  how  administered,  and  where 
applied  ? 

And  although  history  and  evolution  are  incompetent  to 
answer  the  whole  of  them,  there  are  partial  answers  in 
both.  History  can  say  positively,  not  the  "  eye-for-an-eye 
and  tooth-for-a-tooth"  principle;  not   the    vendetta,  not 


320  T.  W.  Davenport. 

anarchy,  not  theocratic  inquisition,  not  autocracy  or  abso- 
lutism. The  lessons  of  history  condemn  them  all.  But 
as  o-overnment  arose  out  of  individual  transgression, 
ought  it  to  stop  with  the  punishment  of  the  transgressor? 
That  was  no  doubt  the  primitive  idea,  since  negatived  by 
the  lessons  of  experience,  but  toward  which  the  material- 
ists have  a  strong  leaning.  Herbert  Spencer  was  opposed 
to  the  free  school  system  or  education  of  children  by  the 
State,  as  he  thought  their  education  was  a  duty  belonging 
to  the  parents,  and  therefore  a  private  function  which  ought 
not  to  be  saddled  on  the  public.  He  looked  with  alarm 
upon  all  sorts  of  so-called  paternalistic  legislation,  and  pub- 
lished an  essay  entitled,  "The  Coming  Slavery  ?"  That 
it  is  the  duty  of  every  person  to  be  self-regulating,  self- 
supporting,  to  fulfil  all  his  obligations  to  his  family  and 
to  society,  and  to  take  all  proper  means  for  accomplishing 
those  ends,  is  more  than  a  Spencerian  maxim  ;  it  is  of 
general  acceptation.  But  he  should  have  seen,  as  no 
doubt  he  did  see,  that  especially  defective  individuals 
whether  incompetent  or  perverse,  involve  the  general  wel- 
fare and  therefore  become  a  matter  of  general  concern, 
and  in  default  of  proper  correctives  by  private  means,  of 
collective  control. 

Mr.  Spencer  would  not  de>ny  that  an  enlightened  social 
state  is  more  promotive  of  orderly  conduct  than  one  half 
civilized  and  that  repressive  measures  would  be  in  less 
demand,  wherefore  the  education  of  children  and  the 
general  diffusion  of  knowledge  is  more  than  a  private 
affair  and  becomes  a  matter  of  general  concern. 

But  all  experience  proves  that  individuals  and  parents 
neglect  or  are  incompetent  to  fulfil  their  obligations  in 
this  respect,  and  the  question  immediately  arises  as  to 
whether  those  charged  with  governmental  functions 
should  be  alike  remiss  and  rely  solely  upon  repressive 
measures  for  the  protection  of  society?    If  reason  is  to  be 


Lessons  of  History  and  Evolution.  321 

the  guide,  the  answer  is  not  difficult  and  must  be  in  the 
negative.  And  while,  as  has  been  said,  there  is  no  ob- 
servable difference  betw^een  the  historical  ancient  and  the 
modern,  as  to  strength  and  virility  of  mind  and  body,  the 
latter  stands  higher  in  the  social  scale  by  reason  of  the 
accumulations  of  the  centuries  between. 

Invention,  discovery,  experience  in  all  the  ways  of  life, 
scientific  research,  etc.,  all  have  lifted  him  into  a  serener 
and  more  reflecting  atmosphere  than  his  brother  of  the 
dim  and  cloudy  past,  enjoj^ed.  He  has  outgrown  the 
swaddling  clothes  of  race-childhood  ;  the  genetic  myths 
which  held  him  enthralled  have  lost  their  potency  ;  evil 
is  no  longer  the  work  of  the  devil,  but  excesses  in  his  own 
nature  and  of  qualities  in  themselves  useful  and  essential. 
And  out  of  it  all  has  grown  the  unalterable  conviction 
that  man's  actions  are  not  chance  products,  but  the  legiti- 
mate consequences  of  congenital  conditions  as  affected  by 
the  physical  and  social  environment,  and  the  no  weaker 
conviction  that  without  a  modification  in  some  of  these 
antecedents  no  reformation  can  take  place. 

Certainly,  if  the  hereditary  organization,  the  individual, 
the  man,  acts  out  of  harmon}'-  with  the  society  in  which 
he  is  placed,  there  must  be  a  change  of  something  to  bring 
him  into  conformity  therewith  or  else  reason  has  no  place 
in  human  affairs.  Modification,  change,  yes — but  how, 
where  ?  These  are  the  questions  which  society  has  l)een 
trying  to  answer  from  the  first.  Not,  however,  by  a  pa- 
tient and  methodical  examination  of  all  the  elements  of 
the  problem,  but  in  a  spontaneous  and  impulsive  sort  of 
way,  and  upon  the  assumption  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
individual  to  conform  to  whatever  social  environment, 
without  any  assistance  other  than  the  law  and  its  penal- 
ties. 

For  thousands  of  years  the  chief  business  of  govern- 
ment has    been    lawmaking  and    law  enforcement,  with 


322  T.  W.  Davenport. 

their  coiicoinitaiits,  pains,  and  privations,  the  lash  and 
thumbscrew,  the  dungeon,  fagot,  and  gibbet,  all  based 
upon  the  undoubted  belief  that  the  human  will  is  free  and 
that  a  suihciont  punishment  will  turn  it.  This  is  one  as- 
pect of  the  ease,  that  of  considering  society  and  its  organ, 
government,  as  a  homogeneous  compact  actuated  by  a  de- 
sire for  the  public  good.  But  the  major  truth  of  history 
concerning  government,  whatever  its  manifestoes,  is,  that 
it  is  now  and  has  been  for  all  time  an  ever-varying  re- 
sultant of  the  contending  impulses,  passions,  sentiments, 
and  aspirations  of  mankind;  an  establishment  whereby 
the  dominant  forces  or  classes  in  society  control  and  ex- 
ploit the  rest.  Looking  at  it  with  an  optimistic  eye,  we 
think  there  are  signs  of  improvement,  of  evolution  if  you 
wish,  by  which  the  masses  are  gradually  emerging  from 
the  ancient  thraldom  of  ignorance  and  superstition  and 
asserting  their  equal  and  inalienable  rights.  Not  that  hu- 
man beings  are  any  more  inclined  to  relinquish  the  pos- 
session of  power  and  privilege  than  formerly  ;  not  that 
they  are  more  shocked  at  the  sight  of  cruelty,  rapine,  and 
war,  but  that  they  have  a  clearer  and  larger  view  of  social 
and  governmental  relations  and  a  more  extensive  world- 
fraternity  or  cosmopolitanism.  Some  have  asserted  a  gen- 
eral and  large  increase  of  altruistic  feeling  to  account  for 
the  liberalizing  tendency  of  governments  and  peoples,  but 
this  is  unproven.  Now,  as  of  old,  there  are  philanthro- 
pists and  moral  philosophers  who  point  and  lead  the  way 
to  justice,  but  the  conflicts  of  selfishness  urge  in  the  same 
direction.  As  Lincoln  said  of  politics  that  "it  is  an  ag- 
gregation of  meannesses  for  the  public  good,"  so  we  can 
say  with  equal  cynicism  and  truth  that  governments  in 
general  are  the  representative  heads  of  privileges,  oper- 
ating in  the  name  of  the  State  and  yielding  upon  compul- 
sion to  the  demands  of  those  who  have  been  despoiled. 
The  English  people  have  a  liberal  and,  in  many  respects, 


Lessons  of  History  and  Evolution.  323 

a  grand  government,  as  compared  with  other  monarchies, 
but  viewing  it  under  the  lime  light  of  history,  it  easily 
falls  within  the  last  definition.  In  England  the  conserva- 
tives call  this  popular  appeal  for  justice  "the  ugly  rush," 
and  not  strange  at  all  to  say,  it  is  the  great  reformatory 
force  in  the  British  Empire. 

Justin  McCarthy,  in  his  History  of  Our  Own  Times, 
Vol.  2,  page  149,  writes  :  "  Parliament  rarely  bends  to 
the  mere  claims  of  reason  and  justice.  Some  pressure  is 
almost  always  to  be  put  on  it  to  induce  it  to  see  the  right. 
Its  tendency  is  always  to  act  exactly  as  Mr.  Saloman  did 
in  this  case ;  to  yield  when  sufficient  pressure  has  been 
put  on  to  signify  coercion.  Catholic  emancipation  was 
carried  by  such  a  pressure.  The  promoters  of  the  Sun- 
day Trading  Bill  yield  to  a  riot  in  Hyde  Park.  A  Tory 
government  turn  reformers  in  obedience  to  a  crowd  who 
pull  down  the  railing  of  the  same  enclosure.  A  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Exchequer  modifies  his  budget  in  deference 
to  a  demonstration  of  match-selling  boys  and  girls.  In 
all  these  instances  it  was  right  to  make  the  concession  ; 
but  the  concession  was  not  made  because  it  was  right." 
Reforms  in  the  United  States  come  pretty  much  in  the 
same  way  ;  by  the  remonstrances  and  disorderly  demon- 
strations of  those  who  feel  the  pinch  of  injustice,  and  of 
those  who  not  feeling  it  themselves,  sympathize  with  those 
who  do  and  look  with  alarm  at  the  encroachments  of  privi- 
lege in  the  guise  of  law.  Keeping  away  from  present  poli- 
tics, we  can  say  that  Shay's  rebellion  in  Massachusetts 
brought  about  a  repeal  of  the  summary  and  heartless  laws 
for  the  collection  of  debts,  and  Dorr's  rebellion  in  Rhode 
Island  brought  an  extension  of  the  suffrage  to  persons  not 
having  the  previous  property  qualifications,  though  Dorr 
himself  was  imprisoned  for  lawlessness.  To  say  that  all 
perversions  in  the  name  of  government  should  be  pa- 
tiently borne  and  conformed  to  until  removed  by  the  pow- 


324  T.  W.  Davenpokt. 

ers  and  tendencies  which  brought  them  to  pass,  means 
simply  that  they  would  be  perpetual,  for  the  beneficiaries 
of  wrong  do  not  surrender  except  upon  compulsion.  We 
flatter  ourselves  that  in  this  country  the  people  rule  and 
that  the  government  is  a  ready  reflex  of  the  popular  needs, 
but  alack  and  alas  !  it  is  the  same  perpetual  conflict  known 
in  all  other  countries  and  in  all  other  times  ;  let  us  hope 
a  diminishing  conflict  indicative  of  the  time  when  the 
establishment  of  justice  shall  be  the  earnest  purpose  of 
all  men. 

Silverton,  February  19,  1905. 


JKETCfl  OF  1^  J0«1IIET  TO  POMTBl- 

WESTCMKi  wmri  or  tkie  coimti- 
PEKiT  2P  nmru  ^nsiK^  humn^ 

THE  TtmS  'i82^"''25-'2&-''27. 

Bj'  David  Douglas,  F.  L.  S. 

Jteprinled  from  '■'The  Companion  to  the  Botanical  Magazinv,"   Volume  II, 
London,  1S30. 

II. 

SUMMER    EXCURSIONS    ON    THE    COLUMBIA    RIVER. 

Mature  consideration  of  what  I  have  been  already  able 
to  effect  in  this  country,  and  of  the  great  amount  that  yet 
remains  to  be 'done,  has  satisfied  me  of  the  propriety  of 
remaining  here  for  another  year,  that  I  may  explore  it 
more  satisfactorily.  I  feel  that  I  should  otherwise  be 
neglectful  of  the  interests  of  the  Society  which  sends  me, 
though  I  am  so  doubtful  whether  my  determination  will 
meet  with  the  approbation  of  my  employers  (though  not 
doubtful  of  the  integrity  of  my  motives),  that  I  will  cheer- 
fully labour  this  season  without  any  remuneration,  if  I 
am  only  allowed  a  small  sum  of  money  to  supply  myself 
with  clothing.  Thus  I  hope  my  conduct  will  be  pardoned 
if  not  approved.  Two  considerations  weigh  much  with 
me.  Firstly,  I  involve  the  society  in  little  or  no  expense; 
and,  secondly,  having  been  an  invalid  during  the  latter 
part  of  the  seed-harvest,  I  have,  of  course,  missed  of  pro- 
curing many  things  which  it  woald  be  most  desirable  to 
possess,  particularly  of  the  vegetation  of  the  Upper 
Country,  towards  the  head  waters  of  this  river,  and  the 
boundless  tracts  that  lie  contiguous  to  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. 

I  could  have  crossed  the  Continent  this  season  to  Mon- 


326       Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

treal,  and  would  most  gladly  have  done  so,  but  for  the  con- 
siderations just  mentioned.  Should  circumstances  forbid 
my  accomplishing  this  desirable  object  in  the  spring  of 
next  year  (1827),  I  shall  without  further  delay,  embrace 
the  earliest  opportunity  of  returning  to  England  by  sea, 
but  the  length  of  time  consumed  by  the  voyage  renders 
me  unwilling  to  do  this.  The  expected  arrival  in  Sep- 
tember of  George  Simpson,  Esq.,  Governor  of  the  Western 
Districts,  gives  me  hope  that  I  shall  not  be  subjected  to 
this  unpleasant  necessity. 

During  this  spring  and  summer,  therefore,  my  head- 
quarters will  be  either  Walla-wallah,  the  lowest,  Spokan, 
the  middle,  or  Kettle  Falls,  the  highest,  on  the  Columbia 
and  its  branches.  At  each  of  these  places  I  shall  make 
such  a  stay  as  seems  desirable,  and  the  extreme  distance 
not  much  exceeding  five  hundred  miles,  frequent  journeys 
between  them  can  be  effected  without  difficulty.  A  vessel 
may  shortly  be  expected  on  this  coast,  and  as  I  shall  not 
return  hither,  probably  before  November,  I  mean  to  leave 
the  whole  of  my  collection  ready  packed,  to  be  trans- 
mitted by  her  to  England,  reserving  a  package  of  seeds, 
which  it  is  my  intention  to  carry  across  the  country  to 
Hudson  Bay. 

March  1st  to  20th. —  This  time  was  devoted  to  accom- 
plishing the  package  into  two  boxes  of  the  residue  of  my 
collection,  and  making  preparations  for  my  journey  into 
the  interior,  and  the  continual  rains  which  fell  enabled 
me  to  work  at  this  job  the  more  assiduously.  The  kind- 
ness of  Mr.  McLoughlin  enabled  me  to  take  thirty  quires 
of  paper,  weighing  102  pounds,  which  with  the  rest  of  my 
other  necessary  articles,  is  far  more  than  I  could  have 
ventured  to  expect,  considering  the  labour  and  difficulty 
which  attend  the  transportation  of  luggage  over  the  por- 
tages, etc. 

In  company  of  John  McLeod,  Esq.,  a  gentleman  going 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.        327 

to  Hudson  Bay,  and  Mr.  Francis  Ermetinger,  who  was 
bound  for  the  interior,  with  two  boats  and  fourteen  men, 
I  started  from  Fort  Vancouver,  on  Monday,  the  20th,  at 
4  o'clock  at  noon  [?].  Owing  to  the  rain  and  adverse 
wind,  and  a  strong  current  against  us,  it  was  the  evening 
of  the  next  day  before  we  reached  the  Grand  Rapids. 
Here  the  scenery  is  grand  beyond  description.  The  high 
mountains  are  covered  with  Pines  of  several  kinds,  some  of 
great  magnitude,  with  their  lofty  wide-spreading  branches 
loaded  with  snow  ;  while  a  rainbow  stretches  over  the 
vapour  formed  by  the  agitated  waters,  which  rush  with 
furious  speed  over  the  shattered  rocks  and  through  the 
deep  channel  of  the  stream,  producing  a  melancholy 
though  pleasing  echo  through  the  still  and  woody  valley, 
where  the  vivid  green  of  the  Pine  contrasts  agreeably 
with  the  reflection  of  the  snow. 

On  Thursday,  the  23d,  we  proceeded  on  our  voyage  with 
a  strong  westerly  wind,  which  enabled  us  to  hoist  a  sail, 
and  reached  the  lower  part  of  the  Great  Falls  at  dusk, 
where  we  camped  in  a  small  cove,  under  a  shelving  rock. 
Fortunately,  the  night  was  fine  and  the  moon  bright,  which 
was  the  more  agreeable,  as  the  wind  would  not  allow  of 
our  tent  being  pitched.  Here  we  were  placed  in  a  dan- 
gerous predicament,  from  the  natives,  who  collected  in 
unusually  large  numbers,  and  showed  every  disposition 
to  be  troublesome,  because  they  did  not  receive  so  ample  a 
supply  of  tobacco  as  they  had  expected.  We  were  obliged 
to  watch  the  whole  night.  Having  a  few  of  my  small  wax 
tapers,  on  which  I  lay  a  great  value,  still  remaining,  I 
lighted  one,  and  sat  down  to  write  to  Mr.  Murray  of  Glas- 
gow, and  to  arrange  in  paper  some  Mosses  that  I  had  col- 
lected the  preceding  evening.  Daylight  was  a  most  glad- 
some sight,  as  may  be  imagined,  after  spending  the  hours 
of  darkness  surrounded  by  at  least  four  hundred  and  fifty 
savages,  whose  manners  announced  anything  but  amicable 


328        Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

feelings  towards  us.  As  no  one  in  the  brigade  could  con- 
verse with  them  much  better  than  myself,  little  could  be 
done  by  persuasion.  However,  discovering  that  two  of 
the  principal  men  understood  the  Chenook  language  which 
I  am  slightly  acquainted  with,  I  found  this  circumstance 
of  some  advantage.  After  taking  a  hurried  and  anxious 
breakfast  on  the  rocks,  we  proceeded  several  miles  up  the 
river,  and  in  the  afternoon  made  the  portage  over  the 
Great  Falls,  where  Mr.  McLeod  was  apprized  that  the  In- 
dians were  lying  in  wait  with  the  intention  of  attacking 
us  and  pillaging  the  boats.  This  warning  proved  too  cor- 
rect. No  sooner  had  they  received  the  customary  present 
of  tobacco  than  they  became  desirous  of  compelling  us  to 
encamp  for  the  night,  that  they  might  the  better  effect 
their  purpose.  The  first  symptoms  of  hostile  intentions 
which  we  observed,  was  their  cunning  trick  of  sprinkling 
water  on  the  gun-barrels  of  our  party  ;  and,  when  the 
boats  were  ordered  to  be  put  into  the  water,  they  would 
not  allow  it  to  be  done.  As  Mr.  McLeod  was  laying  his 
hand  on  the  shoulders  of  one  native  to  push  him  back, 
another  fellow  immediately  drew  from  his  quiver  a  bow 
and  a  handful  of  arrows,  and  presented  it  at  Mr.  McLeod. 
My  position  at  the  time,  at  the  outside  of  the  crowd,  en- 
abling me  to  perceive  this  manoeuvre,  and  no  time  being 
to  be  lost,  I  instantly  slipped  the  cover  off  my  gun,  which 
was  fortunately  loaded  with  buckshot,  and  presenting  it 
at  him,  I  invited  him  to  discharge  his  arrow,  when  I 
would  return  it  with  my  own  weapon.  Just  at  this  mo- 
ment, a  chief  of  the  Kyemuse  tribe,  and  three  of  his 
young  men,  who  are  the  terror  of  all  the  other  tribes  west 
of  the  mountains,  and  the  staunch  friends  of  the  white 
people  (as  they  call  us)  stepped  in  among  the  party  and 
settled  the  affair  without  any  further  trouble.  This  very 
friendly  Indian,  who  is  one  of  the  finest  figures  of  a  man 
I  have  ever  seen,  standing  six  feet  six  inches  high,  then 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.        329 

accompanied  us  several  miles  up  the  river  to  the  spot 
where  we  intended  to  encamp  for  the  night,  and  was  lib- 
erally remunerated  by  Mr.  McLeod  for  his  courageous 
and  timely  interference  and  friendship.  I  being  King 
George's  chief,  or  the  "(irass  Man,"  as  I  am  called,  bored 
a  hole  through  the  only  shilling  which  I  possessed,  and 
which  had  been  in  my  pocket  ever  since  I  left  London, 
and  observing  that  the  septum  of  his  nose  was  perforated, 
I  suspended  the  coin  to  it  b}'  a  bit  of  brass  wire,  a  cere- 
mony which  afterwards  proved  a  seal  of  friendship  be- 
tween us.  After  smoking  with  us,  our  friend  left  us  to 
return  to  the  Indian  village,  promising  that  he  would  not 
allow  us  to  be  molested.  As  we  could  not,  of  course,  think 
of  sleeping  that  night,  I  employed  myself  in  writing  a 
letter  to  Doctor  Hooker : 

LETTER    TO    DR.    HOOKER. 

Great  Falls  of  the  Columbia  River,  March  24,  1826. 

Dear  Sir  :  From  Dr.  Scouler  you  must  have  obtained  a  good  de- 
scription of  Northwest  America,  and  be  made  acquainted  with  many 
of  its  treasures.  He  left  me  in  fine  spirits ;  and  when  we  were  to- 
gether, not  a  day  passed  in  which  you  were  not  spoken  of.  His  depart- 
ure I  much  regret ;  w^e  had  always  been  friends  and  here  our  friendship 
increased.  When  botanizing  along  the  shores  of  the  Columbia  River 
and  in  the  adjoining  woods,  we  would  sometimes  sit  down  to  rest  our 
limbs,  and  then  the  conversation  often  turned  on  Glasgow  and  Ben 
Lomond.  If  a  favourite  Moss  caught  his  eye.  and  was  eagerly  grasped 
and  transferred  to  the  vasculum,  the  remark  was  pretty  sure  to  follow, 
"  How  much  would  Dr.  Hooker  like  to  be  with  us."  I  felt  very  lonely 
during  the  first  few  weeks  after  Dr.  Scouler  had  sailed. 

The  upper  country  here  appears  such  an  interesting  field,  and  so 
difi'erent  from  the  vegetation  that  prevails  along  the  coast,  that  I  have 
determined  to  devote  the  whole  of  this  year  to  exploring  it;  though 
somewhat  doubtful  whether  I  am  justified  in  so  doing,  as  my  orders 
were  strict  from  Mr.  Sabine  nob  to  outstay  the  departure  of  the  ship 
which  leaves  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  in  1826.  I  trust,  however, 
that  my  arrangements  will  meet  his  approbation,  or,  at  least,  not  incur 
his  displeasure.  The  probability  is  that  I  shall  be  enabled  to  reach 
the  Rocky  Mountains  in  August,  when,  with  what  I  may  previously 
obtain,  I  hope  to  have  a  most  splendid  collection. 


330       Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

During-  the  past  winter,  I  have  been  continually  picking  up  Musci 
and  Jnngcrmanniir,  and  forming  a  collection  of  birds  and  other  ani- 
mals. My  Ijnowledge  is  somewhat  limited  in  these  families,  so  that  I 
hardly  dare  to  pronounce  as  to  what  may  be  new ;  but  I  take  care  to 
secure  everything  I  can  lay  my  hands  upon.  It  would  have  been  in 
my  ])ower  to  make  my  way  to  Montreal  this  season,  and  would  have 
gladly  embraced  the  opportunity  of  seeing  such  an  extensive  and  inter- 
esting country  as  lies  between;  but  to  overlook  the  inviting  prospect 
now  before  me  was  more  than  I  could  do.  I  rejoice  to  tell  you  of  a  new 
species  of  Finus,  the  most  princely  of  the  genus,  perhaps  even  the 
grandest  specimen  of  vegetation.  It  attains  the  enormous  height  of 
from  one  hundred  and  seventy  to  two  hundred  and  twenty  feet,  with  a 
circumference  of  fifty  feet,  and  cones  from  twelve  to  eighteen  inches 
long!  I  possess  one  of  the  latter,  measuring  one  foot  five  inches  long, 
and  ten  inches  round  the  thickest  part.  The  trunk  grows  remarkably 
straight  and  destitute  of  branches  till  near  the  top,  where  they  foi-m 
a  perfect  umbel;  the  wood  of  fine  quality,  yielding  a  lai-ge  quantity  of 
resin.  Growing  trees  of  this  Pinus,  which  have  been  partly  burnt  by 
the  natives  to  save  themselves  the  trouble  of  collecting  fuel,  a  custom 
to  which  they  are  greatly  addicted,  produce  a  substance  which,  I  am 
almost  afraid  to  say,  is  sugar ;  but  as  some  of  it,  together  with  the 
cones,  will  soon  reach  England,  its  real  nature  will  then  be  correctly 
ascertained.  This  Pinus  is  found  abundantly  two  degrees  south  of  the 
Columbia  River,  in  the  counti^y  of  the  Umptqua  tribe  of  Indians,  who 
collect  its  seeds  in  autumn  and  pound  them  into  a  kind  of  cake,  which 
they  consider  as  a  kind  of  luxury,  using  also  the  saccharine  substance 
that  I  have  described  above,  in  the  same  way  as  civilized  nations  do 
sugar.  I  intend  to  bring  home  such  an  assemblage  of  specimens  as 
will  allow  a  correct  figure  to  be  taken  of  this  tree,  and  also  to  try 
my  success  with  a  bag  of  its  seeds. 

I  hope  to  make  some  addition  to  the  genus  Phlox,  and  to  obtain  P. 
speciosa  (Bot.  Reg.  t.  1351),  if  it  be  in  existence.  Of  Liliaceous  plants 
I  am  sure  there  must  be  a  great  variety. 

I  heard  of  Captain  Franklin's  party  from  Cumberland  Lake  on  the 
way  to  Bear  Lal?:e,  their  winter  residence.  Dr.  Richardson  did  not 
write  to  me,  as  the  party  who  brought  me  the  news  only  spent  a  few 
minutes  with  them.  I  leai'n  there  is  a  Mr.  Drummond  attached  to 
them  as  naturalist  (whom  I  take  to  be  Mr.  D.,  of  Forfar.)  He  is  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  mountains  at  Peace  River. 

There  is  here  a  Mr.  McLeod,  who  spent  the  last  five  years  at  Fort 
Good  Hope,  on  the  Mackenzie  River.  He  informs  me  that  if  the 
natives,  to  whom  he  is  perfectly  known,  can  be  credited,  there  must 
exist  a  northwest  passage.  They  describe  a  very  large  river  that  runs 
parallel  with  the  Mackenzie,  and  falls  into  the  sea  near  Icy  Cape,  at 
the  mouth  of  which  is  an  establishment  on  an  island,  where  they  go  to 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.        331 

trade  ;  they  say  the  people  of  it  wear  long- beards,  and  are  very  wicked, 
having  hanged  several  of  the  natives  to  the  rig-g-ing.  Considerable 
dependence  may  be  placed  on  these  statements,  as  Mr.  McLeod  showed 
me  some  Russian  coins,  combs,  and  articles  of  hardware,  such  as  are 
very  different  from  what  can  be  obtained  from  the  British  Trading 
Company.  But  the  most  convincing  proof,  and  which  proves  the  diffi- 
culty of  transportation  or  navigation,  is  their  malleable  iron  pots  of 
coarse  workmanship,  and  containing  four  and  six  gallons  each.  The 
whole  account  seems  plausible.  Mr.  McLeod  assembled  all  the  natives 
last  j'ear  with  the  purpose  of  accompanying  him  thither,  when  he  was 
obliged  to  dej^art  for  Hudson  Bay.  The  sea  is  said  to  be  open  after 
July.  In  this  gentleman  there  is  an  example  of  what  may  be  done  by 
perseverance,  as  in  the  short  space  of  eleven  months  he  visited  the 
Polar  Sea,  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans.  Perhaps  not  an  individual 
alive  has  gone  through  such  a  succession  of  miseries  and  hardships. 

