THE
QUARTERLY
OF THE
VOLUME XX
MARCH, 1919— DECEMBER,
Edited by
FREDERIC GEORGE YOUNG
Portland, Oregon
The Iry Press
1919
V' \V '«. •
?MI
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SUBJECTS
Page
ASTORIA, FORT, THE BRITISH SIDE OF THE RESTORATION OF
By Katharine B. Judson 243-260, 305-330
BOUNDARIES OF THE NORTHWEST
By T. C Elliott 331-344
BOUNDARY, THE NORTHERN, OF OREGON
By T. C. Elliott 35.34
CHRISTIANITY, THE BEGINNINGS OF, IN OREGON
By George H. Himes 159-172
OREGON CITY, HISTORICAL TABLET AT
By George H. Himes 297-300
OREGON, THE FEDERAL RELATIONS OF
By Lester Burrell Shippee 35-93, 173-218, 261-295, 345-395
'OREGON PIONEERS, QUALITIES OF THE
By Frederick V. Holman 235-242
PIONEER, THE
By Josepli N. Teal 231-233
*- POLK AND OREGON — WITH A PAKENHAM LETTER
By Katharine B. Judson 301-302
RAILROAD, HISTORY OF THE NARROW-GAUGE, IN THE
WILLAMETTE VALLEY
By Leslie M. Scott 141-158
SNAKE RIVER IN HISTORY, THE
By Miles Cannon 1-23
NOTES AND COMMENT
Page
Where Was Blue Bucket Mine? 219-220
Pacific Railroad Dates 221
Name of Mount Rainier 221
Frequency of Slight Earthquakes 222
Annual Meeting of Oregon Pioneers 222
Encampment of Indian Fighters 223
The Battleship Oregon , 223
Airplane and Stage Coach 224
Monument for Captain Hembree 224
Mr. Teal's "The Pioneer" 224-5
Examination of Nachess Trail 225
Miscellany 225-228
Death List of Oregon Pioneers 139, 229, 303-4
[HI]
AUTHORS
Page
CANNON, MILES, The Snake River in History 1-23
ELLIOTT, T. C, The Northern Boundary of Oregon 25-34
The Northwest Boundaries 331-334
HIMES, GEORGE H., Beginnings of Christianity 159-172
. Historical Tablet at Oregon City 297-300
HOLMAN, FREDERICK V., Qualities of the Oregon Pioneers 235-242
JUDSON, KATHARINE B., The British Side of the Restoration
of Fort Astoria 243-260, 305-330
Polk and Oregon 301-302
SCOTT, LESLIE M., History of the Narrow-Gauge Railroad in the
Willamette Valley 141-158
SHIPPEE, LESTER BURRELL, The Federal Relations of Oregon
35-93, 173-218, 261-295, 345-395
TEAL, JOSEPH N., The Pioneer 231-233
DOCUMENTS
Page
APPLEGATE, JESSE, LETTER OF, TO WILLARD H. REES, Secretary
Oregon Pioneer Association 397-399
FISHER, EZRA, THE CORRESPONDENCE OF 95-137
-PAKENHAM, RICHARD, LETTER OF, TO THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 301-2
PELLY, J. H., GOVERNOR, LETTER OF, TO GEORGE CANNING 27-33
[iv]
THE QUARTERLY
of the
Oregon Historical Society
VOLUME XX MARCH, 1919 NUMBER 1
Copyright, 1919, by the Oregon Historical Society
The Quarterly disavows responsibility for the positions taken by contributors to its pages.
THE SNAKE RIVER IN HISTORY
By MILES CANNON.
Commissioner of Agriculture, Boise, Idaho.
Near the central part of Lewis county, Tennessee, in a lonely
wooded spot which is rarely disturbed by any sound save the
mournful dirge of the forest trees or the bark of the hunter's
hounds, is an old and neglected grave. The place is marked by
a marble monument, standing more than 20 feet in height,
which was erected in 1848 by the state in which it is located.
Centuries before the sod was turned for this grave a great
Indian highway ran near by, and this, in time, became a mili-
tary road known in history as the "Natchez Trace." It was
here that Meriwether Lewis, the first white man to look upon
the waters of the Snake river, at early dawn October llth,
1809, at the age of 35 years, yielded up his brief but eventful
life. Marching events have long since consigned the "Natchez
Trace" to oblivion but human interest in that grave will con-
tinue to increase with time, for Meriwether Lewis played a
leading role in one of America's greatest political dramas.
The opening scene of this drama was in what is now known
as the Lemhi pass of the Rocky Mountains, situated between
Armstead, Montana, and the Salmon river in Idaho. The time
was the afternoon of Monday, August 12, 1805. Speaking of
the source of the Missouri river the Lewis and Clark notes
contain the following lines :
"They had now reached the hidden sources of that river,
2 MILES CANNON
which had never yet been seen by civilized man. . . . they
sat down by the brink of that little rivulet, which yielded its
distant and remotest tribute to the parent ocean," etc.
They then proceed to relate that :
"They left reluctantly this spot, and pursuing the Indian
road through the interval of hills, arrived at the top of a ridge,
from which they saw high mountains partially covered with
snow still to the west of them. The ridge on which they stood
formed the dividing line between the waters of the Atlantic
and the Pacific oceans."
Let us tarry at this interesting place and view well the scenes
before us. Standing with Mr. Lewis is John Shields, a black-
smith from Kentucky, and George Drewyer, the interpreter and
hunter. It is recorded that they carried a United States flag
which, at that time, consisted of fifteen stripes and a Union of
fifteen stars in the blue field. The colors of our flag had first
appeared in history some 3400 years before this time and, like-
wise, under dramatic surroundings. Bible readers will recall
that, at the base of Mount Sinai, the Lord gave to Moses the
Ten Commandments and the book of the law, and they were
deposited in the Ark of the Covenant within the movable Taber-
nacle, before which four curtains were suspended, one of purple,
one of red, one of white and one of blue. The first color,
obtained by the ancients only with the greatest difficulty, was
necessarily restricted in use and finally became the distinctive
color of imperialism.
The three remaining colors have been handed down through
the long centuries and during the last three have quite generally
been used in flag making, more especially by countries inclined
toward civil freedom. These colors, 3400 years in their com-
ing, are now on the summit of the continental divide and the
men who bore them hither look out over one of the most beau-
tiful panoramic scenes in all the world. Down through the
fathomless abyss of time that landscape had received from the
winter's storms its mantles of snow, and with the breath of
each succeeding spring it had burst forth into life again. But
never before had a white man beheld its transcendent beauty
nor had his feet trod the winding stairs and stately corridors
SNAKE RIVER IN HISTORY 3
of this magnificent temple of God. Whether or not the sculptor
who is to fashion the granite column marking this spot is yet
born I know not ; but sooner or later a monument will arise in
these rugged regions and to it will come the remotest genera-
tions to do homage to the memory of Meriwether Lewis.
August 20, the reunited party was encamped several miles
below the confluence of the Lemhi and Salmon rivers, probably
in the same cove occupied by Bonneville 27 years later, when
Captain Clark conferred upon the stream, here 300 feet in
width, the name Lewis's river and noted in the journal the
information that Captain Lewis was the first white man to visit
its waters. During the early days when the country was occu-
pied by mountain men it seems that the principal rivers, with
a few exceptions, were called after the tribes which inhabited
the adjacent country. Thus the Cowlitz river derived its name,
as did the Yakima, the Walla Walla, the Palouse, the Okanogan,
and the Spokane. The North-West Company designated what
is now southern Idaho as the Snake country and, in time, the
name Lewis faded away under the poetic brilliancy of that
charming name "Snake." When Jason Lee arrived at Fort
Hall he wrote in his journal that he had "camped about noon
on the bank of the Snake river as called by the mountain men
but on the map Lewis Fork."
The Lewis and Clark journals contain the following:
"They (the Snakes) are the poorest and most miserable
nation I ever beheld."
From Alexander Ross we learn how the name originated,
as follows:
"It arose from the characteristics of these Indians in quickly
concealing themselves when once discovered. They seem to
glide away in the grass, sage brush and rocks and disappear
with all the subtlety of a serpent."
Father DeSmet gives this version relative to the origin of
the name :
"They are called Snakes because in their poverty they are
reduced like reptiles to the condition of digging in the ground
and seeking nourishment from roots."
Of Mr. Lewis, President Jefferson said :
4 MILES CANNON
"About three o'clock in the night he did the deed which
plunged his friends into deep affliction, and deprived his coun-
try of one of her most valued citizens, whose valour and intelli-
gence would have been now employed in avenging the wrongs
of his country, and in emulating by land the splendid deeds
which have honoured her arms on the ocean. It lost, too, to
the nation the benefit of receiving from his own hand the nar-
rative now offered them of his sufferings and successes, in
endeavoring to extend for them the boundaries of science, and
to present to their knowledge that vast and fertile country
which their sons are destined to fill with arts, with science,
with freedom and happiness."
It is perhaps no idle dream if Americans feel that the future
holds in store a glorious destiny for our country in the affairs
of the world, and that our flag will, throughout the unnumbered
centuries, symbolize the highest and most generous elements
of civilization. The Snake river basin is able to and will, in
time, support a population of many millions of brave, pros-
perous and happy people. Whether or not they will felicitate
us who now occupy a position on the very threshold of an un-
bounded future, for giving our silent consent to an historical
perversion which will perpetuate the memory of the Snake
Indians by attaching this name to one of the most valuable and
powerful rivers in America, rather than the memory of the man
who first visited its waters, is a question of some import and
one which affords much food for reflection.
One of the most interesting features in connection with
early exploration, discoveries and development of the moun-
tain regions, and one which quite generally has been over-
looked by contemporaneous writers, are the many and important
pre-historic roads. A definite knowledge of these winding
trails, the parallel and deep worn furrows, many of which
are yet to be seen, is obtained with the greatest difficulty. As
an example the journals of Lewis and Clark contain the fol-
lowing notation in connection with the discovery of Lemhi pass :
"At the distance of four miles from his camp he met a large,
plain Indian road which came into the cove from the north-
east, and wound along the foot of the mountain to the south-
west," etc.
When he had arrived in the Lemhi valley, Captain Clark in-
SNAKE RIVER IN HISTORY 5
terrogated the Indians very minutely relative to roads and
obtained valuable information regarding- the topography of the
country and locations of the rivers. This interview resulted
in Captain Clark's deciding to make his way to the road used
by the Piercednose Indians; in crossing over the mountains to
the Missouri, towards the north, which, latterly, became known
as the Lolo Trail. .
In making some enquiries as to the exact trail which Dr.
Whitman followed south from Fort Bridger, in making his
memorable journey in 1842 "to save Oregon," a pre-historic
road of much importance is, to a limited extent, brought to
our notice. It would seem that this trail extended from Vera
Cruz, Mexico, northward to the Rio Grande near El Paso,
thence to Santa Fe, where it probably converged with the
old Spanish trail until it reached the western part of Mesa
County, Colorado, near a place called Westwater Canon. From
this point the Spanish Trail led in a more westerly direction
crossing Green river near where the Denver and Rio Grande
Railway now crosses that stream. The other ascended West-
water canyon, crossed over to White river, thence to Green
river, crossing near where Fort Thornburg was in after years
located. From this point the trail followed practically a direct
line over the Uintah Mountains to where Bridger wasi after-
ward located and from thence to the Snake river near the
Fort Hall site. From here it followed the Snake to Henry's
Lake, where it diverged into three distinct trails, one in the
direction of the Yellowstone, one to Three Forks and one
toward Ross's Hole, each prong passing through a separate
and distinct pass in the Rocky Mountains directly above Henry's
Lake.
Returning to the Westwater canyon it may be of interest
to note that, several years ago, an inscription was found on
the wall rock of this canyon written in French, a liberal trans-
lation of which follows :
"Antoine Rbbidoux passed this way the 13th of November,
1837, for the purpose of establishing a mission for trading on
Green River or the Uintah."
6 MILES CANNON
He appears to have established his trading mission on the
Uintah a short distance above its confluence with the Du
Chesne. The fort is said to have been destroyed by the Utah
Indians in 1844. The old trails which in later years became
known as the Oregon Trail appear to have joined with the
Southern trail in the Bridger bottoms and continued with it
to the bend in the Snake river some five miles above where
Fort Hall was located. Here the Columbia river trail branched
off and followed the left bank of the Snake to Three Islands,
near the present town of Glenn's Ferry, Idaho, where one
prong crossed the Snake and followed the mountain slopes to
Boise river a short distance above the city of Boise as it is
today. The other prong continued on the south side of the
river and again joined the northern arm, after the latter had
re-crossed the Snake at the mouth of the Boise, at a point
about six miles south-east of the present town of Vale, Oregon.
It may be pertinent here to observe that early travelers,
while they almost invariably availed themselves of these well-
worn highways in their ubiquitous wanderings through the
mountains, encountered trails which existed in countless num-
bers and which were almost everywhere in evidence. For
this reason it was found necessary, wherever possible, to employ
Indian guides. How long these pre-historic trails had been
in existence before the advent of the white man will be touched
upon later.
We learn from the pen of Mr. T. C. Elliott that David
Thompson, in the summer of 1809, descended the Kootenay
river as far as the present site of Bonner's Ferry where he
transferred his goods to pack animals and transported them
over the "Lake Indian Road" to Lake Pend d' Oreille where,
on September the 10th of that year, he erected the first build-
ing in what is now the state of Idaho, the site being in the
vicinity of the present town of Hope. Events leading to a
knowledge of the great Snake river were now in the making.
Major Andrew Henry, a tall, slender young man, with dark
hair and light blue eyes hadi already associated himself with
Manuel Lisa, of St. Louis, and they were alert to avail them-
SNAKE RIVER IN HISTORY
selves of any advantages which were to be derived from the
success of the Lewis and Clark expedition. While Thompson
was establishing "Kullyspell House" on Lake Pend d' Oreille,
Henry was making his way up the Missouri with all speed.
The spring of 1810 found him establishing himself, in the
interest of the Missouri Fur Company, at the three forks of
the Missouri on almost the identical spot where the explorers
had encamped five years before. The ruins of the fort which
they established here were in evidence until 1870. Being driven
out of this section by the Blackfoot Indians they traveled the
middle prong of the great Southern trail, heretofore men-
tioned, and crossed the Continental Divide near Henry's Lake
and established themselves on the Snake river at a point, as I
conclude after an examination of the country, two miles below
the present town of St. Anthony and on the left bank of the
river. The melancholy fact should be noted that George
Drewyer, whose memory is so closely associated with that of
Mr. Lewis, lost his life in the fall of the fort at Three Forks
and that his ashes still repose in that vicinity.
The establishment on Snake river, which became known as
Fort Henry, and which consisted of some two or three huts,
was situated in a small valley of about twenty acres. When the
first settlers arrived in this section during the early sixties
this valley was still covered with a growth of large cottonwood
trees, the only timber in that section of the country. It is
now an alfalfa field, and, doubtless the site of the first house
in all the territory drained by the Snake river and the second
to be erected in the state of Idaho.
In the service of Major Henry at this time were three men
of some importance to this narrative and whose names are
familiar to readers of Irving's Astoria. Edward Robinson, a
Kentucky woodsman then in his sixty-seventh year, a veteran
Indian fighter in his native state, and who had been scalped
in one of the many engagements in which he took part. He
still wore a handkerchief bound round his head to protect the
tender reminder. Associated with him were two congenial
spirits also from Kentucky, named John Hoback and Jacob
8 MILES CANNON
Rizner. They had ascended the Missouri in 1809 with Henry,
taken part in the battle of Three Forks, crossed the Conti-
nental Divide and, with Fort Henry as a base, had trapped on
many of the adjacent streams. After the fort was abandoned,
in the early spring of 1811, they re-crossed the mountains and
descended the Missouri, but Henry, it would appear, stopped
at a post which the Missouri Fur Company had established on
the river near the mouth of the Cheyenne. The three hunters,
now free from their engagements, continued on down the river
determined to forever abandon the pursuit of fortune in the
wilderness.
By the morning of May 26th, their flotilla, consisting of two
log canoes, arrived at a point in the Missouri opposite the
mouth of the Niobrara when their attention was attracted by
the report of a gun which came from the right bank of the
river. The hunters crossed over and landed at the camp of
a powerful company of fortune seekers under the command of
Wilson Price Hunt, who were then breakfasting around a
blazing fire on the green bank of the river. As a result of this
unexpected meeting we find these three men, on the evening of
October 8, 1811, and after a long ride in the face of a westerly
wind and flurries of snow, filing into the lonely precincts of
Fort Henry accompanied by not less than three scores of
traders, trappers and voyagers, mounted, armed and equipped
for the struggle which the phantom of hidden riches too often
entails.
Our three Kentucky hunters, together with Joseph Miller,
a retired army man, and a man by name of Cass, were left
at Fort Henry and were the first white men to explore the
Snake river basin and become acquainted with the Indian
roads of the country, which they did as far east as Bear river.
When Robert Stuart reached the mouth of the Boise river
the following August, enroute to New York with dispatches
for Mr. Astor, he, by the merest chance of fortune, discovered
Miller and the three hunters on the verge of starvation. Hav-
ing appeased their torturing craving for food Stuart conducted
the four unfortunates, Cass having in the meantime been un-
SNAKE RIVER IN HISTORY 9
accountably lost, as far as Caldron Linn, now the site of the
great Milner dam, where the three hunters determined again to
breast the tide of fortune.
Milner, Idaho, probably stands on the ground where Hunt
cached his goods after a vain attempt to negotiate the river in
boats. The two rocks which swamped the boat and caused the
first death of a white man on the Snake river, and upon which
the Stuart party found the boat still clinging, now support the
dam which diverts water sufficient to create a veritable irri-
gated empire, covering as it does 1,300,000 acres of land re-
claimed at a cost of nearly $50,000,000.
Following the arrival at Astoria of the Hunt party, Donald
McKenzie, who, with Reed and McClellan, had been detached
from the main party at Caldron Linn, and who preceded Hunt
to Astoria by nearly a month, set out to establish a post among
the Nez Perces Indians. I conclude that he traveled the same
trail from the mouth of the Walla Walla to the forks of the
Clearwater that Lewis and Clark followed on their return trip
six years before and that McKenzie established his post near
the mouth of the North Fork. The movements of McKenzie
and his party after leaving Caldron Linn is involved in much
mystery but from the nature of the man, his subsequent acts
and a knowledge of the country through which he passed, I
have no hesitancy in adopting the view that he left the Snake
river at the mouth of the Weiser and followed a well known
Indian trail up Monroe's creek, thence over to Mann creek,
thence over to the Weiser, which he followed to its source.
From here he descended the Little Salmon to its junction with
the Salmon river proper, which he followed to the mouth of
the Whitebird. From here the trail led over the divide some-
what west of old Mount Idaho and down to the Clearwater
above the present town of Stites, thence down the Clearwater
to the North Fork.
I think, too, that his success in making his way through
the mountains, the knowledge he acquired of the trails and of
the country through which they passed, determined Mr. Hunt
in designating McKenzie as the one to operate in the Nez
10 MILES CANNON
Perces country, also in designating Reed, who accompanied
McKenzie, as the one to retrace his steps to Caldron Linn for
the goods which were cached there. The place where Mc-
Kenzie established his post was on a line of great travel, and
trails ran in several directions from here; it was within a
mile or so from the works where Lewis and Clark made their
canoes on their outward journey, near where the Lolo trail
descended from the Weippe camas fields and a general winter
rendezvous for the Indians. It is quite probable, too, that
John Reed possessed a satisfactory knowledge of the trails
when he consented to return to Caldron Linn and that he
traveled the same route that landed them on the Clearwater
the winter before. Another evidence which may have a bear-
ing on the question is the fact that there was no other way
to get through the mountains and precede the main party by
a month.
Returning now to the fate of our three Kentucky hunters
whom Stuart left at Caldron Linn, Miller having made good
his intention to quit the country, it seems that they were
unable to escape the pursuit of an evil spirit. After being out-
fitted by Stuart they trapped with varying success higher up
the river awaiting the arrival of John Reed from the post at
Nez Perces in order to complete their equipment for a two-
years' hunt. Having thus completed their arrangements they
set out into the wilderness in quest of the beaver, while Reed,
at the head of his party, returned to the Clearwater. The
following year, 1813, Reed was again detached and sent to
the Snake country to trap beaver and search for the three
hunters, whom he located late in September of that year. With
his party of six voyagers and hunters, besides the squaw and
two children of Pierre Dorion, now augmented by the discovery
of the three Kentucky woodsmen, Reed located his headquar-
ters at the mouth of the Boise. Having lost three of his men
during the fall, he, early in the winter, dispatched Rizner
at the head of a little party consisting of Leclerc, Dorion and
family, to the South Fork of the Boise, a distance of about
100 miles from the Reed house. Between January 1st and
MILES CANNON 11
10th, Rizner and the two men were massacred while taking
beaver on the South Fork, the squaw and two children only
escaping. When they arrived at the mouth of the river it
was discovered that not one of the party was left alive.
The trials and tribulations of this poor Indian woman, from
this moment until her arrival the following spring in the
Walla Walla country, constitutes one of the most heart-rending
tragedies in western history. It is a story that will be told
as long as people read history and, when properly told, will
touch the heart of a nation. This brings us to the first Indian
massacre in the Snake river valley, a series of which continued,
with varying degrees of ferocity and frequency over a period
of 58 years.
To Stuart is usually accorded the credit of being the first
white man to lead a party over the Indian trial that, in time,
became known as the Oregon Trail. Of this trail I will
content myself by mentioning only a few of the historic points
as they appear today, and as are directly connected with the
Snake river in history.
The winter camp of Bonneville, 1833-4, is about eight miles
north-west of Bancroft, Idaho, a station on the O. S. L. Ry.