My  intention  is  to  endeavor  crossing  the  Continent  of  America  in 
the  spring  of  next  year  (1827),  failing  which,  to  take  the  earliest  op- 
portunity of  reaching  England  by  sea.  My  store  of  clothes  is  very 
low,  nearly  reduced  to  what  I  have  on  my  back, — one  pair  of  shoes,  no 
stockings,  two  shirts,  two  handkerchiefs,  my  blanket  and  cloak;  thus 
I  adapt  my  costume  to  that  of  the  country,  as  I  could  not  carry  more, 
without  reducing  myself  to  an  inadequate  supply  of  paper  and  such 
articles  of  natural  history. 

P.  S.  At  the  Junction  of  the  Spokan  River  v)ith  the  Columlmi,  Lat. 
47  1-3°  jV.,  Long.  119°  Went,  April  IStJi. — Since  writing  the  above,  I 
have  found  Phlox  speciosa  of  Pursh,  a  delightful  plant,  of  which  the 
description  will  require  some  alteration  ;  and  also  a  new  species,  equal 
to  it  in  beauty  and  near  P.  setaceu,  with  abundance  of  Pnrshia  tridcn- 
tata  with  yellow  flowers.  I  can  hardly  sit  down  to  write,  not  knowing 
what  to  gather  first. 

The  next  morning,  the  25th,  this  disagreeable  business 
being  settled,  we  started  at  daylight,  and  continuing  our 
upward  course  during  the  three  next  days,  reached  the 
Walla-wallah  Establishment  on  the  28th,  where  I  was  re- 
ceived with  much  kindness  by  Mr.  S.  Black,  the  person 
in  charge.  The  whole  country  between  this  place  and  the 
Great  Falls  is  nearly  destitute  of  timber,  the  largest  shrub 
being  Tigarea  (Purshia  of  the  Flora  Boreali  Amncricana) 
tridentata,  which  we  use  for  fuel  in  boiling  our  little  kettle. 
I  also  noticed  several  large  species  of  Artemisia  (A.  arborea 
among    them),  that  were    new  to    me,  and,  indeed,  the 


332        Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

whole  aspect  of  vegetation  is  quite  dissimilar  from  that  of 
the  coast.  To  the  southeast,  at  a  distance  of  ninety  miles, 
is  seen  a  ridge  of  high  snowy  mountains,  which,  running 
in  a  southwesterly  direction  for  three  hundred  miles, 
terminate  near  the  ocean.  There  I  might  hope  to  find 
all  or  most  of  the  plants  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and 
Mr.  Black  has  kindly  commenced  arrangements  for  my 
making  a  journey  thither  early  in  June,  which  will  oc- 
cupy fifteen  to  twenty  days. 

Thursday,  the  30th. — We  proceeded  early  this  morning 
on  our  way,  I  walking  generally  on  the  bank  of  the  river, 
as  I  found  the  cold  very  prejudicial  to  my  stiff  knee, 
which  was  the  better  for  a  little  exercise.  The  country, 
too,  was  quite  a  plain,  as  far  as  the  junction  of  Lewis  and 
Clarke's  River,  which  is  a  fine  stream,  from  one  hundred 
and  twenty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  wide  in  many 
places,  and  very  rapid,  abounding,  as  well  as  many  of  its 
tributaries,  with  salmon.  Its  whole  course,  from  its 
source  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  till  it  joins  the  Columbia, 
is  not  less  than  fifteen  hundred  miles.  The  soil  in  this 
neighborhood  is  a  light  brown  earth,  which  the  wind 
frequently  blows  up  in  mounds  or  hills  fifty  feet  high, 
whereon  grow  several  species  of  Lupinus  and  Oenothera, 
with  some  singular  bulbous-rooted  plants,  and  occasional 
shrubs  of  the  beautiful  Purshia  tridentata,  which  is  the 
largest  vegetable  production  seen  here.  The  same  aspect 
of  country  continues  as  far  as  the  Priest's  Rapid,  which 
we  reached  on  the  1st  of  April,  where  it  becomes 
mountainous,  with  scarcely  a  vestige  of  herbage  or  ver- 
dure of  any  kind,  except  in  the  valleys.  The  rocks  which 
bound  the  river  are  of  limestone  and  very  rugged,  and 
this  is  considered  one  of  the  most  dangerous  parts  of  the 
whole  river.  During  the  time  occupied  in  making  the 
portage  of  nine  miles,  I  wrote  to  my  friend  Doctor  Scouler 
of  Glasgow : 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.        333 

to  dr.  scouler. 

Priest's  Rapid,  on  the  Columbia  River, 

Lat.  48°  N.,  Long.  117°  W.,  April  3d,  1826. 

My  Dear  Sir:  By  this  time  I  hope  you  are  once  more  in  England, 
and  that  your  long  voyage  has  terminated  to  your  satisfaction,  'i'our 
friends  would,  no  doubt,  naturally  entertain  melancholy  thoughts 
about  you,  owing  to  your  absence  having  proved  so  much  longer  than 
was  expected :  and  I  know  by  experience  how  much  yovi  must  have 
felt. 

Since  you  left  me  there  has  been  no  person  to  join  me  in  my  walks, 
and  for  several  weeks  I  felt  very  uncomfortable,  being  especially 
grieved  at  not  having  seen  you  before  your  departui'S,  owing  to  a  hurt 
that  one  of  my  legs  received  when  packing  my  boxes,  and  which  has 
troubled  me,  I  am  very  sorry  to  say,  almost  ever  since.  Although  in 
a  state  very  unfit  for  enduring  much  exertion.  I  left  Fort  Vancouver 
on  the  22d  of  October,  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  you  in  my  way  to 
Whitby's  Harbor,  near  the  Cheeheelie  River.  On  the  evening  of  the 
23d  I  put  ashore  at  Oak  Point  to  procure  a  little  food,  when  an  Indian 
gave  me  your  letter,  in  which  you  stated  your  expectation  of  remain- 
ing a  few  days  longer,  and  as  the  ship  had  been  seen  on  that  day,  I 
lost  no  time  in  boiling  my  kettle,  and  having  re-embarked  at  11  P.  M., 
I  was  in  hopes  of  reaching  the  bay  before  daylight.  Unfortunately, 
the  wind  was  adverse,  and  my  Indians  being  much  fatigued,  I  did  not 
arrive  till  10  o'clock,  when  I  heard,  to  ray  great  disappointment,  that 
you  had  left  the  river  only  one  hour  before.  I  found  Tha-a-mu-u,  or 
"the  Beard,"'  Concomly's  brother,  to  whom  you  had  spoken  of  me. 
He  is  an  old  man:  at  his  request  I  shaved  him,  that  he  might  look 
more  like  one  of  King  George's  chiefs.  He  accompanied  me  all  the 
way  along  the  coast,  and  for  sixty  miles  up  the  Cheeheelie  River, 
where  I  crossed  a  tract  of  land,  near  Mount  St.  Helens,  to  the  Cowa- 
lidsk  River,  which  I  descended  to  its  junction  with  the  Columbia. 
This  was  the  most  unfortunate  trip  I  ever  had ;  the  season  being  so 
late,  and  my  knee  becoming  more  and  more  troublesome,  I  was  under 
the  necessity  of  laying  by.  as  an  invalid,  for  three  days,  on  Cape  Foul- 
weather,  in  a  hut  made  of  pine  branches  and  grass.  Being  unable  to 
go  abroad  and  shoot,  I  fared,  of  course,  but  scantilj^;  some  specimens 
of  Procellaria,  Larus,  and  one  of  Colymhus,  which  I  killed,  were  spoiled 
by  the  excessive  rain.  The  only  plant  I  found,  worthy  of  notice,  was 
an  Eviogonum,  and  I  also  procured  the  seeds  of  several  kinds  previously 
in  my  possession,  among  them  Helonias  tenax  and  a  fine  large-fruited 
species  of  Carex.  This  excursion  took  twenty-five  days,  and  reduced 
me  to  such  a  state  of  weakness,  that  I  could  do  little  more  for  the 
season.  During  the  winter,  in  the  short  intervals  of  fair  weather,  I 
crawled  to  the  woods,  in  search  for  Mosses,  but  my  knowledge  of  this 


334       Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

tribe  of  plants  is  insufficient  to  enable  me  to  determine  accurately 
what  they  are.  I  lost  no  time  in  forming  a  collection  of  birds,  as 
nothing  could  be  done  in  Botany;  my  sight,  however,  which  was  always 
weak,  is  much  impaired  during  the  last  few  months;  without  pain  or 
inllammation,  a  dimness  has  come  on  which  is  a  great  loss  to  me,  es- 
pecially with  the  use  of  the  gun,  which,  as  you  know,  I  could  handle 
to  some  advantage.  I  am  in  possession  of  a  species  of  Pinus,  the  finest 
of  the  genus,  and  hope  soon  to  have  abundance  of  better  specimens 
and  ripe  seeds.  (Here  follow  the  details,  which  are  precisely  similar 
to  what  Mr.  D.  had  mentioned  in  his  foregoing  letter).  This  is  un- 
questionably the  most  splendid  specimen  of  American  vegetation — 
what  would  Dr.  Hooker  give  to  dine  under  its  shadeV  As  for  Mr. 
Lambert,  I  hardly  think  he  could  eat  at  all  if  he  saw  it. 

I  possess  another  species  of  3finmJus,  a  line  plant,  but  not  equal  to 
yours.  In  the  middle  of  this  month  I  quitted  the  ocean,  and  might 
have  crossed  the  Continent  this  season,  but  from  what  I  had  seen  of 
the  country  lying  toward  the  head  waters  of  the  Columbia  River,  I 
could  not  think  of  forsaking  such  an  inviting  field,  or  departing  so  far 
from  the  interests  of  the  Society  by  which  I  am  employed.  I  expect 
to  reach  the  mountains  in  August.  How  glad  I  shall  be  to  join  you  in 
our  usual  trip  of  [to]  Ben  Lomond,  where  we  shall  have  more  time  and 
a  keener  relish  for  talking  over  our  journeys  in  Northwest  America. 
Mr.  McDonald  is  gone  to  Thompson's  River,  in  the  interior. 

Pardon  the  shortness  of  this  note,  as  I  have  neither  time  nor  con- 
venience for  writing — no  table  nor  desk  :  this  is  penned  upon  the  top 
of  my  specimen  board,  under  which  are  some  exceedingly  interesting 
things. 

April  2d  to  0th. — Continuing  our  journey  without  inter- 
ruption, we  reached  the  Establishment  on  the  Oakanagan 
River,  one  of  the  northern  branches  of  the  Columbia, 
where  we  were  kindly  received  by  the  Factor,  Mr.  An- 
nance,  but  the  ground  being  covered  three  or  four  feet 
deep  with  snow,  nothing  could  be  done  in  the  way  of  Bot- 
any, and  my  attempts  to  secure  specimens  of  the  Wild 
Grouse  of  the  country  were  also  unsuccessful.  I  observed 
a  beautiful  yellow  LicJien  growing  on  the  dead  brushwood, 

April  9th. — My  companions  and  I  resumed  our  route 
early  this  morning,  sometimes  walking  and  sometimes  on 
horseback,  where  the  portages  are  very  long  and  rugged, 
and  on  Tuesday,  the  11th,  arrived  at  the  Junction  of  the 
Spokan  River  with  the  Columbia,  where  we  found  John 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.        335 

W.  Dease,  Esq.,  who,  with  fourteen  men,  was  on  his  way 
to  the  Kettle  Falls,  ninety  miles  higher  up  the  Columbia, 
the  furthest  of  the  tiiree  points,  which  I  designed  to  make 
my  headquarters  for  the  summer  and  autumn.  The  great 
kindness  and  attention  this  gentleman  showed  me  con- 
tributed no  little  to  my  comfort.  He  is  brother  to  the 
person  of  the  same  name  who  is  now  accompanying  Cap- 
tain Franklin  on  his  second  Arctic  land  expedition. 

This  part  of  the  Columbia  is  by  far  the  most  beautiful 
and  varied  I  have  yet  seen  ;  the  plains  are  extensive,  but 
studded  with  Pine  trees,  like  an  English  lawn,  with  rising 
bluffs  or  little  eminences  clothed  with  small  brushwood 
and  rugged  rocks  sprinkled  with  Ferns,  Mosses,  and 
Lichens. 

Two  or  three  days  were  here  devoted  to  dr34ng  my 
paper,  which  had  got  wet,  arranging  my  plants,  and  writ- 
ing to  INIr.  Sabine,  my  brother,  and  Mr.  Munro,  which 
notes  I  delivered  to  Mr.  McLeod,  who  starts  to-morrow, 
the  14th,  for  his  long  trip  to  Hudson  Bay,  and  has  most 
kindly  engaged  to  convey  my  tin  box  of  seeds  and  a  few 
other  articles  which  we  will  consign  to  Mr.  McTavish.  I 
also  met  Mr.  John  Wark  here,  from  whom  I  received 
much  attention  last  year.  In  a  few  days  I  intend  pro- 
ceeding to  the  Kettle  Falls,  where  I  shall  make  such  a 
stay  and  such  excursions  as  best  promise  to  accomplish 
the  objects  of  my  employers. 

Among  the  most  interesting  plants  which  I  have  just 
gathered,  is  one  of  a  genus  perfectly  distinct  from  Lilium 
(though  apparently  the  L.  pudicum  of  Pursh),  as  its  style 
is  invariably  three-cleft.  It  is  abundant  in  light  dry  soil 
everywhere  above  the  Falls.  I  shall  try  to  preserve  its 
bulbs,  as  it  is  highly  ornamental.  The  natives  eat  the 
roots,  both  raw  and  roasted  on  the  embers,  and  collect  in 
July  a  large  store  of  them,  which  they  dry  in  the  sun,  and 
lay  by  for  winter  use.     A  lovely  Dodecatheon  is  also  plen- 


33G       Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

tiful  here,  growing  with  a  white  variety:  when  these 
pretty  flowers  are  seen  together,  they  lend  a  grace  to  the 
scanty  herbage  of  American  spring  that  agreeably  calls  to 
mind  "the  wee  crimson-tipped  flower"  and  "the  faint 
primrose-beds"  of  my  native  land. 

From  Sunday,  the  15th,  to  Wednesday,  the  19th,  I  con- 
tinued making  several  trips  in  the  country  contiguous  to  the 
Junction  of  the  Spokan  River,  and  this  more  for  the  sake 
of  viewing  the  general  aspect  of  the  soil,  and  estimating 
its  future  productions,  than  for  any  object  of  natural  his- 
tory that  I  might  now  pick  up,  the  season  being  too  early 
in  spring  to  afford  much. 

Wednesday,  the  19th — On  this  day,  at  noon,  I  accompanied 
Mr.  Dease,  who  with  two  boats  and  a  party  of  fourteen  men, 
was  proceeding  up  the  river  to  a  new  settlement,  called  Fort 
Colville,  near  the  Kettle  Falls,  ninety  miles  further  on. 
The  whole  distance  is  mountainous  and  rugged,  becoming 
increasingly  so  as  we  approach  the  territory  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  Many  kinds  of  Pine  are  seen  on  the  banks, 
three  species  particularly — P.  resinosa,  a  Pinus,  very  sim- 
ilar to  P.  taxifolia  of  the  coast,  and  P.  Larix,  the  latter 
more  numerous  than  the  others,  and  attaining  a  great  size. 
I  measured  some,  thirty  feet  in  circumference  ;  and  several 
which  had  been  leveled  to  the  ground  by  the  late  storm.s, 
were  one  hundred  and  fort3'-five  feet  long,  with  wood  per- 
fectly clean  and  strong.  A  thick  sward  of  grass  covered  the 
ground,  interspersed  with  shrubs  which  at  this  early  season 
it  was  impossible  to  determine.  The  hills  are  still  par- 
tially clothed  with  snow,  and  while  the  days  are  warm,  the 
cold  is  severe  at  night.  The  greatest  elevation  of  the 
thermometer  was  G5  degrees,  and  its  minimum  28  degrees, 
during  the  twenty-four  hours  ;  a  striking  difference!  Dur- 
ing this  voyage  we  met  with  several  parts  of  the  river, 
where  the  rapids  obliged  us  to  make  long  and  difficult 
portages^  sometimes  three  in  a  day.     We  generally  started 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.        337 

very  early,  breakfasting  a  little  before  noon,  and  coiitinued 
our  progress  till  dark,  about  7  o'clock,  when  we  camped 
for  the  night,  and  found  our  suppers  of  salmon  and  dried 
buffalo  meat  highly  acceptable. 

Saturday,  the  22d. — Arrived  this  night  at  the  Kettle 
Falls,  where  the  whole  stream  is  precipitated  over  a  per- 
pendicular ledge,  twenty-four  feet  high,  besides  several 
smaller  cascades,  which  shiver  the  water  into  the  most 
picturesque  snowy  flakes  and  foam  for  the  distance  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  yards,  where  a  small  oval  rocky  island, 
studded  with  a  few  shrubs  and  trees,  separates  the  channel 
in  two. 

Here  I  spent  between  a  fortnight  and  three  weeks,  mak- 
ing daily  excursions,  during  which  I  obtained  some  inter- 
esting plants,  and  killed  several  birds  that  I  had  not  before 
seen  in  the  country.  Among  these  was  a  pretty  black 
species  of  Partridge,  ^\h\Qh.  at  this  season  was  not  at  all  shy, 
and  of  which  I  secured  three  specimens  ;  a  small  Pheasant, 
and  a  Curlew,  apparently  quite  distant  from  the  European 
species,  being  never  seen  near  marshy  places,  but  abundant 
in  dry  ground,  where  it  lays  its  Qgg  on  the  bare  soil.  The 
plants  that  pleased  me  best  were  Erythronium  grandi- 
florum  of  Pursh  (Bot.  Reg.  t.  17SG),  which  is  extremely 
beautiful,  especially  when  seen  growing,  as  is  commonly 
the  case,  with  the  Dodccatheon  mentioned  before,  and  with 
a  small  species  of  Puhnonaria ;  also  Claytonia  lanceolata, 
of  which  the  roots,  though  insipid,  are  eaten  by  the  poor 
Indians,  both  raw  and  roasted  ;  two  species  of  Posa,  and 
a  lovely  evergreen  shrub,  probably  a  Clethra^,  which  is 
abundant  in  the  woods  here,  and  I  trust  may  yet  be  equally 
so  in  the  shrubberies  of  Britain. 

Tuesday,  May  9th. — Having  apparently  exhausted  all 
the  objects  of  interest  which  the  very  earl}^  season  of  the 


1  No  Jiosa  appears  in  any  of  Mr.  D.'s  collections. 


338        Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

year  afforded  in  this  vicinity,  I  quitted  the  Kettle  Falls  of 
the  Columbia,  and  taking  two  horses  loaded  with  my  pro- 
visions, which  consisted  of  dried  buffalo  meat,  tea,  and  a 
little  sugar,  and  with  my  blanket  and  paper  (by  the  aid 
of  these  animals  also  hoping  to  get  an  occasional  lift  over 
the  worst  places  of  my  route),  I  set  out  across  the  moun- 
tains, for  the  abandoned  Establishment  at  Spokan,  distant 
about  one  hundred  and  ten  miles.  My  object  was  to  see 
Mr.  Jacques  Raphael  Finlay,  a  Canadian  Sauteur,  now 
resident  here,  who  is  possessed  of  extensive  information 
as  to  the  nature  of  the  country,  its  animals,  vegetable  pro- 
ductions, etc.  To  him  Mr.  Dease  kindly  gave  me  a  note 
of  recommendation,  and  I  had  for  my  guides  his  two 
young  sons.  The  melting  of  the  snow,  which  swelled  the 
mountain  rivulets  into  angry  torrents,  rendered  our  way 
difficult  and  circuitious;  often  the  meadows  were  so  over- 
flowed that  the  ground  would  not  bear  the  horses,  which 
became  much  fatigued  by  their  exertions  and  frequent 
falls  among  the  rocks.  After  traveling  about  twenty-seven 
miles  we  camped  for  the  night,  and  starting  by  daylight 
of  the  next  morning  (Wednesday,  10th)  reached  at  noon 
a  small,  but  very  rapid  river,  called  by  the  Indians  Bar- 
riere  River,  having  traveled  for  seven  hours  without  food. 
No  natives  being  near  to  help  us  across  in  their  canoes, 
my  two  young  companions  and  I  had  the  alternative  of 
making  a  raft  or  swimming,  and  being  all  well  accustomed 
to  the  water,  we  chose  the  latter.  Unsaddling  the  horses, 
we  drove  them  in,  and  they  all  crossed  with  safety  and 
ease,  except  one  poor  animal,  which  getting  entangled  by 
its  hind  legs,  among  some  brushwood  at  the  bottom, 
struggled  for  a  long  time,  till  the  impediment  giving  way, 
he  finally  relieved  our  anxiety  by  gaining  the  other  side. 
I  myself  made  two  trips  across,  carrying  my  paper  and 
gun  the  first  time  and  my  blanket  and  clothes  the  second  ; 
— the  latter  articles  I  was  obliged  to  hold  above  water  in 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.        339 

both  my  hands,  a  difficult  and  tedious  process,  during 
which,  as  if  to  render  my  labour  fruitless,  it  hailed  heavily. 
When  I  landed  my  whole  frame  was  so  completely  be- 
numbed that  we  were  under  the  necessity  of  stopping  to 
kindle  a  fire,  and  to  indulge  m}'  guides  with  a  smoke,  after 
which  we  proceeded.  At  night  a  severe  pain  between  my 
shoulders  and  general  chilliness  ke|)t  me  from  sleeping. 
1  rose,  boiled  my  kettle,  and  made  some  tea,  then  dried 
niy  blanket,  and  substituted  for  my  damp  shirt  a  spare 
one,  in  which  I  had  rolled  by  plants ;  but  feeling  no  bet- 
ter, and  being  unfortunately  without  medicine,  I  started 
on  foot  at  a  little  before  4,  and  driving  the  horses  before 
me,  got  into  a  profuse  perspiration  which  considerably 
relieved  my  suffering. 

Near  this  spot  was  an  Indian  burying  ground,  certainly 
one  of  the  most  curious  I  had  yet  seen.  All  the  property 
of  the  deceased  was  here  deposited  near  their  graves,  their 
implements,  garments,  and  gambling  articles.  Even  the 
favourite  horse  of  the  deceased  is  not  spared;  it  is  cus- 
tomary to  shoot  the  animal  with  a  bow  and  arrow,  and 
suspend  his  skin,  with  the  hoofs  and  skull,  just  above  the 
remains  of  his  master.  On  the  trees  which  are  around  the 
burying  place,  small  bundles  may  be  seen,  tied  up  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  provisions  which  they  carry  when 
traveling.  I  could  not  learn  whether  this  was  intended 
as  food  for  the  dead  or  propitiary  offerings  to  the  divini- 
ties. Within  the  grave  the  body  is  placed  in  a  sitting 
posture,  with  the  knees  touching  the  chin,  and  the  arms 
folded  across  the  chest.  It  is  difficult  to  gain  any  infor- 
mation on  these  subjects,  as  nothing  seems  to  hurt  the 
feelings  of  these  people  so  much  as  alluding  to  their  de- 
parted friends. 

Thursday,  the  11th. — At  7  this  morning  we  gained  the 
summit  of  the  last  range  of  hills  that  lie  between  the  Co- 
lumbia and  Spokan  rivers,  and  beheld   one  of  the  most 


340       Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

sublime  views  that  could  possibly  be,  of  rugged  moun- 
tains, deep  valleys,  and  mountain  rills.  At  noon  reached 
the  old  Establishment,  where  Mr.  Finlay  received  me 
most  kindly,  regretting  at  the  same  time  that  he  had  not 
a  morsel  of  food  to  offer  me,  he  and  his  family  having 
been  subsisting  for  several,  at  least  six,  weeks  on  the  roots 
of  Phalangium  Quamash{S cilia  esculenta,  Bot.  Mag.  t.  2774), 
called  by  the  natives  all  over  the  country,  Camass,  on 
those  of  Lewisia  rediviva,  (Bot.  Misc.  t.  70),  and  on  a  black 
Lichen  (L.  Jubatus),  which  grows  on  the  pines.  The  mode 
of  preparing  the  latter  was  as  follows  :  After  clearing  it 
thoroughly  from  the  dead  twigs  and  pieces  of  bark  to 
which  it  adheres,  it  is  immersed  in  water,  and  steeped  till 
it  becomes  perfectly  soft,  when  it  is  placed  between  two 
layers  of  ignited  stone,  with  the  precaution  of  protecting 
it  with  grass  and  dead  leaves,  lest  it  should  burn.  The 
process  of  cooking  takes  a  night,  and  before  the  Lichen 
cools,  it  is  made  into  a  cake  much  in  the  same  way  as  the 
Phalangium  Quamass,  when  it  is  considered  fit  for  use.  A 
cake  of  this  kind,  with  a  basin  of  water,  was  all  that  Mr. 
Finlay  had  to  offer  me.  Great,  therefore,  was  my  pleas- 
ure at  being  able  to  requite  his  hospitality  by  giving  him 
a  share  of  the  provisions  with  which  Mr.  Dease's  liber- 
ality had  supplied  me,  and  which,  though  far  from  luxu- 
rious fare,  was  yet  the  best  that  he  and  his  family  had 
tasted  for  a  long  time.  I  had  also  some  game  in  my  sad- 
dle bags  which  I  had  killed  by  the  way,  and  of  which  I 
gave  him  half.  The  principal  object  of  my  visit  to  Mr. 
Finlay  was  to  get  my  gun  repaired,  and  as  he  was  the  only 
person  who  could  do  it  within  a  distance  of  eight  hundred 
miles,  and  this  article  being  a  matter  of  perhaps  vital  im- 
portance to  me,  I  hastened  to  inform  him  of  my  request, 
though  my  imperfect  knowledge  of  French,  the  only  lan- 
guage that  he  could  speak,  much  limited  our  intercourse, 
and  prevented  my  deriving  from  him  all  the  information 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.        341 

that  I  wished  to  obtain.  Having  taken  a  walk  up  the 
river  in  the  afternoon,  I  found,  upon  my  return  at  night, 
that  Mr.  Finlay  had  obligingly  put  my  gun  into  good 
order,  for  which  I  presented  him  with  a  pound  of  tobacco, 
being  the  only  article  I  had  to  give. 

Two  days  were  devoted  to  botanizing  in  this  neighbor- 
hood, where  I  found  three  fine  species  of  Ribes  in  flower: 
the  R.  aureum,  which  bears,  as  Mr.  Finlay  informs  me,  a 
very  large  and  excellent  j^ellow  berry  (he  never  saw  it 
black  or  brown,  though  I  afterward  found  this  variety); 
a  white-blossomed,  apparently  new  species,  whose  snowy 
and  fragrant  long  spikes  of  flowers  are  enough  to  recom- 
mend it  for  culture  in  England,  even  without  considering 
its  abundant  produce  of  well-flavoured  and  black  currants, 
which  resemble  those  of  our  country,  except  in  being 
rather  more  acid;  and  another  kind,  with  a  green  flower, 
that  is  succeeded  by  a  small  black  gooseberry.  Of  all 
these,  and  many  other  plants,  I  engaged  Mr.  Finlay  to 
collect  specimens  and  seeds  for  me ;  as  well  as  of  an  in- 
teresting kind  of  Allium,  which  grows  about  forty  miles 
distant,  and  of  which  the  roots,  that  I  saw,  were  as  large 
as  a  nut,  and  particularly  mild  and  well-tasted. 

These  species  of  the  Ribes  I  afterwards  found  to  be  R. 
viscosissiiYium  (Hook.  Fl.  Bor.  Am.,  v.  1,  t.  86),  R.  petio- 
lare,  and  R,  tenuijiorum.,  (Bot.  Reg.  t,  1274). 

I  also  saw  a  new  Pinus  (P.  poiiderosa),  and  two  kinds  of 
Misseltoe,  one  large  and  growing  on  this  Pine ;  and  the 
other  a  smaller  plant — (Arceubothrium  Oxycedri,  Hook. 
Fl.  Bor.  Am.,  v.  1,  t.  99),  parasitical  on  Pinus  Banksiana, 
which  is  not  rare  here,  though  of  smaller  stature  than  it 
attains  on  the  other  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  A 
large  bear,  Ursus  horribilis,  was  killed  by  Mr.  Finlay,  but 
it  was  too  large  to  be  preserved.  Among  the  seeds  I  pro- 
cured were  those  of  Pentstemon  Scouleri  (Bot.  Reg.  t.  1277), 
Claytonia  lanceolata,  Erythronium  grandifiorum  (Bot.  Reg. 


342        Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

t.  ITSO),  and  Rubus  NutJcanus  (Bot.  Reg.  t.  138G,  Bot. 
Mag.  t.  3453). 

Saturday,  the  lo'th.—As  I  thought  of  bending  my  steps 
again  toward  the  Cohimbia,  Mr.  Finhiy  offered  that  one 
of  his  sons  should  escort  nie,  to  which  I  agreed.  Before 
(|uitting  him,  I  made  some  inquiry  about  a  sort  of  sheep 
found  in  this  neighborhood,  about  the  size  of  that  de- 
scribed by  Lewis  and  Clarke,  but,  instead  of  wool,  having 
short,  thick,  coarse  hair,  of  a  brownish-grey  color,  whence 
its  name  of  Mouton  Gris,  as  it  is  called  by  the  voyageurs, 
is  derived.  The  horns  of  the  male,  weighing  sometimes 
eighteen  to  twenty-four  pounds,  are  dingy  white,  and  form 
a  sort  of  volute,  those  of  the  female  bend  back,  curving 
outwards  at  the  point,  and  are  from  ten  inches  to  a  foot 
long.  The  flesh  is  fine,  equal  to  that  of  the  domestic  sheep. 
It  inhabits  the  lofty  mountains,  and  is  seldom  seen  in  any 
numbers  except  on  those  whose  summits  are  covered  with 
perpetual  snow.  Mr.  Finlay  gave  me  hopes  that  when  he 
visited  the  high  mountains  farther  up  the  country  in  au- 
tumn, he  might  be  able,  notwithstanding  the  shyness  of 
these  animals,  and  the  inaccessible  places  to  which  they 
generally  betake  themselves  when  disturbed,  to  procure 
me  a  specimen  of  this  highly  interesting  creature.  To 
Mr.  Finlay's  sons  I  offered  a  small  compensation  if  they 
would  preserve  for  me  the  skins  of  different  animals, 
showing  them  at  the  same  time  how  this  should  be  done. 

On  my  way  back  from  Spokan  lliver  to  the  Columbia, 
I  was  obliged  to  take  the  same  way  of  crossing  the  Bar- 
riere  River  as  I  had  done  when  coming,  and  again 
suffered  a  good  deal  from  the  wetness  of  my  clothes,  as  I 
had  no  change  whatever  with  me.  I  however  added  Rihes 
viscosissimum  of  Pursh  (Flora  Boreali- Americana,  tab.  7G) 
to  my  collection,  which  pleased  me  much,  and  on  the 
whole  felt  myself  well  rewarded  for  the  toils  of  my  excur- 
sion, by  the  many  new  plants  I  had  gained,  and  by  the 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.        343 

advantage  of  getting  my  gun  properly  repaired.  For  two 
days,  however,  after  my  return  to  the  Establishment  at 
the  Kettle  Falls,  I  was  so  indisposed  as  to  keep  my  bed 
with  fever  and  a  violent  pain  between  my  shoulders,  prob- 
ably occasioned  by  wet,  cold,  and  fatigue. 

Friday^  the  19th,  to  Thursday,  the  25th. — This  time  was 
spent  in  making  several  excursions;  on  one  occasion  I 
crossed  the  Columbia  to  Dease  River,  one  of  its  most  north- 
erly branches,  and  which  had  never  before  been  entered 
by  any  European.  Mr.  Kitson,  in  a  canoe  with  two  In- 
dians, went  on  purpose  to  explore  it,  but  after  having 
proceeded  ten  miles,  during  which  I  walked  along  the 
banks,  that  I  might  better  judge  of  its  productions,  the 
stream  proved  so  rapid  that  we  were  obliged  to  give  up 
further  progress  and  return.  This  river  seems,  like  most 
of  the  others,  to  have  its  source  in  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

Friday,  tlie  2Gth. —  Started  at  daylight  for  a  trip  to  the 
hills  south  of  the  Kettle  Falls.  The  weather  was  warm, 
thermometer  S6  degrees,  and  sitting  down  to  rest  awhile 
under  the  shade  of  a  large  TJiuja  occidentalis,  in  a  valley 
near  a  small  spring,  I  fell  asleep  and  never  woke  till  late 
in  the  afternoon,  when  being  twenty  miles  from  home,  I 
would  have  gladly  have  taken  up  my  c|uarters  there  for 
the  night,  but  that  I  feared  Mr.  McLoughlin,  who  expected 
me  back,  would  be  uneasy.  I  therefore  returned  with  all 
speed  over  a  mountainous  and  rugged  M'ay,  and  arrived 
near  midnight,  and  found  him  on  the  point  of  sending 
two  Indians  to  seek  for  me;  his  anxiety,  however,  lest 
any  accident  should  have  befallen  me,  was  changed  into 
hearty  laughter  wlien  he  heard  of  the  manner  in  which 
I  had  been  spending  my  time. 

The  next  week  was  devoted  to  collecting  specimens  of 
plants,  preparatory  to  leaving  this  place  for  a  journey  to 
the  plains  below. 

Monday,  June  the  oth. — Rose  at  half-past  2,  and  had  all 


344       Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

my  articles  given  in  charge  to  Mr.  Dease,  and  m}^  tent 
struck  before  5,  when  I  took  some  breakfast,  and  in  com- 
pany with  Mr.  W.  Kitson,  bade  farewell  to  the  wild  ro- 
mantic scenery  of  the  Kettle  Falls.  The  river  is  much 
swollen  by  the  melting  of  the  snow,  being  fourteen  to  six- 
teen feet  above  its  usual  level,  where  it  is  six  hundred 
yards  wide.  As  soon  as  our  boats  got  into  the  current, 
they  darted  down  the  river  with  the  velocity  of  an  arrow 
just  loosed  from  the  bowstring.  One  half  hour  took  us  to 
Thompson's  Rapids,  the  place  where  the  striking  appear- 
ance of  the  shattered  rocks  and  water  is  noticed  in  my 
journal  of  our  ascent.  Here  our  boatman,  Pierre  L'Etang, 
observed  that  the  water  was  in  fine  order  for  shooting  or 
"jumping,"  as  he  called  it,  the  Rapid.  Good  as  this  plan 
appeared  to  him,  I  must  confess  that  my  timidity  would 
not  allow  me  to  remain  in  the  boat.  Although  I  am  no 
coward  either  in  the  water  or  on  the  water,  and  have 
gazed  unmoved,  and  even  with  pleasure,  on  the  wildest 
uproar  and  tumult  of  the  stormy  deep,  yet  to  descend 
these  cataracts  by  way  of  sport  and  where  no  necessity 
called  for  it,  I  could  not  resolve  to  do.  Therefore  Mr. 
Kitson  and  I  got  out  and  walked  along  the  rocks.  No 
language  can  convey  an  idea  of  the  dexterity  exhibited  by 
the  Canadian  boatmen,  who  pass  safely  through  rapids, 
whirlpools,  and  narrow  channels,  where  by  the  strength 
of  such  an  immense  body  of  water  forcing  its  way,  the 
stream,  as  in  the  present  instance,  is  lifted  in  the  middle, 
to  a  perfect  convexity.  In  such  places,  where  you  think 
the  next  moment  must  dash  the  frail  skiff  and  its  burden 
of  human  beings  to  destruction  among  the  steep  rocks, 
these  fellows  approach  and  pass  over  with  astonishing 
coolness  and  skill,  encouraging  themselves  and  one  an- 
other with  a  lively  and  exulting  boat  song.  We  reached 
the  junction  of  the  Spokan  River  the  same  afternoon, 
having  in  the  short  space  of  eight  hours  accomplished  a 


Journal  and  Letters  op  David  Douglas.        345 

distance  of  ninety  miles,  which  will  give  some  idea  of  the 
rapidity  of  the  current ;  forty  miles  lower  still  we  en- 
camped at  night  opposite  the  Cinqpoil  River,  on  the  south 
side  of  the  Columhia  :  and,  soon  after  midday  on  Tuesday, 
arrived  at  the  Oakanagan  Establishment,  where  I  found 
my  old  friend,  Mr.  Wark,  with  W.  Conolly,  Esq.,  M.  Pam- 
brun,  and  a  James  Douglas,  all  of  whom,  with  a  party  of 
men,  were  on  their  way  from  Western  Caledonia  to  Fort 
Vancouver,  with  Mr.  F.  Ermetinger  (brother  of  the  gen- 
tleman of  the  same  name  who  had  accompanied  me  in  the 
spring)  coming  from  Thomson's  River. 

The  next  day  (Wednesday,  7th)  I  proceeded,  with  a  bri- 
gade of  six  boats,  towards  Walla- wallah,  at  the  junction  of 
Lewis  and  Clarke's  River,  which  I  intend  to  make  my  head- 
quarters for  six  or  eight  weeks.  Passed  the  Stony  Islands, 
where  I  found  Pentstemon  venustum  (Bot.  Reg.  t.  1809),  and 
P.  speciosum  (Bot.  Reg.  t.  1270),  a  place  in  the  river  about 
half  a  mile  long,  exceedingly  rugged  and  dangerous,  at  4 
o'clock,  and  shortly  afterwards  camped  earlier  than  usual, 
two  of  our  boats  having  been  broken.  This  circumstance 
gave  me  some  hours  among  the  rocks  on  the  banks  of  the 
river,  which  I  spent  to  great  advantage.  Under  some 
stones  I  discovered  and  killed  a  rattlesnake,  three  feet  long. 
The  thermometer  had  indicated  92  degrees  in  the  shade 
at  noon,  and  at  night  the  heavens  presented  an  entire 
sheet  of  lightning,  unaccompanied  either  by  thunder  or 
rain.  The  next  morning  we  started,  as  usual,  very  early^ 
and  breakfasted  at  the  Priest's  Rapid,  on  fresh  salmon  and 
buffalo  tongue.  Arrived  at  night  at  the  Walla-wallah, 
where  having  had  very  little  sleep  since  leaving  Kettle 
Falls,  I  hoped  to  obtain  some  hours  of  repose,  and  accord- 
ingly stretched  on  the  floor  of  the  Indian  Hall  at  that 
establishment,  whence,  however,  I  was  shortly  driven  by 
the  attacks  of  such  an  immense  swarm  of  fleas  as  rendered 
repose  impossible,  and   my  attempts  to  procure  it  among 


34G       Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

the  bushes  were  equally  frustrated  by  the  annoyance  of 
two  species  of  ants,  one  very  black  and  large,  three  quar- 
ters of  an  inch  long,  and  the  other  small  and  red.  Thus 
I  o-ladly  hailed  the  approach  of  day,  and  as  soon  as  I  could 
see  to  make  a  pen  wrote  the  following  letter  to  Mr.  Sabine, 
which  I  consigned  to  Mr.  Conolly  who  was  immediately 
about  to  proceed  to  Fort  Vancouver,  whence  a  ship  was 
daily  expected  to  sail  for  England: 

June  9th,  1S36. 

Dear  Sir  :  As  an  unexpected  opportunity  of  communicating-  with 
the  coast  has  just  presented  itself,  I  thus  embrace  it,  sending  also  the 
whole  of  my  gleanings,  amounting  to  upwards  of  one  hundred  species, 
distinct  from  those  transmitted  in  the  collection  of  1825.  Among 
them  ai'e  six  species  of  Jit5e.s,  two  of  which,  I  think,  will  prove  new ; 
jB.  Viscosissimmn  of  Pursh  (whose  description  will  require  some  alter- 
ation), which  is  surpassed  by  few  plants;  and  a  fourth,  very  inter- 
esting, .though  less  showy  species;  the  others  are  B.  aureum,  and  one 
belonging  to  the  section  Grossularia,  with  green  flowers.  A  few  days 
after  I  had  the  honor  of  writing  to  you,  on  the  12th  of  April,  from  the 
Spokan  River  (where  it  joins  the  Columbia),  a  letter  which  was  sent 
across  this  great  Continent,  I  started  for  the  Kettle  Falls,  ninety  miles 
farther  up,  where  I  remained  until  the  5th  of  this  month,  making  ex- 
cui'sions  in  such  directions  as  seemed  calculated  to  afford  the  richest 
harvest;  and  although  this  has  fallen  somewhat  short  of  my  expecta- 
tions, I  yet  do  not  consider  my  time  as  having  been  thrown  away,  many 
of  the  species  being  new,  and  the  rest  but  imperfectly  known.  About 
the  25th  of  this  month  (June)  I  propose  making  a  journey  to  a  ridge  of 
snowy  mountains,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  distant  from  this 
place,  in  a  southerly  direction,  which  will  occupy  fifteen  to  eighteen 
days;  and,  after  securing  the  result  of  this  trip,  will  make  a  voyage 
up  Lewis  and  Clarke's  River  as  far  as  the  Forks,  remaining  there  ten 
or  twelve  days,  as  appeal's  necessary,  and  returning  overland  in  a 
northeasterly  [westerly?]  direction  to  my  spring  encampment  on  the 
Kettle  Falls.  Shortly  afterwards  I  mean  to  accompany  Mr.  Wark,  who 
is  going  on  a  trading  excursion  to  the  country  contiguous  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  not  far  distant  from  the  Pass  of  Lewis  and  Clarke,  thence 
gradually  retracing  my  steps  over  the  places  I  have  ah-eady  visited,  or 
yet  may  visit,  so  as  to  reach  the  ocean,  as  I  hope,  about  November. 

The  difficulty  which  I  find  in  conveying  the  dift'erent  objects  that 
it  is  desirable  to  collect  becomes  considerable,  and  often  1  am  under 
the  necessity  of  restricting  myself  as  to  the  number  of  specimens, 
that  I  may  obtain  the  greater  variety  of  kinds. 

I  have  been  fortunate  in  procuring  two  pairs  of  a  very  handsome 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.        847 

species  of  Bock  Grou!<c,  found  only  in  mountainous  grounds;  and  as 
none  of  this  sort  are  found  east  of  the  mountains,  I  am  in  hopes  it 
may  prove  new.  A  pair  of  Curlews,  of  singular  habits,  very  unlike 
the  rest  of  the  tribe,  which  frequent  dry  soils,  and  roost  in  trees,  with 
a  small /e»(o7e  Fheamnt,  ai*e  all  that  I  have  been  able  to  get  ready  for 
adding  to  this  collection.  The  birds  are  packed  in  a  small  box  with 
three  bundles  of  plants.  Having  so  much  to  do  I  find  it  impossible  to 
send,  at  this  time,  a  copy  of  my  journal,  which  I  much  regret.  Among 
my  plants  are  five  splendid  specimens  of  Pentstemon,  only  one,  the 
P.  cccruleum,  of  Pursh,  is  yet  described;  abundance  of  Pumhia  tri- 
dputata,  both  in  flower  and  fruit;  several  species  of  Rubus  and  Lupi- 
nus;  and  two  kinds  of  Primus,  all  of  these  being  different  from  what 
I  sent  last  year  from  the  coast.  I  am  now  in  the  finest  place  for  the 
Large  Grouse,  and  hope  shortly  to  procure  some. 

It  always  affords  me  the  greatest  pleasure  to  mention  the  kindness 
and  assistance  I  receive  from  the  persons  in  authority  here.  Thank 
God,  I  enjoy  excellent  health.  There  is  nothing  in  the  world  could 
afford  me  greater  pleasure  than  hearing  from  you  and  my  other 
friends,  and  most  sincerely  do  I  hope  that,  in  the  course  of  autumn, 
this  may  come  to  pass.  D.  Douglas. 

To  .Joseph  Sabine,  Esq.,  etc. 

I  then  wrote,  and  particularly  begged  the  attention  of 
my  kind  friends  at  Fort  Vancouver,  to  the  articles  which 
I  sent  for  conveyance  in  the  next  ship.  Mr.  ConoUy,  be- 
fore departing  with  Mr.  Wark  and  the  other  gentlemen, 
handsomely  presented  me  with  twelve  feet  of  tobacco, 
more  than  two  pounds,  to  assist  me  in  my  travels  during 
their  absence.  This  article,  being,  as  it  were,  the  currency 
of  this  country,  and  particularly  scarce,  will  enable  me  to 
procure  guides  and  to  ol)tain  the  cheerful  performance  of 
many  little  acts  of  service,  and  it  is  therefore  almost  in- 
valuable to  me. 

In  this  neighborhood  grow  several  beautiful  kinds  of 
Phlox  and  Penfstemon,  also  a  fine  species  of  Erlogonum 
(E.  sphxrocephalum)  and  of  Malva. 

Having,  as  I  before  mentioned,  taken  almost  no  rest  for 
five  nights,  I  lay  down  shortly  after  dispatching  my  letters, 
but  was  scarcely  composed  when  an  Indian  arrived  with 
news  that  the  expected  ship  had  arrived  in  the  river.     He 


348        Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

brought  me  a  parcel  and  two  letters;  the  latter  I  eagerly 
orasped,  and,  hoping  one  was  from  Mr.  Sabine,  tore  it 
open,  when  I  found  that  it  was  in  the  writing  of  Mr. 
Goode ;  the  other  was  from  my  friend,  Mr.  William  Booth. 

A  note  from  Mr.  McLoughlin,  at  Fort  Vancouver,  di- 
minished my  fears  lest  there  sliould  be  no  more  letters  for 
me,  by  stating  that  feeling  unwilling  to  confide  to  the  In- 
dian such  communications  as  appeared  to  come  from  the 
Horticultural  Society,  he  had  kept  them  until  his  own 
people  should  return. 

Never  in  my  life  did  I  feel  in  such  a  state  of  mind.  An 
uneasy,  melancholy,  and  yet  pleasing  sensation  stole  over 
me,  accompanied  with  a  passionate  longing  for  the  rest  of 
my  letters ;  for  though  I  do  enjoy,  in  a  measure,  the  lux- 
ury of  hearing  from  home,  yet  there  is  no  intelligence  yet 
from  my  near  relations  and  friends.  It  is  singular,  that 
seldom  as  the  post  goes  and  arrives  in  this  uninhabited 
and  remote  land,  I  should  still  have  heard  from  England 
within  five  hours  of  sending  off  my  letters  to  that  country. 
Till  two  hours  after  midnight  I  sat  poring  over  these  let- 
ters as  if  repeated  reading  could  extract  an  additional  or  a 
different  sense  from  them  ;  and  when  I  did  lie  down,  little 
as  I  had  slept  lately,  I  never  closed  my  weary  eyes.  The 
next  day  found  me  considerably  indisposed,  and  the  intense 
heat  confining  me  to  the  tent,  I  employed  myself  with  re- 
pairing my  shoes  and  shifting  the  papers  of  my  plants. 

Up  to  Wednesday,  the  14th,  I  remained  here,  chiefly 
employed  in  making  short  trips  along  the  banks  of  the 
river,  which  was  rendered  so  rough  by  a  stormy  westerly 
wind,  that  no  canoe  could  go  upon  it,  even  to  fish.  Thus,  no 
salmon  having  been  caught  for  three  or  four  days,  I  had 
nothing  but  a  little  boiled  horse  flesh  to  eat,  and  was  glad 
to   eat  of  this   scanty  fare  with  a  roasted    Arctoinys\    or 


^A.  Irachyurus. 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.        349 

Ground  Rat,  a  creature  common  in  this  country,  where  it 
burrows  in  the  sand  under  bushes  and  lives  on  the  fruit 
of  Purshia  tridentata,  and  the  leaves  of  several  species  of 
Artemisia.  I  found  the  flesh  somewhat  rancid,  or  rather 
of  a  musky  flavor,  probably  from  the  bitter  strong-scented 
plants  on  which  it  feeds.  The  Indians  of  the  Walla-wal- 
lah and  Kyemuse  tribes  call  this  animal  Limia. 

Thursday,  June  15th. — At  4  a.  m.  set  off  for  a  walk  on 
some  rocky  grounds,  near  the  river,  having  breakfasted 
on  the  same  food  as  I  had  had  for  some  previous  days, 
but  long  before  noon  felt  greatly  exhausted,  being  unable 
to  get  so  much  as  a  drink  of  w^ater.  My  eyes  began  also  to 
distress  me  exceedingly  ;  the  sand  which  blows  into  them, 
with  the  reflection  of  the  sun  from  the  ground,  which  in 
many  places  is  quite  bare,  having  made  them  so  sore  and 
inflamed  that  I  can  hardly  distinguish  clearly  any  object 
at  twelve  yards  distance. 

Friday,  IGth. —  The  weather  being  pleasant,  I  began  pre- 
paring for  my  great  excursion  to  the  mountains;  and  sent 
accordingly  to  the  Indian  camp,  to  bid  my  guide  be  ready 
at  sunrise.  During  the  night  I  was  annoyed  by  the  visit 
of  a  herd  of  rats,  which  devoured  every  particle  of  seed  I 
had  collected,  eat  clean  through  a  bundle  of  dried  plants, 
and  carried  off  my  soap-brush  and  razor!  As  one  was  tak- 
ing away  my  inkstand  which  I  had  been  using  shortly  be- 
fore, and  which  lay  close  to  my  pillow,  I  raised  my  gun, 
which,  with  my  faithful  dog,  always  is  placed  under  my 
blanket  at  my  side,  with  the  muzzle  to  my  feet,  and  hastily 
gave  him  the  contents.  When  I  saw  how  large  and  strong 
a  creature  this  rat  was,  I  ceased  to  wonder  at  the  exploits 
of  the  herd  in  depriving  me  of  my  property.  The  body 
and  tail  together  measured  a  foot  and  a  half ;  the  back  is 
brown,  the  belly  white  ;  while  the  tail  and  enormous  ears 
are  each  three  quarters  of  an  inch  long,  with  whiskers 
three  inches  in  length,  and  jet  black.     Unfortunately,  the 


350       Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

specimen  was  spoiled  by  the  size  of  the  shot,  which,  in 
my  haste  to  secure  the  animal,  and  recover  my  inkstand, 
I  did  not  take  time  to  change;  but  a  female  of  the  same 
sort  venturing  to  return  some  hours  after,  I  handed  it  a 
smaller  shot,  which  did  not  destroy  the  skin.  It  was  in 
all  respects  like  the  other,  except  being  a  little  smaller. 
I  am  informed  that  these  rats  abound  in  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, particularly  to  the  north,  near  the  Mackenzie  and 
Peace  rivers,  where,  during  the  winter,  they  destroy  al- 
most everything  that  comes  in  their  way. 

On  Saturday,  the  17th,  my  guide  did  not  arrive  on  the 
camp  until  8  a.  m.,  and  I  was  uncertain  whether  he  would 
come  at  all.  The  horses  were  not  brought  from  the 
meadow,  nor  the  provisions  put  up.  Considerable  time 
was  lost  in  explaining  to  the  man  the  nature  of  my  jour- 
ney, which  was  thus  effected.  I  told  it  to  Mr.  Black,  in 
English,  and  he  translated  it  in  French  to  his  Canadian 
interpreter,  who  again  communicated  it  to  the  Indian  in 
the  language  of  the  Kyemuse  tribe,  to  which  the  latter 
belongs.  As  a  proof  of  the  fickle  disposition  and  keen- 
ness at  making  a  bargain  of  these  people,  he  no  sooner 
had  ascertained  the  proposed  route,  and  his  future  re- 
muneration, than  he  began  stating  difficulties,  in  preface 
to  a  list  [of]  present  wants,  among  which  were  food  for 
his  family,  who  had  been  starving,  as  he  assured  us,  for  two 
months,  owing  to  the  failure  of  the  salmon  fishery;  then 
shoes  for  himself,  and  as  his  leggings  were  much  worn, 
leather  for  new  ones.  Then  followed  a  request  for  a  stalk- 
ing-knife,  a  piece  of  tobacco,  a  strip  of  red  cloth  for  an 
ornamental  cap.  Tbis  bargain  occupied  two  hours,  and 
was  sealed  by  volumes  of  smoke  from  a  large  stone  pipe. 