It is now in the confines of a farm but the spring still gushes
out of the earth in sufficient quantities "to turn a mill" pro-
vided the mill were not too large. The trail, in most part,
from the Bear river to the Snake, is in a fair state of preserva-
tion to the point where it touched the latter stream.
From this place to the site of Fort Hall it is rather uncer-
tain. It is only proper for me to state here that there is some
doubt in the minds of several gentlemen who have given the
subject much thought as to the exact location of Fort Hall. I
give it as it was given to me by an Indian scout who piloted
me to the place, who was born in its vicinity at a time when
the building still stood and whose father was acquainted with
the Hudson's Bay traders who were located there. About
four miles below the place where the trail strikes the river,
on the left bank and within 20 feet of a slightly lower level
covered with cottonwood timber, is, so my guide informed me,
12 MILES CANNON
the identical spot. Originally the fort was constructed of cot-
tonwood logs set in the ground but latterly, when in the pos-
session of the Hudson's Bay Company, it was enlarged and
enclosed with adobe brick.
The outlines of these walls are plainly discernable, even to
the two bastions at opposite corners, and the well inside the
enclosure. The adjoining grove where Jason Lee preached
the first sermon ever heard west of the Rocky Mountains,
July 26, 1834, is still a grand cathedral for the song birds of
the desert as the country is untouched by man, it being within
the Fort Hall Indian reservation. Three miles below is the
crossing of Spring Creek where the stage station was located
in 1864, it having been constructed with adobe bricks brought
here from the then abandoned Fort Hall. Some three miles
farther brings us to the Portneuf crossing from which place
the road to American Falls is very near the old trail. This
city, now the second wheat shipping station in the United
States, still has the marks of the trail within the city limits.
It is safe to conclude, however, that few of its citizens have
the slightest conception as to the historic connection of those
old deep-worn furrows.
I have never been able to determine just how American
Falls received its name. What American party could have
perished at the falls is not clear, as they seem to have acquired
that name before the advent of the Americans, unless these
falls have been confused with those at Caldron Linn. In that
case it is very likely that the accident heretofore mentioned in
connection with the Hunt party is responsible for the name.
Some 23 miles down the river from American Falls, in the
immediate vicinity of Rock Creek, is one of the tragical points
of the trail. The general conditions of this particular section
have not changed since the days when the Oregon Trail was in
the heyday of its glory. How many pioneers sleep at the foot
of that great perpendicular rock, so long retained in the memory
of those who traveled the historic trail, the world will never
know. It was here that, in 1851, the wagons of Mr. Miller,
of Virginia, were attacked, a daughter of Mr. Miller seriously
SNAKE RIVER IN HISTORY 13
wounded and a Mr. Jackson killed. It was here that Mr. Hud-
son Clark, of Scott county, Illinois, while driving his carriage
too far in advance of his train, was attacked, his mother and
brother murdered and his sister, a beautiful young lady of 22
years, after being dangerously wounded, was brutally ravished
by most of the Indians in the party. It was here, also, that the
Harpool1 train of 20 wagons was attacked in 1851, and after
a fearful battle lasting two hours the Indians were repulsed.
Standing on the summit of this old rock today, looking to the
north and west, a great panorama greets the eye. Scenes of
commerce and husbandry are everywhere in evidence, but the
Snake river, as known by the pioneers, is no more. The great
Minidoka power plant has transformed it into a most beauti-
ful lake fully 25 miles in length. As I stood there and feasted
my eyes upon the magnificent landscape I could not avoid the
thought of the numerous graves below and of the intense suf-
fering of the brave pioneers who have made these scenes
possible.
From here to the Twin Falls district most of the old trail
is yet to be seen but when one arrives at an irrigation canal
it is lost, forever lost. The Salmon Falls have not changed
since the day the Stuart party arrived there and gave them
their present name, neither have the adjacent camping grounds
been molested. From this place to Pilgrim Springs, where
Mrs. Whitman, August 12th, 1836, wrote her beautiful tribute
to the abandoned trunk, and where the doctor discarded the
bed of his wagon, the trail in most part is still to be seen. It
was over this section that Mrs. Sager, in 1844, suffered the
agonies of a most pitiful death which relieved her a few hours
after the train reached Pilgrim Springs where her dust is
mingled with that of the desert.
The three islands where the trail crossed the Snake river are
twelve miles down the mountain from Pilgrim Springs and no
change has taken place since the pioneers ceased to brave the
rapid current here. As I sat on the bank with one of the
i David Baxter Gray, afterwards, beginning in '78, was widely known in
the Willamette Valley and The Dalles, crossed the plains with the Harpool train.—
George H. Himes.
14 MILES CANNON
oldest settlers in this section and looked out over the waters
of the river, while he traced the ripples which marked the line
of travel, I could but wonder at the courage necessary to
prompt one to make the attempt. Yet the emigrants who
came over the trail plunged into the terrifying waters with
impunity, though not all of them succeeded in reaching shore.
At the Hot Springs, on the northern prong of the trail and
within nine miles of Mountain Home, a bath house of con-
siderable importance is in operation. The trail touched the
Boise river where the Barber lumber mills are now situated,
some six miles above the city of Boise. Just west of Ten Mile
creek, some 20 miles down the Boise river, is the site of the
Ward massacre which occurred August 20, 1854. In Decem-
ber, 1914, I succeeded, with the help of several pioneers, in
locating the spot and the grave which contains the ashes of
several of the victims.
The Canyon ford, five miles west of the Ward battle ground
and one mile north of Caldwell, Idaho, the oldest and most
prominent ford on the Boise river, has undergone no change
in its surroundings save that an iron bridge now spans the
stream directly over the historical crossing. From here the
trail followed very nearly the present bed of the river to Old
Fort Boise where it again crossed the Snake and joined the
southern branch about eight miles out in the hills in the
direction of Vale, Oregon.
Noticing for a moment the diary of Jason Lee, who at-
tached himself to the brigade of Thomas McKay at Fort Hall,
it would appear that this company followed the southern route.
While encamped at the Three Islands, near the present Glenn's
Ferry, Mr. McKay, who had buried one native wife, felt him-
self inclined to embark again. The nuptials were celebrated
on Tuesday evening, August 12, 1834. The captain declined,
however, to present to the relatives of the bride the customary
tokens of esteem, informing them that it was the rule among the
whites to simply gain the consent of the girl. While at break-
fast the following morning, in open day light and in the
presence of thirty people, an Indian not willing to accept the
SNAKE RIVER IN HISTORY 15
white man's peculiar ideas, appropriated one of the captain's
horses and made way with it undiscovered.
On the evening of the 14th, the party was encamped at
Willow creek where the old Humboldt and Boise river trail
crossed the Snake. They appear to have established their
encampments on a large island in the river there which af-
forded, as it yet does, good pasturage for stock. They were
still here on Saturday evening when the captain visited the
camp of the missionaries and informed them that it was his
purpose to remain in that vicinity to trade with the Indians
and trap beaver until the following March.
Just what effect the operations of Mr. Wyeth back at Fort
Hall had produced upon the sagacious captain I have no means
of knowing. Certain it is, however, that when the Whitman
party, which crossed the river at Three Islands and journeyed
over the northern trail, and which was attached to the brigade
of the same valiant captain just two years later, arrived at a
point nine miles below the Canyon ford on the Boise river
they were welcomed to Fort Boise by the captain who had
gone on ahead from the Snake river encampment to arrange
for the reception. Here it was that that historical bone of
contention, the Whitman wagon, was left and which remained
there in the custody of the Hudson's Bay Company, as an
interesting -exhibit, until claimed by oblivion. When Mr. T. J.
Farnham, of the Peoria party, arrived here three years later
he found the company engaged in building a new fort twelve
miles below at the mouth of the river. From the Winthrop
diary under the date of Sunday, Sept. 11, 1853, we learn
that the fort was washed away that spring and that the com-
pany was then engaged in building a new one out of the old
adobes. The site of the old post is now in the channel of
the Snake river about 200 feet from the right bank. After
its abandonment in 1856 there remained no sign of activity
here by white people until the advent of the mining period when
it became the most prominent crossing on the river. With
the opening of other roads and construction of bridges the
ferry business by 1909 had so dwindled that the location was
16 MILES CANNON
abandoned. At the present time this particular section is
given over to the caprices of the two rivers which are con-
stantly seeking new channels. The last vestige of this historic
building is said to have disappeared in 1870. The seat of
political and commercial power has been transferred to the
beautiful city of Boise situated 50 miles farther up the Boise
river.
Reverting briefly to the south bank of the Snake I would
mention that section of the old trail lying between Succor
creek, on the Idaho side, and the Owyhee river on the Oregon
side of the state line. The trail crossed Succor creek about five
miles back from the Snake and ascended to a high plain for
a distance of several miles when it again descended into the
Snake river bottom some miles below what is known as the
Big Bend. It may be recalled that it was in this vicinity that
Robert Stuart picked up our three Kentucky hunters whose
melancholy fate on Boise river already has been mentioned.
On the high plain referred to is the spot where, about noon
of Sept. 13, 1860, the Vanorman train was attacked by the
Indians, eleven of the party killed and the entire train of eight
wagons, after thirty-six hours of continuous fighting, were
set on fire by the victorious savages and nearly 100 head of
stock and all the provisions of the company appropriated.
Some thirty-four members, mostly children, escaped when the
torch was being applied to the wagons and after untold suffer-
ing established a camp on the Owyhee about ten rods above
the point where the trail crossed that stream. Here they re-
mained until October 17th when they were rescued by a com-
pany of troopers from Walla Walla under command of Cap-
tain Dent. So furiously did the massacre rage when the train
was set on fire that those who escaped were unable, except
for a part of a loaf of corn bread, to provide themselves with
any provisions whatever, and out of the thirty making their
escape eighteen were children, several of whom were too small
to walk. In the annals of pioneer tragedies I know of but
one that parallels this — the Donner party of 1846. Of the
thirty-four who went into camp at the Owyhee far less than
SNAKE RIVER IN HISTORY 17
half survived the awful ordeal. That we should allow the
capacious maw of oblivion to claim the deeds of our heroic
pioneers is a good and sufficient cause to make even the stoutest
heart weep.
I shall here make a few observations relative to the age of
the Snake river trails. Peter H. Burnett, who crossed the
plains in 1843, verifies the statement of many others that the
Fort Hall bottoms had been a great resort for buffaloes and
adds the statement that "We saw the skulls of these animals
for the last time at Fort Boise, beyond which point they were
never seen." His remark, however, applies to the immigration
of that year, for earlier travelers had observed the skulls as
far west as the Powder river valley, west of which place I
have never heard of any trace of this historic animal.
It would appear, therefore, that, when the white man in-
vaded the Old Oregon territory, the buffalo herds were re-
ceding toward the east. As a cause of this recession we may,
with some degree of certainty, I think, look to the acquisi-
tion of the horse by the Indian as a primary explanation. Fol-
lowing the discovery of the New World in 1492, we find the
natives, as early as 1504, struck dumb with amazement upon
the discovery that the Spaniards were transporting their bag-
gage upon the backs of four-legged slaves of the most strange
and wonderful proportions. We find them in Cuba in 1511,
in Mexico by 1521 and as far north as Santa Fe, Utah and
even Kansas as early as 1542. It is reasonably safe to con-
clude, therefore, that the horse was in general use among the
Coast Indians as early as the beginning of the 17th century.
That the recession of the vast buffalo herds began on the
southern and western borders of their original feeding grounds,
to be followed closely by a general retreat from the Atlantic
slope, is equally certain. By 1832 white men had joined with
the Indians, the use of fire arms had become general, and the
wanton slaughter was on. In the fall of 1883, I stood on the
bank of the Missouri river at old Fort Pierre and watched a
steam boat from up river make its landing. Going aboard I
observed a consignment of fifty tons of buffalo hides and,
18 MILES CANNON
upon inquiry, was informed by the gray-haired captain that
they were taken on the head waters of the Marias river and
loaded at Fort Benton. "But, young man," he continued, "if
it's buffalo you are looking for you are too late. The hide
of the last wild buffalo on the plains is in that shipment." My
conjecture is that the deep winding furrows of the old Oregon
trail were made after the introduction of horses by the Spanish
during a period not later than the dawn of the seventeenth
century, and that the recession of the vast herds of buffalo from
both the east and the west was the primary cause of its original
existence.
I shall now hasten my long-deferred conclusion. That the
pioneers who immortalized the Oregon trail lived not in vain
is evidenced by some very interesting epochs in the annals of
America. On May 2, 1843, 102 of these empire builders joined
in a convention at Champoeg and set in motion the political
machinery which added a star to the flag. Then a small unit
of the emigration of the following year displeased, doubtless,
on account of the crowded conditions of the Willamette coun-
try, opened farms near Olympia in 1845, gave us the great
state of Washington, and still the flag goes marching on. Janu-
ary 24, 1848, James W. Marshall, impelled by the purpose
of building a mill, set his pick into the golden sands of Ameri-
can river and, lo ! the state of California was blazoned into the
blue field of Old Glory. During the summer of 1860 a small
party of these irrepressible pioneers, under the leadership of
E. D. Pierce, encamped on the Weippe meadows within a
stone's throw of the Lewis and Clark trail of 55 years before,
and from the blaze of that camp fire we may now in fancy see
the familiar outlines of the great state of Idaho; and still the
flag goes marching on. Two years later John White and
William Eads encamped on Willard's creek, and Montana in
a short time came into the Union.
The population of the five states mentioned is already in
excess of 7,000,000 souls, and the assessed valuation of both
real and personal property is perhaps more than $7,000,000,000,
though development is hardly begun. The far-seeing eye of
SNAKE RIVER IN HISTORY 19
Divinity only can fathom the future. Glorious heritage ! May
the final reunion of the pioneers in the realms of a joyous eter-
nity be, after all the achievements, his richest reward.
We will now take a final view of the Snake river as we of
a later generation have placed it in history. After the camp
fires of the emigrant had ceased to burn along the line of
the Oregon Trail, and its unnumbered graves had been leveled
by the winds of time, a new and a startling element entered
into the world's industrial affairs. Though we know not
what it is, nor from whence it comes, nor whither it goes, it
is, nevertheless, an element destined to revolutionize the efforts
and revise the rewards of man. We call it hydro-electric
power.
By the use of this mysterious gift of nature we no longer
use the water power to turn the shaft of the mill situated on
the bank of the stream, but to operate the generator which,
with the use of transmission lines, conveys the power to the
remotest fields of civilization. Its marvelous energy has, to
a large extent, invaded the industrial world, nor is it any less
a potent factor in the laboratories of science than in the bound-
less fields of domestic economy. In transportation it is destined
to supplant the steam locomotives in the near future, for already
the monster electric locomotives, weighing two hundred and
eighty-four tons each, speeds through the Rocky Mountains
hauling their eight hundred ton transcontinental trains with the
utmost ease. What a marvelous evolution; what a gift from
the benevolent hand of God ; what a boon to the toiling masses !
As a power river the Snake ranks with the greatest in the
world. Its vast volume of water has a total fall, from source
to mouth, of more than one mile, and, in the meantime, it
develops a minimum of 1,400,000, and a maximum of 2,900,000
H.P. The latest information available would indicate the
development at the present time to be about 120,000 H.P.
I pay for power $28.00 per H. P. per season of five months,
but putting it down to $10.00 per annum the Snake river would
appear to possess an annual earning capacity equal to $14,000,-
000, and a maximum of $29,000,000. Thus it seems that "the
20 MILES CANNON
stone which the builders rejected has become the chief stone
of the arch."
The state of Idaho, with a population of 450,000, has a
property valuation, according to a tax commission report, of
about $500,000,000. Though as a start we are but 28 years
old, we have an indebtedness, including state, county, municipal,
school, highway, etc., amounting to $17,000,000, upon which
we pay an interest charge of about $3,000 per day. This
interest charge, added to our annual running expenses, makes
a burden of $11,000,000 which the people, 80 per cent of whom
live within the Snake river watershed, must pay each year
for taxes.
As a sequel I crave your pardon if I find it necessary to lead
you far afield once more. At the time the Champoeg con-
vention was being held, May 2, 1843, a little six-year-old boy in
Hartford, Conn., was making his first attempt to master the
alphabet. That he well succeeded is indicated by the fact that
he finished his education at the University of Gottingen, Ger-
many, before he reached his 20th year. During the period
1860-5, when states were springing up in the vast territory
embraced in Old Oregon, and when the great question of seces-
sion was being settled by the arbitraments of war, this young
man entered the banking business in the city of New York.
Some light as to his success in his chosen work is furnished
in a governmental report* published and distributed in 1912,
and from which we learn that this man, together with his
immediate associates, controlled at that time, $22,245,000,000
out of a grand total of all property in the United States given
as $187,739,000,000. In other words he then controlled about
one-eighth of all the wealth in the country. You have already
guessed the name of the famous American citizen referred to,
the late J. Pierpont Morgan.
When the Hydro-power was sufficiently developed to insure
its continuous and permanent use, Mr. Morgan, as a minor
achievement, organized the General Electric Company, of
which The Idaho Power Company is said to be a subsidiary
concern. During 1915 the latter company took over the
•The Pujo Congressional Report.
SNAKE RIVER IN HISTORY 21
ownership and control of practically all power plants on the
Snake river except one, the Minidoka plant which is owned
by the government, and is now operating them in the interest
of the parent company. The homebuilders and taxpayers of
Idaho as a state have received no direct benefits from the
wealth which the waters of Snake river, until the last decade,
has been wasting into the sea.
From the Chicago Tribune, March 21, 1918, I note the
following relative to the Idaho Power Company : "The Idaho
Power Company, operating without competition, serves with
electric light and power the Snake river plains, extending across
southern Idaho and into eastern Oregon." I might add that
every plant they have and every mile of transmission wire
are, practically, within sight of the old Oregon Trail. I gain
the further significant fact from this paper as follows:
"This company operates under the jurisdiction of the public
utilities commission of the state of Idaho and the public
service commission of the state of Oregon."
I have mentioned the fact that, at the present time, the power
development of the Snake river is equal to about 120,000 H.P.
Of this amount the government owns and operates at the
Minidoka plant 10,000 H.P. This would indicate that the
Idaho Power Company has developed about 110,000 and, ac-
cording to the official report published in the paper mentioned,
they have in actual use 32,000 H.P. It further shows that the
Gross earnings are $1,137,425
Operating expenses, including taxes
and maintenance 579,201
Net earnings $ 558,224
The report shows, moreover, that this 32,000 H.P. if sold
at an average of STA cents per kilowatt, and they operate 24
hours per day, would yield the company a net profit of
$10,543,180. or a sum equal to 5 per cent interest per annum
on $210,863,680. In a statement before the Idaho board of
equalization the company placed a value upon their property
of $2,651,000.
You have observed that this company operates under the
22 MILES CANNON
jurisdiction of the public utilities commission of the state of
Idaho and the public service commission of the state of Oregon,
and that it operates without competition.
I should conclude, therefore, that the Snake river has passed
into the control of a monopoly, owned by individuals and
operated for a profit, under exclusive rights conferred by the
state. If my conclusions are well founded we have revived the
policy of granting monopolies which has always been opposed
by the English common law as far back as the beginning of the
seventeenth century, and, likewise, a policy which never has
been in good repute in the United States.
Unless the people of our country accept these conditions as
permanent, on the grounds of public policy, the problem is yet
to be solved. In its solution there are, as far as I know, but
two theories to be considered. First — a state monopoly owned
and operated for the benefit of all the people. Second — the
abolishment of monopolies by opening the power possibilities
to all citizens alike under the jurisdiction of the state which
should oppose all forms of special privileges. The present
condition represents the theory of imperialism ; the first remedy
represents the theory of German socialism ; the second remedy
is the usually accepted American plan, inasmuch as the govern-
ment, according to this theory, is employed in the highest de-
velopment of the power and efficiency of the individual.
Socialism, under its several forms, is now a greater menace
than it has been before in our history. The entire philosophy
of Socialism is of German origin and is contained in a book
known as "Das Kapital" written by Karl Marx. It is the bible
of Socialism no matter in what country or under what name.
It is based upon five elementary principles which are, 1 — class
hatred ; 2 — abolition of national boundaries ; 3 — abolition of the
family relations; A — abolition of religion; and 5 — abolition of
property rights. These are the five great rocks upon which
our constitution was conceived, and they are the five ele-
mentary features of government that have made us, in a short
period of 142 years, the most powerful and progressive people
in the world.
SNAKE RIVER IN HISTORY 23
The charge that capital has invaded the rights of the indi-
vidual, together with the socialist propaganda during the past
40 years, have not been barren of results. Class hatred is
being advocated without restraint and the doctrine of a league
of nations has already diverted our attention from Washing-
ton's solemn warning. Our population statistics, when com-
pared with the Bulletin of Church Statistics, indicate, appall-
ing as it may appear, that the increase of church communicants
as compared with the increase of population is falling behind
at the rate of nearly one million per year. (Reports for 1915-16
published in 1916-17). Open attacks upon the rights of prop-
erty have been made with such persistency that the para-
mount feature of the next national election will probably be
the federal ownership and operation of all public utilities,
including railroads, telegraph, telephone and power plants in
the United States.
Tliis bewhiskered quarrel between labor and capital should
be settled before the two form a coalition and crush the great
middle class whose rights are seldom mentioned. The signs
of the times point to this very thing. The Snake river offers
a favorable opportunity for the test. Capital, operating under
the protection of the state, and without competition, doubtless,
would seek an alliance rather than decapitation. At any rate
the power wealth of Snake river, in my opinion, is destined to
precipitate the final settlement. Let us indulge the hope that
this picturesque and powerful river, with a name fraught with
so much historic beauty, may, ultimately, occupy a high place
in history and that its unmeasured wealth may tend to solidify
rather than undermine, the principles of government which
have made us great in the eyes of the world.
THE NORTHERN BOUNDARY OF OREGON
By T. C. ELLIOTT.
During twenty-five years prior to June, 1846, the history of
Oregon included as its principal theme the dispute between
the governments of the United States and Great Britain as to
where the boundary line should be located between their re-
spective future territories. On the part of the United States
the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude was early proposed
and quite consistently held to although the political cry of
"fifty-four forty or fight" was not unheard for a time. On
the part of Great Britain the course of the Columbia river was
considered a fair compromise line, but without entire dis-
avowal of rights to all the country north of California or the
forty-second parallel. In the two previous issues of this
Quarterly attention has been directed to the first overt act
of the United States government toward asserting sovereignty
over the Columbia River Country or Northwest Coast of
America, as it was then called; and the influence of that act
in the later discussions of the boundary question. Mention
was made in the Quarterly for December, 1918 (pp. 276-7)
of an early request by the Secretary of the Foreign Office of
Great Britain to the Hudson's Bay Company for the removal
of the principal trading post of that company from the south
to the north side of the Columbia river. It is now proposed
to present the document which contains the authority for that
interesting statement.
This publication has been made possible through the courtesy
of Dr. Otto Klotz, chief astronomer of the Dominion of
Canada, who during years of service has accumulated in his
office at Ottawa much valuable data relating to the scientific
and physical location of this boundary line as established by
treaty and the diplomatic discussions leading up to it. The
Amer. Geographical Review for May, 1917, contains an in-
teresting article by Dr. Klotz entitled "The History of the
Forty-ninth Parallel Survey West of the Rocky Mountains."
26 T. C. ELLIOTT
In the course of his personal research the archives of the
Hudson's Bay Company at their head office in London were
examined and he was permitted to make copies of certain
letters therein. These were later printed by the Canadian
Government in a confidential volume and the seal of confidence
has now been removed for the use of this Quarterly, being
of special interest to residents of Oregon and pertinent to
the series of articles now appearing in its pages upon The
Federal Relations of Oregon.
Hon. George Canning, to whom this particular document
is addressed, was from 1822 to 1827 the most influential man
in England, if not in all Europe. He was connected with
political life in England from 1793 on, with various vicissitudes,
and following the suicide of Lord Castlereagh became the
Secretary of the Foreign Office in Sept., 1822, and continued
as such until his sudden death in August, 1827. From the
statements in this letter it is evident that his attention was
early directed to the relatively unimportant question of British
interests in far-away Oregon. In the United States in 1817,
when President Monroe contemplated sending the "Ontario"
to the Columbia river to assert publicly our claim of national
sovereignty he directed that John Jacob Astor of New York,
be informed of the plan ; Mr. Astor was the leading fur trade
merchant in America. In England in 1822, when, following
the coalition with the "Northwesters," the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany contemplated the expansion of operations on the Pacific
Coast the ear of the Foreign Secretary was sought to urge
that some permanent arrangement be made as to British au-
thority over the Northwest Coast of America. Thus we
find that it was the prime beaver skin of the Columbia
river basin in its abundance which attracted the attention of
both England and America to Oregon; the symbol of the
pound sterling and American dollar preceded both the flag
and the cross in both discovery, and exploitation. And the
purely commercial interests involved also undoubtedly occa-
sioned the delay in final determination of the dispute by means
of the treaties of joint policy.
THE NORTHERN BOUNDARY OF OREGON 27
The exact date of this request by Sec. Canning is not stated
in the document but under usual course of procedure it would
have been made not later than the winter of 1823-24, when
Gov. Simpson was (presumably) in London. We have record
of the arrival of Gov. Simpson and Dr. McLoughlin at Fort
George (Astoria) in November, 1824 from Norway House,
Fort William and Montreal overland. We also know that
Secretary Adams and U. S. Ambassador Rush were discussing
the Oregon question with Secretary Canning during 1822-
1825.
The statements in this document will serve to correct some
errors of popular belief or conclusion as to the establishment
of Fort Vancouver on the Columbia river in 1824-25; facts
not new, however, to close readers of our history. Doctor
John McLoughlin did not select the site or the name for that
important trading post but was merely the efficient adminis-
trator in its erection and the transfer of headquarters. At
some future date the writer hopes to contribute an adequate
account of the influence and activities of Gov. George Simp-
son in the course of events on the Columbia river.
Governor Felly's historical resume cannot be considered
other than a partisan statement of the British claims to the
Oregon Country, though some of his errors were due to lack
of knowledge. The boundary line he suggests is essentially
the same offered by England in 1842 but as alternative Lord
Ashburton was then authorized to offer the line of the Koot-
enay river from the Rocky Mountains to the Columbia and
thence along the Columbia to the ocean. However, discussion
of the Oregon boundary was not undertaken by Secretary
Webster and Lord Ashburton in 1842.
[DOCUMENT]
Journal 721. Hudson's Bay House,
p. 255. London, 9th December, 1825.
To
The Right Honble.
George Canning,
&c., &c.
Sir, — With reference to the several communications which
28 T. C. ELLIOTT
I have had the honor of having with you on the subject of
the Country situated on the North West Coast of America
and to the West of the Rocky Mountains I have now the
honor of requesting your attention to the following circum-
stances, which it may be of importance to consider in any
negotiation for settling the Boundaries with the1 United States
to the West of the Rocky Mountains.
I need not remind you that Captn. Cook in 1778 explored
the Coast from Cape Gregory in Lat. 43^ to Lat. 70° and
that Spain by the Convention1 28th October, 1790, abandoned
all particular claim beyond what she at that time held in actual
settlement and that consequently the United States cannot have
any claim under their purchase of Lousiana from Spain.
In 17782 Captains Gray and Kendrick (in command of the
Columbia and Washington) were fitted out at Boston for a
trading voyage on that Coast and are supposed to have been
the first Americans who engaged in that Trade but they did
not enter the River Columbia,3 and it is well known that
British Subjects4 have been carrying on a trade on that Coast
previous to the voyages of Captains Gray and Kendrick. The
River Columbia was not explored until 1792 when Lt. Brough-
ton entered it in the Chatham and anchored at Red Patch,5
about 12 miles inland from Cape Disappointment, he then pro-
ceeded with the Cutter and Launch up the River as far as
Vancouver's Point. Vancouver in Vol. 2, page 66, says "prev-
iously to his (Mr. Broughton's) departure however he formally
1. Article V of the Nootka Sound Convention of October 28th, 1790, reads as
follows: — "It is agreed that as well in the places which are to be restored to
British subjects by virtue of the first article as in all other parts of the North-
west Coast of North America or of the islands adjacent situated to the north of
the parts of said coast already occupied by Spain, wherever the subjects to
either of the two powers shall have made settlements since the month of April,
1789, or shall hereafter make any, the subjects of the other shall have free
access and shall carry on their commerce without disturbance or molestation."
Any right, title or interest of Spain to the Northwest Coast ,'of North
America was conveyed to the United States through the Florida Purchase of
1818; not through the Louisiana Purchase.
2. The Columbia and Lady Washington sailed from Boston on September 30,
1787, and arrived at Nootka in September, 1788.
3. Governor Pelly in this paragraph merely reiterates the argument of
Captain George Vancouver and Lieutenant Broughton that the mouth of the
Columbia river was thirty-five miles from the ocean (between Cathlamet Point
and Skamokawa) and that Captain Gray entered merely the bay or estuary
into which the river flows.
4 Captain James Hanna in 1785 and 1786. Captains Lowrie and Guise in
1786. Captain Barkley in 1787. Captains Portlock and Dixon, 1786-7. Captain
Meares, 1786-7. Captains Colwitt and Duncan, 1787, and others.
5 Red Patch is presumably the treeless knob on Scarborough Head (Fort
Columbia of the present day) where the bushes turn brown in color in the
autumn; plainly visible from the entrance to the river. This point is twelve
miles from the ocean * but Lieutenant Broughton's anchorage was just below
Frankfort, opposite Astoria, more than fifteen miles from the ocean.
THE NORTHERN BOUNDARY OF OREGON 29
took possession of the River and the Country in its vicinity
in His Britannic Majesty's name having every reason to be-
lieve that the subjects of no other civilized Nation or State
had ever entered this River before; in this opinion he was
confirmed by Mr. Gray's sketch in which it does not appear
that Mr. Gray either saw or was within five Leagues of its
entrance."
According to Lt. Broughton's observations, Vancouver's
Point6 is situated in Lat. 45° 27' and Long. 237° 50' computed
to be about 100 miles from the mouth of the river.
In 1793, Sir Alexr. McKenzie crossed the Rocky Moun-
tains and reached the coast about Lat. 52^ and soon after7
that time the North West Company of Montreal established
trading Posts in the Country West of the Rocky Mountains
on the head waters of the North Branch of the Columbia
among the Flathead and Coutonais Tribes, and continued grad-
ually to explore the country and extend their Trade towards
the Coast down the Columbia as well as to the Northward.
Capts. Lewis and Clark in the command of an expedition
fitted out by the American Government, ascended the Missouri,
crossed the Rjocky Mountains, descended the South branch of
the Columbia called in "Arrowsmiths' map" "Lewis's River"
and which falls into the main or North Branch in Lat. 46° 15' ;
they proceeded to the mouth of the River and passed the winter
1805-6 at Young's Bay, on the South side of the River. At
this period,8 the British fur traders had pushed their trading
post nearer to the junction of the Lewis's River with the
North Branch of the Columbia River. In 1809 an Association9
composed of British and American subjects was formed in
New York for the purpose of carrying on the fur Trade on
6 As to the true location of Point Vancouver, see Or. Hist. Quar. Vol. 18,
page 73.
7 The first trading post "established by the North- West Company on Colum-
bia river waters was by David Thompson in July, 1807, near the source of the
river and called Kootenais House. In November, 1809, another trading post
was established by Mr. Thompson among the Saleesh or Flathead tribe in
Montana; and Spokane House on that river in 1810.
8 There were no trading posts at all west of the Rocky Mountains on rivers
draining into the Pacific in 1805 but in 1806 Simon Fraser established two
trading posts on the waters of the Fraser river at Lake Stuart and Fraser Lake.
9 The organization of the Pacific Fur Company is narrated in Irving*s
"Astoria" and by Mr. Astor himself in his letter dated January 4th, 1823, and
addressed to Secretary of State John Quincy Adams; this is printed in full in
the Appendix of Greenhow's History of Oregon. Mr. Astor states that he
furnished ALL the capital for the enterprise and that the British subjects con-
nected with it were partners only for a share in any profits. Those subjects
were Alexander McKay, Duncan McDougall, Donald McKenzie, David Stuart
and John Clarke. They reached the Columbia in March, 1811. (McKenzie in
1812.)
30 T. C. ELLIOTT
the North West Coast under the Firm of the Pacific Fur
Company. They fitted out two expeditions one by land and
the other by sea for the Columbia where they arrived in 1810
and established themselves on the South side of the River,
naming their Settlement "Astoria" after their principal partner
Mr. Astor of New York. The North West Compy. of Mont-
real however continued to extend their Trade with the Natives
and in 1813 established themselves on the Coast within a few
yards of the American settlement of Astoria.10
The Americans had remained at Astoria and from time to
time sent parties into the Interior, but had not made much
progress in establishing themselves in the country, when in
1813 they sold their buildings at Astoria (which was after-
wards named "Fort George") with the whole of their stock
in trade in the Country to the North West Company as per
Bill of Sale (Copy of which is annexed) and abandoned the
Country. Since that time no American Trader has appeared
nor has any settlement been formed by any others than the
British Fur Traders.
Upon reference to the above circumstances and to the dates
of the transaction it does not appear that the Americans can
establish any just claim to the Country on the Columbia or to
the Northward of it, and that by actual possession Great
Britian alone can establish a legitimate Title. In 1818, Captain
Hickey of H. M. S. Blossom accompanied by Mr. J. B. Prevost,
Agent for the United States Government arrived at the Co-
lumbia and delivered to Mr. James Keith of the North West
Company, then in charge of Fort George, a letter from Earl
Bathurst dated 27th January, H. M. S. Andromache, and in
consequence Mr. Prevost took formal possession of the Settle-
ment as his acknowledgment.11 Copies of these documents are
annexed but I think it right to observe that the Settlement
and whatever had been previously occupied in that Country
by American subjects had been acquired by the North West
Company by purchase for a valuable consideration and not by
Capture.
By the Convention 20th October, 1818, between Great
Britain and America the Trade of the Country to the West
of the Rocky Mountains is left open to the subjects of both
10 We have the narrative of two eye-witnesses of how the large party of
"Northwesters" "established (?) themselves within a few yards of the American
settlement of Astoria' in October, 1813; Gabriel Franchere and Alexander Ross.
See Franchere' s Narrative, pp. 190-93, and Ross' Oregon Settlers, p. 254.
ir For Mr. Prevost's official report of this event see Or. Quar. Vol. 19, p. 277.
THE NORTHERN BOUNDARY OF OREGON 31
Nations for ten years without prejudice to the claim of either
Nation; but no American subjects have as yet availed them-
selves of this privilege. The British Fur Traders however
have never withdrawn from the Country since they first en-
tered it; on the contrary they have gradually and at much
risk and expense increased their Settlements which now amount
to thirteen in number (besides temporary Stations which are
occasionally changed) and extend over a Country exceeding
fifteen degrees of Latitude, say from Lat. 45° to North of
Lat. 60°.
In the year 1821 the Hudson's Bay Company made an ar-
rangement with the North West Company of Montreal by
which they acquired possession of all the trading Posts and
Stock of that association, and now under their Royal Charter
and His Majesty's License the whole Indian Trade of British
America to the North West of Canada is carried on by the
Hudson's Bay Company. In order to acquire more correct
information respecting the country on the West of the Rocky
Mountains and for the purpose of carrying into effect some
measures connected with extending our Trade on the North
West Coast? Governor Simpson was directed to proceed thither
last season, and after an arduous and fatiguing journey he
accomplished an extensive survey of the Company's Trading
establishments and is now in London. He will remain here
until the beginning of February, and will attend any appoint-
ment that you may be pleased to make should you wish to be
possessed of any further information respecting that Country.
Whilst at Fort George, Governor Simpson fitted out an Ex-
pedition under the direction of an intelligent officer, Mr. Chief
Trader McMillan, for the purpose of exploring the coast to
the Northward.12
In the course of his survey he discovered the entrance of
Fraser's River between Capes Roberts and Gray in about
Lat. 49° 15'.13
The mouth of this River was not discovered by Vancouver
nor by the Subjects of any civilized Nation until Mr. McMillan
visited it last Winter, but the upper part of the River, and
down to within 20 miles of the sea was explored by Messrs.
12 For day-to-day account of this expedition, see Journal of John Work, in
Wash. Hist. Quarterly, Vol. 3, p. 198.
13 Later research has rendered this statement erroneous. Simon Fraser is
believed to have arrived within sight of the mouth of the river and of the gulf
into which it flows. See page 279 of "British Columbia/' by F. W. Howay and
E. O. S. Scholefield.
32 T. C. ELLIOTT
Fraser and Stuart, partners of the North West Company in
the year 1808. I annex extracts from Mr. McMillan's re-
port and as this country appears to be rich in fur bearing
animals we have it in contemplation to form permanent es-
tablishments therein next Summer,14 to push our discoveries
to the Northward both inland and on the Coast, and to embark
a considerable capital in endeavoring to secure to Great Britain
the benefits arising from an exchange of British manufactures
for the produce of that Country with its numerous inhabitants.
In compliance with a wish expressed by you at our last in-
terview Governor Simpson when at Columbia abandoned Fort
George on the South side of the River and formed a new
Establishment on the North side about 75 miles from the
mouth of the River at a place called by Lt. Broughton Belle
vue Point.15 Governor Simpson named the new establish-
ment "Fort Vancouver" in order to identify our claim to the
soil and trade with Lt. Broughton' s discovery and survey.
He considers the soil and climate of this place to be so well
adapted for agricultural pursuits, that in the course of two
or three years it may be made to produce sufficient grain and
animal provisions to meet not only the demands of our own
trade but to almost any extent that may be required for other
purposes; and he considers the possession of this place and
a right to the navigation of the River Columbia to be quite
necessary to our carrying on to advantage not only the trade
of the upper parts of the Columbia River but also that of the
country interior from the mouth of Eraser's River and the
Coasting Trade, all of which can be provisioned from this
Place. Under existing circumstances I respectfully submit to
your consideration whether it might not be advisable to en-
deavor to arrange a boundary line between Great Britain and
the United States in that country to the West of the Rocky
Mountains more especially as the attention of Congress has
been called to the subject, and in an American map lately pub-
lished the line of Lat. 49 is continued from the Rocky Moun-
tains to the Sea Coast, and the Country to the South of that
line is described to be United States Territory, which at some
14 Fort Langley on the Fraser river was established by James McMillan in
July, 1827.
15 This identification of Bellevue Point adds interest to the historic site
of Fort Vancouver; from, the narrative by Mr. Broughton or Captain Vancouver
it is difficult to locate this Point. It is hardly correct that Fort George was
abandoned, however, for a trading post was maintained there until 1849 or 1850,
when taken over by the U. S. army and custom officer*.
THE NORTHERN BOUNDARY OF OREGON 33
future period might be made use of by the American Govern-
ment. This line would deprive Great Britain of a valuable
country now occupied and traded by the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany, and would occasion many practical inconveniences in
carrying on the trade of the Country which would be left
to us.
But as I have already stated it does not appear that the
Americans can establish a just claim to any part of the country
either to the South or North of the Columbia River, and as
the free navigation of that River is necessary to our carrying
on the Trade I have endeavored to fix on a boundary which
would answer the views of the Hudson's Bay Company, with-
out pushing the claims of Great Britain to their full extent.
I have therefore to suggest that starting from Lat. 49° at
the Rocky Mountains the line ought to be continued South-
ward along the Height of Land to the place where Lewis and
Clark crossed the Mountains, said to be in Lat. 46° 42', thence
Westerly along the Lewis's River until it falls into the Co-
lumbia, and thence to the Sea, leaving the navigation of both
these rivers free to the subjects of both Nations. This line
would leave to America the Trade and Possession of an ex-
tensive and valuable Country and would furnish fewer op-
portunities of collision between the Traders of the two Nations
than any other line that could be suggested.
I send herewith a map on which the line16 which I have taken
the liberty of suggesting is colored, and on which the Trading
Posts17 now occupied by the Hudson's Bay Company are
marked.
I have the honor to be, with the greatest respect, sir
Your most obt. humb Servant
J. H. P. GOVR.
1 6 This map is not available for reference. Lat. 46° 42' is very close to the
Lolo Trail by which Lewis and Clark crossed the Bitter Root range, but that
ridge does not form the continental divide. This boundary line as described
would leave the Rocky Mountains at Lemhi Pass in Central Idaho and follow
the Lemhi and Salmon rivers to the Snake, the Snake to the Columbia and the
Columbia to the ocean. Salmon river in Idaho is the stream which was named
Lewis river originally by Captain Clark and which should carry that name at the
present day.
17 These trading posts, thirteen in number, were listed in a later letter by
Governor Simpson, dated January, 1826, as the following: Vancouver, Nez
Perce (Walla Walla), Okanogan, Colvile, Flathead and Kootenais (in the
basin of the Columbia; Fort George is omitted), Kilmany, Eraser's Lake, St.
James, Chilcotin, Alexandria and Thompson's River or Kamloops (in the basin of
the Fraser river), McLeod's, (on Peace river waters).
34 T. C. ELLIOTT
LIST OF PAPERS INCLOSED.
1. Bill of Sale, Pacific Fur Company to North-west Com-
pany.
2. Letter from Early Bathurst dated 27th January, 1818.
Instructions of Captn. Sheriff of H. M. S. Andromache. Mr.
I. P. Prevost acknowledgement of possession.
3. Extract from Mr. McMillan's report of Voyage and
Survey from Columbia to Fraser's River, 1826.
4. Map of North America.
THE FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON— IV
By LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
CHAPTER VII
THE NEGOTIATIONS OF 1842-1845
Beginning in 1839 Congress was deep in the discussion of
Dr. Linn's various resolutions and bills ; the Oregon issue was
already showing a tendency to leave the realm of questions
of fact to be settled between two governments, and was assum-
ing that political guise which was to characterize it until the
final decision. The British government, apparently long for-
getful of the Northwest Coast, was stirred to inquiry if not
to immediate action. The channel through which information
might be derived was that which served, as almost the only
connecting link between the disputed region and the govern-
ment; that is, the Hudson's Bay Company. Sir John Pelly,
head of the organization, was requested by Lord John Russell
and Lord Palmerston to furnish the government with such
information as might be deemed useful to it, especially in view
of the fact that Sir George Simpson, in 1841, was 'just de-
parting for the Columbia River. Sir George, therefore, gave
the British government the material facts about the actual
situation in Oregon.
His dispatch to the officials of the Hudson's Bay Company,
written in November, 1841, l gave an account of the settle-
ments made by the Americans, the number of people in each,
their condition and the influence exerted in the land. He
noted that the missionaries, who formed almost the whole
number of Americans, seemed to be making more rapid pro-
gress with the extension of their settlements than in the
ostensible objects of their residence in the country; he could
not learn that they were successful or making much progress
in moral and religious instruction of the natives. Inferences
i Letter printed by Schafer, Am. Hist. Rev., XIV, 73-82, from F. O., Am.
Domestic and Various Papers, Jan. to Mar. 1843.
36 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
from this remark were no doubt strengthened by Sir George's
account of finding at Vancouver in August, 1841, Wilkes at
the head of an American government exploring expedition.