Mr.  Black  offered  kindly  to  send  a  bo}^  twelve  years 
old,  called  the  Young  Wasp,  the  son  of  his  own  interpreter, 
with  me,  who,  understanding  a  little  French,  might  com- 
municate my  wishes  to  the   guide,  a  proposal  which   I 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.        351 

thankfully  accepted,  but,  some  days  after,  I  had  reason  to 
fear  the  young  rascal  told  the  Indian  the  very  reverse  of 
what  I  bade  him,  for  after  we  had,  with  great  difficulty, 
gained  the  summit  of  the  snowy  mountains,  after  many 
days  of  severe  labor,  from  Saturday,  the  17th,  to  Wednes- 
day, the  21st,  when  I  proposed  to  descend  on  the  other 
side,  my  guide  made  serious  objections  to  accompany  me. 
All  I  could  suggest  through  the  medium  of  the  boy,  to 
remove  his  fears,  seemed  only  to  increase  them  :  he  as- 
sured me  that  the  Snake  Indians,  with  whom  his  tribe 
was  at  war,  would  steal  our  horses,  and  probably  kill  us  ; 
and  as  it  was  imposssble  either  to  force  him  to  accom- 
pany me  or  to  find  my  way  alone,  I  was  reluctantly  com- 
pelled for  the  present  to  give  up  the  idea  of  proceeding 
in  that  direction. 

I  had  not  been  long  on  the  much-desired  summit  of 
this  mountain,  which  is  at  least  nine  thousand  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  sea,  and  seven  thousand  five  hundred  feet 
above  the  platform  of  the  mountainous  country  around, 
and  the  snows  of  which  had  certainly  never  been  pressed 
by  an  European  foot  before,  than  my  view  of  the  sur- 
rounding scenery  was  closed  by  the  sudden  descent  of 
a  heavy,  black  cloud,  which  presently  broke  in  thunder, 
lightening,  hail,  and  wind.  The  heavens  seemed  as  on 
fire  with  the  slare,  and  the  thunder  echoed  from  the 
other  peaks,  accompanied  with  gusts  of  furious  wind, 
which  broke  many  of  the  stunted  Pines,  and  unmerci- 
fully pelted  me  with  the  cutting  hail.  Glad  was  I  to  leave 
the  summit  which  I  had  so  much  longed  to  gain,  and  to 
descend  to  my  camp  ere  night  arrived.  I  was  much  re- 
freshed during  my  weary  walk,  which  the  want  of  snow- 
shoes  rendered,  on  the  high  parts,  much  more  fatiguing, 
by  eating  the  berries  of  Ribes  aureum,  which  I  found  in 
great  quantities,  and  of  exquisite  flavour,  both  yellow  and 
black,  the  former  most  common,  and  the  size  of  common 


352        Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

currants.  As  I  observe  that  this  shrub  only  produces  its 
fruit  when  growing  in  very  dry  sandy  places,  never 
where  the  soil  is  rich,  and  very  sparingly  if  it  is  at  all 
moist,  it  would  be  worth  the  while  of  cultivators  at  home 
to  attend  to  this  circumstance.  As  I  had  tasted  nothing 
but  these  berries  all  day,  I  found  a  small  basin  of  cold 
tea  at  night,  with  some  dried  salmon,  particularly  re- 
freshing. 

The  storm  continued  unabated,  by  which  my  poor 
horses  were  so  alarmed  that  it  was  necessary  to  tie  them 
to  some  trees  close  to  our  camp ;  but  the  chief  disadvan- 
tage arose  from  its  being  impracticable  to  keep  a  fire 
lighted,  and,  as  I  was  afraid  to  lie  down  in  my  soaked 
clothes,  I  stripped,  and  rolling  myself  in  my  blanket,  soon 
fell  asleep,  but  awoke  about  midnight,  so  benumbed  with 
cold,  that  I  found  my  knees  refused  to  do  their  office. 
Having  rubbed  my  limbs  most  vehemently  with  a  very 
rough  cloth,  to  restore  animation,  I  succeeded  at  last  in 
making  a  little  fire,  when  some  hot  tea  did  me  more  good 
than  anything  else  could  have  done.  If  ever,  however, 
my  zeal  has  been  damped,  it  was  on  this  occasion  ;  my 
guide,  too,  and  interpreter,  were  so  much  disheartened  by 
the  difficulties  of  the  way,  the  dreadful  storm,  and  the 
want  of  provisions,  that  I  finally  consented  to  return,  and 
regained  the  Columbia  on  the  night  of  Saturday,  the  24th, 
after  an  absence  of  nine  days,  during  which  time  I  had 
not  seen  a  human  face,  save  those  of  my  two  companions. 
I  was,  however,  fully  determined  to  resume  my  journey 
in  this  direction  without  much  delay,  the  ground  appear- 
ing very  rich  in  objects  of  interest,  among  which,  that 
which  had  gratified  me  most,  was  a  beautiful  P^ronia 
(P.  Brownii,  the  only  individual  of  this  genus  in  Amer- 
ica), with  a  flower  that  is  dark  purple  outside,  and  yellow 
within,  blooming  on  the  very  confines  of  perpetual  snow, 
while  it  grows  poor  and  small  on  the  temperate  parts  of 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.        353 

the  niountains,  and  vvliolly  disappears  on  the  phiins  below. 
A  lovely  Lupine  (L.  Sabi7ii,  Bot.  Reg.  t.  1485),  with  large 
spikes,  twelve  to  eighteen  inches  long,  of  yellow  flowers, 
covering  whole  tracts  of  the  country  for  miles,  and  re- 
minding me  of  the  "bonny  broom,"  that  enlivens  the 
moors  of  my  native  land,  gave  me  much  pleasure.  The 
specimens  in  my  collection  will  show  how  desirable  an 
acquisition  this  would  be  to  our  gardens.  The  crevices 
of  the  rocks  were  adorned  in  many  places  with  a  white- 
flowered  Pedicularis,  and  a  new  Draba,  while  several 
species  of  Pentstcmon  fringed  the  mountain  rivulets,  and 
a  yellow  Ei'icgonum  (E.  sphxrocephalum)  sprang  up  in  the 
cretices  of  granite  rocks.  Of  Lupinaster  macrocephalus 
{Trifolium,  megacephalum)  (Pursli),  which  never  grows  be- 
low three  thousand  feet  on  the  mountains,  I  am  most 
anxious  to  obtain  seeds ;  also  of  Trifolium  altissimum 
(Hook.  Fl.  Bor.  Am.,  v.  1.  t.  48.) 

Monday,  2Gth. — Being  more  and  more  anxious  of  mak- 
ing a  second  journey  to  the  same  mountains,  I  sent  again 
to  my  guide,  and  bade  him  prepare  to  accompany  me  ;  on 
which  he  instantly  began  to  plead  that  he  had  not  re- 
covered from  the  fatigue  of  his  former  excursion,  and 
finally  refused  to  go.  Perceiving  that  this  statement  was 
by  no  means  true,  at  least  to  the  extent  that  he  wanted  to 
make  me  believe,  I  was  on  the  point  of  trying  the  effect 
of  a  little  personal  chastisement,  in  order  to  teach  him, 
that  since  I  was  paying  for  his  services  I  had  a  right  to 
require  them,  when  he  made  his  escape  without  loss  of 
time.  I  afterwards  learned  that  the  "Young  Wasp,"  as 
the  interpreter's  son  was  called,  had  told  the  poor  igno- 
rant being  that  I  was  a  great  Medicine  Man,  which,  among 
these  poor  people,  is  considered  equivalent  to  possessing 
necromantic  power,  and  having  intercourse  with  evil 
spirits.  Also,  that  if  he  accompanied  me,  and  acted  so 
as,  in  any  way,  to  incur  my  displeasure,  I  should  trans- 


354       Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

form  him  into  a  grizzly  Bear,  and  set  him  to  run  in  the 
woods  for  the  rest  of  his  life,  so  that  he  would  never  see 
his  wife  again.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  that  these  fears 
acted  powerfully  on  the  Indian,  and  caused  him  to  be- 
have in  the  way  he  did. 

Mr.  Black  afterwards  furnished  me  with  another  guide, 
whom  I  took  the  more  readily,  as  he  was  no  smoker,  and 
such  a  knave  that  nobody  would  dare  to  steal  from  him. 
It  is,  however,  worthy  of  notice,  that  among  these  people 
conlidence  answers  best.  An  instance  of  dishonesty  has 
hardly  been  ever  known  where  property  has  been  in- 
trusted to  their  hands.  .  Another  good  point  in  their 
character  is  hospitality.  A  stranger  can  hardly  imagine 
the  kindness  he  will  receive  at  their  hands.  If  they  have 
a  hut  they  entreat  you  to  enter  it,  or  failing  that,  if  the 
day  is  wet,  one  of  brushwood  is  quickly  made  for  your 
use,  and  wdiatever  they  possess  in  the  way  of  food  is  set 
before  you.  On  one  occasion  I  was  regaled  with  steaks 
cut  from  a  Doe  of  the  Long-Tailed  Deer  (Cervus  leucurus), 

accompanied  by  an  infusion  of ^  sweetened  with  a 

small  portion  of  sugar.  The  meat  was  laid  on  the  clean 
foliage  of  Gualtheria  Shallon,  in  lieu  of  a  plate,  and  our 
tea  was  served  in  a  large  wooden  dish,  hewn  out  of  a 
piece  of  solid  timber.  For  spoons  we  had  the  horns  of 
the  Mountain  Sheep,  or  Mouton  Gris  of  the  voyageurs, 
formerly  mentioned. 

The  garb  of  the  Umptqua  [Umatilla  ?]  tribe  of  Indians, 
of  whom  Centrenose  (a  native  name)  is  the  chief,  consists 
of  a  shirt  and  trousers,  made  of  the  undressed  skins  of 
small  deer.  The  richer  individuals  decorate  this  garb 
with  shells,  principally  marine  ones,  thus  showing  their 
proximity  to  the  sea.  The  females  wear  a  petticoat  made 
of  the  tissue  of  Thuja  occidentalism  like  that  wdiich  is  used 


2The  word  is  quite  unintelligible  in  Mr.  Douglas'  Journal. 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.        355 

by  the  Chenook  Indians,  and  above  it  a  kind  of  gown  of 
dressed  leather,  like  the  shirts  of  the  men*  but  with  wider 
sleeves.  The  children  fled  from  me  with  indescribable 
fear,  and,  till  assured  of  my  amicable  intentions,  only  one 
man  and  one  wonuui  could  be  seen,  to  whom  I  gave  a  few 
beads,  brass  rings,  and  a  pipe  of  tobacco. 

Arrangements  having  finally  been  made,  I  set  off,  and, 
in  three  days,  reached  the  snowy  mountains,  w^here  I  was 
on  the  whole  disappointed,  finding  little  that  was  different 
from  what  I  had  seen  a  fortnight  before;  and,  after  suf- 
fering severely  from  pain  in  my  eyes,  which  rendered 
reading  or  writing  very  difficult,  except  in  the  morning, 
and  haunted  continually  by  the  thought  that  our  people, 
who  were  daily  expected  from  the  coast,  would  have  ar- 
rived and  brought  my  letters,  I  returned  to  my  camp  on 
the  Walla-wallah  on  Monday,  the  3d  of  July,  and  spent 
the  rest  of  that  week  in  botanizing  in  that  neighborhood 
and  packing  my  seeds,  for  which  I  had  to  make  a  box, 
and  drying  and  securing  my  plants. 

On  the  following  Sunday,  the  9th,  an  opportunity  hav- 
ing offered  of  sending  to  the  coast,  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Sabine, 
giving  a  short  account  of  my  proceedings  since  I  had  last 
addressed  him,  exactly  a  month  previously  ;  but  as  this 
letter  is  only  a  repetition  of  what  my  journal  has  just 
stated,  it  is  unnecessar}^  to  copy  it  here. 

In  hopes  that  by  going  two  or  three  days'  journey  down 
the  river,  instead  of  prosecuting  my  researches  for  plants, 
in  an  opposite  direction,  I  might  meet  the  party  who  are 
expected  from  the  coast,  and  thus  earlier  obtain  possession 
of  my  much  desired  letters,  I  embarked  at  10  a.  m.  of 
Monday,  the  10th,  and,  the  river  being  at  its  height,  pro- 
ceeded for  two  or  three  hours  at  the  rate  of  twelve  miles 
an  hour,  when  the  great  swell  obliged  us  to  put  on  shore. 
And  as  the  same  cause  rendered  it  impossible  to  fish  for 
salmon,  a  horse  was  killed,  on  whose  flesh,  with  a  draught 


o5G        Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

of  water  I  made  my  supper.  After  a  cheerless  night, 
during  which  the  mosquitoes  were  excessively  trouble- 
some, I  proceeded  about  fifty  miles  the  next  day,  when  I 
breakfasted  on  similar  fare.  While  doing  this,  an  Indian, 
who  stood  by  my  side,  managed  to  steal  my  knife,  which 
had  been  further  secured  by  a  string  tied  to  my  jacket ; 
and  as  it  was  the  only  one  I  possessed,  for  all  purposes,  I 
offered  a  reward  of  tobacco  to  get  it  returned.  This  bribe 
being  ineffectual,  I  commenced  a  search  for  its  recovery, 
and  found  it  concealed  under  the  belt  of  one  of  the  knaves. 
When  detected,  he  claimed  to  be  paid  the  recompense ; 
but  as  I  did  not  conceive  him  entitled  to  this,  as  he  had 
not  given  it  at  first  (nor  given  it  at  all  indeed),  I  paid 
him  certainly,  and  so  handsomely,  with  my  fists,  that  I 
will  engage  he  does  not  forget  the  3Ian  of  Grass  in  a  hurry. 
Having  halted  at  night  below  the  Great  Falls  of  the  Co- 
lumbia, I  saw  smoke  rising,  and  thinking  it  might  be 
Indians  fishing,  walked  thither  in  quest  of  salmon.  In- 
stead of  their  savage  countenances  I  found,  however,  to 
my  great  delight,  that  it  was  the  camp  of  the  brigade  from 
the  sea.  I  can  not  describe  the  feeling  which  siezed  me, 
when,  after  traveling  some  weeks  together  with  Indians, 
I  meet  a  person  whom  I  have  known  before;  or  if  even 
they  are  strangers,  yet  the  countenance  of  a  Christian  is 
at  such  times  most  delightful.  In  the  present  instance 
I  had  the  additional  happiness  of  finding  myself  in  the 
society  of  those  who  had  ever  treated  me  with  cordiality, 
and  who  now  seemed  to  vie  with  one  another  in  acts  of 
kindness  toward  me.  Observing  my  dejected  and  travel- 
worn  plight,  one  fetched  me  some  water  to  wash  with, 
another  handed  me  a  clean  shirt,  and  a  third  busied  himself 
in  making  ready  something  more  palatable  than  carrion, 
for  my  supper ;  while  my  old  friends,  Messrs.  McDonald 
and  Wark,  handed  me  those  best  of  cordials,  my  letters 
from  England.     Two  of  these,  from  Mr.  Sabine  and  my 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.        357 

brother,  were  peculiarly  gratifying.  Those  persons  who 
have  never  been,  like  nie,.in  such  a  remote  corner  of  the 
globe,  may  perhaps  think  I  should  be  ashamed  of  my  own 
weakness  on  the  present  occasion  ;  but  long  as  I  had  been 
kept  in  ignorance  of  everything  respecting  my  dearest 
friends,  my  anxiety  was  not  allayed  by  one  perusal  of  my 
letters,  and  no  less  than  four  times  during  the  night  did 
I  rise  from  my  mat  and  read  and  re-read  them,  till,  ere 
morning  dawned,  I  had  them,  I  am  sure,  all  by  heart. 
The  first  thing  I  did,  after  this  sleepless  night,  was  to 
write  a  few  lines  of  acknowledgment  to  Mr.  Sabine,  and 
by  sunrise  I  was  again  seated  in  the  boat,  on  my  return 
up  the  river,  and  with  new  spirits  resumed  my  employ- 
ment of  botanizing  during  the  frequent  portages  that  we 
made,  previous  to  arriving  at  Walla-wallah  on  Saturday. 
Thence,  on  Monday,  the  17th,  I  accompanied  Messrs. 
Wark  and  McDonald,  who  were  going  by  water,  with  a 
party  of  twenty-eight  men,  to  the  forks  of  Lewis  and 
Clarke's  River,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from 
the  Columbia,  and  as  the  marches  these  gentlemen  pro- 
posed to  make  would  be  short,  I  hoped  to  obtain  most  of 
the  plants  which  grow  on  the  banks  of  this  stream. 

Tuesday,  ISth.  to  Monday,  2 Jf,tli. — Lewis  and  Clarke's  River 
is  a  stream  of  considerable  magnitude,  in  many  places  from 
two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  yards  broad,  very 
deep  and  rapid  ;  its  general  course  is  easterly  [westerly?]. 
At  twenty-five  miles  from  its  junction  with  the  Columbia, 
the  country  near  its  banks  changes  from  undulating  and 
barren  to  lofty,  rugged  mountains,  and  not  a  blade  of 
grass  can  be  seen,  except  in  the  valleys  and  near  springs, 
where  a  little  vegetation  survives  the  intense  heat.  We 
rose  always  at  daybreak,  and  camped  at  3  or  4  p.  m.,  during 
which  [?]  interval,  the  thermometer  commonly  standing 
in  the  shade  at  108  degrees  of  Fahrenheit,  it  was  danger- 
ous to  attempt  traveling,  unsheltered  as  we  were  by  any 


358       Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

screen  from  the  scorching  sun.  In  the  cool  of  the  even- 
ing we  generally  made  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  more. 
Except  that  good  water  may  always  be  obtained,  there  is 
nothing  to  render  this  country  superior,  in  summer,  to  the 
burning  deserts  of  Arabia.  Salmon  are  caught  in  the 
river,  and  sometimes  in  great  numbers,  but  they  are 
neither  so  plentiful  nor  so  good  as  in  the  Columbia ;  we 
obtained  occasionally  a  few  from  the  Indians,  to  vary  our 
standing  dish  of  horse  flesh,  boiled,  or  roasted  at  the  end 
of  a  stick ;  but  such  is  the  indolence  of  these  people  that 
they  will  almost  rather  starve  than  incur  much  labor  in 
fishing.  I  found  great  relief  from  the  burning  heat  by 
bathing  every  morning  and  evening,  and,  though  the 
practice  is  certainly  enfeebling,  yet  I  doubt  if  I  could  at 
all  have  prosecuted  my  journey  without  it. 

Monday,  24th. — Arrived  at  the  forks  of  the  river  at 
dusk,  where  we  found  a  camp  of  three  different  nations, 
upwards  of  six  hundred  men,  able  to  bear  arms :  these 
were  the  Pierced-Nose  Indians,  the  Chawhaptan  and  the 
Chamniemucks.  The  chiefs,  or  principal  men  of  each 
tribe,  came  and  stayed  with  us  till  late,  when  they  pre- 
sented us  with  some  favorite  horses. 

Tuesday,  25th. —  Understanding  from  my  companions 
that  their  stay  here  would  be  for  a  few  days,  I  was  desir- 
ous of  making  a  trip  to  the  mountains,  distant  about  sixty 
miles,  and  part  of  the  same  ridge  which  I  had  visited,  in 
a  part  much  to  the  southeast,  during  spring.  As,  how- 
ever, no  arrangement  had  yet  been  made  with  the  natives, 
it  was  deemed  imprudent  for  me  to  venture  any  distance 
from  the  camp  ;  but,  on  Wednesday  a  conference  being 
held,  which  terminated  amicably,  and  with  all  the  pomp 
and  circumstance  of.  singing,  dancing,  haranguing,  and 
smoking,  the  whole  party  being  dressed  in  their  best  gar- 
ments, I  took  advantage  of  the  conclusion  of  this  novel 
and  striking,  spectacle,  to  beg  the  services  of  one  of  Mr. 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.        359 

McDonald's  men,  named  Coq  de  Lard,  and  with  him  to 
start  on  an  exploring  trip  in  the  direction  of  the  said 
mountains.  My  companion  and  friend  (guide  he  could 
not  be  called,  as  he  as  equally  a  stranger  to  this  country 
as  m3'self,)  traveled  two  days,  when  we  reached  the  first 
ridge  of  hills.  Here  we  parted,  I  leaving  him  to  take 
care  of  the  horses,  and  proceeding  alone  to  the  summit, 
whence  I  found  nothing  different,  as  to  vegetation,  from 
what  I  had  seen  before,  but  was  much  struck  with  a  re- 
markable spring  that  rises  on  the  summit,  from  a  circular 
hollow  in  the  earth,  eleven  feet  in  diameter;  the  water 
springs  up  to  from  nine  inches  to  three  feet  and  a  half 
above  the  surface,  gushing  up  and  falling  in  sudden  jets ; 
thence  it  flows  in  a  stream  down  the  mountain  fifteen  feet 
broad  and  two  and  a  half  feet  deep,  running  with  great 
rapidity,  with  a  descent  of  a  foot  and  a  half  in  ten,  and 
finally  disappears  in  a  small  marsh.  I  could  find  no  bot- 
tom to  the  spring  at  a  depth  of  sixt}'  feet.  Surrounding 
this  spring,  which  I  named  Munro's  Fountain,  is  a  beau- 
tiful thicket  of  a  species  of  Ribes,  growing  twelve  to  fif- 
teen feet  high,  and  bearing  fine  fruit,  much  like  gooseber- 
ries, as  large  as  a  musket-ball,  and  of  delicate  and  superior 
flavour.  I  hope  it  may  be  allowed  to  bear  the  specific  name 
of  R.  Munroi  (Bot. Reg.  1. 1300).  The  Pania  (P.  Broivnii), 
mentioned  before,  with  Abronia  vespertina,  and  a  fine 
XylosteuTti,  and  Ribes  viscosissimum,  also  grew  here.  On 
joining  my  guide  we  examined  the  state  of  our  larder,  and 
finding  that  provisions  were  low,  and  our  appetites  keen, 
we  determined  to  regain  our  friends'  camp,  and  traveling 
all  night,  arrived  there  at  sunrise.  Hardly,  however,  had 
I  lain  down  to  sleep,  than  I  was  roused  by  the  call  to  arms, 
which,  to  a  Man  of  Grass  and  of  Peace,  is  far  from  welcome. 
A  misunderstanding  having  arisen  between  our  interpreter 
and  one  of  the  Indian  chiefs,  the  latter  accused  the  former 
of  not  translating  correctly,  and  words  failing  to  express 


3G0        Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

sufficiently  his  wrath,  he  seized  the  poor  man  of  lan- 
guage, and  tore  off  a  handful  of  his  long  Jet  hair  by  the 
roots.  On  being  remonstrated  with  for  this  violence,  the 
Indian  set  off  in  a  rage  and  summoned  his  followers,  sev- 
enty-three in  party,  who  came  all  armed,  each  with  his 
gun  cocked,  and  the  arrow  on  the  bowstring.  As,  how- 
ever, every  individual  of  our  camp  had  done  all  that  was 
possible  to  accommodate  matters,  we  took  things  coolly, 
and  apparently  careless  of  the  result,  stood,  thirty-one  in 
number,  to  our  arms,  and  asked  if  they  wished  for  war? 
They  said  "No  ;  we  only  want  the  interpreter  to  kill  him, 
and,  as  he  is  no  chief,  this  could  not  signify  to  us."  But 
our  reply  was,  that  whether  chief  or  not,  each  individual 
in  our  camp,  though  he  were  only  an  Indian,  was  entitled 
to  our  protection  ;  and  if  they  offered  to  molest  him,  they 
should  see  whether  we  had  ever  been  in  war  before  or  not. 
The  coolness,  which  we  took  care  to  show  by  our  counte- 
nances as  much  as  in  our  speech,  had  the  desired  effect, 
and  they  earnestly  begged  for  the  peace  which  we  were 
certainly  quite  as  glad  to  grant.  Many  speeches  were 
made  on  the  occasion,  and,  to  judge  by  the  gestures  of 
these  children  of  nature,  and  the  effect  wdiich  their  ha- 
rangues produce,  some  of  them  must  possess  oratorical 
powers  of  no  mean  description.  The  affair  ended,  as 
usual,  by  an  interchange  of  presents.  Still,  though  friend- 
ship was  restored,  it  would  have  been  highly  imprudent 
to  venture  myself  away  from  the  camp,  and  I  spent  the 
time,  till  the  31st  of  July,  in  arranging  and  securing  what 
I  had  already  collected,  when  I  parted  with  Mr.  McDonald, 
who  descended  the  Columbia,  and  accompanying  Mr.  Wark 
and  two  men,  departed  overland  in  a  northeasterl}'  [west- 
erly?] direction,  towards  Kettle  Falls,  on  the  Columbia,  and 
reached  the  Spokan  River  on  Thursday,  the  3d  of  August, 
where  I  was  kindly  welcomed  at  the  old  establishment  by 
my  former  host,  Mr.  Finlay.     The  next  day  I  left  him  for 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.        361 

the  Columbia,  and  came  to  a  favorite  fishing-place  of  the 
Indians,  who  were  busily  engaged  in  snaring  salmon,  in 
traps  made  of  basket  work  and  shaped  like  funnels.  Here 
they  had  already  caught  one  thousand  seven  hundred  fish 
in  one  morning,  having  speared  and  thrown  on  shore  that 
number,  while  man}^  more  remained  within  the  snare 
awaiting  their  fate.  The  spear  is  pointed  with  bone,  laced 
tight  to  a  pointed  piece  of  wood,  which  again  is  frequently 
fastened  to  a  long  staff  with  a  cord.  During  the  best  part 
of  tlie  fishing  season,  from  one  thousand  five  hundred  to 
two  thousand  salmon  are  caught  on  an  average  in  the  day. 
Again,  as  in  the  spring,  I  had  to  cross  Barriere  River  by 
swimming,  and  on  Cedar  River,  a  small  but  rapid  stream, 
that  flows  about  nine  miles  farther  [on?]  into  the  Columbia, 
had  a  narrow  escape  from  losing  my  horse,  and  receiving  a 
severe  hurt.  The  animal  stuck  in  the  bank,  which  is  very 
steep  and  slippery,  after  crossing,  and,  in  his  struggles  to 
get  free,  gave  me  a  sharp  blow  and  threw  me  head  fore- 
most into  the  river ;  the  force  with  which  the  poor  beast 
did  this,  enabled  him,  however,  to  extricate  himself  from 
what  he  probably  felt  would  otherwise  have  proved  his 
grave,  and  I  received  no  other  injury  than  a  terrible  duck- 
ing, from  the  effects  of  w^hich  a  walk  of  several  miles  en- 
abled me  to  recover,  with  the  loss,  however,  of  all  the 
seeds  I  had  been  collecting  during  this  trip,  and  of  my 
knapsack  and  notebook.  After  an  absence  of  two  months, 
I  was  kindly  re-welcomed  to  the  Kettle  Falls,  by  Mr.  Dease, 
on  the  evening  of  Saturday,  the  5th  of  August.  Several 
species  of  (Enothera,  Trlfollum,  Artemisia^  and  a  novel 
Eriogonuni  were  added  to  my  stores. 