Wilkes, he wrote,2 was not communicative as to his surveys
and examination of the country, but from an "intelligent and
confidential" member of the party he learned that the Com-
modore was intending to recommend that his government claim
the whole region from 42° to 54° 40' .3 Simpson's informant,
however, held more moderate views;4 he intended to recom-
mend a line through the Straits of Fuca to the mainland south
of Whidby's Island, thence straight to where the Nez Perce
(Snake River) emptied into the Columbia. This, he main-
tained, could not be refused by the British government, for
the justice of allowing the United States the portion of terri-
tory with its harbors inside of Cape Flattery could easily be
seen; if the southern line of the Columbia should be taken
no secure harbor would fall to the United States. Sir George
took occasion to impress the Governor of the Hudson's Bay
Company with the significance of this statement and wrote,
"I trust you will urge Her Majesty's Government not to con-
sent to any boundary that would give the United States any
portion of the Territory north of the Columbia, as it would
deprive the Britsh of the only valuable part of the territory,
the country north of the Straits of Fuca not being adapted to
Agriculture, or other purposes connected with colonization."
The report also called attention particularly to the fact
that Wilkes had sent one division of his party overland through
the Willamette valley and on into California to San Francisco
Bay, near which the Russian settlement at Bodega was located.
This post was of especial interest to the Company and to look
into the question of its acquisition had been one of the main
reasons for sending Simpson to the Pacific Coast.5 A little
2 Simpson to Pelly, dated 10 Mar., 1842, Honolulu; Ibid,, 86^93.
3. Schafer says this was probably Captain Wm. L. Hudson, second in
command.
4 Wilkes did make such a recommendation in strong terms, but his report
was not allowed to come before Congress. See Chapter V.
5 See Adams, British interests and activities in Texas, 1838-1846, on the
topic of Simpson's orders to look into the matter of the Russian settlement in
California as a possible means of securing for the company and for England
A foothold at San Francisco Bay.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 37
later Sir George learned, when at Sitka, that the Russian
American Company had sold their holdings at Bodega to a
Swiss because the post had always been unprofitable. "The
sale," he commented, "was effected previous to my arrival or
I would have made the purchase for the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany as a basis for a future claim by Great Britain." Evidently
the unattainable had greater attractions than that which might
have been secured, for Sir George had reported in November
that the Russians were in California in defiance of the Mex-
icans who were powerless to drive them out, even though
the former admitted that they had no title to the soil other
than that afforded by occupation ; he had further stated that
the title which the Russians could give would be of no value
unless backed by eighty or one hundred men, so he could see
no use in purchasing on any terms.
These reports arc interesting for the light they throw on
the attitude of the Hudson's Bay Company which was the
most important influence working with the British govern-
ment to prevent a compromise at 49° or on any line which
would not leave the whole of the Columbia River to the free
and unhampered use of the Company. This influence was
recognized by those American ministers in London who had
occasion to deal with the Oregon Question and it was magnified
into a sinister power by the Oregon men in Congress.
Lord Ashburton, when he was in the United States to
negotiate the question of the Northeast Boundary, had heard
that Wilkes was going to urge the United States to claim to
54° 40'.6 It was partly on this account, partly because he wished
to help clear up all outstanding issues between his own and
the government of the United States, that he left America
regretting that he could have done nothing with the Oregon
dispute.7 He advised the Foreign Office to push the matter
immediately since the great controversy, that over the Maine
boundary, was settled and so could no longer be endangered
6 Ashburton to Aberdeen, 29 June, 1842. F. O. Am. 379; quoted by Schafer,
Am. Hist. Rev. 1911, 297.
7 Everett to Webster, 19 Oct. 1842. No. West Bound. Arb., 27.
38 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
by the introduction of Oregon issues. Lord Aberdeen was
no less anxious to remove all menace to good understanding
between the two nations and accordingly instructed Fox in
Washington to propose to Webster that the American minister
in London be furnished with instructions and full powers to
negotiate, assuring the American Secretary of State that the
British government was prepared to proceed in a spirit of
fairness.8 This suggestion met with the approval of President
Tyler although the opening of Congress in December, 1842,
came before anything was done to start negotiations.
Tyler's Annual Message of this year, after stating that it
became evident that nothing could be done with the Oregon
Question during the negotiations conducted by Lord Ashburton
and Secretary Webster, went on to say,9 "Although the diffi-
culty referred to may not for several years to come involve
the peace of the two countries, yet I shall not delay to urge
on Great Britain the importance of its early settlement." Both
this and the matter of commercial adjustments he believed
would soon be taken up since "it will comport with the policy
of England, as it does with that of the United States, to seize
upon this moment, when most of the causes of irritation have
passed away, to cement the peace and amity of the two coun-
tries by wisely removing all grounds of probable future colli-
sion." This presentation of the matter did not agree with the
notion the British government had of the preliminaries ; Fox
wrote Aberdeen10 that he would be surprised at the "inexact
manner in which the message describes the state of negotia-
tions." Aberdeen, too, expressed his regret at the statement,
but felt that the affair would be seen in its true light when
the correspondence was laid before Congress; however, in
view of the facts it would have been more candid, he thought,
had the President stated that he had already received from
the British government a "pressing overture" for renewing
8 Fox to Webster, 15 Nov., H. Ex. Doc. No. i, 29th Cong, ist Ses. Aber-
deen read the dispatch to Everett before it was sent.
9 Richardson, Messages, IV, 196.
10 Fox to Aberdeen, 12 Dec. 1842, Br. & For. St. Papers, 34; 51.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 39
negotiations.11 Ashburton, in a private letter to Webster,12
said it was well known that he would always strive to pro-
mote peace with America, "but I cannot deny that your Presi-
dential speech made European politicians of all parties and
all countries stare with unusual surprise." Furthermore he
questioned if it was indeed a good time to negotiate, although
if undertaken in good faith he had no doubt of a successful
outcome. "It may be doubtful whether it might be possible
to satisfy such men as Benton and Linn on the one hand,
or your friend Gushing on the other. It is worse than a
waste of time to be negotiating when the spirit of the time
is adverse, for failure necessarily leaves behind much of irrita-
tion. . . . The best treaty could not satisfy those who are
predetermined to find fault."
Something beside Congressional activity, however, was caus-
ing the American government to proceed slowly in accepting
Lord Aberdeen's "pressing overture." The Texas affair was
looming and with Texas there came the possibilities regard-
ing California. To Tyler came the thought that Texas, Oregon
and California might be brought together so that what was
done with one region would serve to strengthen the other.
He talked the matter over with Webster who further matured
the project and passed it on to Everett in London.13 The
"political profligacy" which Adams so feared was working
out. Webster reminded Everett of the Oregon agitation in
Congress, telling him that the bill then under consideration
was favored by Benton, Linn, McRoberts and other western
gentlemen, while it was opposed by Calhoun, Berrien, Choate,
McDuffie and others.
"This new outbreak of interest and zeal for Oregon has its
origin in motives and objects this side of the Rocky Moun-
tains. The truth is there are lovers of agitation; and when
most topics of dispute are settled, those which remain are called
on with earnestness and avidity. We feel the importance of
11 Aberdeen to Fox, 18 Jan., 1843, Ibid., 52.
12 2 Jan., 1843, Private Correspondence of Daniel Webster, II, 163, 565.
13 Webster to Everett, 29 Jan., 1843 (private) Writings and Speeches of
Daniel Webster, XVI, 393-6. See Chapter VI above.
40 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPER
settling this question if we can; but we fear embarrassments
and difficulties, not, perhaps, so much from the object itself,
as from the purposes of men, and of parties connected with it.
Mr. Calhoun distinguished himself for his support of the late
treaty. You know his position before the country in regard
to the approaching election of President. Mr. Benton as
leader of the Van Buren party, or at least the more violent
part of it, is disposed to make war upon everything which
Mr. Calhoun supports ; and seems much inclined at present to
get up an anti-English feeling. * * *
"You know what is said about the cession of California to
the United States; from you we learn that England would
favor such a transaction, if it might be the means of settling
the Oregon question. ... It has occurred to me to con-
sider whether it might not be possible to make a tripartite
arrangement."
This arrangement, which Webster said was only a thought
and not yet shaped into opinion, included these factors:
1. Cession of Upper California by Mexico to the United
States.
2. Payment by the United States to Mexico for the cession
of millions of dollars.
3. Of this sum, millions to be paid to United
States citizens having claims against Mexico.
4. The residue to be paid to British subjects having Mex-
ican bonds or other claims against Mexico.
5. The line between the United States and England in
Oregon to run "pretty much as I mentioned to you," (i. e.,
approximately the line suggested to Simpson.)
"The truth is if we negotiate for Oregon alone, I hardly
know what instructions to give you; because we cannot tell
what sort of a treaty two-thirds of the Senate would agree to."
Webster said that he had mentioned the matter to Almonte
but the latter had no instructions on which to base a discus-
sion. The President favored a special mission to England,
and if there should be a strong probability that Oregon and
California could be taken up together Webster thought he
would be nominated and probably would not decline ; as it was,
it was impossible to make any progress in Washington ; "Fox
and this Department do not make much progress." Webster's
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 41
apparent willingness to negotiate any line for Oregon which
would receive the approval of the Senate testifies to his poor
opinion of the value of that country, a fact which he mentioned
to Everett.
While the British government was inclined to listen to
Everett's presentation of Webster's project an insuperable dif-
ficulty presented itself; Mexico had no intention of even dis-
cussing a cession of California. Consequently the spring wore
on and the negotiation lagged. Unofficially Everett was in-
formed in March that soon he might expect a formal notifica-
tion that the President had requested the British government
to resume negotiations at Washington both for the boundary
and for a new commercial convention.14 But August came
and the instructions had not been received, so Fox was di-
rected to proceed with the subject if the Washington govern-
ment so desired.15 Upshur, who had replaced Webster, took
the hint to the President who told the Secretary to direct
Everett to take up the matter in London. The instructions
allowed the minister to offer 49° as the boundary with the
added privilege of allowing the nationals of both countries
to navigate the Columbia on equal terms, but "beyond that
the President (was) not prepared to go."16
The delay had been too great, so when Everett informed
Aberdeen that he had powers to negotiate he was told that
such an arrangement would have been welcomed earlier, but
it was then too late since Fox had been recalled and Richard
Pakenham sent in his place with special instructions on the
Oregon issue. Among other reasons for the change it was
felt that the Oregon negotiation would benefit by being placed
in new hands although the course had not been adopted until
all hope that Everett mipiit receive instructions to proceed
had been abandoned.17 Everett still thought that he might
accomplish something before the new minister left England.
_______ ' I >l r- ] ] \
14 Webster to Everett, 20 Mar., Private Correspondence of Webster, II, 171.
15 Everett to Upshur, 17 Aug., No. West Bound. Arb., 28; Aberdeen told
Everett that he regretted having to transfer the question to^ Washington for he
had hoped that Everett might bring it to a successful issue in London.
1 6 Upshur to Everett, 9 Oct., No. West Bound Arb., 28.
17 Blair to Van Buren, see note 14 above.
42 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPER
He had a long conversation18 with Aberdeen in which he
pointed out the advantages of 49° as a boundary, for it had
been only where this line had been adopted, no matter what
the topography of the country might have been, that there
had been no controversy. Everett thought Aberdeen was im-
pressed with the general import of his remarks; expressing
the hope that Congress would do nothing at its next session to
embarrass the negotiations "he (Aberdeen) said, if this can be
avoided, 'I do not think we shall have much difficulty.' " Such
a remark Everett interpreted to mean that Pakenham would
go to America instructed to offer 49° with some sort of
modification ; recognizing the necessity of his own govern-
ment's making some sort of a modification of its previous
offers, he suggested that it was possible that all of Vancouver's
Island might be yielded, although he added that he had no
instructions on the point.19 He felt that this had been a
happy suggestion for at a later conference Lord Aberdeen told
him that as 49° had long ago been offered and rejected the
question was different than if it were coming up for the
first time; each party must be expected to yield something
from its original demands. "I regard this observation, now
made to me for the first time, although the Oregon boundary
since my residence in England has been the subject of very
frequent conversation between Lord Aberdeen and myself, as
very important."20 Then Everett added to Upshur, in re-
porting the conversation, that Aberdeen had asked if he was
confident of his statement and also wished it to be remembered
that Great Britain had offered to cede certain territory north
of the Columbia. Taking this as an indication that the British
government was preparing to abandon its stand for the Co-
lumbia, Everett was in high hopes of an agreement; "I may
be in error in this view of the subject; but it is the result of
the closest consideration I have been able to give it, that the
present government, though of course determined not to make
18 Everett to Upshur (private and confidential) Ibid., 29-30, 14 Nov.
19 Everett to Aberdeen, 30 Nov., Ibid., 32.
20 Everett to Upshur, 2 Dec., Ibid., 30-2.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 43
any discreditable sacrifice of what they consider their rights,
are willing to agree to reasonable terms of settlement."
Under apparently favorable conditions, therefore, did Paken-
ham undertake the task of settling the Oregon Question when
he arrived in America in 1844. The surface of affairs was
not even ruffled by the inept reference to Oregon in Tyler's
Annual Message, where he again seemed to charge to the
British government the delay which had occurred. The first
interviews with Upshur, in the latter part of February, added
to the good impressions which Pakenham had already re-
ceived, and he could report to his government that the best
spirit seemed to prevail.21 Furthermore the seed which Everett
had dropped about the ultimate concessions which might per-
haps be expected from the American government appeared to
be germinating as shown by some private instructions sent
Pakenham after he left England.22
"Should my apprehensions be verified (i. e. that the United
States should refuse to accept the Columbia as a boundary),
you will endeavor, without committing yourself or your gov-
ernment, to draw from the American negotiator a proposal
to make the 49th degree of latitude the boundary, with the
proviso that the ports to the south of that parallel to the
Columbia inclusive, shall be free ports to Great Britain. The
navigation of the Columbia should be common to both; and
care should be taken that the 49th degree of latitude, as a
boundary, is to extend only to the sea; and not to apply to
Vancouver's island."
A hint of what had been done was given Everett who,
though he was not charged with the negotiation, continued to
bring what pressure he could to bear upon Lord Aberdeen.
He was told that Pakenham's instructions had been modified to
allow a great discretion, and from this he drew the conclusion
that the British government no longer expected to secure
the Columbia and would in the last resort accept 49° and
Everett's suggested modification. "They do not, therefore,
I imagine, much regret the agitation of the subject in the
21 Pakenham to Aberdeen, 27 Feb., 1844, Br. & F. St. Papers, 34; 57-8
22 Aberdeen Papers, cited by Schafer, Am. Hist. Rev., 1911, 296-7.
44 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
United States, and are willing we should advance a claim to
54° 40'; such a course on our part will make it easier for
them to agree to stop at 49° . . ."28
But this smooth sailing could not continue. The particular
form which the 54° 40' agitation took did not, contrary to
Everett's belief, urge the British government to further con-
cessions. The congressional bills and resolutions and debates,
the party discussions and intrigues, especially that portion
relating to the annexation of Texas, all served to cool the con-
ciliatory ardor of Aberdeen and the British ministry. And
then, just four days before the Foreign Secretary sent to
Pakenham his new instructions, came the death of Upshur,
leaving the State Department in the hands of the Assistant
Secretary Nelson until a successor could be chosen.
Had Aberdeen been able to foresee the selection of John
C. Calhoun as Secretary of State he might, in view of the
past record of that gentleman, have felt that British interests
were in no danger. To Calhoun the Texas and Oregon ques-
tions were the sole reasons weighty enough to cause his
resignation as Senator and acceptance of a Cabinet position
under Tyler;24 it was these reasons which Tyler used to in-
duce Calhoun to accept,25 for without such overwhelmingly
important issues no one can doubt that the leading Southern
Democrat would have immediately refused the offer of the
recusant Whig. Texas was a powerful lever both with Calhoun
and with his political confidants of the South. It was of such
importance that the Oregon negotiations, so often postponed
and hindered, once more had to wait a moment which was
not occupied with the Texas treaty, political plans connected
with the coming presidential election, routine official duties
and the like. Several times Pakeham called Calhoun's atten*
tion to the waiting question but he was put off.26
23 Everett to Nelson, i Apr., No. West Bound. Arb., 33,4.
24 See, e. g., Calhoun to Mrs. T. C. Clemson, o Mar., 1844; W. Lumpkin to
Calhoun, 23 Mar., Correspondence of Calhoun, 576, 942. For account of how
Tyler came to nominate Calhoun see Wise, Life of Henry A. Wise, 98-101.
25 Tyler to Calhoun, 6 Mar., Correspondence of Calhoun, 938-9.
26 See Pakenham's dispatches in Br. & F. St Papers, 34; 59 seq. Also in
H. Ex. Doc. No. 2, 29th Cong, ist Ses.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 45
Late in August, however, Calhoun could inform the British
minister that he had the leisure to consult with him about
Oregon and the negotiation started again. For the first time
since the conversations of 1826-7 the matter was taken up
with the intention on both sides to bring about a decisive
settlement; both governments wished the question closed, the
more so because the campaign of 1844, then in progress, held
possibilities of increased difficulties in the future. The con-
tinued agitation in Congress for the past years impressed the
British government with the idea that the sooner the settlement
came the better it would be, while the American Administra-
tion was anxious to smooth the ways for the Texas program
in the next session of Congress. Neither President nor Sec-
retary of State was willing to let Oregon stand in the path
of Texas, and both thought that an amicable settlement with
Great Britain would serve to remove certain obstacles which
might be placed in the way of expansion to the southwest,
especially if it should be connected with California.
After the customary preliminaries Pakenham presented a
statement of the claims upon which the British title was
based and then made the offer which had been submitted in
1824 and modified in 1826; i. e., the Columbia with a detached
region between the River and the Sound for the United States.
To this old offer Pakenham added that of any port desired
by the United States on the mainland or on Vancouver's
Island south of 49°. 21 This was declined by Calhoun who
presented an elaborate review of the American claim. Paken-
ham answered this with a counter-reply setting forth the
British claim and inviting Calhoun to suggest an arrange-
ment acceptable to the United States. In response Calhoun
said that his government could not consent to the view that
Great Britain possessed and exercised rights of joint occupancy
of which she could be divested only by an equitable partition
of the. disputed territory, a premise which Pakenham's counter-
reply contained ; therefore he must decline to make a counter-
27 Unless otherwise noted the correspondence is in Ho. Ex. Doc. No. 2, apth
Cong, ist Ses.
46 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
proposal until the question of title was settled, and as to that,
the United States had a clear title to all the area drained by
the Columbia and considered itself the party in possession until
this question should be settled. Thereupon Pakenham de-
clared he did not feel authorized to enter into a discussion
of the territory north of 49°, which was understood by his
government to be the basis of negotiations on the American
side as the Columbia River was for the British. Here, on
the twentieth of September, the negotiation stood, and here
they remained for some weeks.
Meanwhile the election campaign was being waged and in
the West, especially, Oregon was made the leading issue;
consequently everything pointed to a renewal of Congressional
agitation in December. In view of this situation Lord Aber-
deen felt that there could be little hope that the "United
States (would) relax their pretensions, and meet us in any
scheme which we could safely and honorably adopt. Under
these circumstances and taking into consideration the state
of excitement so prevalent in the United States on this sub-
ject, by which the free action of the government is greatly
fettered, if not altogether paralyzed, I think it will be de-
sirable ... to have recourse ... to arbitration."28
No opportunity, however, offered itself to Pakenham before
the middle of January to carry these latest instructions into
effect. At that time he reminded Calhoun that there were
papers still under consideration, and in view of the impatience
manifested in the United States, Her Majesty's Government
had authorized him to propose arbitration as the fairest mode
of settlement and suggested an interchange of notes on the
subject. This suggestion was promptly rejected although
Calhoun expressed the hope that the problem might still be
solved by negotiation. Pakenham thought that, although the
proposal had not been accepted, no harm had been done and
perhaps it had even accomplished some good.29
Across the ocean Everett had been continuing his efforts
a8 Aberdeen to Pakenham, i Nov., 1844, Br. & F. St. Papers, 34:86.
29 Pakenham to Aberdeen, 29 Jan., 1845. Ibid., 88.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 47
to bring Lord Aberdeen to see that anything less than 49°
with the possible exception of the tip of Vancouver's Island
would never be accepted by the United States.30 But Aberdeen
had not been brought to this view. The short session of
Congress was drawing to a close and it had already become
evident that the "notice" as passed by the House would not
be accepted by the Senate; consequently he felt that the final
disposition of Oregon was of no immediate or pressing in-
terest to either party; on the other hand the "artificial ex-
citement" in the United States and the "violent proceedings"
in the House of Representatives tended to hinder negotiations,
consequently arbitration was the best way out.31 Accordingly,
Pakenham was authorized, as soon as the House resolution
had been rejected in the Senate, to offer arbitration again, if
in the meantime no reasonable proposition has been brought
forward by the United States.
Before Pakenham could receive these instructions the old
government was out of office and the Polk Administration was
at the helm. The Inaugural Address had been pronounced
and the people of the United States expected the President
to maintain an uncompromising attitude. It is doubtful whether
the advice Lord Ashburton transmitted through Everett would
have produced any effect had it arrived before March 4,
1845. Nevertheless it is interesting to read the words of a
man who had helped to tide over one crisis and who knew
pretty well the temper of his own people. Everett had been
telling Ashburton his confident opinion that the United States
would never accept any compromise which gave his country
a less favorable boundary than 49° to the sea, for he evidently
took every possible occasion to impress this line upon all in-
fluential men with whom he was on terms of intimacy, and
Ashburton said, "he did not think there would be much dif-
ficulty of coming to an adjustment unless steps were taken
on our (United States) side which wore the appearance of
defiance and menace. Any such step would put it out of the
30 Everett to Calhoun, 28 Feb., No. West Bound. Arb., 35.
31 Aberdeen to Pakenham, St. Papers, 34:90.
48 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
power of England, as a similar step on her part would put
it out of the power of the United States, to compromise on
any terms." "I attach," added Everett, "the greater im-
portance to these remarks because Lord Ashburton had lately
conferred with Lord Aberdeen on the subject."32
To Aberdeen the Inaugural did present the appearance
of "defiance and menace," for immediately upon receipt of
a copy of it he prepared new instructions for Pakenham, and
detained the American mail a day in order that they might
be received at the earliest possible moment.33 Said he, the
speech "has impressed a very serious character on our actual
relations with the United States; and the manner in which
(the President) has referred to the Oregon question, so dif-
ferent from the language of his predecessor, leaves little rea-
son to hope for any favorable result of the existing negotia-
tion." If the renewed offer of arbitration should be rejected
on the grounds taken by President Tyler, i. e., that further
discussion was desired, then the negotiation was to be con-
sidered as continuing; if, however, the offer was rejected and
not accompanied by any specific proposition, the negotiation
must be considered ended. In that case Pakenham was to
offer to renew for ten years the terms of the convention of
1818, a poor solution, but perhaps better than none. The
language of the President led Aberdeen to conclude that the
American government would renounce the treaty without de-
lay, in which case local collisions would be likely to occur
leading not improbably to war. "At all events, whatever may
be the course of the United States Government, the time is
come when we must be prepared for every contingency."
The naval force in the Pacific had been ordered to go to
Oregon. Pakenham was told to "hold a temperate, but firm,
language to the members of the Government and all others,
and let it be known that the British Government was still
ready to adhere 'to the principle of an equitable compromise;
but we are perfectly determined to concede nothing to force
32 Everett to Calhoun, (received by Buchanan) 7 Mar., No. West Bound Arb.
33 Btrlin Arb., 426. Cong. 3d Ses. Ex. Doc. I, pt. 6, 223.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 49
or menace." The conciliatory instructions of a year before
were withdrawn. The delay of the mail had the additional
result of allowing the proceedings in Parliament to be known
in America at an early date.34
Aberdeen's gloomiest expectations were not met. When
Pakenham, late in March, proposed arbitration to Buchanan,35
the new Secreary of State told him that he would take an
early opportunity to discuss the matter with the President.
"He did not seem taken with the notion of arbitration," re-
ported Pakenham, but he said the matter ought to be settled
by negotiation on the principle of give and take. In May,
Pakenham was informed that arbitration did not meet the
approval of the President and his Cabinet; they all objected
to it and preferred negotiation. When Buchanan gave this
information he took occasion to say that the British minister
might assure Lord Aberdeen of the friendly disposition of the
American government.36
The negotiation was resumed in July by Buchanan who took
it up at the point where it had been dropped by Calhoun, i. e.,
by making a counter-proposal prefaced by another discussion
of American claims which went over the same ground so
often traversed by former negotiators.37 The offer was 49°
as the boundary together with ?ny port or ports on Vancou-
ver's Island south of 49° which might be desired by the British.
The proposition was accompanied by the statement that the
President, in view of the strength of the American title,
would never have made the offer but for the fact that it had
been made by his predecessors and that negotiations were on
foot when he entered office. To McLane, in London, Buchanan
explained in more detail : the president doubted if the civilized
world would judge in favor of the United States if a war
should be waged for a "comparatively worthless territory north
of 49° ;" arbitration was out of the question ; but if this offer
should be made and be rejected he would feel himself free to
34 See Chapter XI, below.
35 Pakenham to Aberdeen, 29 Mar., St. Papers, 34:91,2.
36 Same to same, 13 May, Ibid., 92.
37 Buchanan to Pakenham, la July, Sen. Doc. No. 489, 29th Cong. ist. Sea.
50 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
insist on the full right to the Russian line. To McLane, how-
ever, Buchanan added that while the President was silent
on the right of navigation of the Columbia in his offer, since
it would cause endless trouble, he had offered, the free ports as
a counterpoise, and he, McLane, might intimate to the British
ministers that the United States would not accept anything
south of 49°, the only possible concession being the exchange
of the small cape of Vancouver south of the line for an
equivalent.38
Two weeks after the American offer was made Pakenham
replied, controverting the assertions of Buchanan as to title,
and then rejecting the proposal as one, in fact, less in value
than the earlier offer since the free port on Vancouver could
not counterbalance the free navigation of the Columbia. Con-
sequently, acting in accordance with Aberdeen's instructions
as he understood them, he closed his communication with
these words:39
"The undersigned, therefore, trusts that the American pleni-
potentiary will be prepared to offer some further proposal for
the settlement of the Oregon question more consistent with
fairness and equity, and with the reasonable expectations of
the British Government."
This response opened for the American government an
opportunity to halt the negotiations and at the same time
throw upon the British minister the apparent burden of prov-
ing himself in the right. Technically Pakenham might claim,
as he did, that the offer, being less than had previously been
presented to his government, amounted to no real counter-
proposal ; hence the game remained as it had been left by Cal-
houn with the next move for the United States. The rather
peremptory tone of the rejection, on the other hand, could be
taken as "scarcely courteous or respectful" as the President
chose to regard it, and the flat rejection of the offer without a
reference to the British government was for Polk a sufficient
reason to let the negotiation rest until the other party desired
38 Buchanan to McLane, July 12, Ibid., 27-32.
39 Polk, Diary, I, 355, 360. Nil** Register, 12 Scut, 1846.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 51
to resume and make some move. Accordingly, in spite of the
eager desire of Buchanan to insert some clause to the effect
that the Administration would listen to a further proposition,
the President's will prevailed and the offer was withdrawn
with no qualifications. In the notification, which he tried in
vain to have postponed for further consideration, Buchanan
asserted that the title of the United States to 54° 40' was the
"best title in existence to this entire region ; and that the claim
of Great Britain to any portion of it has no sufficient founda-
tion."40 The note was approved by Walker and Bancroft,
Secretaries of War and Navy, and by Postmaster General
Johnson. None of the Cabinet disapproved the stand except
Buchanan, who said, when the note had been delivered at the
British legation, "Well, the .deed is done." But he did not
think it was wise statesmanship to deliver such a note with
relations between the United States and Mexico as they were.41
Pakenham's rejection of the American offer did not meet
with the approval of his government.42 Aberdeen told McLane
that he regretted and disapproved the action of the minister to
the United States; if the offer had been referred to London,
as it should have been, it would have been taken as a basis for
further negotiation. Aberdeen felt sure that he would have
been able to propose modifications leading to mutually satis-
factory arrangements. McLane reported that he had not
failed to impress upon Lord Aberdeen the difficulties in the
President's situation in conceding what he had by the propo-
sition, and he added that he was sure the British minister was
convinced that ultimately he, Aberdeen, would propose terms
which would be accepted by Polk.
Pakenham was uneasy even before he learned his govern-
ment's opinion of his act. He had several interviews with
Buchanan, friendly in tone, in which he attempted to ascertain
whether the President could not be persuaded to renew the
40 See Polk, Diary, I, 1-5. Buchanan to Pakenham, 30, Aug., H Ex. Doc.
No. 2, 177-92. Polk had recalled Buchanan to Washington from his vacation
early in August in order that the answer to Pakenham's note might not be de-
layed. Polk to Buchanan, 7 Aug., Works of James Buchanan, VI, 223-4.
41 Polk, Diary, I, 5, 6-8, n.
43 McLane to Buchanan, 3 Oct., No. West Bound Arb., 41.
52 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
offer as a basis for compromise, or, if that could not be done,
how a new proposition from the British side would be re-
ceived.43 Finally he submitted to Buchanan a note to be con-
sidered offijcial or not according to the answer it would re-
ceive.44 Polk insisted that Pakenham must name the char-
acter of his note and then an answer would be made; he
repeated a statement which he had already made to his official
family, that if a British proposition should be made he would,
according to its nature, submit it to the Senate for previous
advice or reject it at once, but he was convinced that no sat-
isfactory proposal could be made. With great reluctance
Buchanan left the President's office, found Pakenham and
asked him to state whether the note was official or not, adding
that it could hardly be expected that the United States would
abandon the position already taken. Then Pakenham with-
drew his note. "I think it unfortunate," Polk wrote in his
Diary, "that he (Buchanan) made any remark to Mr. Paken-
ham that indicated to him what my settled decision was, as I
think that Mr. Pakenham's note & answer should have been
official."
The relation between the Oregon and California situations
was already beginning to show itself during this time when
Pakenham was finding it difficult to struggle out of the dead-
locked position. Information that the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany was at work in the south began to reach Washington.
The United States Consul at Monterey reported that it ap-
peared that arms and money had been furnished by an agent
of the Company to the Californians to aid them in driving out
the Mexicans, although later it was the same Company which
financially backed an expedition of Mexican troops to be sent
north to quell the disturbances. It looked threatening, and the
43 When Me Lane's letter was received the Cabinet discussed it at length,
and Buchanan again urged Polk to allow some intimation that the United States
was willing to negotiate further; Polk stuck to his position and said that Great
Britain must take the next step, although he was sure no acceptable offer would
be made. Polk, Diary, I, 62-4. Buchanan to McLane, 13 Sept., Sen. Doc. No.
489.
44 Buchanan to McLane. 28 Oct., Works of Buchanan, VI, 285-6. The
Cabinet discussioni is given at length by Polk, Diary, I, 62-82, passim. Buchanan
to McLane, 5 Nov., Sen. Doc. No. 489.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 53
President, wrote Buchanan,45 "could not view with indiffer-
ence the transfer of California to Great Britain or any other
European power. The system of colonization by foreign
monarchies on the North American continent must and will
be resisted by the United States." In the same strain Polk
talked over the situation with Senator Benton when that gen-
tleman arrived in Washington prior to the opening of the
session of Congress. From this time forth, although California
did not often appear upon the surface in the negotiations
with Great Britain, it must be regarded as a factor in them
so far as Polk was concerned with them.
How to start the ball rolling again and at the same time
not appear too anxious to resume the discussions was the
problem which presented itself to Lord Aberdeen. He
showed McLane some of the dispatches which he had received
from Washington where Pakenham explained why he had
rejected Folk's offer and also why he believed it well to
attempt to reopen the negotiation. Pointing out the insuffi-
ciency of Pakenham's grounds for the rejection of the Ameri-
can offer McLane explained at length the reasons for the
withdrawal of it as he understood them.46 Aberdeen, how-
ever, could view the matter in no other light than a closing of
the discussions by Polk and no alternative remained but for
him, Aberdeen, to propose arbitration; if this should be de-
clined for the same reasons Calhoun had declined them there
would be an opportunity to renew negotiations; if, however,
the President declined in such a way as to warrant the British
ministry in assuming that he meant to insist upon the full
claim, then it could be regarded in no other way than an ulti-
matum and they must abide by the result.
When McLane outlined to Buchanan the very palpable
advice as to how they could get upon the track again, with no
loss of dignity to either side, he wrote, "Although I am quite
sure that the Earl of Aberdeen has no idea at present of
45 Buchanan to Thomas O. Larkin, Consul at Monterey, 17 Oct., Works of
Buchanan, VI, 275-6.
46 McLane to Buchanan, i Dec., Sen. Doc. No. 489-
54 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
accepting the compromise contained in the President's propo-
sition, it would not surprise me if an arrangement upon that
basis should prove acceptable to large and important classes
in this country; indeed it is complained of principally by the
Hudson's Bay Company and those in its interest. That the
Ministry would find it difficult and hazardous to prefer war
to such a settlement may well be imagined; although you may
assume it to be certain that when war becomes inevitable, it
will receive the undivided support of the British people." He
added further that it was the current belief in England that
the Annual Message would present again the opinion the
President had expressed in his Inaugural, with, perhaps a
recommendation that the joint occupancy be terminated. This,
he thought would not necessarily embarrass the relations be-
tween the countries. Aberdeen's instructions to Pakenham
contained the course outlined to McLane; arbitration, he be-
lieved, would be the most prudent step and best calculated to
allay the "effervescence of popular feeling," therefore Paken-
ham should propose it at the first opportunity.47
Such was the situation when Congress convened in Decem-
ber, from which time the diplomatic and legislative currents
meet and run along together, sometimes intermingling, some-
times clearly differentiated, and it is to the legislative side to
which attention must now be turned.
47 Aberdeen to Pakenham, 28 Nov., Br. & F. St. Papers, 34:130-1.
CHAPTER VIII.
GIVING NOTICE.
Folk's Annual Message of 1845 with its accompanying
carefully edited excerpts from the diplomatic correspondence
of Buchanan and Calhoun was the spark which set off the
powder-magazine in Congress. Although there were some
genuine munitions of war there a great deal of the noise
resulted from the detonation of political fireworks, both spec-
tacular and deafening but not intended to be harmful. If
Oregon had hitherto been overshadowed by other issues that
neglect was now fully atoned for by the attention it received
from the Twenty-ninth Congress, where, until the resurgence
of the Texas-Mexico question and the opening of hostilities on
the southern border, it succeeding in ousting from serious
consideration all other matters.
The political alignment on the topic cannot be separated
from the question itself: although there was much talk about
taking up the issue on its merits few members of Congress
framed their speeches or laid their plans without an eye to
their political prospects in the coming elections, congres-
sional and presidential. The Whig party had been bitterly
disappointed by the results of the election of 1844; its high
expectations, held in check by the recalcitrant Tyler, were
again put to one side, for there was to be no protective tariff,
no revision of the government's fiscal methods, despite Folk's
ambiguous stand after his nomination. Hence it was the pur-
pose of this party to discredit the Administration and its course
on Oregon seemed to offer a point of attack.
The Democrats were seriously split. For the most part
the southern wing followed Calhoun and were for a course
of moderation; there was fear of the consequences of a rup-
ture with Great Britain and its possible effect upon the Texas
situation. It was well known that Mexico had not acquiesced
willingly in the loss of that province, and should hostilities
56 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
with England occur it was not improbable that Mexico would
seize the opportunity to regain what she had lost; this would
also put a stop on hopes of securing other northern Mexican
possessions. The western Democrats, and Whigs too for the
most part, supported the extreme attitude of the Message,
with the exception of a small number of whom the most
notable was Senator Benton. He, according to Folk's idea,
had fallen into disfavor on account of his attitude on Texas
and was endeavoring to regain his standing in the party by
pursuing a course of moderation on the Oregon Question
with the southern wing rather than by joining the ultras of the
Northwest. In the North the Democrats for the most part
supported their western brethren ; in addition to whatever real
interest they had in the matter itself they were actuated by
opposition to Calhoun dominance as against Van Buren lead-
ership, besides being more or less impelled by an avowed deter-
mination to allow Great Britain to secure no more territory
from the United States.
Personal aggrandizement had, in the opinion of some con-
temporary observers, a large place among the motives of
some who took a leading part in the discussions and schemes.
While the new Administration was less than a year old it was
not too soon to begin planning for the election of 1848. Cal-
houn, long aspiring to the presidency, still had hopes; Cass
and Allen vied for the western vote; and Buchanan and
Walker, although members of Folk's Cabinet, felt that they
should be considered among the possibilities and used their in-
fluence accordingly.
"The truth is," Polk believed, "that in all this Oregon dis-
cussion in the Senate, too many Democratic Senators have
been more concerned about the Presidential election of '48,
than they have been about settling Oregon whether at 49° or
54* 40'. 'Forty-eight' has been with them the Great Question,
and hence the divisions in the Democratic party. I cannot but
observe the fact, and for the sake of the country I deeply
deplore it."1
i Diary, I. 345-
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 57
Another contemporary observer, William Grason, summed
up the situation in this way, after Congress had been in ses-
sion about a month :2
"... As far as I can learn, from conversation with
different classes, there appears to be no definite opinion
formed, among the people who control the elections, respect-
ing the extent of our claim to the Oregon territory. There
is a general feeling of excitement, because they think the
question is approaching a crisis, and is likely to be attended
with serious consequences. I have seen but two men who are
in favor of a war for any part beyond 49°. I have seen
others, however, who think we can recover more by claiming
all and making speeches to that effect. My opinion is, that,
if we bring on a war, by contending for more than we have
offered to take, the party that brings it about will have very
little to do in making peace. Unless we were victorious in
every quarter, and we could not expect to be so at first, Mr.
Polk would be succeeded by Mr. Clay or some other Whig, the
majorities in the two houses would be reversed; and after
establishing a national bank and extending the privileges of
all kinds (of) corporations, our Whig rulers would take the
Columbia as the dividing line, and justify themselves to the
people on the ground that we had been precipitated into the
war without necessity or preparation. John Q. Adams, who
is now for all of Oregon, and, in the event of war, is for
driving the British to the North Pole, would insist that he
had warned the nation of the consequences ; and other Whigs,
who assert our extreme rights, would say that they were never
opposed to a war for the maintenance of these rights, but
that they never could approve of the measures of men who
were incompetent to their stations. The Democrats them-
selves, who are generally engaged in agricultural pursuits, or
who live by their labor, would find double taxes and no mar-
kets, and at the same time, witness volunteers marching to
Canada, and war steamers entering our harbours. If, in the
mean time they saw we had lost Texas without taking posses-
sion of Oregon, they would not become much attached to
the theoretical doctrine of not suffering any European power
to interfere in the affairs of the American continent."
Briefly then the party alignment may be summed up in this
2 Grason to Van Buren, 10 Jan., 1846, Van Bur en Papers, Vol. 53.
58 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
way : on general grounds the southern Democrats and Whigs,
especially in the Senate, were opposed to anything which was
likely to precipitate a crisis, specifically they wished no notice
or, if it had to be given, one in such terms as create the least
friction ; they were opposed to demanding 54° 40' and felt that
the United States was bound to compromise on not more
than suggested in previous offers. The western Democrats
and Whigs were for the whole claim, come what may, while
the bulk of the northern Whigs urged a moderate course and
compromise in opposition to their Democratic colleagues who
backed the extreme demands of the Administration. The
North and South wished to avoid war, but the West pro-
fessed to believe that Great Britain would recede from her
position ; if this should not be the case, then, they preferred
war to the surrender of any portion of Oregon.
The Message was accompanied by those documents which
had passed between the two governments and which in bare
outline afforded a view of what had taken place ; that is, the
reopening of negotiations, the British offer and Calhoun's
reception of it, the American offer and its rejection, together
with the statement of claims on both sides.8 Nothing of the
correspondence with McLane or anything which tended to
show that there was any hope of getting a better offer from
Great Britain accompanied the Message. The challenge was
accepted by both branches of Congress forthwith and dis-
cussion started early in January.
In the lower House the campaign was opened by a seven-
barrel resolution by Bowlin, a Missouri Democrat, by which the
respective committees on Naval Affairs, Military Affairs, In-
dian Affairs, Public Lands, Militia, and Post Offices and
Post Roads were directed to take into consideration the parts
of the Message dealing with Oregon, while the Committee on
Foreign Affairs was given charge of the specific portion relat-
ing to the giving notice to Great Britain. It was the report
of the Committee on Foreign Affairs which gave vent to
the pent-up feelings of the House.
3 Given in Sen. Ex. Doc. No. i; H. Ex. Doc. No. 2, agth Cong. ist. Scs.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 59
Ingersoll of Pennsylvania presented the majority report and
Garett Davis of Mississippi the minority report on January
fifth. The majority report was a simple resolution directing
the President forthwith to cause notice to be given to Great
Britain that at the expiration of twelve months the joint occu-
pation should cease. The report which Davis presented was
signed by him and Truman Smith of Connecticut, both Whigs,
and Caleb Smith of Indiana, a Democrat. It raised the con-
stitutional question of whether the House could act in the
matter; the treaty had been made by the President by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate without any action
on the part of the House, hence, while the House might
express an opinion by means of a resolution, it could not share
in directing the President to act. "And why should the House,
by a violation of all propriety of form, and without any effec-
tive authority over the subject, make itself a party to this
proceeding ?"
The majority had recommended the first Monday in Feb-
ruary as a time to take up its report, but the House would
have no such delay ; a motion was made to refer both reports
to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the
Union to be made the special order of the next day. Giddings,
a Whig of Ohio, wished to know if this did not open the
whole subject matter to discussion, and when the Speaker
ruled that it did launched out into the only speech of the
whole debate wherein the slavery issue was made prominent.
He said he had previously voted against giving notice but
now that Texas had been "reannexed" the South was willing
to compromise on Oregon ; Texas had given the slave party
the balance of power and now the North was bound hand
and foot. The South feared a war with Great Britain for
Oregon for it would mean the end of slavery when the blacks
of the West Indies came and started a servile insurrection,
and then the slave-holders would call upon the North to de-
fend them. Gidding's violent speech — and his speeches usu-
ally were violent when slavery was the subject — provoked a
response from his Democratic colleague McDowell, who de-
60 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
plored Gidding's sectional attitude, extolled the "Texas Invin-
cibles" who, at the last session, had brought in that republic.
Then he went on to sound the note uttered by all westerners :
all Oregon; no more negotiations if that meant loss of any
part ; no war, he hoped, but if war did come, there was Canada
to be thought of. Rhett, of South Carolina, a Democrat,
opened for the opposition with the arguments which were used,
in one form or other, by all those who were against the Ad-
ministration : giving notice would be to oust Great Britain
and that meant inevitable war resulting probably not in all
of Oregon, but none of Oregon. Both North and West wished
for war, said Rhett; it was a part of the political game in
which the northern Democrats, disappointed at the defeat of
their favorite Van Buren, were determined to play a double
part, get control of the government and punish the South.