August  7th  to  Tuesday,  15th. — Continued  collecting 
seeds,  drying  and  packing  plants,  but  learning  from  Mr. 
McLoughlin  that  the  vessel  at  Fort  Vancouver  would  not 
sail  for  England  until  the  1st  of  September,  and  that  it  is 
the  last  which  will  probably  proceed  thither  direct  for 


362       Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

some  years,  and,  as  I  have  a  collection  of  seeds  ready  to 
go,  amounting  to  one  hundred  and  twenty  species,  gleaned 
this  year,  I  am  very  desirous  of  sending  everything  that 
I  can  muster  by  her.  By  some  means  or  other  I  must 
endeavour  to  reach  the  ocean,  carrying  my  collection  to 
be  despatched  homeward.  I  therefore  packed  up  a  share 
of  my  paper  and  seeds,  with  what  little  linen  I  could 
snare,  intending  to  leave  the  box  at  this  place,  whence  it 
will  be  forwarded  across  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  Fort 
Edmonton,  where  I  hope  to  find  it  early  in  June.  Mr. 
Dease  kindly  took  the  trouble  of  speaking  to  the  Little 
Wolf,  a  chief  of  the  Oakanagan  tribe  of  Indians,  to  con- 
duct me  to  Oakanagan,  as  the  Columbia  is  now  so  full  of 
rapids,  cascades,  and  whirlpools,  that  I  could  not  proceed 
by  a  canoe,  unless  I  had  six  or  eight  men  to  manage  it; 
nor  is  there,  indeed,  any  boat  here  large  enough  for  the 
purpose. 

17th. — Packed  a  bundle  of  dry  plants  in  my  trunk, 
among  my  little  stock  of  clothing,  consisting  of  a  single 
shirt,  one  pair  of  stockings,  a  nightcap,  and  a  pair  of  old 
mitts,  together  with  an  Indian  bag  of  curious  workman- 
ship, made  of  Indian  Hemp,  a  species  of  Apocynum,  He- 
lonias  tenax,  and  Eagle's  quills,  used  for  carr3dng  roots  and 
other  such  articles.  A  party  of  twenty-one  men  and  two 
females  arrived,  belonging  to  the  Cootanie  tribe,  whose 
lands  lie  near  the  source  of  the  Columbia,  for  the  purpose 
of  fishing.  Between  these  and  the  tribes  on  the  Colum- 
bia lakes,  about  sixty  miles  above  this  place,  who  are  now 
similarly  engaged  at  the  Falls,  an  old  quarrel  exists,  which 
causes  much  uneasiness  to  Mr.  Dease  and  all  our  people. 
The  parties  met  to-day  stark  naked,  at  our  camp,  painted, 
some  red,  some  black,  others  white  and  yellow,  all  with 
their  bows  strung,  while  those  who  had  guns  and  ammu- 
nition, brought  their  weapons  charged  and  cocked.  War 
caps,  made  of  the  Calumet  Eagle's  feathers,  were  the  only 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.        363 

particle  of  clothing  they  had  on.  Just  as  one  of  these 
savages  was  discharging  an  arrow  from  liis  bow,  aimed 
at  a  chief  of  the  other  party,  Mr.  Dease  hit  him  such  a 
blow  on  the  nose  as  stunned  him,  and  the  arrow  fortu- 
nately only  grazed  the  skin  of  his  adversary,  passing 
along  the  rib  opposite  to  his  heart  without  doing  him 
much  injury.  The  whole  day  was  spent  in  clamour  and 
haranguing,  and  unable  to  foresee  what  the  issue  might 
be,  we  were  prepared  for  the  worst.  Mr.  Dease,  however, 
succeeded  in  persuading  them  to  make  arrangements  for 
peace,  and  begged  this  might  be  done  without  delay  on 
the  morrow,  representing  to  them  how  little  they  had  ever 
gained  by  their  former  wars,  in  which  they  had  mutuall}^ 
butchered  one  another  like  dogs.  Unluckily  for  me,  my 
guide,  the  Wolf,  is  equally  wanted  by  his  party,  whether 
to  make  war  or  peace,  therefore  I  am  obliged  to  wait  for 
him. 

Friday,  ISth. — Bustle  and  uproar,  terminating  towards 
evening  in  a  proposal  of  peace  the  next  day  ;  and  as  this 
must  be  sealed  by  a  feast,  tlie  Wolf  can  not  be  expected  to 
stir  till  it  is  over.  Mr.  Dease,  however,  has  kindly  spoken 
to  an  Indian  who  is  in  the  habit  of  going  journeys  for 
him,  to  guide  me,  as  my  time  is  becoming  short,  and  I 
hope  to  start  to-morrow  early. 

Saturday,  19th. — Set  off  this  morning  carrying  only  as 
provision  a  little  dried  meat,  tea,  and  sugar,  and  a  small 
tin  pot.  My  gun  being  unluckily  out  of  order,  Mr.  Wark 
kindl}^  lent  me  a  double-barreled  rifle  pistol,  and  perhaps, 
going  alone  and  unprotected,  it  is  best  to  carry  nothing 
that  can  tempt  these  savages.  Being  ill  off  for  clothing, 
Mr,  Dease  gave  me  a  pair  of  leather  trousers,  made  of 
deerskin,  and  a  few  pairs  of  shoes,  which  were  highly  ac- 
ceptable ;  he  also  provided  me  with  three  of  his  best 
horses — one  to  carry  my  luggage,  one  for  my  guide,  and 
the  other  for  myself.     A  single  shirt  and  blanket  were  all 


364       Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas, 

that  I  carried,  more  than  was  on  my  back,  and  thus 
equipped  I  set  out  for  Oakanagan,  distant  two  hundred 
and  lifty  miles  northwest  of  this  place.  It  was  very  re- 
luctantly that  I  allowed  myself  to  be  dissuaded  from  ven- 
turing by  water.  I  however  hoped  somewhat  to  shorten 
the  journey,  by  cutting  off  the  angle  between  the  Colum- 
bia and  Spokan  River,  especially  as  the  path  throughout 
was  likely  to  be  very  mountainous  and  rugged.  The  heat 
being  extreme,  and  the  night  beautifully  clear  moonlight. 
I  traveled  rather  more  by  night  than  day,  starting  gen- 
erally at  2  A.  M.,  and  stopping  to  rest  and  lie  down  for  a 
few  hours  about  noonday.  Unfortunately,  my  guide  and 
I  could  not  hold  converse,  neither  knowing  a  syllable  of 
the  other's  language. 

On  the  second  day  I  arrived  at  some  Indian  lodges,  just 
where  I  wanted  to  cross  the  Spokan  River,  and  the  people, 
who  were  fishing,  assisted  me  in  getting  the  horses  over 
and  carried  me  and  all  my  property  to  the  other  side  in  a 
canoe,  for  which  I  rewarded  them  with  a  little  tobacco. 
The  country  was  almost  invariably  a  trackless  waste,  with 
scarcely  a  particle  of  herbage  remaining  on  the  gravell}^ 
and  sandy  soil.  My  meals  generally  consisted  of  dried 
salmon  and  a  little  tea,  which  I  boiled  and  then  sucked 
the  infusion  from  thei  leaves ;  but  for  three  days  after 
passing  the  Spokan,  I  was  much  distressed  for  the  want 
of  drinkable  water.  Stagnant  pools,  often  so  impregnated 
with  sulphur  that  not  even  the  thirsty  horses  would  touch 
it,  were  all  we  could  find  ;  and  when  we  did  arrive  at  a 
tolerable  spring,  not  a  twig  could  be  collected  for  fuel, — 
and  I  vainly  attempted  to  boil  [in]  my  little  pan  with  grass, 
the  stems  of  a  large  species  of  Triticum.  Glad  should 
I  have  been  of  the  shelter  of  a  tent,  but,  though  I  carried 
one,  the  fatigue  of  pitching  it  under  such  a  burning 
sun  was  more  than  I  could  encounter;  and  when  the 
water  proved  such  as  I  could  not  use,  I  took   nothing, 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.        365 

thirst  being  much  more  frequent  at  this  time  than  hunger 
with  me.  During  tliis  journey  I  passed  by  the  stonj^ 
chasm,  which  was  once  tlie  bed  of  the  Cohimbia  Kiver,  a 
truly  wonderful  spot,  in  some  places  eight  or  nine  miles 
broad,  and  exhibiting  such  rocks  in  the  channel  as  must 
have  occasioned  prodigiously  grand  cascades,  with  banks 
of  perpendicular  height,  rising  to  one  thousand  five  hun- 
dred and  one  thousand  eight  hundred  feet — in  other  places 
perfectly  level,  and  diversified  with  what  must  have  been 
fine  islands.  The  rock  everj'-where  appeared  volcanic, 
and  I  picked  up  several  pieces  of  vitrified  lava.  Two  hun- 
dred miles,  I  am  informed,  does  this  deserted  and  dry  bed 
extend,  communicating  with  the  present  channel  of  the 
Columbia  at  the  Stony  Islands,  making  a  circular  sweep 
of  a  degree  and  a  half  south,  which  is  cut  off  by  the 
straighter  line  of  the  river's  present  course.  The  plants 
peculiar  to  the  rocky  shores  of  the  Columbia  are  to  be  seen 
here  and  in  no  intervening  place.  Here  and  there  was  a 
thick  sward  of  grass  which  proved  most  acceptable  to  our 
w^eary  beasts,  for  the  springs  were  all  so  bitter  and  impreg- 
nated with  sulphur  (another  symptom  of  volcanic  agency), 
that  it  was  seldom  they  would  drink,  and  the  haste  Avith 
which  they  hurried  to  a  small  pool  of  better  water  was 
near  proving  fatal  to  one,  for  he  stuck  there  so  firmly  that 
my  guide  and  I  (enfeebled  by  fatigue)  were  too  weak  to 
extricate  him,  and  I  had  loaded  my  pistol  to  put  an  end 
to  his  misery  and  struggles,  when  my  guide,  in  a  fit  of  ill 
temper,  struck  the  creature  severely  on  the  nose  that  he 
reared,  and  the  point  of  my  penknife,  with  which,  as  a 
last  hope,  I  goaded  his  side,  induced  him  to  make  such  a 
desperate  bound  as  delivered  him  from  the  difficulty. 

Wednesday,  23d. — Last  night  was  dreadfully  hot,  and 
the  whole  heavens  in  a  blaze  with  sheet  lightning. 
Parched  like  a  cinder  Avith  heat  and  thirst,  I  lay  down 
and  passed  a  few  miserable  hours  in  vainly  trying  to  ob- 


360       Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas. 

tain  some  sleep.  Happily,  the  road  was  less  rugged,  and 
at  midday  I  found  myself  on  the  banks  of  the  Columbia, 
opposite  the  Oakanagan  Establishment,  where  an  old  man 
who  was  spearing  salmon,  helped  us  to  cross  the  horses, 
and  put  me  and  my  guide  over  in  a  small  canoe.  Here 
I  found  my  kind  friends,  Messrs.  McDonald  and  Ermet- 
inger,  who  supplied  me  with  a  change  of  linen  and  some 
comfortable  food.  Gladly  would  I  have  tarried  here  two 
or  three  days  to  rest  and  recruit  myself,  but  my  time  was 
too  precious;  and  having  communicated  to  these  gentle- 
men my  desire  to  push  on  immediately  for  the  coast,  that 
I  might  put  my  collections  on  board  the  ship  which  was  to 
sail  so  shortly  for  England,  they  kindly  made  arrange- 
ments with  some  Indians  to  conduct  me  to  the  junction 
of  Lewis  and  Clarke's  River.  Meanwhile,  I  wrote  a  few 
lines  to  Mr.  Dease  and  sent  them  by  the  return  of  my 
guide,  who  had  behaved  entirely  well,  and  who  is  to  stay 
here  two  or  three  days  to  rest  himself,  and  having  picked 
up  a  few  seeds,  and  changed  my  plant-papers,  I  went 
early  to  bed ;  but  the  doors  being  left  open,  on  account  of 
the  heat,  and  the  windows,  which  are  made  of  parchment 
instead  of  glass,  not  closing  tightly,  the  mosquitoes  found 
free  access.  Thus  I  was  under  the  necessity  of  abandon- 
ing the  house,  and  betook  myself  to  a  sort  of  gallery  over 
the  gate,  where  I  obtained  some  sound  sleep. 

Before  leaving  this  place  next  morning,  I  took  break- 
fast, and  thankfully  accepted  a  little  tea  and  sugar,  which, 
with  a  small  portion  of  dried  salmon,  was  all  that  my 
kind  friends  had  to  give.  The  stock  of  dried  meat  that  I 
had  received  from  Mr.  Dease  was  not,  however,  quite  ex- 
hausted, so  that  I  considered  myself  pretty  well  off,  par- 
ticularly when  they  kindly  added  a  little  tin  shaving  pot, 
the  only  cooking  utensil  they  could  spare.  Two  miles  and 
a  half  from  this  place  a  disaster  deprived  me  of  these 
gifts;  in  passing  the  canoe  down  a  rapid,  I  took  the  pre- 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.        367 

caution  to  lift  out  luy  paper,  plants,  seeds,  and  blanket, 
and  was  carrying  these  along  the  shore,  when  a  surge 
struck  the  canoe  in  the  middle  of  the  rapid,  and  swept 
every  article  out  of  it  except  the  dried  meat,  which  had 
fortunately  got  wedged  into  the  narrow  place  at  the  bot- 
tom. The  loss  of  the  tea  and  sugar  and  the  pot  was  a 
great  one  in  my  present  situation,  but  still  I  deemed  my- 
self happy  in  having  saved  the  papers  and  seeds,  though 
my  collection  of  insects  and  my  pistol  were  also  gone.  As 
I  have  described  the  appearance  of  this  part  of  the  Col- 
umbia on  my  ascent,  I  shall  say  but  little  of  my  return. 
The  passage  of  the  Stony  Islands,  which  is  considered  a 
dangerous  place,  was  facilitated  by  hiring  an  Indian  who 
lived  close  by,  and  was  better  acquainted  with  this  narrow 
channel  (only  twenty  to  thirty  feet  wide  and  excessively 
rapid)  than  my  guide,  and  who  thought  himself  well 
paid  with  a  few  crumbs  of  tobacco,  and  a  smoke  out  of 
my  own  pipe.  Two  days  after,  having  quitted  the  canoe, 
near  the  Priest's  Rapid,  and  walked  several  miles  along 
the  shore,  while  my  two  Indians  should  accomplish  this 
difficult  piece  of  navigation,  I  waited  some  time  for  their 
arrival,  and  feeling  alarmed  for  their  safety,  returned  a 
good  way  to  look  for  them,  when  I  found  them  seated 
comfortably  on  the  shore,  under  a  small  cove,  and  treat- 
ing their  friends  to  a  share  of  the  tobacco  I  had  given 
them.  At  Walla-wallah  I  was  too  weak  and  reduced  to 
partake  of  the  fare  which  Mr.  Black,  the  person  in  charge, 
kindly  set  before  me,  but  only  begging  him  to  procure 
me  a  guide  to  convey  me  to  the  Great  Falls,  lay  down  on 
a  heap  of  hrewood,  to  be  free  from  mosquitoes,  and  slept 
till  morning.  I  paid  my  former  guide  with  ten  charges 
of  ammunition,  and  gave  him  some  tobacco  (that  univer- 
sal currency)  to  buy  his  provisions  on  the  way  home ; 
then  taking  a  larger  canoe,  and  two  guides,  set  off  on  the 
morning  of  Saturday,  the  26th,  for  Fort  Vancouver.     I 


308        Journal  and  Letters  of  Daaid  Douglas. 

had  the  good  fortune  to  purchase  a  fresh  salmon  from  a 
party  of  Indians  soon  after  leaving  Walla-wallah,  and  my 
acquaintance  with  the  channel  enabled  me  to  drift  se- 
curely at  night  over  a  part  of  the  river,  where  the  Indians 
of  some  neighboring  lodges  are  in  the  habit  of  stopping 
and  pillaging  the  boats  which  pass.  The  next  day  I  ar- 
rived at  the  Great  Falls,  where  I  found  from  live  hundred 
to  seven  hundred  Indians,  but  was  sorry  to  learn  that  the 
Chief  Pawquanawaha,  who  had  been  my  last  guide  to  the 
sea,  was  not  at  home;  but  as  I  am  now  en  pays  de  co7i- 
naissance,  and  can  speak  the  language  tolerably  well,  I 
easily  procured  two  others,  one  of  whom  I  knew  before. 
The  CJdefess  refreshed  me  with  nuts  and  whortleberries, 
and  I  proceeded  fifteen  miles,  where  I  camped  for  the 
nio-ht.  A  large  party  of  seventy-three  men  came  to  smoke 
with  me,  and  all  seemed  to  behave  decently,  till  I  found 
that  my  tobacco  box  was  gone,  having  been  taken  from 
the  pocket  of  my  jacket,  which  I  had  hung  up  to  dry, 
being  drenched  in  the  canoe  while  descending  the  Falls. 
As  soon  as  I  discovered  my  loss  I  perched  myself  on  a 
rock,  and,  in  their  own  tongue,  gave  the  Indians  a  furi- 
ous reprimand,  applying  to  them  all  the  epithets  of 
abuse  which  I  had  often  heard  them  bestow  on  another ; 
and  reminding  them  that  though  they  saw  me  only  a 
Blanket  Man,  I  was  more  than  that,  I  was  the  Grass  Man, 
and  therefore  not  at  all  afraid  of  them.  I  could  not,  how- 
ever, recover  my  box,  but  slept  unmolested  after  all  the 
bustle.  On  Tuesday,  the  29th,  I  reached  the  Grand  Rap- 
ids, but  found  the  river  so  rough,  from  a  high  wind  which 
raised  the  water  in  great  waves,  that  I  was  obliged  to  halt, 
and  betook  myself  to  the  lodge  of  Chamtalia,  my  old 
guide,  who  set  before  me  a  hearty  meal  of  whortleberries 
and  fresh  salmon.  He  then  spoke  of  accompanying  me 
in  a  larger  canoe  and  two  Indians,  to  the  sea ;  but  seeing 
that  the  kind  fellow  was  busily  employed  at  this  time  in 


Journal  and  Letters  of  David  Douglas.        309 

curing  his  salmon,  I  refused  his  services,  and  hired  Ins 
brother  and  nephew  instead.  I  hastened  on,  lest  the 
wind,  which  had  been  rising  for  some  days,  should  in- 
crease so  as  to  delay  my  progress,  and,  by  great  exertion 
and  starting  before  daylight,  accomplished  the  desired 
object:  and  at  noon  of  the  last  day  of  August,  the  day 
})revious  to  that  (the  1st  of  September)  on  which  the  ship 
was  fixed  to  sail,  landed  at  Point  Vancouver,  whence  in 
poor  plight,  weary  and  travel-soiled,  glad  at  heart,  though 
possessing  nothing  but  a  shirt,  leather  trousers,  an  old 
hat,  having  lost  my  jacket,  neckerchief,  and  worn  out  my 
shoes,  I  made  my  way  to  the  Fort,  having  traversed  eight 
hundred  miles  of  the  Columbia  Valley  in  twelve  days, 
unattended  by  a  single  person  except  my  Indian  guides. 


''  lECOLLECTnOKlJ  SB  ©FIIKIIOIMJ  OF 
m  OL^  FIQKlEEi/' 

[CONCL,UDi:D.] 
By  Pbtek  H.  Buknett.  '  • 


CHAPTER    VI. 

DISCOVERY    OF   GOLD   IN  CALIFORNIA DETERMINE  TO   GO  TO 

THE    MINES ORGANIZED    A    WAGON    PARTY. 

I  had  been  a  member  of  the  legislative  committee  of 
1844,  had  taken  a  leading  part  in  that  little  body,  and  had 
done  what  I  considered  my  fair  proportion  of  the  work, 
under  all  the  then  existing  circumstances.  We  had 
adopted  a  code  of  laws,  which,  though  imperfect,  was 
ample  for  that  time  and  that  country.  I  looked  forward 
to  the  speedy  settlement  of  the  question  of  sovereignty 
in  our  favor,  and  it  was  so  settled  within  two  years  there- 
after. 

As  before  stated,  I  went  to  Oregon  to  accomplish  three 
purposes.  I  had  already  assisted  to  lay  the  foundation 
of  a  great  American  community  on  the  shores  of  the  Pa- 
cific, and  the  trip  across  the  plains  had  fully  restored  the 
health  of  Mrs.  Burnett.  There  was  still  one  great  end  to 
attain — the  payment  of  my  debts.  I  had  a  family  of  eight 
persons  to  support,  and  a  large  amount  of  old  indebted- 
ness to  pay.  My  debts  were  just,  and  I  believed  in  the 
great  maxim  of  the  law,  that  "a  man  must  be  just  before 
he  is  generous."  Had  the  essential  interest  of  a  large 
body  of  my  fellowmen,  in  my  judgment,  required  further 
sacrifices,  I  vvould  have  made  them  most  cheerfully.  But, 
the  foundation  of  a  great  community  on  this  coast  having 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  371 

been  laid,  all  else  would  naturally  follow  as  a  matter  of 
course,  as  there  were  others  competent  to  continue  the 
work. 

The  obligation  to  support  my  family  and  pay  my  debts 
was  sacred  to  me,  and  I  therefore  gave  the  larger  portion 
of  my  time  to  my  own  private  affairs  so  long  as  I  remained 
in  Oregon.  I  did  not  then  foresee  the  discovery  of  gold 
in  California,  and  for  this  reason  my  only  chance  to  pay, 
so  far  as  I  could  see,  was  to  remain  and  labor  in  Oregon. 
I  had  not  the  slightest  idea  of  leaving  that  country  until 
the  summer  of  1848.  Before  I  left  I  had  paid  a  small 
portion  of  my  indebtedness.  I  always  had  faith  that  I 
should  ultimately  pay  ever}'  dollar. 

In  the  month  of  July,  1848  (if  I  remember  correctly), 
the  news  of  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California  reached 
Oregon.  It  passed  from  San  Francisco  to  Honolulu, 
thence  to  Nesqualy,  and  thence  to  Fort  Vancouver.  At 
that  very  time  there  was  a  vessel  from  San  Francisco  in 
the  Willamette  River,  loading  with  flour,  the  master  of 
which  knew  the  fact  but  concealed  it  from  our  people  for 
speculative  reasons,  until  the  news  was  made  public  by 
the  gentlemen  connected  with  the  Hudson  Ba}^  Company. 

This  extraordinar}'^  news  created  the  most  intense  ex- 
citement throughout  Oregon.  Scarcely  anything  else  was 
spoken  of.  We  had  vanquished  the  Indians,  and  that  war 
for  the  time  was  almost  forgotten.  We  did  not  know  of 
the  then  late  treaty  of  peace  between  Mexico  and  the 
United  States;  but  we  were  aware  of  the  fact  that  our 
government  had  possession  of  California  ;  and  we  knew, 
to  a  moral  certainty,  that  it  would  never  be  given  up. 

Many  of  our  people  at  once  believed  the  reported  dis- 
covery to  be  true,  and  speedily  left  for  the  gold  mines 
with  pack  animals.  I  think  that  at  least  two  thirds  of  the 
male  population  of  Oregon,  capable  of  bearing  arms, 
started  for  California  in  the  summer  and  fall  of  1848.    The 


372  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

white  population  of  Oregon,  including  the  late  immi- 
o-rants,  must  have  amounted  then  to  from  eight  to  ten 
thousand  people.  Before  we  left,  many  persons  expressed 
their  apprehensions  that  the  Indians  might  renew  hos- 
tilities during  the  absence  of  so  many  men.  But  those  of 
us  who  w^ent  to  the  mines  that  fall  (leaving  our  families 
behind  in  Oregon)  had  no  fears  of  any  further  attacks 
from  the  Indians.     Time  proved  we  were  right. 

These  accounts  were  so  new  and  extraordinary  to  us  at 
that  time,  that  I  had  my  doubts  as  to  their  truth,  until  I 
had  evidence  satisfactory  to  me.  I  did  not  jump  to  con- 
clusions, like  most  people  ;  but  wdien  I  saw  a  letter  which 
had  been  written  in  California  by  ex-Governor  Lilburn 
W.  Boggs,  formerly  of  Missouri,  to  his  brother-in-law 
Colonel  Boon  of  Oregon,  I  was  fully  satisfied.  I  had 
known  Governor  Boggs  since  1821,  was  familiar  with  his 
handwriting,  and  knew  Colonel  Boon  ;  and  there  was  no 
reasonable  cause  to  doubt.  This  letter  I  read  about  the 
last  of  August,  1848. 

I  saw  my  opportunity,  and  at  once  consulted  my  wife. 
I  told  her  that  I  thought  it  w^as  our  duty  to  separate  again 
for  a  time,  though  ^ve  had  promised  each  other,  after  our 
long  separation  of  fourteen  months  during  our  early  mar- 
ried life,  that  we  w^ould  not  separate  again.  I  said  that 
this  was  a  new  and  special  case,  never  anticipated  by  us ; 
that  it  was  the  only  certain  opportunity  to  get  out  of  debt 
within  a  reasonable  time,  and  I  thought  it  my  duty  to 
make  the  effort.  She  consented,  and  I  came  to  California, 
and  succeeded  beyond  my  expectations.  I  paid  all  my 
debts,  principal  and  interest,  security  debts  and  all.  Time 
conclusively  proved  the  wisdom  and  justice  of  my  course. 
I  set  out  to  accomplish  three  important  objects,  and, 
thanks  be  to  God,  I  succeeded  in  all. 

When  I  had  determined  to  come  to  California,  I  at  once 
set  to  work  to  prepare  for  the  journey.     All  who  preceded 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  373 

me  had  gone  with  pack  animals  ;  but  it  occurred  to  me 
that  we  might  be  able  to  make  the  trip  with  wagons.  I 
went  at  once  to  see  Doctor  McLoughlin,  and  asked  his 
opinion  of  the  practicability.  Without  hesitation  he  re- 
plied that  he  thought  we  could  succeed,  and  recommended 
old  Thomas  McKay  for  pilot.  No  wagons  had  ever  passed 
between  Oregon  and  California.  Thomas  McKay  had 
made  the  trip  several  times  with  pack  trains,  and  knew 
the  general  nature  of  the  country,  and  the  courses  and 
distances ;  but  he  knew  of  no  practicable  wagon  route,  as 
he  had  only  traveled  with  pack  animals. 