The debate continued on into the next day ostensibly on the
question of reference to the Committee of the Whole but
actually on the issue itself. In order to allow other business
of a routine nature to go on, reference was made and the
debate proceeded.4 From the sixth of January to the sixteenth
of February, this topic occupied the attention of the House.
Extended as it was the debate was participated in by more
than half the Representatives ; it grew in intensity all the time
even though it was impossible for either side to bring up new
arguments on the merits of the question. The discussion on
one side consisted largely in assertion of the title of the United
States to all of Oregon, — give notice and let war come if it
must ; the opposition asserted a colorable title by Great Britain,
the necessity of negotiation, the unpreparedness of the United
States for war, and the disaster which would follow hostili-
ties. Jefferson Davis added a variation when he asked what
would be gained if, on account of the excitement aroused by
the debate, Mexico should make unreasonable demands, de-
feat the acquisition of California and so cause the United
4 Globe, XV, 150. Many of the speeches, which were in most cases "ex-
4 Globe, XV, 150. Many of the speeches,
tended," appear in the Appendix to Vol. XV.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 61
States to lose the key to Asiatic commerce.5 Isaac Parrish
of Ohio contended that there was no good reason for stopping
at 54° 40'; there was an area of 500,000 square miles north
of that line, exclusive of the islands to which Russia had good
title, to which the United States had as good a claim as
Great Britain. If Great Britain wanted war she would
find a pretext in any case, and if her desire for peace was
sincere she would, if met with firmness, yield all the territory
west of the Rocky Mountains. John Quincy Adams main-
tained that the title of the United States was founded on
Genesis 1 :26-28 and made a 54° 40' speech in which he asserted
that Great Britain wanted the land for hunters while the
United States would fill it with settlers.
When the eloquence, as well as the patience, of the House
was well nigh exhausted the Committee of the Whole came
to the point of voting on the various propositions before it.
In addition to the two reports of the Committee on Foreign
Affairs some twenty other sets of resolutions and amend-
ments had been offered, varying in vehemence from Parrish's
demand for the whole northwestern portion of the continent
to Winthrop's where he asserted that the matter was still a
subject for negotiation, that it would be a "dishonor to the
age in which we live" if war resulted. If direct negotiation
failed Winthrop was in favor of arbitration, for the news that
Polk had rejected such a proposal had been brought before
the House by a resolution calling for late correspondence.6
One after another the substitutions and amendments were
voted down after the word "forthwith," at Ingersoll's own
suggestion, had been removed from the original resolution.
An attempt to insert the words "that the question is no longer
a question for negotiation or compromise" was defeated ; like-
wise every amendment that would seem to direct the President
how the settlement must be made was rejected. The form
5 Appendix to XV, 212-7.
6 Immediately after Winthrop introduced his resolutions Douglas sought to
counteract their influence by some of his own in which he stated that the title
to any part between 42° and 54° 40' was not open to compromise, and the
question of territory should not be left to arbitration.
62 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
adopted by the committee and reported to the House contained
two parts; the first part directed the President to cause the
notice to be given, and the second added,
"Resolved, That nothing herein contained is intended to
interfere with the right and discretion of the proper authorities
of the two contracting powers to renew or pursue negotiations
for an amicable settlement of the controversy respecting the
Oregon territory."
The House by a vote of 172 to 46 concurred with the report
of the Committee of the Whole, and the resolutions were
ordered engrossed for the third reading by 163 to 54. The
real test of strength came when the resolutions were reported
to the House by a vote of 109 to 94, but as there was no call
of the roll, no party, sectional or other alignment can be deter-
mined from it. The vote on the third reading, however, gives
the following results :
For resolutions Against resolutions
Whigs 42 34
Democrats 117 18
Native Americans 4 2
North 68 23
South 36 24
West 59 7
Slave States 55 29
Free States 108 25
Of the Democratic votes against the resolution seventeen
were from Virginia, South Carolina and Alabama. Of these
Polk wrote a little later:7 "By his (Calhoun's) influence he
induced 16 Democrats in Virginia and South Carolina in the
House to vote against the notice, and now that he is probably
convinced of his mistake, and finds that he will not be sus-
tained by either party in the country, he feels bound not to
desert the friends in the House whom he has caused . . .
to commit the same mistake." One western Democrat, Caleb
B. Smith, of Indiana, completed the total of eighteen. Of
7 Diary, I, afig.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 63
the Whigs in opposition twenty-one were from the North and
the rest from Tennessee, Kentucky and Georgia, with one
each from Ohio, Maryland and South Carolina. Whether
Kentucky and Tennessee are called southern or western (they
are ranked as western in the table above) the opposing pull of
the South and West is revealed. Little light is shed by the
classification in free and slave States, and it would appear
that this issue did not figure mere largely in the vote than it
had in the debate.
While the proceedings in the House of Representatives
aroused more or less comment there had been little doubt of
the result, hence people looked to the Senate's action with
much keener interest, for the decisive action would be there.
The Senate, however, had not pushed the matter while the
House debate was carried on; the more cautious Senators
wished to await both the action of the House and possible
results of the negotiation. Webster, one of the moderate
Whigs, wrote a propos the situation :8 "As to Oregon, the bill
will pass the House. It will pass? however, in a very diluted
state, with sundry objectionable provisions struck out. . . .
This whole proceeding is in opposition to the known wishes
of the President and Mr. Calhoun. The fact is, a majority of
the House of Representatives appear to be rash, headstrong,
and uninformed men, and men who cannot comprehend the
delicacy and importance of the subject, with which they
meddle."
Senator Allen of Ohio, one of the staunchest of Oregon
men, had seen the President's Message before it had been sent
to Congress,9 and had "heartily approved" its tone on the
Oregon Question. He opened the campaign in the Senate in
the middle of December by introducing a resolution advising
the President to give notice "forthwith."10 Resolutions for
the same end were introduced by Hannegan of Indiana, who
8 Webster to Haven, 2 Feb., 1846; Private Correspondence of Webster, II,
216. See also Webster to N. Appleton, 20 Jan., and to F. Webster, 27 Jan., Van
Tyne, Letters of Daniel Webster, 306-7.
9 Pblk, Diary, I, 108.
10 Globe, XV, 76, 182-3.
64 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
was not hampered as Allen was by being chairman of the
Committee on Foreign Relations; he could, therefore, express
more of the true western spirit than his colleague from Ohio.
His resolutions declared that the country from 42° to 54° 50'
was the property and part and parcel of the United States;
that no power existed in "this Government to transfer its soil,
and the allegiance of its citizens, to the dominion, authority,
control, and subjection of any foreign prince or sovereignty";
that an abandonment or surrender of any portion would be
an "abandonment of the honor, the character, and the best
interests of the American people." This challenge of the West
was answered by Calhoun in resolutions which stated that the
President, by renewing the offer of 49°, did not abandon the
honor of the country nor exceed his constitutional powers.11
Thus, at the end of December, the division in the Senate and
in the Democratic party on the question of Oregon was clearly
stated. Polk, who desired that each house should pass an
unqualified resolution at the earliest possible moment, had
foreseen that Calhoun would not support the Message.12 His
conviction on this point was strengthened when he was in-
formed by Congressman Turney of Tennessee that Calhoun
and Benton were acting together "whenever they thought it
safe to break ground against the Administration."13 While
Benton's position, Turner thought, would mean only one vote,
many southern members were opposed to war and would fol-
low Calhoun, while at the sarnie time some of the members
from the West were almost mad on the subject of Oregon.
He felt that the President would find himself between two
fires and whatever he did would not satisfy one wing of the
party. The two opposing resolutions, Calhoun's and Hanne-
gan's, were the war cries of the opposing factions, and the
question of their consideration provoked a preliminary skir-
mish. Hannegan's demand for immediate discussion brought
a protest from Haywood of North Carolina that the resolutions
11 Ibid., i ox.
12 Polk, Diary, I, iji.
13 Ibid., 140.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 65
were practically a threat aimed at the President, to the effect,
"You made this offer once ; take care how you do it again."
"That is it," responded Hannegan, "take care how you do
it again." The President's Message had clearly stated that
the negotiations were at an end ; besides, continued Hannegan,
there was a disputed boundary between the Nueces and the
Rio Grande, yet there was no talk of negotiations with Mexico
—the disputed area was just taken.
Negotiations, however, as Calhoun and Hay wood contended,
were pending, and this fact caused the Senate to agree to put
the resolutions over until February tenth. Those presented
by Allen, by Hannegan and by Calhoun were not the only
ones on the subject. Crittenden, in January, offered a con-
ciliatory form, which stated, in the preamble, that it was desir-
able to settle the dispute by negotiation, and then proceeded
in the form of a bill to authorize the President to give notice
after Congress had adjourned, "in order to afford ample time
and opportunity for the amicable settlement and adjustment"
of all differences. "Crittenden told my wife/' said F. P. Blair,
writing to Van Buren, "that he brought in his resolutions
in relation to Oregon in homage to young Hickory, who
coveted the responsibility of making the issue with England
'all Oregon or none' on his own hook."14 Young Hickory,
however, if we are to take his own word for it, desired above
all things at that moment the passage of resolutions for notice
without any string of any sort.
Postponing all action and most of the discussion until Febru-
ary was a momentary gain for the forces of conciliation;
Senator Allen and his 54° 40' friends feared the results of
delay as tending to weaken the chances of ultimate success,
and sought comfort from the President in repeated interviews.
The Forty-nine men, also, tried to secure some hint from Polk
assuring them that he would accept a compromise or at least
agree to arbitrate, for they feared that an unyielding attitude
would cause war, just as Cass, Allen, Hannegan and other
14 18 Jan., 1846; Van Buren Papers, Vol. 53.
66 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
westerners feared the extreme demands might be dropped.
The Calhoun wing thought of Mexico ; it would never do to
have hostilities break out with the southern neighbor while
the Oregon affair was pending, for they felt that war with
Great Britain would surely follow.15
All efforts, then, to take steps which were in the direction
of violence were opposed, usually with success, by the moder-
ates. For example, Calhoun prevented the reading of Allen's
resolutions which reiterated Folk's statement of the applicabil-
ity of the Monroe doctrine. Benton in a vigorous speech op-
posed Fair field's navy bill, denouncing it as a war weapon
when all indications were pointing to peace. Webster thought
this speech might have some good effect and give trouble to
the war party.16 Benton's efforts throughout all this period are
summed up in his words at an evening reception when he was
asked his attitude on Crittenden's resolutions,17
"Sir, conciliation, conciliation — it is necessary in a national
struggle."
Through it all the President was not to be drawn out. He
listened to all, whether it was a suggestion from Calhoun or
Benton on the necessity of compromise, or Allen with a new
argument against compromise. To leaders on both sides he
dropped the hint that, if a reasonable proposition were made
by Great Britain, he would probably submit it to the Senate for
advice before he acted, and in this both sides thought they saw
a gleam of hope for their contentions. He always informed
his callers that he believed there would be no war, and yet,
when Cass talked with him about the probable results of the
fall of the Peel ministry and was strongly in favor of vigorous
preparations for defence, Polk appeared to concur in the view.
When he received from both houses of Congress requests for
copies of correspondence which had taken place after that sent
them with the Annual Message he agreed with Buchanan that
Congress and the American people should know of the military
15 Calhoun to T. W. Clemson; 29 Jan., Corresp. of Calhoun, 679-80.
1 6 Webster to F. Webster, 27 Jan., Van Tyne, Letters, 307.
17 Blair to Van Buren, see note 17 above.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 67
and naval preparations in England as reported by McLane.18
To all Senators with whom he talked he gave his opinion that
the best way to settle the whole matter was first to give the
notice, and he wished his authority in this to be unhampered
in any manner.
On the tenth of February, the day set for taking up the
Oregon resolutions, the joint resolutions on this subject were
received from the House and referred to the Committee on
Foreign Relations. Those who were for immediate action
succeeded by a vote of 23 to 22, in having all previous orders
postponed and the resolutions taken up.19 From this day until
the resolution for notice was adopted on April sixteenth there
was no topic other than Oregon seriously considered in the
Senate. At the outset the main issue was whether notice
should be given at all; later it changed to the question of
what form the resolution should take. War possibilities occu-
pied the attention of the earlier speakers ; Allen's speech, open-
ing the debate, took the stand that there was no longer a
question of title to discuss, it was merely a question whether
or not the United States would act or be deterred by a war
scare such as Great Britain had manufactured in 1842 to secure
a portion of Maine. This theme, with variations, was running
through most of the speeches.
There were few Senators who did not share in the debate,
and fewer still of the features of the situation which were
not touched upon. The dry straw of the title was threshed
over again by many. One of the interesting speeches of the
earlier debate was that delivered by Benton on February nine-
teenth. While Benton had not ceased to urge conciliation he
now took the stand that arbitration was inadmissible, and
argued for all the Oregon recommendations of the Message.
He denounced the system of joint occupation as "always un-
just, unequal, and injurious to us"; he believed that the time
was ripe for negotiation, and that the United States should
take advantage of it. It was a speech of such a nature that
18 Polk, Diary, I, 257.
19 The Senate debate is found in the Cong. Globe, XV, 350 seq.
68 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
both the Oregon men and moderates could draw soothing con-
clusions from it.
On the night of February twenty- fourth, after a day largely
taken up by the Oregon discussion, Haywood of North Caro-
lina called upon the President and informed him that there was
a plan on foot, devised by Calhoun and McDuffie and perhaps
others, to bring forward in Executive Session a resolution
advising the President to reopen negotiations with a view of
settling the issue by compromise. Benton had told Haywood
that he would oppose this as it would virtually take the whole
question out of the President's hands; Calhoun, he thought,
would be willing to agree to any terms in order to get the
credit of settling the controversy. Haywood himself, while
against the proposed action, was in favor of settling with
Great Britain approximately at 49°. Later on in the same
evening Allen called, for he too had heard of the scheme,
and warned the President that there were "certain men" in
the Senate who wished to induce him to compromise; if they
succeeded, Allen said, it would break him down and destroy
his popularity ; nine or ten States of the West and Southwest
would oppose .any compromise. Polk assured the Senator
that he had no political aspirations and would not be a candi-
date for re-election so that whatever he did would not be with
that possibility in view.20
The next day Haywood's story was confirmed by the ap-
pearance at the President's office of Calhoun and Colquitt, of
Georgia, armed with a letter from McDuffie. They said that
they thought the time had come for some action looking
toward a peaceful settlement so that news might go to Eng-
land by the next steamer. When Calhoun mentioned the plan
proposed for Executive Session Polk said he could not advise
such a step at that time, although confidentially he would
state that if a proposition came from Great Britain he would
feel it his duty to submit it to the Senate for advice. He re-
jected Calhoun's suggestion that a compromise at 49° would
20 Polk, Diary, I, 246-8.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 69
not be dishonorable to the United States and that it might be
proposed by Polk, for he insisted that the next proposition must
come from England. As to the free navigation of the Colum-
bia, when the point was brought up by Calhoun, the President
stood by the Message.
Recognizing that this course would probably fail, for it
would require a two-thirds vote to carry the resolutions in
Executive Session, the conciliation faction attempted the next
day to attain the same end by changing the form of the resolu-
tion for notice. Colquitt introduced an amendment to Critten-
den's resolutions containing this sentence :
"That it is earnestly desired that the long standing contro-
versy ... be speedily settled, by negotiation and com-
promise, in order to tranquilize the public mind, and to pre-
serve the friendly relations of the two countries."
This modification received the support of many Whigs and
to Haywood it appeared possible that a combination of Whigs
and Calhoun Democrats might succeed in taking the whole
issue into their own hands. When giving an account of the
proceeding to the President, with whom he was in such fre-
quent communication as to cause people to think he was in
some manner the spokesman of the Executive in the Senate,
"he was excited and spoke in strong terms of disapprobation of
the course of Calhoun" and his followers.21 Even Colquitt,
when the President spoke to him about the delay in the Senate,
said he was willing to withdraw his amendment and vote for
the naked resolution or any other form that was reasonable;
he agreed with Polk that the split in the party was unfortu-
nate, both as affecting the Oregon Question and other Demo-
cratic measures.
Whigs as well as Democrats went to the President to use
their influence for a conciliatory course. Senator Archer of
Virginia requested an appointment and took the occasion to
say that he and his colleagues were most anxious to settle the
question and avoid war. While Polk maintained that he stood
by his word in the Message he gratified Archer very much by
21 Ibid., 260.
70 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPER
telling him what he had already told so many Democrats, that
if a proposition came from Great Britain he would submit it
to the Senate. Archer told of a conversation which he had had
with the British minister in which he had urged Pakenham
to use his influence with his government not to insist upon
free navigation of the Columbia. This conversation with the
Virginia Senator made Polk doubt the accuracy of Buchanan's
information, which was imparted with some excitement to
the President, about a Whig plot to throw the whole responsi-
bility upon the President if the advice of the Senate should be
asked.
On the fourth and fifth of March a new interest was roused
in the Senate debate by a speech of Haywood, who explained
that while the President was constitutionally authorized to
make treaties he could not unmake them; conventions could
be annulled only by mutual consent or by law and the Presi-
dent had chosen to follow the latter method.22 The President,
continued Haywood, had receded to 49° on a compromise and
still stood on it as such, he would never enter a long war in
order to determine the meaning of the Nootka Convention.
While partisans had raised the cry of "All Oregon or none,"
or "54° 40' fight or no fight" this was not the attitude of the
President; if it had been, he, Haywood, would have been forced
to turn his back upon the Administration He would vote for
the President to give notice and if Great Britain would not
yield her demands south of 49° then the United States must
fight.
Both Hannegan and Allen attempted to obtain from Hay-
wood a statement as to whether he had authority, directly or
indirectly, to speak for the President, and, when he answered
ambiguously, pressed the point, whereupon Haywood said, "I
have not assumed to speak by authority of the President."
"Then the Senator takes back his speech?" asked Allen.
"Not at all," replied Haywood, "but I am glad to see it
takes"
22 Globe, XV, Appen. 370-6. Haywood told 'the reporter that he wished to
report his own speech and it appears much edited in the Appendix, bristling
with capitals and italics.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 71
Apparently it had taken for it provoked applause both from
the Senate and from the galleries. The 54° 40' men feared
that the President had deserted them and Hannegan, greatly
excited, asked him the same day whether Haywood had been
speaking for him, but Polk replied that no one spoke ex
cathedra for him. The conciliation forces were delighted with
Haywood's speech and many went to the President to tell him
so. Yulee of Florida and Lewis of Alabama told him that
people took the speech to be an answer to the warlike utter-
ances of Allen, whom before this they had supposed to speak
for the Administration on 'account of the warlike tone of the
Message. Polk mildly remarked that he did not consider the
Message warlike and if the notice were to be passed by a de-
cided majority, as had been the case in the House, he was
sure peace would continue.
"I venture the remark in reference to the feverish excite-
ment of members of the Senate/' wrote Polk in his Diary,
"on the question of Notice on the Oregon question, that it all
proceeds from the ambitious aspirations of certain leading
members of that body. For example, Mr. Calhoun probably
thought by opposing the Notice at the early part of the session,
he would best advance his views upon the Presidency, by plac-
ing himself at the head of the peace party in the country. He
now finds his mistake and is struggling to extricate himself
from his embarrassment . . . Mr. Allen, on the other
hand, will bear no compromise under any circumstances, and
would probably prefer war to peace, because it might sub-
serve his ambitious views. Mr. Cass takes the same view that
Mr. Allen does, as probably his best chance of reaching the
Presidency, and therefore he acts with Mr. Allen, but is not
so ultra or ardent. Col. Benton feels that he has lost
cast(e) with Democracy on the Texas question, and feels sore
and dissatisfied with his position. In the midst of these fac-
tions of the Democratic party I am left without any certain
and reliable support in Congress, especially in the Senate.
Each leader looks to his own advancement more than he does
to the success of my measures."23
23. Polk, Diary, I, 264-5. General Cass had a reputation as a fire-eater. At
one time in the debate he arose and announced that he would speak to one
topic only. "Inevitable war?" asked Haywood. No, he was not going to make
a war speech, but before he ended he had advocated an increase of the army
and navy and had invoked, in respect to Oregon, the "inevitable destiny." "Yes,"
said Webster, "war is inevitable."
72 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
Cass, McDuffie, Turney, Atchison and Allen all took occa-
sion to speak to Polk about the altercation of Hannegan and
Haywood. While the peace people were pleased with the
general tone of their champion, both parties were a little in-
clined to apologize for the ardor of their representatives, and
some viewed it all as an apparent attack upon the integrity of
the President's course. Hannegan himself told Polk that he
was his friend, seeming to desire to remove the impression
that he had attacked and denounced the President in advance
of action ; but he evidently wanted to be sure of his ground
in the future for he asked the President point blank what he
intended to do, go for 54° 40' or compromise at 49°. Polk
replied that he would tell no man on earth what he would do
in the future, and Atkinson, who was present at the interview,
said the President was right.
Allen was also desirous of finding where things stood. He
told the President that Haywood spoke the sentiments of four
Senators who were friends of Silas Wright, Governor of New
York, (Governor Wright was also presidential timber) and
the speech was a deliberate attack upon himself as chairman
of the Committee on Foreign Relations. The President then
reminded Allen that he, too, a few days before, had been asked
about the authority with which he spoke and he had replied
that he had spoken from the documents submitted by the
President; Haywood could have spoken from no other auth-
ority for none had been given him. Allen still was not satis-
fied and obtained another interview for the next night, Sunday.
At that time he went over the whole matter again and then
produced from his hat a paper containing what he proposed
to say in the Senate. As nearly as Polk understood it the
"substance was that he was authorized to say that I had
asserted the United States title to Oregon up to 54° 40'. and
that I had not changed my opinion." The desired authority,
however, was not given.
Colonel Benton also went over the ground with the Presi-
dent. He said that the debate had taken a curious turn; in-
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 73
stead of discussing the President's views as shown in the docu-
ments, Senators were "guessing- or conjecturing" what he
would do next. He urged Polk to examine Colquitt's amend-
ment and speak to his friends about it if he approved it. But
Benton could obtain no further satisfaction than the oft-re-
peated statement about asking the advice of the Senate.
While Polk continued to receive visits from Senators who
were anxious to find out more about the Haywood matter
another turn of affairs afforded an outlet for excitement. On
March ninth Colquitt read and denounced an article in the
Washington Times wherein it was stated that there was a con-
spiracy between the British minister on one side and the Whig
Senators and the "anti-Oregon" Democrats, "with some West-
ern members for an exception," on the other. They were
plotting to defeat the House notice and substitute a conditional
one leaving the time of giving it to the discretion of the
President and binding him to further negotiation which would
result in compromise. The writer of the article was denounced
by Colquitt as a liar, and the article was framed to drive back
into the ranks all recreant Senators by coupling their names
with that of the British minister. Three days later Jarnagin,
a Whig from Tennessee, brought the matter up again and in-
troduced a resolution for a committee of inquiry to report such
measures as should be "necessary to vindicate the character
and honor of the Senate against the charges of corruption."
On the sixteenth of March the committee, of which Benton
was chairman, reported that they had found no truth in the
charges that at a dinner at the British minister's some Whig
Senators had discussed the Oregon Question ; that there had
been held in the Capitol a meeting of Whig Senators the day
before the Cambria sailed, with Pakenham present, and a vote
had been taken to be sent to Great Britain ; that Senator J. M.
Clayton had admitted that he had been at a dinner where
"noses" had been counted. The two persons named by the
editors of the Times as having knowledge of the affair ad-
mitted that they had none, and no one could be found who
74 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
would sustain the charges of the editors and owner of the
Times. More than all this the committee had sworn state-
ments from all the Senators alleged to have been mixed up in
the plot denying the charges. The committee recommended
that the reporters of the Times be excluded from the reporters'
gallery in the Senate, and the whole report was unanimously
concurred in.
This whole "plot" was in essence just what rumor had been
reporting about the capital for some time. And, indeed,
although no voting or anything of the sort had taken place,
pretty nearly what was charged had happened; the British
minister had, in accordance with his instrutcions, talked freely
with influential men, and Whigs and peace Democrats were
working harmoniously to prevent a rupture of the relations
with Great Britain.
In the meantime the debate went on with no particular fea-
tures until March sixteenth. On that day Calhoun for the
first time took a prominent part by pronouncing an able speech
in which he analyzed the situation to date. He concluded his
observations by stating that he was inclined to think that
notice should be given for two reasons; it would prevent
carrying the matter into the next presidential campaign, and
it would serve to hasten a solution of the issue, because until
it was given Great Britain would make no move. He was
for the notice, but not in its naked form, or not in the equivo-
cal form in which it came from the House, but in a form that
would plainly state what was meant. The situation was dif-
ferent from what it had been in 1843 for the Oregon country
was filling up and it would be necessary to end the old ar-
rangement which had worked well enough when there were
few people there. Giving notice, however, meant compromise
or fight ; war was inconceivable in view of the disastrous effect
it would have on the fortunes of the United States, and so
nothing was left but an honorable compromise.24
When Edward Everett read this speech he wrote Calhoun25
24 Globe, XV, 502-6; Appen. 471-6.
25 6 April, Correspondence of Calhoun, 1080-1.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 75
that it alone was nearly decisive of the question of peace or
war, and in delivering it Calhoun had rendered the country an
inestimable service. Calhoun himself said26 that his friends
considered it the best he had ever delivered, although he soon
saw that he had aroused the jealousy of the leaders of his
party for both the Intelligencer and the Union (the Adminis-
tration paper) disregarded his request to suspend its publica-
tion until he should have seen it in print and had revised it.
He thought that he had opened the door for Polk to compro-
mise, and, in confidence, he stated that he feared the Presi-
dent's Message had been diplomatic, that the notice had been
recommended only to play a game of intimidation with the
British government. Now the Administration could leave its
"timid, vacillating course" and take some decisive step.27 Mc-
Lane in London did not feel this way about Calhoun's effort ;
he thought this speech, along with those of Webster and
others, advocating peace and urging the British title to a large
portion of Oregon had made the tone of the British more arro-
gant and their demands greater.28
Calhoun's assault upon the stronghold of the war party was
followed by similar attacks by others of his way of thinking :
Berrien and Archer, both Whigs, and Niles, a Connecticut
Democrat, added their voices for compromise and for checking
an Executive policy which single-handed would settle the
question of war or peace for the country. The Fifty-four
Forties, however, were encouraged on March twenty-fourth
by the President's answer to a Senate resolution of the seven-
teenth inquiring whether in his judgment "any circumstances
connected with or growing out of any foreign relations of
this country require at this time an increase of our naval or
military forces."29
Such a request fell in with previous suggestions from Polk:
in February certain portions of McLane's communications,
26 Letter to Mrs. T. W. Clemson, 23 March, Ibid., 684-5.
27 Calhoun to T. W. Clemson, 23 March, Ibid., 686.
28 Polk, Diary, I, 344-5-
29 So Webster wrote his son, 26 Mar., Writings and Speeches of Daniel
Webster. XVI, 447-8.
76 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPER
with information about British military and naval activity, had
been forwarded to Congress ; later in the month Buchanan and
Polk discussed the advisability of recommending to Congress
a consideration of further military preparation, and, while no
message was framed at the time, Buchanan talked freely with
Democratic Senators and Representatives about the alarming
activity of England while he urged the President to consider
the danger and take the necessary steps to guard against it.30
This change of tone on the part of his Secretary of State Polk
attributed to presidential aspirations; Buchanan believed that
war sentiment was uppermost and it was policy to put himself
at the head of the procession. Buchanan's suggestion was
discussed in the Cabinet but no action resulted. When the
Senate resolution was received, however, Buchanan was for a
strong message; he found Folk's draft altogether too mild
and penned one with a much more warlike spirit. "His ob-
ject, I think, "wrote Polk, "is to supersede Gen'l Cass before
the country, and to this motive I attribute his change of tone
and the warlike character of his draft of my proposed message.
I think he is governed by his own views of his chances for
the Presidency. It is a great misfortune that a member of
the Cabinet should be an aspirant for the Presidency, because
I cannot rely upon his honest and disinterested advice, and
the instance before me is clear evidence of this."31
While the Message was not strong enough for Buchanan
who would have included an implied censure of the Senate
for the delay about the notice, it was forceful enough to com-
mand attention and stimulate action. The President recurred
to his recommendation of the Annual Message advising a force
to protect Oregon emigrants ; he saw no reason to modify this
advice but believed additional provision should be made for
public defence. He referred to the reports, prepared by the
Secretaries of War and Navy, which had been communicated
to the appropriate committees in January, and added that
"subsequent events have confirmed me in the opinion that
30 Diary, I, 208 seq; 241-3; 257-8.
31 Ibid., 297-8.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 77
these recommendations were proper as precautionary meas-
ures ... A controversy . . . now exists between the
United States and Great Britain, and while, so far as we know,
the relations of the latter with all European nations are of
the most pacific character, she is making unusual and extra-
ordinary armaments and warlike preparations, naval and mili-
tary, both at home and in her North American possessions."
"It cannot be disguised that however sincere may be the desire
for peace, in the event of a rupture these armaments and
preparations would be used against our country/' After com-
menting further on English activities Polk again recommended
the passage of the notice. Toward the end of the Message
he referred to the fact that the relations with Mexico were still
in an unsettled condition ; a new revolution in that country
might possibly defeat, as it had delayed, the settlement of
differences with the United States. His concluson was this :
"In view of the 'circumstances' it is my 'judgment' that 'an
increase of our naval and military force is at this time re-
quired' to place the country in a suitable state of defense. At
the same time it is my settled purpose to pursue such a course
of policy as may best be calculated to preserve both with
Great Britain and Mexico an honorable peace, which nothing
will so effectually promote as unanimity in our councils and a
firm maintenance of our just rights."
The reference to communications to committees of the Sen-
ate caused Webster to inquire what they were, observing that
this practice, a new one, ought not to be encouraged. Fair-
child, for the Committee on Naval Affairs, replied that it
was in accordance with this report that his committee had
brought in the bill for ten steamers. Benton, for the Com-
mittee on Military Affairs, after stating that the reports had
been the result of inquiries from the Senate at the beginning
of the session, said that some of the information was of such
a character that it ought not yet to be made public. Where-
upon Webster requested the Chairman of the Committee on
Military Affairs, when in his opinion it was discreet and not
inimical to the public service, to communicate to the Senate
that part of the information which might be made public.
78 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
On the same day the "war" Message was received Allen
began his efforts to have a day fixed for voting on the resolu-
tions for giving notice. The day before, in an interview with
Polk, he had mentioned Folk's statement about submitting a
British offer to the senate, and had urged the President to
send with a decided declaration of his own ; he believed, never-
theless, that if two-thirds of the Senate advised the President
to accept the offer he ought to do so. Polk would give no
inkling of what sort of a message he would send. He did,
however, again urge Allen strongly to get the resolutions
voted on.
But the Senate was not yet willing to go on record in a vote,
and the debate dragged on. While both factions were agreed
that it was necessary to pass some sort of a resolution, the
peace party were unwilling to vote until they were sure it
would be in such a form as to preclude the possibility of war,
and they were as yet not quite sure of their strength. On the
first of April Senator Benton came out flatly for a compromise
at 49° to the sea. In spite of the fact that he had taken a
prominent part in Oregon discussions for twenty-five years
this was the first time he had clearly stated his position32 His
speech provoked a bitter reply from Hannegan, who, as he
said, had learned the lesson of 55° from Benton, his political
teacher in many ways. He congratulated the Senator from
South Carolina on the convert he had made ; the antipodes had
met. Replying to a jocular remark Benton had made about
Cass as Agamemnon and Hannegan as Ajax he said:
"I would rather be the private soldier, than with my haughty
foot press the lowly earth as though it were too mean for my
tread ; rather be the private soldier than in every look, and
attitude, and act, and expression, proclaim — 'I am the ruler!
I will rule or I will ruin ; and it is indifferent to me whether
the consequence be rule or ruin !' Sir, be he who he may,
there is no man in this land so high as to have it in his power
to elevate or depress public sentiment in America at his will.
Be he who he may who makes such an attempt, he will speedily
32 Globe, XV, 581 seq.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 79
find his level. 'Little Ajax' let it be; but let me remind the
Senator from Missouri that Agamemnon and the A j axes were
not the only actors at the siege of Troy. There was an
Achilles there ; and we may have an Achilles here. Let the
Senator from Missouri beware, lest he be the Hector who will
grace the triumph of this Achilles."
It may be questioned whether the burst of applause from
the galleries which followed this speech was all due to the
warlike temper^ of the auditors or in part to the too-true pic-
ture of the venerable Senator from Missouri, whom Calhoun
once called the "Great I AM THOMAS H. BENTON."
Benton's speech, and especially the argument based on Jef-
ferson as the "discoverer of Oregon/' started again the subject
of title which was debated for some three weeks more. In
the course of it Mangum, a Whig from North Carolina,
charged the President with "botching" the whole business ;33
the firebrand of the Oregon question (it had formerly been the
"firebrand of the Texas question") had been thrown among a
people prone to be warlike, and yet there was obvious contra-
diction between the Message and the lack of warlike prepara-
tions. The Administration was remarkable for its secretive-
ness ; the President had so placed himself on the question that
he could move in either direction without dislocating his
political opinions any more than he would his physical struc-
ture; he could agree to a compromise on 49° without being
absolutely denounced by the mass of Americans. After this,
Mangum thought, the Chief Executive should be chosen from
among the able men of the land.
Had the Senator from North Carolina been present that
same, evening at an interview between Colonel Benton and
the President he would have been doubly convinced of his
own acumen. Benton told Polk that it would be better to settle
on the compromise line and asked the President whether it
might not be well to ask the Senate whether the offer should be
renewed. Benton thought this a good plan and believed he
would make a speech on the subject. Polk told him it would
33 Ibid., 635-6.
80 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
be well to wait until an Executive Session otherwise the British
government would know the whole situation as well as the
Americans did, and the United States would have exposed its
hand while the adversary kept hers concealed. This point ap-
pealed to Benton and he agreed to wait before he spoke on the
subject.34
A request of the eleventh of April for copies of late corre-
spondence produced the reply that there was nothing new to
submit. Literally this was true but the Senate might have
received a great deal of information had the President chose
to transmit copies of some of the letters received from Mc-
Lane. With or without new letters, however, the Senate was
at last wearying of its protracted debate and fixed a day upon
which it should end, but not so early that Sam Houston, the
new Senator from Texas, could not add his voice for a naked
notice, 54° 40', and war if necessary.
On April sixteenth, the day for the vote, Allen moved that
the House resolution be taken first, but Reverdy Johnson's
motion that resolutions, which were essentially Crittenden's
preamble and bill, be adopted as amendments to the House
resolutions showed the Senate alignment on the whole topic.
The amendment was adopted by a vote of 30 to 24. The
minority was all Democratic, with twelve western Senators in
the number. The majority rallied the Whig vote from all
sections together with six Democratic votes — Calhoun and
McDuffie of South Carolina, Haywood of North Carolina,
Lewis of Alabama, Speight of Mississippi, and Westcott of
Florida.
The result of the vote provoked Allen to lecture the Senate
on its stand; he said the preamble was inconsistent with the
resolutions for the President had called upon Congress to
advise him, and now the Senate referred the matter back to
him after having accused him of want of discretion in the past.
Now Great Britain would drag out the negotiations until after
the adjournment of Congress, make further military prepara-
34 Polk, Diary, I, 324-5.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 81
tions, scare the Administration and get all of Oregon. The
result was not to be changed, however, and the conciliatory
resolutions were passed by a vote of 40 to 14. The fourteen
Invincibles included Evans and Fair field of Maine (the former
a Whig), Clayton of Delaware, Dickinson of New York,
Jeness of New Hampshire, Sturgeon of Pennslyvania and
Westcott of Florida.
The House was not satisfied with the resolutions as they
came back from the Senate, and struck out the words "at his
discretion" in the part authorizing the President to give notice.
This move was viewed with apprehension by the President
and his Cabinet who feared that the non-concurrence of the
House meant that the Senate would indefinitely postpone ac-
tion.35 This fear was increased when the Senate refused to
accept the House amendment by a vote of 29 to 21. In its
turn the House refused to recede from its amendment, and the
Senate, when informed of the vote, was equally stubborn. A
committee of conference was appointed, composed in majority
of peace men, and after two nights' discussion brought in a
report which, as Allen pointed out to the Senate, was identical
with Crittenden's original measure. Nevertheless the report
was adopted in both houses (42 to 10 in the Senate and 142 to
46 in the House) and the President was authorized, "at his
discretion" to give the notice, while "the attention of both
Governments" was "the more earnestly directed to the adop-
tion of all proper measures for a speedy and amicable adjust-
ment of the differences and disputes in regard to the (Oregon)
territory."36
"Our triumph is complete," wrote Calhoun to his son-in-
law, "in both houses and in the country; of which the ma-
jority in the two houses on the resolution for giving notice af-
fords an indication. With little exception the vote separates
the war and peace parties."37 Calhoun still feared that the
notice would be given to extort an offer from Great Britain
35 Polk, Diary, I, 335-6.
36 Globe, XV, 720; the resolutions were passed 23 April.
37 To T. C. Clemson, 25 April, Correspondence of Calhoun, 688-9.
82 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPER
rather than to serve as a means for reopening negotiations and
thus further complicate the situation which had been "wretch-
edly managed, and ought to have been settled long ago."38
The President lost no time in acting on the authority con-
ferred by the resolutions; the notice was given in the simplest
form directed not to Aberdeen as Secretary of State for For-
eign Affairs, but to the Queen herself, a peculiarity which was
satirically commented on by the British press.39
Among the motives which made the conciliatory attitude
prevail in Congress was concern about the Mexican situation.
In January, when it was definitely known that the Mexican
government would not renew diplomatic relations by receiv-
ing Slidell, General Taylor had been ordered to the Rio
Grande. On the twelfth of April General Ampudia ordered
the American commander to withdraw his forces beyond the
Nueces. This challenge was not known officially in Washing-
ton until the ninth of May but earlier rumors of the general
situation had come, causing Cabinet discussions of the Mexican
affair. Polk had spoken to some congressmen of his thought
of outlining the whole situation in a message to Congress, but
the peace men, Calhoun especially, urged him to wait until
the Oregon matter should have been settled. On May
eleventh, however, when General Taylor's communication had
been received, Polk sent to Congress a message announcing
that hostilities had begun, and the Oregon Question retired
from the center of the stage.
38 Calhoun to J. E. Calhoun, i April, Ibid., 688.
39 Polk, Diary, I, 355, 360. Niks' Register, 12 Sept, 1846.
CHAPTER IX
OREGON AND CONGRESS : 1845-1846
While the attitude of Congress toward Oregon has been
brought out in the discussion of the "notice" resolutions, it
would be leaving the matter inadequately treated if reference
were not made to other lines on which the whole question was
attacked during the session. The Message recommended other
action than that alone: the protection of emigrants, by mili-
tary posts and forces; extension of the laws of the United
States over its citizens in Oregon, in default of which they had
been obliged to organize themselves provisionally; establish-
ment of an overland mail route; provision for an Indian
agency and laws regulating intercourse with the Indians.
Protection of American citizens both in the territory and
on the Oregon Trail necessitated, the President thought, an
adequate force of mounted riflemen. This recommendation,
together with the Message's information on the negotiation,
caused Senator Cass to introduce resolutions directing the
respective committees on Military Affairs, Militia and Naval
Affairs to inquire into the condition of the defensive forces of
the United States and to recommend such changes as seemed
necessary. Cass definitely stated that there was little doubt
of the United States being in danger of war over Oregon;
the notice would be given, the United States would have to
recede from the position taken by the President or war would
follow at the expiration of the year. Thus the war party first
sounded its trumpet, and drew from the peace party a counter-
blast, for the whole Oregon Question was invoked. Rather
than precipitate a debate over a subsidiary point the Senate
passed Cass' resolutions unanimously and then took up the
question of notice.1
Just after this discussion the Administration learned of the
warlike preparations in England and the question of defence
I debt, XV, 45-60.
84 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
was seriously considered; the Secretaries of War and Navy,
it was decided in Cabinet, should consult with appropriate
committees of each house and assist in the preparation of
proper bills. The result of this decision and of the receptive
mood of the committees was the introduction of measures in
both branches of Congress for an increase in the armed forces
of the country. Haralson, for the House Committee on Mili-
tary Affairs, brought in a bill for two regiments of mounted
riflemen and moved its reference to the Committee of the
Whole House as a special order of the day. Objection to this
produced a result similar to that coming from Cass' resolutions
in the Senate, and discussion immediately switched from the
subject in hand to Oregon, joint occupancy and all the other
aspects of the question.
Haralson, who desired the bill to be considered on its own
merits, stated that the committee had not framed it with an
idea that it would be looked upon as a measure of preparation
arising from the international situation. He withdrew his
motion for a special order and called for the previous question
on reference to the Committee of the Whole. The House,
however, was not going to be cheated out of discussion in
this fashion, just because the Committee on Foreign Affairs
had been slow in reporting, and refused to desist, continuing
its debate on the President and his policy with Oregon into the
next day. Then came Sunday, and on Monday the Committee
on Foreign Affairs, having been spurred into activity, reported
and Oregon could be discussed under the resolutions for
notice. Until that topic had been exhausted and the resolu-
tions passed no other matters dealing with Oregon could get
a continued hearing before the House.
On the twenty-third of March the bill for mounted rifle-
men was taken up again. On the tenth of the previous month
occurred one of the events which gave point to the proposed
measure. The House, in response to a resolution, had received
from the President information calculated to show that there
was a possibility of hostilities with Great Britain. McLane's
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 85
letter2 of January third, which had told that Aberdeen, while
denying the preparations were pointed at America, said Her
Majesty's government had to consider the possibility of diffi-
culties over Oregon, accompanied the correspondence with
Pakenham over arbitration. Another incentive, in spite of the
pacific turn in the debate on the notice, had been furnished by
the Senate resolution of March seventeenth calling on the
President to state whether there was anything in the relations
of the United States which called for an increase in the naval
and military establishments. All these occurrences, together
with the disquieting rumors from the Mexican border and
newspaper accounts of British sentiment, made some Congress-
men feel that some preparation was wise. On the other hand,
many of the Oregon men were discouraged at what had hap-
pened in the Senate and openly stated their belief that the
House, too, had lost its zeal for the Northwest Coast. Then,
on March twenty-fourth, came the President's Message in
answer to the Senate resolution. The next day the House,
without debate, passed the bill for the mounted riflemen
by a vote of 165 to 15.8
In the Senate Benton had also introduced a bill for riflemen
and for posts along the road to Oregon. He described it as a
peace measure calculated merely for the defence of the
frontier, and as such it was passed without discussion early in
January.
Further results of the conferences between the heads of
the War and Navy Departments and the Congressional Com-
mittees were also in evidence. Fairfield, chairman of the Sen-
ate Committee on Naval Affairs, by reporting a measure foi
ten additional steam warships broueht about a discussion of
the possibility of war with Great Britain, but no action was
taken. Haralson, toward the end of January, brought before
the House a sweeping measure by which the President would
be authorized "to resist any attempt ... on the part of
any foreign nation to exercise exclusive jurisdiction over any
2 Polk, Diary, I, 133-4; Globe, XV, 332.
3 Ibid., XV. 553 «eq.
86 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPER
part of the territory of the United States, or any territory in
dispute between the United States and any foreign govern-
ment, as well as to sustain the rights of the United States to,
and to repel invasion from, the said territory." Six- or twelve-
month volunteers might be called upon and a sum of money
was to be appropriated. This measure, like the naval bill in
the Senate, did not advance, nor, indeed, was there any debate
upon it.