This  was  about  the  first  of  September,  1848.  I  at  once 
went  into  the  streets  of  Oregon  City,  and  proposed  the 
immediate  organization  of  a  wagon  company.  The  prop- 
osition was  received  with  decided  favor ;  and  in  eight 
days  we  had  organized  a  company  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  stout,  robust,  energetic,  sober  men,  and  fifty  wagons 
and  ox  teams,  and  were  off  for  the  gold  mines  of  Califor- 
nia. We  had  only  one  family,  consisting  of  the  husband, 
wife,  and  three  or  four  children.  We  had  fresh  teams, 
strong  wagons,  an  ample  suppl}^  of  provisions  for  six 
months,  and  a  good  assortment  of  mining  implements.  I 
had  two  wagons  and  teams,  and  two  saddle  horses ;  and 
I  took  plank  in  the  bottoms  of  my  wagons,  with  which  I 
constructed  a  gold   rocker  after  we  arrived  in  the  mines. 

We  were  not  certain  that  we  could  go  through  with  our 
wagons,  and  thouo-ht  we  mio;ht  be  caus^ht  in  the  moun- 
tains,  as  were  the  Donner  party  in  1846.  In  case  we  had 
been  snowed  in,  we  had  plenty  of  provisions  to  live  upon 
during  the  winter.  Besides,  we  were  apprehensive  that 
there  might  be  a  great  scarcity  of  provisions  in  the  mines 
during  the  winter  of  1848-'49.  The  only  article  I  pur- 
chased in  the  mines  was  some  molasses,  having  every- 
thing else  in  the  way  of  provisions. 


374  Pp:ter  H.  Burnett. 

Advances  of  outfits  were  made  to  such  men  as  Hastings  and  his 
party,  Burnett,  and  other  prominent  men  .... 

Those  who  proposed  going  to  California  could  readily  get  all  the 
supplies  they  required  of  the  company  by  giving  their  notes  payable 
in  California.—  Gray's  "■Oregon,''  361. 

This  is  a  mistake,  so  far  as  I  was  concerned.  I  had 
plenty  of  wheat,  cattle,  and  hogs,  and  did  not  need  ad- 
vances. My  outfit  cost  very  little  additional  outlay,  for 
the  simple  reason  that  I  had  my  own  wagon  and  teams, 
except  one  yoke  of  oxen  which  I  purchased  of  Pettigrove, 
in  Portland,  and  paid  for  at  the  time.  I  had  the  two 
horses  that  I  took  with  me,  and  all  the  provisions  that  I 
required,  except  a  few  pounds  of  tea.  I  had  an  ample 
supply  of  sugar,  for  reasons  already  stated.  I  had  all  the 
clothes  required,  and  plenty  of  tools,  except  two  picks, 
which  I  got  a  blacksmith  in  Oregon  City  to  make.  I  do 
not  remember  having  purchased  a  single  article  on  credit. 

OFF    FOR    CALIFORNIA  — INCIDENTS    OF    THE    TRIP. 

I  was  elected  captain  of  the  wagon  party,  and  Thomas 
McKay  was  employed  as  pilot.  We  followed  the  Apple- 
gate  route  to  Klamath  Lake,  where  we  left  the  road  and 
took  a  southern  direction.  Thomas  McKay,  myself,  and 
five  others,  well  armed  and  mounted,  went  on  in  advance 
of  the  wagons  to  discover  the  best  route,  leaving  the 
wagons  to  follow  our  trail  until  otherw^ise  notified.  We, 
the  road  hunters,  took  with  us  plenty  of  flour,  sugar,  and 
tea,  and  depended  upon  our  guns  for  meat. 

We  passed  over  comparatively  smooth  prairie  for  some 
distance.  One  evening  we  encamped  at  what  was  then 
called  Goose  Lake.  It  being  late  in  the  season,  the  water 
in  the  lake  was  very  low,  muddy,  and  almost  putrid.  Vast 
flocks  of  pelicans  were  visiting  this  lake  at  that  time,  on 
their  way  south.  I  remember  that  we  killed  one  on  the 
wing  with  a  rifle. 

The  water  being  so  bad,  we  drank  very  little,  and  left 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  375 

early  next  morning.  We  traveled  over  prairie  some  twenty 
miles  toward  a  heavy  body  of  timber  in  the  distance,  then 
entered  a  rocky  cedar  grove  about  six  miles  in  width.  As 
our  horses  were  not  shod,  their  feet  became  sore  and  ten- 
der while  passing  over  this  rough  road.  We  then  entered 
a  vast  forest  of  beautiful  pines.  Our  pilot  told  us  that,  if 
he  was  not  mistaken,  we  should  find  in  the  pine  timber 
an  Indian  trail;  and,  sure  enough,  we  soon  came  to  a 
plain  horse  path  through  the  open  forest.  We  followed 
this  trail  until  sunset,  and  encamped  in  a  small,  dr}^ 
prairie,  having  traveled  all  day  beneath  a  hot  October  sun 
without  water.  Our  little  party  were  sober,  solemn,  and 
silent.  No'  one  ate  anything  except  myself,  and  I  only 
ate  a  very  small  piece  of  cold  bread. 

We  left  this  dry  and  desolate  camp  early  next  morning. 
About  10  o'clock  one  of  our  party  saw  a  deer,  and  followed 
it  to  a  beautiful  little  stream  of  water,  flowing  from  the 
hills  into  the  forest.  We  spent  the  remainder  of  the  day 
on  the  banks  uf  this  clear  branch,  drinking  water  and 
eating  a  badger.  When  I  first  drank  the  water  it  had  no 
pleasant  taste,  but  seemed  like  rainwater;  but  my  natural 
thirst  soon  returned,  and  I  found  that  no  luxury  was 
equal  to  water  to  a  thirsty  man.  We  sent  out  three  or 
four  hunters  for  game ;  but  they  returned  about  2  p.  m. 
with  a  large  badger.  This  was  all  the  meat  we  had.  We 
dressed  and  cooked  it  well ;  and,  to  our  keen  and  famished 
appetites,  it  was  splendid  food.  The  foot  of  the  badger, 
the  tail  of  the  beaver,  the  ear  of  the  hog,  and  the  foot  of 
the  elephant  are  superior  eating.  I  have  myself  eaten  of 
all  but  the  last,  and  can  speak  from  personal  knowledge; 
and,  as  to  the  foot  of  the  elephant,  I  can  give  Sir  Samuel 
Baker  as  my  authority,  in  his  "Explorations,"  etc. 

We  left  next  morning  thoroughly  refreshed  and  rested  ; 
and  we  had  not  traveled  more  than  ten  miles  when  we 
came  in  sight  of  Pitt  River,  a  tributary  of  the  Sacramento. 


61^ 


Peter  H.  Buknett. 


It  was  here  but  a  small  creek,  with  a  valley  about  half  a 
mile  wide.  When  we  had  approached  near  the  stream, 
to  our  utter  surprise  and  astonishment,  we  found  a  new 
waffon  road.  Who  made  this  road  we  could  not  at  first 
imao-ine.  A  considerable  number  of  those  coming  to 
California  with  pack  animals  decided  to  follow  our  trail, 
rather  than  come  by  the  usual  pack  route.  These  packers 
had  overtaken  us  the  previous  evening,  and  were  with  us 
Avhen  we  discovered  this  new  wagon  road.  It  so  happened 
that  one  of  them  had  been  in  California,  and  knew  old 
Peter  Lassen.  This  man  was  a  sensible  fellow,  and  at 
once  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  this  road  had  been  made 
by  a  small  party  of  immigrants  whom  Lassen  had  per- 
suaded to  come  to  California  by  a  new  route  that  would 
enter  the  great  valley  of  the  Sacramento  at  or  near  Las- 
sen's rancho.  This  conjectural  explanation  proved  to  be 
the  true  one. 

So  soon  as  the  packers  found  this  road,  they  left  us. 
No  amount  of  argument  could  induce  them  to  remain 
with  us.  They  thought  our  progress  too  slow.  This  left 
our  little  party  of  road-hunters  alone  in  a  wild  Indian 
country,  the  wagons  being  some  distance  behind. 

We  followed  the  new  road  slowly.  One  day,  while  pass- 
ing through  open  pine  woods,  we  saw  an  Indian  some 
two  hundred  yards  ahead  of  us.  He  was  intent  on  hunt- 
ing, and  did  not  see  us  until  we  were  within  a  hundred 
yards,  charging  down  upon  him  with  our  horses  at  full 
speed.  He  saw  that  escape  by  flight  was  impossible;  so 
he  hid  under  a  clump  of  bushes.  We  soon  came  up,  and 
by  signs  ordered  him  to  come  out  from  his  place  of  con- 
cealment. This  command  he  understood  and  promptly 
obe3'ed.  He  was  a  stout,  active  young  man,  apparentl}^ 
twenty-five  years  of  age,  and  he  had  a  large  gray  squirrel 
under  his  belt  which  he  had  killed  with  his  bow  and 
arrow.     He  evidently  feared  that  we  would  take  his  life  ; 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  377 

but  we  treated  him  kindly,  spent  some  time  conversing 
with  him  as  well  as  we  could  l)y  signs,  and  then  left  him 
in  peace. 

From  the  point  where  we  struck  the  Lassen  road,  it 
continued  down  the  river  in  a  western  direction  ten  or 
tifteen  miles  until  the  river  turned  to  the  south  and 
ran  through  a  caiion,  the  road  ascending  the  tall  hills, 
and  continuing  about  west  for  twenty  to  thirty  miles, 
when  it  came  again  to  and  crossed  the  river.  The  same 
day  that  we  saw  the  Indian  we  encamped,  after  dark,  on 
a  high  bluff  above  the  river.  We  had  had  no  water  to 
drink  since  morning,  and  we  had  traveled  late  in  the 
hope  of  finding  a  good  encampment. 

The  night  was  so  dark,  and  the  bluff  was  so  steep  and 
rough,  that  we  could  distinctly  hear  the  roar  of  the 
stream,  as  it  dashed  among  the  rocks  below.  At  length, 
one  of  our  men  determined  to  go  for  water.  He  took 
with  him  a  small  tin  bucket;  and  after  having  been  ab- 
sent a  considerable  time,  he  returned  with  the  bucket 
about  one  fourth  full,  having  spilt  most  of  the  water  on 
his  return  to  camp.  The  amount  for  each  of  us  was  so 
small  that  our  thirst  was  increased  rather  than  dimin- 
ished. 

The  next  morning  we  left  early,  and  followed  the  road 
to  the  crossing  of  the  river,  where  we  arrived  about  noon. 
Here  we  spent  the  remainder  of  that  day.  The  valley  at 
this  poiift  was  about  a  mile  and  a  half  wide,  and  without 
timber,  and  the  descent  into  it  was  down  a  tall  hill,  which 
was  not  only  steep,  but  heavily  timbered.  In  the  middle  of 
this  valley  there  was  a  solitary  ridge  about  a  mile  long  and 
a  c^uarter  of  a  mile  wide  at  its  base,  and  some  two  hundred 
feet  high,  covered  with  rocks  of  various  sizes.  We  deter- 
mined to  discover,  if  we  could,  a  new  and  easier  route 
down  the  hill.  For  this  purpose  we  ascended  this  ridge, 
from  the  summit  of  which  we  could  have  an   excellent 


378  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

view  ol  the  face  of  the  hill,  down  which  our  wagons  must 
come. 

While  we  were  quietly  seated  upon  the  rocks  we  saw  an 
Indian  emerge  from  the  edge  of  the  timber  at  the  foot  of 
the  hill,  about  three  fourths  of  a  mile  distant,  and  start  in 
a  brisk  run  across  the  intervening  prairie  towards  us.  I 
directed  the  men  to  sit  perfectly  still  until  the  Indian 
should  be  hidden  from  our  view,  and  then  to  separate,  and 
let  him  fall  into  the  ambush.  We  occupied  the  highest 
point  of  this  lonely  ridge,  and  we  knew  he  would  make 
for  the  same  spot  for  the  purpose  of  overlooking  our  camp. 
We  waited  until  he  came  to  the  foot  of  the  ridge,  from 
which  position  he  could  not  see  us,  and  then  we  divided 
our  men  into  two  parties,  each  party  taking  up  a  different 
position.  Very  soon  the  Indian  came  within  about  thirty 
feet  of  one  of  our  parties,  and  suddenly  found  himself 
confronted  with  four  rifles  pointed  at  him,  with  a  com- 
mand by  signs  to  stop.  Of  course  it  was  a  perfect  sur- 
prise to  the  poor  old  Indian.  Pie  was  about  sixty  years 
old,  was  dressed  in  buckskin,  had  long  coarse  hair  and 
dim  eyes,  and  his  teeth  were  worn  down  to  the  gums. 

Notwithstanding  the  suddenness  and  completeness  of 
the  surprise,  the  old  hero  was  as  brave  and  cool  as  pos- 
sible. I  had  with  me  only  an  axe  with  which  to  blaze  the 
new  and  better  way,  in  case  we  found  it,  and  was  at  first 
some  little  distance  from  the  Indian.  As  I  came  toward 
him  with  the  axe  on  my  shoulder  he  made  thefmost  ve- 
hement motions  for  me  to  stop  and  not  come  any  nearer. 
I  saw  that  he  was  apprehensive  that  I  would  take  off  his 
head  with  the  axe,  and  at  once  stopped  and  threw  it  aside. 
At  first  he  would  allow  no  one  to  come  near  him,  but 
coolly  wet  his  fingers  with  his  tongue  and  then  deliber- 
ately dipped  them  into  the  sand  at  the  foot  of  the  rock  on 
which  he  sat,  and,  with  his  trusty  bow  and  arrow  in  his 
hands,  he  looked  the  men  full  in  the  face  as  much  as  to 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  379 

say,  "I  know  you  have  me  in  your  power,  but  I  wish  you 
to  understand  that  I  am  prepared  to  sell  my  life  as  dearly 
as  possible."  I  never  saw  a  greater  display  of  calm,  he- 
roic, and  determined  courage  than  was  shown  by  this  old 
Indian.  He  was  much  braver  than  the  young  Indian  we 
had  seen  the  day  before. 

One  of  our  men  who  was  a  blustering*  fellow  and  who 
was  for  displaying  his  courage  when  there  was  no  danger, 
})roposed  that  we  should  kill  the  old  Indian.  I  at  once 
put  a  daniper  upon  that  cowardly  proposition  by  stating 
to  the  fellow  that  if  he  wanted  to  kill  the  Indian  he  could 
have  a  chance  to  do  so  in  a  fair  and  equal  single  combat 
with  him.  This  proposition,  as  I  anticipated,  he  promptly 
declined.  I  was  satisfied  that  there  was  no  fight  in  him. 
.  After  some  time  we  were  permitted  one  at  a  time  to  ap- 
proach him.  We  offered  him  the  pipe  of  peace,  which 
he  accepted.  He  would  let  our  men  look  at  his  bows  and 
arrows  one  at  a  time,  never  parting  with  both  of  them  at 
once.  He  was  evidently  suspicious  of  treachery.  We  stayed 
with  him  some  time,  treating  him  kindly,  and  then  left 
him  sitting  on  his  rock.  This  was  the  last  we  saw  of  him. 
We  considered  this  mode  of  treating  the  Indians  the  most 
judicious,  as  it  displayed  our  power  and  at  the  same  time 
our  magnanimity.  We  proved  that  we  intended  no  harm 
to  them,  but  were  mere  passers  through  their  country. 
They  evidently  appreciated  our  motives,  and  the  result 
was  that  we  had  not  the  slightest  difticulty  with  the  Indians. 
After  crossing  the  river  the  road  bore  south,  it  being 
impossible  to  follow  down  the  stream,  as  the  mountains 
came  too  close  to  it.  Next  morning  we  left  our  camp  and 
followed  the  road  south  about  ten  miles,  when  we  came 
to  a  beautiful  grassy  valley,  covered  w^th  scattering  pine 
timber.  This  valley  was  about  two  miles  wide  where  the 
road  struck  it,  and  ran  west,  the  very  direction  we  wished 
to  go.     It  seemed  a  defile  passing  at  right  angles  through 


380  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains,  as  if  designed  for  a  level 
road  into  the  Sacramento  Valley. 

We  were  much  pleased  at  the  prospect,  and  followed 
this  splendid  road  rapidly  about  eight  miles,  when,  to  our 
great  mortification,  we  came  to  the  termination  of  this 
lovely  valley  in  front  of  a'  tall,  steep  mountain,  which 
could  not  be  ascended  except  by  some  creature  that  had 
either  wings  or  claws.  Upon  examination,  we  found  that 
old  Peter  Lassen  and  his  party  had  marched  west  along 
this  narrow  valley  to  its  abrupt  termination,  and  then  had 
turned  about  and  marched  back  to  near  the  point  where 
they  entered  it,  thus  wasting  some  ten  or  fifteen  miles  of 
travel.  The  two  portions  of  the  road  going  into  and  com- 
ing out  of  this  pretty  valley  were  not  more  than  half  a 
mile  apart;  but  this  fact  was  unknown  to  us  until  after 
we  had  brought  up  against  that  impassable  mountain. 

This  was  a  perplexing  and  distressing  situation.  Our 
own  pilot  did  not  like  this  route,  as  it  was  not  going  in 
the  right  direction.  How  to  get  out  of  this  line  of  travel, 
and  get  again  upon  the  river,  was  the  question.  We 
spent  the  greater  part  of  one  day  in  exploring  a  new  route, 
but  found  it  impracticable.  In  our  explorations,  we  found 
a  lava  bed  some  two  miles  wide.  It  was  clear  to  us  that 
old  Peter  Lassen  was  lost,  except  as  to  courses,  and  was 
wholly  unacquainted  with  the  particular  route  he  was 
going.  Our  own  pilot  knew  as  little  as  Lassen,  if  not  less. 
Our  wagons,  we  knew,  would  soon  overtake  us  ;  and  we 
determined  to  follow  Lassen's  road  ten  or  fifteen  miles 
farther  to  see  if  it  turned  west.  Several  of  us  started  on 
foot,  and  found  that  the  road,  after  leaving  the  valley, 
went  south  about  ten  miles,  and  then  turned  due  west, 
running  through  open  pine  timber  and  over  good  ground. 
We  returned  to  the  camp  in  the  night,  and  decided  that 
we  would  follow  Lassen's  road  at  all  hazards.  We  awaited 
the  arrival  of   our  wagons,  and   then   set  forward.     We 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  381 

found  the  road  an  excellent  one,  going  in  the  right  direc- 
tion ;  and  we  soon  found  ourselves  upon  the  sumniit  of 
the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains. 

The  summit  was  almost  a  dead  level,  covered  with 
stunted  pines.  We  passed  between  two  peaks.  The  as- 
cent on  the  eastern  side  was  ver}'  gradual  and  easy.  We 
encamped  one  evening  on  the  summit  near  a  small  lake; 
and  it  was  so  cold  that  night  that  ice  formed  along  its 
margin.  This  was  about  the  20th  of  October,  1848.  We 
knew  when  we  had  passed  the  summit,  from  the  fact  that 
the  streams  flowed  west.  Though  the  beds  of  the  streams 
were  dry  at  that  season  of  the  year,  we  could  tell  which 
way  the  water  had  run  from  the  driftwood  lodged  in 
places. 

While  on  Pitt  River,  we  knew  from  the  camp  fires  that 
Lassen's  party  had  ten  wagons  ;  and  from  all  appearances 
we  were  pretty  sure  that  they  were  some  thirty  days 
ahead  of  us. 

OVERTAKE     TETER     LASSEN     AND    HIS    PARTY ARRIVAL     IN 

THE    SACRAMENTO    VALLEY. 

Wc  pressed  on  vigorously,  and  soon  reached  the  wide 
strip  of  magnificent  pine  timber  found  on  the  western 
side  of  the  Sierra  Nevada.  We  had  not  proceeded  many 
miles,  after  entering  this  body  of  timber,  before  I  saw  a 
large,  newly-blazed  pine  tree  standing  near  the  road. 
Approaching,  I  found  these  words  marked  in  pencil : 
"  Look  under  a  stone  below  for  a  letter."  It  was  a  stone 
lying  upon  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  partl}^  imbedded 
in  it.  It  had  been  removed,  the  letter  placed  in  its  bed, 
and  then  replaced.  No  Indian  would  ever  have  thought 
of  looking  under  that  stone  for  anything.  I  did  as  di- 
rected, and  found  a  letter  addressed  to  me  by  my  old  friend 
and  law  partner  in  Oregon  City,  A.  L.  Lovejoy,  Esq.,  one 
of  the  packers  who  had  gone  ahead    of  us.     The  letter 


382  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

stated  that  the}-  had  overtaken  old  Peter  Lassen  and  a 
portion  of  his  party,  lost  in  the  mountains  and  half 
starved.  That  ver}^  evening  we  overtook  Lassen  and  half 
of  his  party  in  the  condition  described  by  Lovejoy.  In 
abou  teight  days  after  we  had  first  seen  Lassen's  road,  we 
had  overtaken  him. 

Peter  Lassen  had  met  the  incoming  immigration  that 
fall,  and  had  induced  the  people  belonging  to  ten  wagons 
to  come  by  his  new  route.  This  route  he  had  not  previ- 
ousl}^  explored.  He  only  had  a  correct  idea  of  the  courses, 
and  some  general  knowledge  of  the  country  through 
which  they  must  pass.  So  long  as  this  small  party  were 
traveling  through  prairies,  or  open  woods,  they  could 
make  fair  progress ;  but  the  moment  they  came  to  heavy 
timber,  they  had  not  force  enough  to  open  the  road.  After 
reaching  the  wide  strip  of  timber  already  mentioned,  they 
converted  their  ten  wagons  into  ten  carts,  so  that  they 
could  make  short  turns,  and  thus  drive  around  the  fallen 
timber.  This  they  found  a  slow  mode  of  travel.  One 
half  of  the  party  became  so  incensed  against  Lassen  that 
his  life  was  in  great  danger  The  whole  party  had  been 
without  any  bread  for  more  than  a  month,  and  had  during 
that  time  lived  alone  on  poor  beef.  They  were,  indeed, 
objects  of  pity.  I  never  saw  people  so  worn  down  and  so 
emaciated  as  these  poor  immigrants. 

The  people  that  belonged  to  .five  of  the  carts  had  aban- 
doned them,  packed  their  poor  oxen,  and  left  the  other 
half  of  the  party  a  short  time  before  we  reached  those 
that  remained  with  the  other  five  carts  and  with  Lassen. 
We  gave  them  plenty  of  provisions,  and  told  them  to  fol- 
low us,  and  we  would  open  the  way  ourselves.  Of  course, 
they  greatly  rejoiced.  How  their  sunken  eyes  sparkled 
with  delight !  Our  pilot,  Thomas  McKay,  overtook  an  old 
woman  on  foot,  driving  before  her  a  packed  oxen  down  a 
long,  steep  hill.     When  he  approached  near  to  her,  he 


I 


Recollections  of  an  Old  I'ioneer.  383 

made  a  noise  that  caused  her  to  stop  and  look  hack. 
"  Who  are  you,  and  where  did  you  come  from?"  she  asked 
in  a  lond  voice.  He  informed  her  that  he  was  one  of  a 
party  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  who  were  on  their 
wa}^  from  Oregon,  with  wagons  and  ox  teams,  to  the  Cal- 
ifornia gold  mines.  "Have  you  got  any  flour?"  "Yes, 
madam  ;  plenty."  "  You  are  like  an  angel  from  heaven!" 
And  she  raised  a  loud  and  thrilling  shout  that  rang  through 
that  primeval  forest. 

Lassen  and  our  pilot  followed  the  trail  of  the  packers 
for  «ome  twenty  or  thirty  miles,  as  it  passed  over  good 
ground,  but  through  heavy  timber.  We  had  from  sixty 
to  eighty  stout  men  to  open  the  road,  while  the  others 
were  left  to  drive  the  teams.  We  plied  our  axes  with 
skill,  vigor,  and  success,  and  opened  the  route  about  as 
fast  as  the  teams  could  well  follow. 

At  length  the  pack  trail  descended  a  long,  steep  hill,  to 
a  creek  at  the  bottom  of  an  immense  ravine.  Old  Peter 
Lassen  insisted  that  our  wagons  should  keep  on  the  top 
of  the  ridges,  and  not  go  down  to  the  water.  When  the 
first  portion  of  the  train  arrived  at  this  point,  they  had 
to  stop  some  time  on  the  summit  of  the  hill.  How  to  get 
out  of  this  position  without  descending  into  the  ravine 
below  was  a  perplexing  question.  Our  pilots  had  been  to 
the  creek,  and  would  not  let  us  go  down  the  hill.  In  look- 
ing for  a  way  out  of  this  dilemma  they  discovered  a  strip 
of  ground,  about  thirty  feet  wide,  between  the  heads  of 
two  immense  and  impassable  ravines,  and  connecting  the 
ridge  we  were  compelled  to  leave  with  another.  It  was 
like  an  isthmus  connecting  two  continents.  Over  this 
narrow  natural  bridge  we  passed  in  safety. 

That  evening  a  large  portion  of  our  company  camped 
on  the  summit  of  a  dr}'  ridge,  among  the  intermixed  pine 
and  oak  timber.  They  had  traveled  all  day,  under  a  hot 
October  sun,  without  water.    This  was  the  first  time  those 


384  Peter  H.  Buknett. 

M'ith  the  wagons  were  compelled  to  do  without  water  at 
night.  They  chained  their  oxen  to  their  wagons,  as  the 
animals  would  have  gone  to  water  had  they  been  turned 
out.  The  ox  has  a  keen  scent,  and  they  smell  water  at 
the  distance  of  one  or  two  miles.  It  was  another  sober, 
solemn,  and  silent  time.  Scarcely  a  word  was  spoken, 
and  not  a  mouthful  eaten. 

By  daybreak  next  morning  we  were  off,  and  had  only 
gone  about  five  miles  when  we  came  to  the  edge  of  a  pine 
forest.  From  this  elevated  point  we  had  a  most  admirable 
view.  Below  at  the  seeming  distance  of  ten,  but  the, real 
distance  of  twenty  miles,  lay  the  broad  and  magnificent 
valley  of  the  Sacramento,  gleaming  in  the  bright  and 
genial  sunshine ;  and  beyond,  and  in  the  dim  distance, 
rose  the  grand  blue  outlines  of  the  Coast  Range.  The 
scene  was  most  beautiful  to  us,  thirsty  as  we  were.  How 
our  hearts  leaped  for  joy  !  That  was  our  Canaan.  Once 
in  that  valley,  and  pur  serious  difficulties,  our  doubts  and 
fears,  would  be  among  the  things  of  the  past.  But  the 
last  of  our  trials  was  the  most  severe.  We  had  still  to 
descend  to  that  desired  valley  over  a  very  rough  road. 

From  the  place  where  we  stood,  we  could  see  three  tall, 
narrow,  rocky  ridges,  with  deep  ravines  between,  running 
toward  the  valley.  Neither  our  pilots  nor  any  of  us 
knew  which  of  the  three  ridges  to  take,  and  we  had  no 
time  to  explore.  We  contemplated  the  scene  for  a  few 
moments,  and  then  looked  down  the  ridges  for  a  short 
time,  and  chose  the  middle  one  at  a  venture,  not  knowing 
what  obstructions  and  sufferings  were  before  us.  We  had 
in  our  company  two  classes.  One  was  eager  to  enter  the 
valley  as  early  as  possible,  while  the  other  had  no  desire 
for  haste.  I  belonged  to  the  latter  class.  I  had  lived  and 
suffered  long  enough  to  have  acquired  some  caution. 

The  last  camp  before  the  one  where  a  portion  of  our 
people  had  done  without  water  had  plenty  of  grass,  fuel. 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  385 

and  water.  We  had  been  rapidly  descending  the  western 
side  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  for  some  days  before  we  over- 
took Lassen  and  his  party  ;  and  we  knew  that  we  could 
not  be  very  far  from  the  Sacramento  Valley.  Besides  this 
evidence,  we  found  the  red  oaks  appearing  among  the 
pines  ;  and  this  was  a  conclusive  proof  that  we  were  not 
far  from  that  valley.  I  saw  that  there  was  no  necessity 
that  the  wagons  should  follow  our  pilots  so  closely.  Our 
true  policy  would  have  been  to  remain  where  we  first 
found  the  oak  timber  until  our  pilots  had  explored  and 
selected  the  route  into  the  valley.  We  could  have  safely 
remained  at  that  good  camp  a  month  longer  than  we  did. 
But  one  portion  of  our  people  had  the  gold  fever  too  badly 
to  be  controlled.  We  who  were  more  patient  and  cautious 
were  willing  that  those  hasty  and  ambitious  men  should 
go  on  ahead  of  us,  if  they  desired  to  do  so.  Our  two  classes 
were  well  matched,  like  the  man's  oxen,  one  of  which 
wanted  to  do  all  the  work,  and  the  other  was  perfectly 
willing  that  he  should. 

I  had  directed  the  men  in  charge  of  my  wagons  and 
teams  to  remain  in  that  good  camp  until  they  should  re- 
ceive other  orders.  I  then  assisted  to  open  the  road  to  the 
natural  bridge  mentioned.  After  that,  the  road  ran 
through  open  woods  and  over  good  ground  to  the  point 
where  the  pines  terminated.  I  determined  to  leave  the 
foremost  wagons  at  that  point  and  return  on  foot  to  the 
good  camp,  where  I  arrived  in  the  evening.  Next  morn- 
ing early  I  took  my  best  horse  and  started  on  after  the 
foremost  wagons,  deciding  that  my  own  wagons  and  teams 
should  remain  where  they  were  until  I  knew  they  could 
reach  the  valley  by  that  or  some  other  route.  The  dis- 
tance from  the  point  where  I  left  the  foremost  wagons  to 
the  good. camp  was  about  fifteen  miles.  About  10  o'clock, 
A.  M.,  I  arrived  at  that  point,  which  I  had  left  the  morn- 
ing before;  and,  looking  down  toward  the  valley,  1  could 


386  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

dimly  discern  some  of  the  white-sheeted  wagons  on  their 
dry  and  rugged  way  to  the  valle3\  I  followed  them  as 
fast  as  I  could  at  a  brisk  trot.  At  the  distance  of  about 
eight  miles  I  came  to  an  immense  mass  of  rock,  which 
completely  straddled  the  narrow  ridge  and  totally  ob- 
structed the  way.  This  huge  obstacle  could  not  be  removed 
in  time,  and  the  wagons  had  to  .pass  around  it.  They 
were  let  down  the  left  side  of  the  ridge  by  ropes  to  a 
bench,  then  passed  along  this  bench  to  a  point  beyond 
the  rock,  and  were  then  drawn  up  to  the  top  of  the  ridge 
again  by  doubling  teams. 

I  passed  on  about  six  miles  farther,  and  came  to  another 
'huge  mass  of  rock  entirely  across  the  top  of  the  ridge. 
But  in  this  case  the  sides  of  the  ridge  were  not  so  steep, 
and  the  wagons  had  easily  passed  across  the  ravine  to  the 
ridge  on  the  right.  Soon,  however,  the  ridges  sank  down 
to  the  surface,  leaving  no  further  diffiulties  in  the  way 
except  the  loose  rocks,  which  lay  thick  upon  the  ground. 
These  rocks  were  of  all  sizes,  from  that  of  a  man's  hat  to 
that  of  a  large  barrel,  and  constituted  a  serious  obstruc- 
tion to  loaded  wagons.  We  could  avoid  the  larger  rocks, 
as  they  were  not  so  many  ;  but  not  the  smaller  ones,  as 
they  were  numerous  and  lay  thick  upon  the  ground.  In 
passing  over  this  part  of  our  route  two  of  the  wagons 
were  broken  down. 

About  noon  I  met  one  of  our  party  who  had  been  to  the 
valley,  and  was  on  his  return  to  the  good  camp,  where  his 
wagons  and  teams  as  well  as  mine  were  left.  He  reported 
to  me  that  the  route  was  practicable  ;  and  I  sent  word  to 
my  men  to  come  on  the  next  day. 

I  arrived  at  the  camp  in  the  valley,  near  a  beautiful 
stream  of  water,  a  little  after  dark,  having  traveled  that 
day  about  thirty-five  miles.  I  could  hear  the  wagons  com- 
ing down  that  rough,  rocky  hill  until  midnight.     Some  of 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  387 

the  people  belonging  to  the  foremost  wagons  had  been 
without  water  nearly  two  da^'S. 

Next  morning  I  started  on  foot  to  meet  my  wagons,  and 
found  them  on  the  middle  ridge,  this  side  the  first  huge 
mass  of  rock,  about  sundown.  They  had  plenty  of  water 
for  drinking  purposes,  and  chained  up  the  oxen  to  the 
wagons.  Next  day  they  came  into  camp  in  good  time, 
without  suffering  and  without  loss. 

ARRIVE    AT    THE  HOUSE  OF  PETER  LASSEN ORIGIN    OF  THE 

TERM    "prospecting" ARRIVAL    AT    THE 

MINES MINING. 

We  left  the  first  camp  in  the  valley  the  next  morning, 
and,  after  traveling  a  distance  of  eight  miles,  arrived  at 
the  rancho  of  Old  Peter  Lassen.  The  old  pilot  was  in  the 
best  of  spirits,  and  killed  for  us  a  fat  beef ;  and  we  re- 
mained at  his  place  two  or  three  days,  feasting  and  rest- 
ing. All  organization  in  our  company  ceased  upon  our 
arrival  in  the  Sacramento  Valley.  Each  gold  hunter  went 
his  own  way,  to  seek  his  own  fortune.  They  soon  after 
scattered  in  various  directions. 

A  day  or  two  after  we  left  Lassen's  place,  we  were  sur- 
prised and  very  much  amused  upon  learning  that  the 
packers  who  had  left  us  in  such  a  hurry  on  Pitt  River 
were  coming  on  behind  us.  As  stated  on  page  266,  they 
had  descended  a  long  steep  hill  to  a  creek  at  the  bottom 
of  an  immense  ravine.  They  followed  down  this  stream 
west  for  some  miles,  when  they  came  to  an  obstruction  in 
their  route  that  they  could  not  possibly  pass,  and  were 
compelled  to  return  up  the  stream  east  until  they  found 
a  place  where  they  could  get  out  of  this  ravine  on  its  north 
side.  They  came  to  the  creek  on  its  southern  side,  and 
thought  their  best  chance  to  escape  was  to  be  found  on 
its  northern  bank.  In  this  way  they  were  detained  in  the 
mountains  three  or  four  days  longer  than  we  were.    They 


388  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

had  plenty  of  provisions,  and  bad  suffered  but  little.  We 
therefore  rallied  them  heartily,  all  of  which  they  bore  with 
the  best  of  humor.  Our  ox  teams  had  beaten  their  pack 
animals,  thus  proving  that  the  race  is  not  always  to  the 
swift. 

In  passing  down  the  valley,  we  encamped  one  evening 
near  the  house  of  an  old  settler  named  Potter.  He  lived 
in  a  very  primitive  style.  His  yard,  in  front  of  his  adobe 
building,  was  full  of  strips  of  fresh  beef,  hung  upon  lines 
to  dry.  He  was  very  talkative  and  boastful.  He  had  been 
in  the  mines,  had  employed  Indians  to  work  for  him,  and 
had  grown  suddenly  rich  ;  and,  as  his  head  was  naturally 
light,  it  had  been  easily  turned.  He  came  to  our  camp 
and  talked  with  us  until  about  midnight.  It  was  here 
that  I  first  heard  the  word  "prospecting"  used.  At  first  I 
could  not  understand  what  Potter  meant  by  the  term,  but  I 
listened  patiently  to  our  garrulous  guest,  until  I  discovered 
its  meaning.  AVhen  gold  was  first  discovered  in  Califor- 
nia, and  any  one  went  out  searching  for  new  placers,  they 
would  say,  "He  has  gone  to  hunt  for  new  gold  diggings." 
But,  as  this  fact  had  to  be  so  often  repeated,  some  practical, 
sensible,  economical  man  called  the  whole  process  "pros- 
pecting." So  perfectly  evident  was  the  utility  of  this  new 
word,  that  it  was  at  once  universally  adopted. 

We  arrived  in  a  few  days  at  Captain  Sutter's  Hock 
Farm,  so  called  from  a  small  tribe  of  Indians  in  that  vi- 
cinity. I  called  on  the  agent,  and  made  some  inquiries 
as  to  the  mines.  He  replied  that  there  was  no  material 
difference  between  the  different  mining  localities,  so  far 
as  he  knew.  Those  on  the  Yuba  River  he  knew  to  be 
good. 

We  forded  the  Feather  River  a  few  miles  below  Hock 
Farm,  and  then  took  up  this  stream  towards  the  Yuba, 
and  encamped  a  little  before  sundown  near  the  rancho  of 
Michael  Nye.     Doctor  Atkinson,  then  practicing  his  pro- 


IvKCOLLKCTIONS    OF    AN    OlD    PiONEER.  389 

fessioii  ill  the  valley,  cjime  to  oar  camp.  I  inquired  of 
him  who  resided  in  that  house.  He  replied,  "Mr.  Nye." 
"What  is  his  Christian  name?"  "Michael."  I  had  known 
Michael  Nye  in  Missouri,  and  my  brother-in-law,  John  P. 
Rogers  (who  was  with  me)  and  Nye  had  been  intimate 
friends  when  they  were  both  young-  men.  We  at  once 
called  upon  Nye  at  his  house.  He  received  us  most 
kindly.  He  and  his  brother-in-law,  William  Foster,  with 
their  families,  were  living  together. 

Next  morning  we  left  for  the  Yuba  ;  and  after  traveling 
some  eight  or  ten  miles,  we  arrived  at  noon  on  the  brow 
of  the  hill  overlooking  Long's  Bar.  Below,  glowing  in 
the  hot  sunshine,  and  in  the  narrow  valley  of  this  lovely 
and  ra[)id  stream,  we  saw  the  canvas  tents  and  the  cloth 
shanties  of  the  miners.  There  was  but  one  log  cabin  in 
the  camp.  Tliere  were  about  eighty  men,  three  women, 
and  five  children  at  this  place.  The  scene  was  most  beau- 
tiful to  us.  It  was  the  first  mining  locality  we  had  ever 
seen,  and  here  we  promptly  decided  to  pitch  our  tent.  We 
drove  our  wagons  and  teams  across  the  river  into  the 
camp,  and  turned  out  our  oxen  and  horses  to  graze  and 
rest. 

We  arrived  at  the  mines  November  5,  184S  ;  and  the 
remainder  of  the  day  I  spent  looking  around  the  camp. 
No  miner  paid  the  slightest  attention  to  me.  They  were 
all  too  busy.  At  last  I  ventured  to  ask  one  of  them, 
whose  appearance  pleased  me,  whether  he  could  see  the 
particles  of  gold  in  the  dirt.  Though  dressed  in  the  garb 
of  a  rude  miner,  lie  was  a  gentleman  and  a  scholar.  He 
politely  replied  that  he  could  ;  and  taking  a  handful  of 
dirt,  he  blew  away  the  fine  dust  with  his  breath,  and 
showed  me  a  scale  of  gold,  about  as  thick  as  thin  paper, 
and  as  large  as  a  flax  seed.     This  was  entirely  new  to  me. 

In  the  evening,  when  the  miners  had  quit  work  and  re- 
turned to  their  tents  and  shanties,  I  found  a  number  of 


390  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

old  acquaintances,  some  from  Missouri  and  others  from 
Oreo-on.  Among  those  from  Missouri  were  Dr.  John  P. 
Long  and  his  brother  Willis,  for  whom  this  bar  was  named. 
I  had  not  seen  either  of  them  for  about  six  years,  though 
our  families  were  connected  by  marriage,  Dr.  Benjamin 
Long,  another  brother,  having  married  my  youngest  sister, 
Mary  Burnett.     I  was  perfectly  at  home  here. 

Next  day  my  brother-in-law,  John  P.  Rogers,  my  nephew, 
Horace  Burnett  (both  of  whom  had  come  with  me  from 
Oregon),  and  myself,  purchased  a  mining  location,  front- 
ing on  the  river  about  twenty  feet,  and  reaching  back  to 
the  foot  of  the  hill  about  fifty  feet.  We  bought  on  credit, 
and  agreed  to  pay  for  it  $300  in  gold  dust,  at  the  rate  of 
$16  per  ounce.  We  at  once  unloaded  the  two  wagons,  and 
sent  them  and  the  oxen  and  horses  back  to  Nye's  rancho, 
where  we  made  our  headquarters. 

As  already  stated,  I  had  brought  from  Oregon  new  and 
suitable  plank  for  a  rocker,  in  the  bottom  of  my  wagon 
beds.  The  only  material  we  had  to  purchase  for  our 
gold  rocker  was  one  small  sheet  of  zinc.  I  went  to  work 
upon  the  rocker  which  I  finished  in  one  day  ;  and  then 
we  three  set  to  work  on  the  claim  with  a  will.  I  dug  the 
dirt,  Horace  Burnett  rocked  the  rocker,  and  John  P.  Rogers 
threw  the  water  upon  the  dirt  containing  the  gold.  Within 
about  three  or  four  days  we  were  making  $20  each  daily, 
and  we  soon  paid  for  our  claim.  We  rose  by  daybreak, 
ate  our  breakfast  by  sunrise,  worked  until  noon  ;  then 
took  dinner,  went  to  work  again  about  half-past  12,  quit 
work  at  sundown,  and  slept  under  a  canvas  tent  on  the 
hard  ground. 

In  the  summer  months  the  heat  was  intense  in  this 
deep,  narrow,  rocky,  sandy,  valley.  The  mercury  would 
rise  at  times  to  118  degrees  in  the  shade.  Dr.  John  P. 
Long  told  me  that  the  sand  and  rocks  became  so  hot 
during  the  day,  that  a  large  dog  he  had  with  him  would 


Recollections  op  an  Old  Pioneer.  891 

suffer  for  water  rather  than  go  to  the  river  for  it  before 
night.  The  pain  of  burned  feet  was  greater  to  the  poor 
dog  than  the  pain  of  thirst.  After  our  arrival  the  days 
were  not  so  hot. 

Tliis  was  a  new  and  interesting  position  to  me.  After 
I  had  been  there  a  few  days  I  could  tell,  when  the  miners 
quit  work  in  the  evening,  what  success  they  had  had  dur- 
ing the  day.  When  I  met  a  miner  with  a  silent  tongue 
and  downcast  look,  I  knew  that  he  had  not  made  more 
than  $8.00  or  $10 ;  when  I  met  one  with  a  contented  but 
not  excited  look,  I  knew  he  had  made  from  $10  to  $20; 
but  when  I  met  one  with  a  glowing  countenance,  and 
and  quick,  high,  vigorous  step,  so  that  the  rocks  were  not 
much  if  at  all  in  his  way,  I  knew  he  had  made  from  $20 
to  $50.  His  tongue  was  so  flexible  and  glib  that  he  would 
not  permit  me  to  pass  in  silence,  but  must  stop  me  and 
tell  of  his  success.  Ordinary  hands  were  paid  $12  a  day, 
and  boarded  and  lodged  by  the  employer.  •  I  knew  one 
young  man  who  had  been  paid  such  wages  for  some  time, 
but  finally  became  disgusted  and  declared  he  would  not 
work  for  such  wages.  It  cost  $1.00  each  to  have  shirts 
washed,  and  other  things  in  proportion.  There  was  no 
starch  in  that  camp,  and  shirts  were  not  ironed. 

THE    DONNER    PARTY. 

During  my  stay  in  the  mines  I  was  several  times  at 
Nye's  house,  and  on  one  occasion  I  was  there  three  days. 
I  became  well  acquainted  with  William  Foster  and  family. 
Foster,  his  wife,  and  Mrs.  Nye  were  of  the  Donner  party, 
who  suffered  so  much  in  the  winter  of  184G-'47.  Mrs. 
Nye  did  not  talk  much,  not  being  a  talkative  woman,  and 
being  younger  than  her  sister  Mrs.  Foster.  Mrs.  Foster 
was  then  about  twenty-three  years  old.  She  had  a  tine 
education,  and  possessed  the  finest  narrative  powers.  I 
never   met   with    any   one,    not    even    excepting    Robert 


392  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

Newell  of  Oregon,  who  could  narrate  events  as  well  as 
she.  She  was  not  more  accurate  and  full  in  her  narra- 
tive, but  a  better  talker,  than  Newell.  For  hour  after 
hour,  I  would  listen  in  silence  to  her  sad  narrative.  Her 
husband  was  then  in  good  circumstances,  and  they  had 
no  worldly  matter  to  give  them  pain  but  their  recollec- 
tions of  the  past.  Foster  was  a  man  of  excellent  common 
sense,  and  his  intellect  had  not  been  affected,  like  those 
of  many  others.  His  statement  was  clear,  consistent,  and 
intelligible.  In  the  fall  of  1849  I  became  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  William  H.  Eddy,  another  member  of  the 
party.  From  these  four  persons  I  mainly  obtained  my 
information  on  this  melancholy  subject.  I  can  not  state 
all  the  minute  circumstances  and  incidents,  but  can  only 
give  the  substance  as  I  remember  it;  for  I  write  from 
memory  alone. 

The  Donner  party  consisted  of  about  eighty  immigrants, 
including  men,  women,  and  children.  They  were  so  called 
because  the  men  who  bore  that  name  were  the  leading 
persons  of  the  party.  They  decided  for  themselves  to 
cross  the  Sierra  Nevada  by  a  new  road.  L.  W.  Hastings, 
then  residing  at  Sutter's  Fort,  went  out  to  meet  the  incom- 
ing immigration  of  that  fall,  and  advised  the  Donner  party 
not  to  attempt  to  open  a  new  route,  but  his  advice  was 
disregarded.  He  returned  to  the  fort  and  reported  the 
fact  to  Captain  Sutter,  who  sent  out  two  Indians  with  five 
mules  packed  with  provisions  to  meet  the  party. 

The  party  had  arrived  at  a  small  lake,  since  called  Don- 
ner Lake,  situated  a  short  distance  from  the  present  site 
of  Truckee  City,  and  some  fifteen  miles  from  Lake  Tahoe, 
and  had  erected  two  log  cabins  upon  the  margin  of  Don- 
ner Lake,  when  the  Indians  arrived  with  the  mules  and 
provisions.  This  was  in  the  month  of  November,  184G. 
Up  to  this  time  there  had  been  several  comparatively 
light  falls  of  snow.     Foster  said  he  proposed  to  slaughter 


Kecollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  393 

all  the  animals,  includint^  the  fat  mules  sent  out  by  Cap- 
tain Sutter,  and  save  their  flesh  for  food.  This  could 
have  readily  been  done  then,  and  the  people  could  have 
subsisted  until  relieved  in  the  spring.  But  the  immi- 
grants were  not  in  a  condition  to  accept  or  reject  this 
proposition  at  once.  They  were  unacquainted  with  the 
climate,  could  not  well  understand  how  snow  could  fall  to 
a  depth  of  twenty  or  thirty  feet,  and  were  so  much  worn 
down  by  the  tedium  of  the  long  journey,  and  the  absence 
of  fresh  meat  and  vegetables,  that  they  were  not  prepared 
to  decide  wisely  or  to  act  promptly.  Besides,  the  idea  of 
living  upon  the  flesh  of  mules  and  poor  cattle  was  natu- 
rally repugnant  to  them.  It  is  very  probable  that  many 
of  them  considered  such  food  unhealthy,  and  that,  crowded 
as  they  were  into  two  cabins,  the  use  of  such  poor  food 
might  produce  severe  sickness  among  them,  and  many 
would  die  of  disease. 

While  they  were  considering  and  discussing  this  prof)- 
osition,  a  terrible  storm  came  up  one  evening,  and  snow 
fell  to  the  depth  of  six  feet  during  the  night.  The  poor 
animals  fled  before  the  driving  storm  and  all  perished  ; 
the  next  morning  there  was  one  wide,  desolate  waste  of 
snow,  and  not  a  carcass  could  be  found.  The  little  sup- 
ply of  provisions  they  had  on  hand,  including  that  sent 
by  Captain  Sutter,  they  saw  could  not  last  them  long. 
They  now  fully  comprehended  their  dreadful  situation. 
It  was  a  terrible  struggle  for  existence. 

It  was  soon  decided  to  start  a  party  across  the  moun- 
tains on  snowshoes.  This  party  consisted  of  ten  men, 
including  the  two  Indians,  Ave  women,  and  a  boy  twelve 
years  old,  the  brother  of  Mrs.  Fostei'.  I  once  knew  the 
names  of  the  eight  white  men,  but  at  this  time  I  can  only 
remember  those  of  William  H.  Eddy  and  William  Foster. 

The  women  were  Mrs.  Foster,  Mrs.  McCutchin,  Mrs. , 

then  a  widow,  but  subsequently  Mrs.  Nye,  INIrs.   Pile,  a 


394  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

widow,  and  Miss  Mary ,  sister  of  Mrs.  Foster,  and  sub- 
sequently wife  of  Charles  Coviland,  one  of  the  original 
proprietors  of  Marysville,  so  named  for  her. 

This  little  party  left  the  cabins  on  snowshoes,  with  one 
suit  of  clothes  each,  a  few  blankets,  one  axe,  one  rifle  with 
ammunition,  and  a  small  supply  of  provisions.  The  sum- 
mit of  the  mountain  where  they  crossed  it  was  about  fifty 
miles  wide,  and  was  covered  with  snow  to  the  depth  of  ten 
or  fifteen  feet,  and  they  could  only  travel  from  five  to 
eight  miles  a  day.  On  the  summit  and  for  some  distance 
beyond  it,  not  an  animal  could  be  found,  as  the  wild  game 
always  instinctively  fled  before  the  snows  of  winter  to  the 
foothills,  where  the  snows  are  lighter,  and  they  could  ob- 
tain food  and  escape  from  their  enemies  in  flight.  In  the 
spring  the  wild  grazing  animals  ascend  the  mountain  as 
the  snows  melt,  to  crop  the  fresh  grass  and  escape  the  flies. 

For  the  first  few  days  they  made  good  progress  ;  but  while 
they  were  comparatively  strong  they  could  kill  no  game, 
because  none  could  be  found,  and  their  provisions  were 
rapidly  consumed.  When  they  had  reached  the  western 
side  of  the  summit,  they  encamped,  as  usual,  on  the  top 
of  the  snow.  They  would  cut  logs  of  green  wood  about 
six  feet  long,  and  with  them  make  a  platform  on  the  snow, 
and  upon  this  make  their  fire  of  dry  wood.  Such  a  foun- 
dation would  generally  last  as  long  as  necessary ;  but  on 
this  occasion  it  was  composed  of  small  logs,  as  the  poor 
people  were  too  weak  from  starvation  to  cut  and  handle 
larger  ones  ;  and  there  came  up  in  the  evening  a  blind- 
ing, driving  snowstorm,  which  lasted  all  that  night  and 
the  next  day  and  night.  New  snow  fell  to  the  depth  of 
several  feet.  They  maintained  a  good  fire  for  a  time,  to 
keep  themselves  from  freezing  ;  but  the  small  foundation 
logs  were  soon  burnt  nearly  through,  so  that  the  heat  of 
the  fire  melted  the  snow  beneath,  letting  them  down  grad- 
ually toward  the  ground,  while  the  storm  above  was  falling 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  395 

thick  and  fast.  Toward  midnight  they  found  themselves 
in  a  circular  well  in  the  snow  about  eight  feet  deep,  with 
the  ice-cold  water  beginning  to  rise  in  the  bottom.  After 
the  foundation  was  gone,  they  kept  alive  the  fire  by  set- 
ting the  wood  on  end  and  kindling  the  fire  on  top.  While 
they  were  in  this  condition,  one  of  the  Indians,  who  bad 
been  sitting  and  nodding  next  the  snow  wall  until  he  was 
almost  frozen,  made  a  sudden  and  desperate  rush  for  the 
fire,  upsetting  and  putting  it  out. 

Eddy  urged  them  to  quit  this  well  of  frozen  death,  as  it 
was  impossible  to  live  where  they  were,  with  their  feet  in 
ice  water.  They  all  climbed  out  of  the  well,  spread  one 
blanket  on  top  of  the  snow,  then  seated  themselves  on 
this  blanket,  back  to  back,  and  covered  their  heads  with 
the  others.  In  this  painful  position  they  remained  for 
the  rest  of  the  night,  all  the  next  day  and  night,  and  until 
some  time  after  sunrise  the  last  morning.  During  this 
time  four  or  five  of  their  number  perished,  one  of  whom 
was  a  boy.  Mrs.  Foster  spoke  of  this  young  hero  with 
the  greatest  feeling.  His  patience  and  resignation  were 
of  the  martyr  type.  When  we  were  reduced  to  half  a 
biscuit  each,  he  insisted  that  she  should  eat  his  portion 
as  well  as  her  own,  but  this  she  refused. 

From  this  scene  of  death  the  survivors  proceeded  on 
their  melancholy  journey  down  the  western  side  of  the 
mountain.  That  evening,  after  they  had  encamped  and 
kindled  a  blazing  fire,  one  of  the  men,  who  had  born  the 
day's  travel  well,  suddenly  fell  down  by  the  fire,  where  he 
was  warming  himself,  and  expired.  The  cold,  bracing 
air  and  the  excitement  and  exertion  of  travel  had  kept 
him  alive  during  the  day  ;  but  when  he  became  warm  his 
vital  energies  ceased.  This  is  often  the  case  under  like 
circumstances.  I  have  understood  that  deaths  occurred  in 
this  manner  among  Fremont's  men,  while  making  the 
trip  from  Oregon  to  California  in  the  winter  of  lS4o-'44. 


396  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

At  this  camp  another  of  the  men  sat  down  by  a  pine  tree, 
leaned  himself  against  it,  and  died. 

The  remainder  of  this  snffering  party  continued  their 
journey.  All  the  other  men  dropped  off  one  after  an- 
other, at  intervals,  except  Eddy  and  Foster.  When  they 
had  almost  reached  the  point  of  utter  despair,  Eddy  saw 
a  deer,  and  made  a  good  shot  killing  the  animal.  This 
supplied  them  with  food  for  a  few  days.  After  it  was  con- 
sumed, they  met  with  a  party  of  Indians,  who  furnished 
them  with  a  small  quantity  of  provisions. 

At  length  they  arrived  at  the  last  encampment,  and 
within  six  or  eight  miles  of  Johnson's  rancho,  on  the  east- 
ern side  of  the  Sacramento  Valley.  Next  morning  Foster 
was  unable  to  continue  the  journey,  and  refused  to  make 
another  effort  to  walk.  Eddy  was  the  stouter  man  of  the 
two,  and  he  proceeded  on  his  tottering  course,  leaving 
Foster  and  the  five  women  at  the  camp.  It  was  all  Eddy 
could  do  to  walk  ;  but,  most  fortunately,  he  soon  found 
two  friendl}^  Indians,  who  kindly  led  him  to  Johnson's 
place,  Eddy  walking  between  them,  with  one  hand  on  the 
shoulder  of  each  Indian. 

They  arrived  at  Johnson's  house  in  the  afternoon. 
Johnson  was  then  a  bachelor,  but  he  had  a  man  and  his 
wife  living  with  him.  This  lady  was  an  admirable  woman, 
full  of  humanity,  and  possessed  of  excellent  sense,  firm- 
ness, and  patience.  She  knew  from  Edd3''s  condition  what 
the  poor  sufferer  needed.  There  were  also  several  fami- 
lies of  late  immigrants  residing  temporarily  in  that  vi- 
cinity. About  ten  men  promptly  assembled,  and  started 
for  the  camp,  taking  with  them  everything  that  was  nec- 
essary. 

The  relief  men  were  piloted  by  the  two  humane  Indians, 
and  reached  the  camp  a  little  after  dark.  Foster  said  that 
when  they  heard  the  men  coming  through  the  brush 
toward  the  camp,  the  women  began  to  cr}^  most  piteously, 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  897 

saying  they  were  enemies  coming  to  kill  them  ;  but  Foster 
comforted  and  pacified  them  by  declaring  that  the  men 
coming  must  be  friends.  The  relief  men  soon  came  up, 
and  were  so  much  affected  by  the  woeful  spectacle  that 
for  some  time  they  said  not  a  word,  but  only  gazed  and 
wept.  The  poor  creatures  before  them,  hovering  around 
that  small  camp  fire,  had  been  snowed  on  and  rained  on, 
had  been  lacerated,  starved,  and  worn  down,  until  they 
were  but  breathing  skeletons.  The  clothes  they  wore  were 
nothing  but  filthy  rags,  and  their  faces  had  not  been 
washed  or  their  heads  combed  for  a  month  ;  and  the  in- 
tellectual expression  of  the  human  countenance  had  al- 
most vanished.  No  case  of  human  suffering  could  have 
been  more  terrible.  No  wonder  that  brave  and  hardy 
men  wept  like  children. 

Of  all  the  physical  evils  that  waylay  and  beset  the  thorn}^ 
path  of  human  life,  none  can  be  more  appalling  than  star- 
vation. It  is  not  a  sudden  and  violent  assault  upon  the 
vital  powers,  that  instinctive  and  intellectual  courage  may 
successfully  resist ;  but  it  is  an  inexorable  undermining 
and  slow  wasting  away  of  the  physical  and  mental  ener- 
gies, inch  by  inch.  No  courage,  no  intellect,  no  martyr- 
S})irit  can  possibly  withstand  this  deprivation.  When 
there  is  an  entire  deprivation  of  ^  food  it  is  said  that  the 
greatest  pangs  of  hunger  are  felt  on  the  third  day.  After 
that,  the  stomach,  being  entirely  empty,  contracts  to  a 
very  small  space,  and  ceases  to  beg  for  food ;  and  the  suf- 
ferer dies  from  exhaustion,  without  any  violent  pain. 
But,  when  there  is  an  insufficient  supply  of  food,  the 
severe  pangs  of  hunger  must  be  prolonged,  and  the  aggre- 
gate amount  of  suffering  before  death  is  most  probably 
increased. 

The  relief  party  did  everything  required  for  the  poor 
sufferers,  and  next  morning  carried  them  to  Johnson's 
house.     The  lady  in  charge  was  careful  to  give  them  at 


398  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

first  a  limited  supply  of  food  at  a  time.  It  required  all 
her  firmness  and  patience  to  resist  their  jjassionate  en- 
treaties for  more  food.  When  the  poor,  starved  creatures 
could  not  persuade  they  violently  abused  the  good  lady 
because  she  did  not  comply  with  their  demands.  Eddy 
said  that  he  himself  abused  her  in  harsh  terms.  All  this 
she  bore  with  the  kind  patience  of  a  good  mother,  waiting 
upon  a  sick  and  peevish  child. 

I  expressed  m}'  surprise  to  Eddy  and  Foster  that  all  the 
women  escaped,  while  eight  out  of  the  ten  men  perished, 
saying  that  I  supposed  it  was  owing  to  the  fact  that  the 
men,  especially  at  the  beginning  of  the  journey,  had  per- 
formed most  of  the  labor.  They  said  that,  at  the  start, 
the  men  may  have  performed  a  little  more  labor  than  the 
women  ;  but  taken  altogether,  the  women  performed  more 
labor  than  the  men,  if  there  was  any  difference.  After 
the  men  had  become  too  weak  to  carry  the  gun,  it  was 
carried  by  the  women.  Women  seemed  to  be  more  hope- 
ful than  men  in  cases  of  extreme  distress;  and  their  or- 
ganization seems  superior  to  that  of  men.  A  mother  will 
sit  up  and  wait  upon  a  sick  child  much  longer  than  the 
father  could  possibly  do. 

The  Eddy  party  were  about  thirt}^  da^'s  in  making  the 
trip..  Other  parties  left  the  cabins  and  made  their  way 
into  the  settlement,  after  losing  a  considerable  j^ortion  of 
their  number  on  the  way.  Many  died  at  the  cabins  from 
starvation.  Forty-four  of  the  Donner  party  escaped,  and 
thirty-six  perished. 

a  lonely  grave death  of   david  ray john  c. 

Mcpherson. 

The  first  Sunday  after  my  arrival  in  the  mines,  I  was 
strolling  on  the  side  of  the  hill  back  of  the  camp,  among 
the  lonely  pines,  when  I  came  suddenly  upon  a  newly- 
made  grave.     At  its  head  there  was  a  rude  wooden  cross, 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  399 

and  from  this  symbol  of  Christianity'  I  knew  it  was  the 
grave  of  a  Catholic.  I  never  learned  anything  of  the  his- 
tory of  the  deceased.  He  was,  most  probably,  some  ob- 
scure and  humble  person.  He  had  died  and  was  buried 
before  my  arrival. 

"But  the  sound  of  the  church-going-  bell 
These  valleys  and  rocks  never  heard  ; 
Or  sighed  at  the  sound  of  a  knell, 

Or  smiled  when  a  Sabbath  appeared." 

Another  death  occurred  in  camp,  and  while  I  was  there. 
It  was  that  of  David  Ray.  He  was  about  thirty-five  years 
of  age,  and  his  wife  about  thirty.  They  had  five  children, 
the  eldest  a  daughter  about  twelve.  They  started  from 
the  State  of  Indiana  in  the  spring  of  1848,  intending  to 
locate  in  some  of  the  agricultural  valleys  of  California, 
not  then  knowing  that  gold  had  been  discovered.  But 
when  they  arrived  they  determined  to  stop  at  the  mines 
for  a  time,  and  thus  came  to  Long's  Bar,  on  the  Yuba 
River. 

Mr.  Ray's  business  partner,  Mr.  Wright,  was  about  the 
same  age,  unmarried,  and  sober,  honest,  industrious,  and 
generous.  He  assisted  Ray  to  build  the  only  log  cabin  in 
the  camp,  for  his  wife  and  children  without  charge.  This 
house  was  a  rude  structure  of  one  room,  about  sixteen  feet 
square,  with  a  clapboard  roof,  wooden  chimney,  and  dirt 
floor.  Yet  it  was  the  palace  of  the  camp,  and  was  the 
only  place  where  one  could  enjoy  a  cheerful  fire  without 
being  annoyed  by  the  smoke.  At  all  the  cloth  shanties 
and  tents  we  had  to  make  our  fires  in  the  open  air. 

About  two  weeks  after  my  arrival  Mr.  Ray  was  attacked 
with  fever,  and  died  within  a  week.  Neither  he  nor  his 
widow  had  any  relatives  in  California,  and  all  the  people 
of  the  camp  were  late  acquaintances,  except  Mr.  Wright. 
Our  tent  was  near  Mr.  Ray's  house  and  we  soon  became 
acquainted.     He  and  his  wiie  were  devoted  Methodists. 


400  Peter  H.  Burnett. 

She  was  a  small,  delicate  woman,  with  a  sweet  musical 
voice  and  an  eloquent  tongue. 

We  buried  him  among  the  stately  pines,  in  the  open 
woods,  where  the  winds  might  murmur  a  solemn  and 
lonely  requiem  to  his  memory.  All  the  people  of  the 
camp  left  their  work  and  attended  the  burial ;  and  I  never 
witnessed  a  more  sorrowful  scene.  There  were  no  tearless 
eyes  in  the  assemblage.  No  clergyman  was  present,  but 
at  the  lonely  grave  of  her  husband  Mrs.  Ray  made  an  im- 
promptu address,  which  affected  me  so  much  that  I  soon 
wrote  out  its  substance,  preserving  her  own  expressions 
so  far  as  I  could  remember  them.  The  following  is  a  copy 
of  what  I  then  wrote : 

O  David  I  thou  art  cold  and  lifeless.  Little  dost  thou  know  the  sor- 
rows thy  poor  and  friendless  and  sickly  wife  now  suffer:?.  Thou  art 
g'one  from  me  and  from  our  children  forever.  Thou  wert  ever  kind 
to  me  ;  you  loved  me  from  my  girlhood.  O  friends !  he  was  a  man 
without  reproach,  beloved  by  all  who  knew  him.  He  was  a  Just  man, 
honest  in  all  his  dealings.  He  did  unto  others  as  he  wished  they 
should  do  unto  him.  He  defrauded  no  one.  He  w^as  a  pious  and  steady 
man;  a  profane  oath  had  never  escaped  his  lips,  even  from  a  boy  ;  he 
was  never  found  at  the  grog  shop  or  the  gambling  table.  He  it  was 
who  lifted  the  prayerful  hands.  His  creed  was  peace.  He  died  in  his 
right  mind,  with  a  conscience  void  of  reproach,  and  committed  bis 
children  to  my  charge.  The  only  thing  that  wounded  his  conscience 
was  the  reflection  that,  on  the  road  from  Indiana  to  this  country, 
he  was  compelled  to  do  things  that  grieved  his  righteous  soul — he 
was  compelled  to  labor  on  the  Sabbath  day.  But  he  is  gone  to  a  bet- 
ter world,  where  his  weary  spirit  will  be  at  rest.  Oh,  if  he  had  only 
died  in  a  Christian  land  I  But  the  thought  of  his  being  buried  in  this 
lonely  and  wicked  place  I  He  has  left  me  alone  in  a  land  of  strangers, 
a  poor,  sickly,  weakly  woman.  Who  shall  now  read  to  me  from  the 
Bible,  and  wait  upon  me  in  my  sickness?  For  months  and  years  he 
waited  upon  his  sickly  wife  without  a  murmur.  He  was  ever  a  tender 
husband  to  me,  but  he  has  gone  and  left  me.  Who  is  here  to  sympa- 
thize with  me  ?    Ah,  me,  what  shall  I  do  '? 

While  in  the  mines  I  became  acquainted  with  John  C. 
McPherson,  a  young,  genial  spirit  from  old  Scotland. 
He  was  a  generous  soul,  and  cared  little  for  wealth.     On 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer.  401 

Christmas  eve  he  composed  a  very  pretty  song,  hegin- 
niiig,  "  Yuba,  dear  Yuba."  He  has  since  written  many 
poetical  pieces,  and  many  prose  communications  for  the 
newspapers.  One  thing  can  be  said  of  genial,  kindly 
McPherson,  that  there  is  not  a  particle  of  malice  in  his 
composition.  No  one  ever  thought  of  suing  him  for 
libel,  for  he  never  wrote  a  harsh  word  of  any  one,  living 
or  dead.  No  one  then  in  the  mines  except  McPherson 
had  poetic  fire  enough  in  his  soul  to  write  a  song.  We 
spent  many  pleasant  evenings  together,  around  the  camp 
tire  at  Long's  Bar. 


lEflEWS. 

The  Yamhills.  An  Indian  Romance.  By  J.  C.  Cooper, 
author  and  publisher.  (McMinnville,  Oregon:  1004. 
pp.  187.) 

This  is  an  indigenous  production.  It  matters  not  whether  or  not 
the  author  is  a  native  son  he  draws  his  thought  and  sentiment  direct 
from  the  soil,  the  woods,  the  streams,  and  the  mountains  of  Oregon. 
He  finds  all  the  elements  of  a  home  here  and  lives  his  life  here  in 
wholeness. 

This  book  is  a  gem.  (I  am  not  speaking  of  its  formal  literary 
character,  though  that  is  creditable.)  It  is  calculated  to  make  the 
thoughtful  reader  orient  himself,  as  it  were,  in  the  Oregon  environ- 
ment. Having  read  it  he  will  plant  his  feet  more  firmly  on  Oregon 
soil  and  be  here  at  home.  The  sympathetic  reader  laying  aside  this 
book  will  find  thenceforth  that  all  things  Oregonian  assume  not  quite 
so  bare,  bleak,  and  somewhat  forbidding  an  aspect  as  of  yore,  but  that 
all  will  develop  background  and  halo  of  color  and  sentiment. 

It  seemed  a  comparatively  easy  matter  for  the  first  generation  of 
Oregonians  to  load  themselves  up  in  canvas-covered  wagons  and  bear 
the  trip  across  the  plains  and  become  fixed  and  prosperous  on  their 
donation  claims;  but  it  seems  decidedly  difficult  for  the  second  gener- 
ation of  Oregonians  to  nourish  their  thought  and  sentiment  in  this 
new  home.  It  is  probably  inevitable  that  generations  should  come 
and  go,  maintaining  "but  a  weak  and  flabby  spirit  of  local  patriotism, 
before  their  social  mind  and  heart  attain  deeply  rooted  strength  and 
vigor  drawn  from  their  native  haunt.  With  the  help  of  a  book  like 
this,  however,  we  shall  soon  have  our  own  "  Quest  for  the  Holy  Grail  " 
and  our  own  "  Niebelunycn  treasure'"  as  themes  for  our  future  literary 
masterpieces.  This  modest  little  book  of  Mr.  Cooper's  reminds  us 
pleasantly  that  the  land  we  occupy  has  been  the  scene  of  real  human 
interests  for  aeons  before  our  day  of  traffic  and  trouble.  Other  and 
greater  books — notably  those  of  Professor  Thomas  Condon  and  Super- 
intendent Horace  S.  Lyman  have  done  the  same.  Yet  Mr.  Cooper's 
does  it  in  a  unique  way. 

The  title  and  sub-title  sufficiently  indicate  its  scope. 


Wheeler:  The  Trail  of  Lewis  and  Clark.       403 

The  Trail  of  Leivis  and  Clark,  ISO^-lOOi.  By  Olin  D. 
Wheeler.  (New  York  and  London  :  G.  P.  Putnam's 
Sons.     1904.     Two  vols.,  pp.  xxiii,  377;  XV,  419.)* 

Such  an  account  of  the  Lewis  and  Clark  exploration  as  will  avail  to 
get  the  spirit  and  salient  incidents  of  that  achievement  into  the  con- 
sciousness of  this  generation  of  Americans  was  greatly  desired.  Mr. 
Wheeler's  work  has  in  it  the  qualities  that  promise  much  toward  the 
accomplishment  of  that  end.  Considerable  previous  experience  with 
surveying  parties  in  the  far  west  gave  him  acquaintance  with  the 
plains,  mountains,  and  cafions  and  gave  him  also  zest  for  just  the  line 
of  investigation  that  the  preparation  of  these  volumes  demanded.  Be- 
cause of  his  long  connection  with  the  Northern  Pacific  Railway  he 
had  unusual  facilities  for  thorough  field  work. 

Passages  from  the  texts  of  the  Lewis  and  Claik  Journals  and  from 
the  literature  of  the  later  exploitation  and  development  of  the  region 
traversed  by  the  expedition  are  most  skilfully  chosen  to  bring  out  pic- 
tures of  the  scenes  and  the  development  of  the  important  and  critical 
incidents  in  the  progress  of  the  exploration.  The  author's  narrative 
giving  the  setting  and  connection  of  the  events  upon  which  the  atten- 
tion is  arrested  is  lively  and  effective.  The  text  is  strongly  i^einforced 
with  a  wealth  of  fine  illustrations,  including  facsimiles  of  manuscript 
documents,  reproductions  of  old  cuts  and  drawings,  and'  maps  and 
photographs  of  the  sites  of  incidents  as  they  appear  at  the  present 
time.  The  reader  is  thus  enabled  to  see  the  successive  stages  of  the 
historical  process  through  which  present-day  conditions  along  the  line 
of  the  trail  were  developed.  The  historical  pilgrim  or  tourist  with 
these  books  in  his  hands  can  with  equal  facility  trace  conditions  back 
and  see  the  difficulties  encountered  by  Lewis  and  Clark  and  their 
party.  We  ai^e  made  to  see  not  only  the  topography  of  the  country, 
but  also  the  Indian  lite,  and  the  animals  and  plants  upon  which  the 
party  depended  for  subsistence.  This  thoroughness  of  treatment  is, 
however,  confined  to  the  part  from  Fort  Mandan  to  the  Pacific. 

Mr.  Wheeler  makes  us  not  only  see  the  party  as  it  moves  along  its 
toilsome  and  sometimes  dangerous  route,  but  also  enter  into  their  life. 
This  he  accomplishes  by  going  carefully  into  the  organization  and  per- 
sonnel of  the  expedition.  In  this  manner  he  contributes  much  new 
material  to  soui'ces  of  the  history  of  the  exploration.  Having  ac- 
quainted us  with  the  characteristics  of  the  separate  individuals,  he  is 
easily  able  to  take  us  into  their  daily  struggles  and  privations  because 
of  having  had  experiences  himself  somewhat  similar  to  those  of  the 
explorers.     Although  the  author  is  on  the  whole  sympathetic  with  the 


*  From  the  American  Historical  Revieiv,  January,  1905. 


404  Reviews. 

conduct  of  the  expedition,  he  is  independent,  and  he  comments  with 
practical  judgment  upon  the  tactics  and  every-day  conduct  of  the  ex- 
plorers. 

There  is  an  introductory  chapter  of  twenty-six  pag-es  on  "The  Loui- 
siana Purchase."  This  brings  out  correctly  the  priority  of  the  incep- 
tion of  the  exploration,  but  a-s  an  attempt  at  a  review  of  the  diplomatic 
history  affecting-  this  western  country  the  chapter  is  a  positive  blem- 
ish. It  should  be  either  rewritten  or  omitted.  It  must  have  been  an 
afterthought.  The  following  excerpts  will  serve  as  evidence:  "Spain 
had  held  the  island  of  New  Orleans  on  both  sides  of  the  stream  to  its 
mouth"  (p.  3):  "This  [the  claim  of  the  United  States  under  the  Loui- 
siana Purchase]  included  the  greater  part  of  Texas  —  to  which  the 
claim  of  the  United  States  would  seem  to  have  been  a  righteous  one  — 
west  of  the  Great  River ;  .  .  .  the  treaty  of  1819,  in  which  Spain  ceded 
all  of  East  and  West  Florida,  and  all  country  west  of  the  Mississippi 
north  of  the  forty-second  degree  of  latitude  and  westward  to  the  Pa- 
cific, to  which  she  claimed  ownership"  (p.  15).  The  author  also  gets 
into  trouble  when,  out  of  his  province,  he  remarks  that  Meares  sailed 
into  Baker's  Bay  (II,  232).  It  is  true  that  the  British  commission  on 
England's  claims  to  the  Oregon  country  in  1826  made  this  claim,  and 
that  Travers  Twiss  contends  for  it  as  a  fact,  yet  the  log-book  of  Meares 
does  not  admit  of  that  interpretation.  The  blemishes  are  virtually 
confined  to  the  preliminary  chapter.  The  work  as  a  whole  is  well 
done  and  is  readable. 

F.  G.  Young. 


PUBLICATIONS 

OF  THE 

OREGON  Historical  Society 


SOURCES  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  OREGON 

Volume    I 

Number  1.— Jotjrnai,  of  Medorem  Crawford — An  Account  of  His 
Trip  Across  the  Plains  in  1842.    Price,  25  Cents. 

NU3IBER  2.— The  Indian  Council  at  Walla  Walla,  Mat  and  June, 
1855,  BY  Col.  Lawrence  Kip— A  Journal.    Price,  25  Cents. 

Numbers  3  to  6  Inclusive.— The  Correspondence  and  Journals  of 
Captain  Nathaniel  J.  Wyeth,  1831-6.— A  Record  op  Two  Expeditions, 
FOR  the  Occupation  of  the  Oregon  Country,  with  Maps,  Introduction 
AND  Index.    Price,  81.10. 

The  Proceedings  of  the  Oregon  Historical  Society  for  1S08-9, 
Including  Paper  by  Silas  B.  Smith,  on  "  Beginnings  in  Oregon," 
97  Pages.    Price,  25  Gents. 

The  Proceedings  of  the  Oregon  Historical  Society  for  1899-1900, 
Including  Two  Historical  Papers,  120  Pages.    Price,  25  Cents. 


QUARTERLY  OF  THE  OREGON  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

No.  1,  Vol.  V,  March,  1904. 

Clarence  B.  Baffle}/— "Ttik  Mercer   Immigration:"  Two   Cargoes  of 

Maidens  for  the  Sound  Country         --.-...  i 

Thomas  W.  ProscJi— The  Evolution  of  Spokane  and  Stevens  Counties  25 
T.  W.  Davenport— Ektract  from  "Recollections  of  an  Indian  Agent"  34 
Jb/i/i.  3/i7i^o— Antecedents  of  the  Oregon  Pioneers  and  the  Light 

These  Throw  on  Their  Motives 38 

Peter  H.  jBwrne^— "Recollections  and  Opinions  of  an  Old  Pioneer." 

Chapter  III        -  ^ 64 

No.  2,  Vol.  V,  June,  1904. 

H.W.  Scott— Begij^ni'sgs  of  Oregon— Exploration  and  Early  Settle- 
ment AT  THE  Mouth  of  the  Columbia  River     -----  101 
P.  TT.  Gillette— A.  Brief  History  of  the  Oregon  Steam  Na^'igation 

Company 120 

TT.  B.  Dillard—TnE  Beginnings  of  Lane  County  ia3 

F.  I.  B'erWoW— Transplanting  Iowa's  Laws  to  Oregon  -  -  -  -  139 
I'eter  H,  5«rne^<— "Recollections  and  Opinions  of  an  Old  Pioneer." 

Chapter  IV 151 

Documents— A  Brimfield  Heroine— Mrs.  Tabitha  Brown 199 


No.  3,  Vol.  V,  September,  19(M. 

Ansel  F.  ^(?>nenw'«2/— Botanists  of  the  Oregon  Country,  -       -       -     207 

Literary   Remains  of  David   Douglas,  Botanist  of  the  Oregon 

Country- I:      ...----.----..     215 

Reprint  of  his  "  Sketch  of  a  Journey  to  the  Northwestern  Part  of  the 

Continent  of  North  America  During  the  Years  1824-25-2(5-27;"  with 

Editorial  Prefatory  Notes,  and  "A  Brief  Memoir  of  the  Life  of  David 

Douglas,"  by  Sir  TF.  J.  Hookei: 

Peter  H.  S!trne«— Recollections  and  Opinions  of  an  Old  Pioneer.— 

Continued,    ---------------     272 


PRICE:  FIFTY  CENTS  PER  NUMBER,  TWO  DOLLARS  PER  YEAR. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OREQON. 


THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL  confers  the  degrees  of 
Master  of  Arts,  (and  in  prospect,  of  Doctor  of  Phi- 
losophj^,)  Civil  and  Sanitarjr  Engineer  (C.  E.),  Elec- 
trical Engineer  (E.  E.),  Chemical  Engineer  (Ch.  E.,) 
and  Mining  Engineer  (Min.  E.) 


THE  COLLEGE  Oh  LITERATURE,  SCIENCE,  AND  THE 
ARTS  confers  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  on 
graduates  from  the  follotving  groups:  (1)  General 
Classical;  (2)  General  Literarj^;  (3)  General  Scien- 
ti£c;  (4)  Civic-Historical ;  (5)  Philosophical,  Edu- 
cational. It  offers  Collegiate  Courses  not  leading 
to  a  degree  as  follows:  (1)  Preparatory  to  Law  or 
Journalism. 


THE  COLLEGE  OF  SCIENCE  AND  ENGINEERING  — 
A. — The  School  of  Applied  Science  confers  the  de- 
gree of  Bachelor  of  Science  on  graduates  from 
the  following  groups ;  (1)  General  Science;  (2) 
Chemistrjr;  (3)  Phj^sics;  (4)  Biology;  (5)  Geol- 
ogy and  Mineralogy.  It  offers  a  Course  Pre- 
paratory to  Medicine. 
B. —  The  School  of  Engineering:  (1)  Civil  and  San- 
itary; (2)  Electrical;  (3)  Chemical. 


THE  SCHOOL   OF  MINES  AND  MINING. 
THE  SCHOOL   OF  MEDICINE  at  Portland. 
THE  SCHOOL   OF  LAW  at  Portland. 
THE  SCHOOL  OF  MUSIC. 
Address 

The  President, 

Eugene,  Oregon.