In April when it was seen clearly enough that the resolu-
tions for notice, probably with some qualifying restrictions,
would pass, the House took up the riflemen bill in order that
it might be passed in time to provide troops which could be of
some service in the spring migration to Oregon. With amend-
ments, which increased the discretion of the President in the
matter of organization of the force, and provided for grants
of land in Oregon, the bill passed on April eleventh.
Immediately after passing this bill the House took up an-
other measure on Oregon which had been reported from the
Committee on Territories in December but which had been
shoved aside for other topics. This bill would extend the juris-
diction of the Supreme Court of Iowa over American citizens
in the territory west of the Rockies and in that west of the
Missouri River between 40° and 43°. It further provided a
grant of 320 acres of land for every white person, male or
female, over the age of eighteen, who should have resided in
Oregon for five years, although this provision would not be-
come active for five years. Its object as an inducement to
Oregon emigration was rather obvious. The bill further pro-
vided for placing the Indian trade under a Superintendent of
Indian Affairs. As originally introduced it had made pro-
vision for blockhouses along the Oregon route, for two regi-
ments of mounted men "to guard and protect emigrants, set-
tlers, and traders against the Indians," and for carriage of
mail at least once a month from Fort Leavenworth to Coast
points via South Pass.
The Oregon title was debated anew as the result of an
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 87
attempt to limit the operation of the measure to points south
of 49°. The Oregon men would specifically rather than by
implication extend jurisdiction over all the disputed region,
although J. Q. Adams, in defending the title clear to the
Russian line thought that no action on this bill should take
place until the Senate had passed the notice. The House,
however, was apparently in no mood to maintain a protracted
debate on the title, so after two days' discussion the bill, with
the mounted riflemen clauses dropped, was reported by the
Committee of the Whole in essentially the same form it had
come from the Committee on Territories. In the final steps
in the House Garett Davis' amendment for a fully organized
territory and two amendments bearing on the slavery question
were rejected, and the bill was passed, two days after the
Senate resolutions on the notice were passed.
The measure was received in the Senate and referred to
the Committee on Territories where it rested although the
President urged Benton to take charge of it and press it for
he feared the Whigs, with a few Democrats, would be in-
clined to suppress it. Haywood also was consulted, but he
was disinclined to act, whereupon Polk told him that the
action of the House had shown the attitude of the country,
and if the Senate should block the matter he, as President,
would make it an issue before the nation. But Haywood could
promise no more than look into the question.4 The Senate's
dilatoriness delayed House action on another bill which had
been introduced to provide regulation of Indian affairs west
of the Rockies. An ordinary measure of its kind it had passed
to the third reading on April twentieth and then further action
was postponed until the first of June when it should be seen
what the upper house did with the jurisdiction bill.
It is to be noticed that all these measures dealing with Ore-
gon, except the resolutions for notice, came to a standstill in
the latter part of April. There was a disposition to wait and
see what would be the result in England of the passage of
the notice before further action was taken.
4 Polk, Diary, I, 376-8 passim.
88 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPER
Before news from England could be received, however, the
Mexican situation came to the crisis and swept everything
else aside. Two of the measures for defence, which had
proceeded through the first stages, fitted in most opportunely
with the new conditions. The House bill authorizing the use
of the military and naval forces of the United States and such
portion of the militia as should be necessary was taken up
the day the President's Mexican Message was received (11
May) and passed by an overwhelming majority. The blanks
were filled to allow a call for 50,000 volunteers and the use
of $10,000,000. while the preamble was amended to state that
a condition of war existed between Mexico and the United
States.5 It was passed by the Senate the next day with but
two dissenting votes.
Two days later the bill for mounted riflemen with the House
amendments, which had been reposing in committee, was
hastilv brought to light, the House amendments rejected and
passed. The House receded from its amendments and the
President signed the bill.8
Men began to wonder and to relate various apparently dis-
connected circumstances ; thev found themselves wholly at a
loss to explain the course of the Administration. Witness
C. C. Cambreling. writing from Washington just after the
Mexican Message reached Congress:7
. "I am utterly astonished at the little judgment and
less integrity which has distinguished the course of this ad-
ministration. First as it regards England — when some three
or four months ago she was making war-like preparations —
McLane was instructed to inouire of Aberdeen whether those
oreparations were intended for us — and now it appears that
before the enquiry was made, Bancroft was 'confidentially'
recommending ten war steamers — the Bureaus fortv war
steamers and March fiftv thousand volunteers with the knowl-
edge and approbation of the President! What explanation
could McLane make to Aberdeen of these secret preparations
5 Globe, XV, 791. 795, 804.
6 Polk records (Diary, al, 407-24 passim") that he was besieged by hundreds
of applicants for the thirty-odd commissions which the act created.
7 To Van Buren, 16 May, Van Buren Papers, Vol. 53.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 89
for war in the face of our demand of the British government ?
How uncandid and dishonorable must the conduct of the
President and his Prime Minister appear in the eyes of all
honest men."
The feeling that the Administration had blundered was ex-
pressed on every side.
"The administration, as such, has no cordial support
in either house of Congress, and in the three important branches
at the present time, considering the state of our foreign rela-
tions, of State, war and navy, the general and prevailing senti-
ment certainly is that they are wanting in nearly every quali-
fication that the emergency requires. I do not think it is well
possible to have mismanaged more completely the negotiations
either about Oregon or with Mexico; for certainly all the
international occurrences both in England and Mexico have
been such as to have aided our views had they been judiciously
taken advantage of . . ."8
The mounted riflemen, intended originally for Oregon, were
used in the conflict with Mexico, and this is a good illustration
of the fate of the measures dealing with the Northwest Coast.
The House bill for extending jurisdiction of American laws
over Oregon was thought by the Senate Committee on Terri-
tories inexpedient at the time, although Westcott, for the com-
mittee, reported that it was believed Congress should provide a
territorial organization and gave notice that he would move a
postponement of consideration until the following December.
Benton took occasion (it was the twenty- first of May, while
all were awaiting news of the British reception of the notice)
to prepare the Senate for an offer of 49° from Great Britain.
In a speech which occupied several hours on each of three
days9 he proceeded to demolish, to his own satisfaction at least,
the fiction that 54° 40' was a line for the northern boundary
of the United States' claim. It was, he said, the intention in
1824 to divide the Pacific Coast between Russia, Great Britain
and the United States, Great Britain taking the middle por-
tion from 49° to 54° 40'. The plan did not work out, owing
8 H. D. Gilpin to Van Buren, 24 May, Ibid.
g Globe, XV, 847, 850-62, 913-20. This speech was in line with Benton's
proposition when he consulted the President on April ninth. Polk, Diary, I, 325.
90 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
to the attitude of Russia, so the other nations each negotiated
directly with the Czar and then arranged between themselves
the non-colonization agreement; each confined Russia to the
coasts and islands north of 54° 40'. But 54° 40' had been taken
up as a line to which the United States had always laid claim,
the more so because of a map made by Mr. Greenhow, a clerk
in the Department of State, who so long as he confined him-
self to the business of copying maps and voyages did very
well, but when he went to issuing opinions upon national sub-
jects and setting the world right about the execution or non-
execution of a great treaty, such as that of Utrecht — "when
he goes at this work, the Lord deliver us from the humbug!"
The map on which Mr. Greenhow and those who had been
so eager for war and 54° 40' did not show that line as a limit
for the claim of the United States but merely a line which
separated Russian from British claims. This was known to
American negotiators when they had offered to settle at 49°.
"This is the end of that great line! All gone — vanished —
evaporated into thin air — and the place where it was not to be
found. Oh ! mountain that was delivered of a mouse, thy name
shall henceforth be fifty-four forty!
"All Oregon or none!"
The whole theme of Benton's speech was that the treaty
of Utrecht had settled the whole question ; 49° had been forced
upon the United States in 1803 and 1819 as the northern
boundary of Louisiana and as such had been submitted to by
Great Britain. Jefferson's attitude in dealing with the Louisi-
ana Territory after its purchase demonstrated that he thought
so. Finally turning to the bill before the Senate Benton main-
tained that it was not in accordance with the recommendations
of the President who wished Congress merely to go as far as
Great Britain in the matter of jurisdiction and no farther.
All the Oregon measures would have passed long ago, just
like the blockhouse bill, if they had not been brought in as
war measures. He moved a recommitment with instructions to
the committee to prepare an amendment extending the laws
of the United States over Oregon to the same degree that the
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 91
British Act of Parliament had extended British laws, and to
bring in a bill for a full and perfect territorial organization
to go into effect as soon as the convention for joint occupa-
tion should have been annulled, and to apply to such a portion
as should be agreed upon with Great Britain. Until an agree-
ment should have been reached let the northern limit be 49*.
Cass took up the issue and contended that Americans would
never be satisfied with this explanation until evidence had been
brought from Paris to substantiate it. He accused Benton of
reversing the stand he had taken in 1842 and 1843. Neither
Benton nor Cass, however, could obtain action for the majority
agreed with Webster when he said that he would never think
of creating a territorial establishment before the boundary had
been settled.
Even after the ratification of the treaty which did settle
the boundary there were further obstacles to be overcome.
When, on the twenty-fifth of June, the question of a date for
final adjournment came, several Senators agreed that some-
thing should be done before the session closed, but as a steamer
was due on the third of August and the British ratification
would probably arrive then, they thought it would be well to
take up other matters until that time. The ratification arrived
according to schedule, and the treaty was laid before Congress,
but still the organization was delayed. Senator Hannegan,
still resentful over the defeat of his plans, said that it was
inconceivable that a bill for territorial government should be
passed before the treaty had been debated. The treaty was
nothing more or less than another agreement for joint occupa-
tion south of 49* while Great Britain had a clear title north
of that line ; the grant in perpetuity to the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany of free navigation was evidence of his contention.10
It was not the fault of the House that Congress adjourned
with no definite Oregon action. On the same day the treaty
was received from the President (6 August) the Committee
on Territories brought in a bill. With almost no discussion
10 Globe, XV, 1023-4, 1179, 1198-0. Cass (Ibid., 1204) agreed with Hanne-
gan about the navigation of the Columbia.
92 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPER
the Committee of the Whole House reported it to the House
with the amendment that "neither slavery nor involuntary
servitude (should) ever exist in said Territory, except in the
punishment of crimes." By a vote of 108 to 43 the House
accepted the amendment and passed the bill.11 But the Senate
would not act.
While the measures just described were the chief of those
before Congress, they were by no means all. Among the Ore-
gon activities two committee reports, one in each house, on
the question of a railroad to Oregon deserve a few words.
In the House a memorial from George Wilkes and others pray-
ing Congress to appropriate the means of constructing a rail-
road from some point on Lake Michigan or from Fort Inde-
pendence was referred to the Committee on Roads and Canals.
The committee reported12 that while it found no constitutional
obstacle the whole scheme was too gigantic and impracticable
at the time. In the Senate where Eli Whitney again attempted
to get a hearing for his Northern Pacific Railroad, Senator
Breese appeared as a supporter of the proposition. He intro-
duced the memorial, spoke in its favor, and, for the Committee
on Public Lands, reported a bill. When the bill had been read
in part Senator Benton interrupted to say that it was entirely
improper then to take the time of the Senate for such an absurd
matter; here was a person who applied to Congress for 90,-
000,000 acres of public land and agreed to build 3,000 miles
of railroad, in the face of that he would not be surprised if
some one came along and offered to take over the whole gov-
ernment. The bill was not only the most ridiculous and absurd
ever presented to Congress but it was impudent as well. The
Senate, however, was less outspoken in its scorn, and allowed
the committee to have its report printed.
Oregon came up in resolutions from State legislatures, in
petitions touching upon all sides of the controversy, as well as
in requests for grants of land ; among the latter was one from
the widow of Captain Gray, the discoverer of the Columbia
ii Ibid., 1200-3.
i a Ho. Rep. No. 779, agth Cong. ist. Ses.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 93
River. Oregon appeared in the debates on the Rivers and
Harbors Bill in an amendment "for the improvement of the
Columbia river in Oregon, $100,000," whereat one Congress-
man said he had no objection to a little sport but he thought
it was going too far to propose an appropriation for the Co-
lumbia until it was known "whether we owned it or not."
"But the title is 'clear and unquestionable' you know," came
the response from various parts of the House.
CORRESPONDENCE OF REVEREND EZRA FISHER
Edited by SARAH FISHER HENDERSON, NELLIE EDITH LATOURETTE, KENNETH SCOTT
LATOURETTE
(Continued from Page 372 in Quarterly for December, 1918)
Oregon City, Oct. 8th, 1854.
Rev. Benjamin M. Hill,
Cor. Sec. Am. Bapt. Home Mission Soc.
Dear Brother:
Yours of Sept. 18th containing your account with me, also
a bill of goods sent me by the Am. Bapt. Home Mission
Society Sept. 6th, amounting to $466.66, with a bill of lading
for six boxes and two barrels of merchandise, were received
by the last mail. Was very glad to learn that they are on
the way. Since I last wrote I have visited West Tualatin
Church and spent nearly a week with the Shilo Church on
a council called on account of difficulties existing between
Elder and the majority of the church on one hand and
the minority of the church on the other. Br. had been
quite imprudent and serious charges were preferred against
him, but with not sufficient proof to induce the council to
recommend his being deposed from the ministry.352 After
three days' and two nights' hard labor, the council gave
their advice to the church and all the parties concerned,
which resulted in an amicable adjustment of all difficulties.
We have felt the necessity of our church members under-
standing and practicing gospel discipline in case of difficul-
ties before they come before the church. Our Divine Master
has condescended to give us the most simple and yet the
most perfect rules for discipline either in private trespasses
or public immorality.
Yours with sentiments of Christian affection.
EZRA FISHER.
Received Dec. 26.
352 This was Rev. William M. Davis. Shortly after th« firrt council here
mentioned, a second council was called, which urged drastic action, and the church
entirely repudiated him. — Mattoon, Bap. An. of Or*., I:io.
96 REVEREND EZRA FISHER
Oregon City. O. Ter., Oct. 17th, 1854.
Rev. Benjamin M. Hill,
Cor. Sec. A. Bap. Home Mission Society.
Dear Brother:
I have just returned from the yearly meeting of the
Pleasant Butte Church, seventy-five miles up the valley
from this place and thirty-five south of Salem. This church,
like all our churches, is located in the heart of a flourishing
country admirably adapted to grazing and the growing of
wheat, corn, oats and all kinds of vegetables and fruits
adapted to this climate. I spent ten days with the church,
preaching Saturdays and Sabbaths and one sermon each
night. The meetings were interesting, but not attended with
the same results as last year. During the meeting six were
added by letter, one was received for baptism, there were
two hopeful cases of conversion and four or five others were
manifestly interested in their souls' welfare. Br. Wm.
Sperry is the pastor with whom I have labored. This church
has a flourishing Sabbath school and meets every Sabbath
for preaching or prayer. The converts of last year appear
very well. The church will probably hire a man and put
him on Br. Sperry's farm the coming year and by this means
mostly liberate him to the work of the ministry in that
church and vicinity. This is much better than the entire
neglect of the ministry. This closes up our yearly meetings
till the opening of the spring. I had hoped that I should
have been able to give particular attention to Washington
Ter. at the close of this meeting, but there are two pressing
calls, one in Washington County and the other in Marion,
twelves miles south of Salem, which are obviously more
immediately important than the exploration of Washington
Ter. at this season of the year. Our brethren here urge a
delay of the exploration of that territory till another season.
So also the Methodist minister353 who has charge of that
district advises. I am collecting facts relative to the region
of Pugets Sound and shall be able to give you a pretty
353 This was Rev. John F. De Vore. — George H. Himes.
CORRESPONDENCE 97
general view of the relative importance of that country in
three or four weeks. My present impressions are that the
Baptist cause in that region is not suffering so much for
the want of immediate attention as the more populous parts
of Oregon and California are. Here we have numbers of
organized church, which must be visited occasionally, and
of settlements where churches might be constituted if they
could have the encouragement of preaching four Sabbaths
in a year, and for want of which labors our members are
either lying still or joining Methodist and Cumberland
Presbyterian churches. I visited Salem on my return from
Pleasant Butte Church last week. Find Salem, the capital
of the Ter., with a population of about 1200 souls, with a
Methodist Episcopal church and a good house of worship,
a Protestant Methodist church and house nearly finished, an
Episcopal house completed and a Congregational church and
house completed. Found but five Baptist members in the
place and but one of them who can be considered permanent.
There are two members probably permanently located two
miles from the town who wish to promote the cause in
town. The whole surrounding country is settled mostly on
section claims one mile square. The place must have a
rapid growth. There is no doubt but a man if sent there
and supported would call a small congregation around him,
if his talent were popular and piety undoubted, with good,
sound common sense, and he might hope to see his congre-
gation increase with the growth . of the place. Besides, a
good substantial, efficient minister located there would do
good service through the whole surrounding country with
its four Baptist churches. Salem certainly should not be
long neglected by your Society. Some aid no doubt could
be obtained from the surrounding churches towards sustain-
ing an effective minister in that place. Yet most of a
minister's salary would have to come from home, and it
would require from $600 to $800 to give a family of ordinary
size an annual support. I have no doubt but the expenditure
for such an appointment would be judicious, if your Board
98 REVEREND EZRA FISHER
can sustain such a man there after supporting the suffering
cause at Portland and Oregon City, both of which places
are probably in greater need of a minister than Salem. Port-
land has some permanent and able supporters. At Oregon
City is our school for the Territory. All our towns are
subject to frequent changes, yet they are towns, and will
continue to be places of trade from which an influence will
be continually going out into the surrounding country and into
the whole world. A minister's Sabbaths should mostly be
spent in town unless he can have his place filled occasionally
by proxy, or little can be effected by the side of other organized
churches with a stated Sabbath ministry.
As ever yours,
EZRA FISHER.
* * * *
Received Nov. 25.
Oregon City, Ore. Ter., Nov. 8th, 1854.
To Rev. Benjamin M. Hill,
Cor. Sec. Am. Bapt. Home Mission Soc., New York.
Dear Br. Hill:
This is to inform you that Rev. William F. Boyakin,354
formerly from Carrolton, Illinois, and late of St. Joseph,
Missouri, arrived in Portland about the tenth of October
with his family. Since that time he has been preaching to
the scattered Baptist brethren in that place. I visited Port-
land three weeks since on a tour west and south. Found he
was making a favorable impression on the minds of the Bap-
tist members and the public; gave them some advice. Since
my return Br. Boyakin has preached in this place. He informs
me that the Baptist members have invited him to labor with
them in Portland for one year and that they have agreed to
ask the Home Mission Society to appoint him as their mis-
sionary to Portland for one year with a salary of $800, $200
354 Rev. W. F. Boyakin helped to organize the Portland Church in May, 1855.
In 1856 he moved to Corvallis at the invitation of the church there. — Mattoon, Bap.
An. of Ore., I:n, 14. Mattoon says he was from Mississippi.
CORRESPONDENCE 99
of which the people pledge themselves they will pay. They
therefore ask your Board to pay him $600 of the $800. I
have the impression that your acquaintance with Br. Boyakin's
reputation as a preacher is better than mine. I think he has
been favorably known ,both in Illinois and Missouri, as an
effective Baptist preacher. I think from the short acquaintance
I have with him that he is well adapted to get up an interest
in Portland. He commends himself at once to the people as
an eloquent man well acquainted with that form of human
nature which develops itself in our rising towns in the West.
He seems to have the true missionary spirit. Should he con-
tinue to wear as he now promises, we have no man in Oregon
so well adapted to that field as he is. I think he will need
$800 salary to support his family (of 7 persons I believe) in
Portland. I think the people will supply $200 of the salary,
probably not more the first year. Br. Boyakin is poor, having
expended almost all his means in reaching the field, seems
desirous of trying what he can do in Portland and I am
now impressed favorably with the thought that the Lord has
directed him in a very favorable time to his appropriate field
of labor. He is calling a good congregation to a school-house
which the brethren have fitted up temporarily as a place of
worship. As it relates to the importance of the place, you
hardly need any further information. Portland is the principal
port for Oregon at present, numbering probably about 2000
souls, with from 30 to 50 trading houses, wholesale and
retail, and must, for years at least, be the most commercial
town in the Territory. When the resources of the country
are developed, I think the great commercial city of the
Columbia River will be somewhere below the mouth of the
Willamette River, yet Portland will even then be an important
point. By a reference to the map of the surveyed parts of
Oregon, you will see that it is 14 miles above the mouth of
the Willamette in the heart, or rather at the foot, of one of the
most fertile portions of country in North America. Our
country is fast filling up and, although at present the influence
of the Nebraska and Kansas movements may for two or three
100 REVEREND EZRA FISHER
years somewhat retard our onward progress,355 yet I think
the immigration will be checked only to flow in more abun-
dantly when the Nebraskan excitement shall have worked its
discontent among the early settlers to that territory. I trust
your Board will be prompt in making the appointment and may
God in His infinite mercy bless to the building up of a strong
interest in Portland and the surrounding country.
With much esteem, your unworthy brother,
EZRA FISHER.
N. B. — Br. Boyakin, in behalf of the brethren in Portland,
will make the application stating the time they will wish the
appointment to take effect.
Received Dec. 26.
Oregon City, O. Ten, Jan. 1st, 1855.
To Rev. Benjamin M. Hill,
Cor. Sec. of Am. Bap. Home Mission Society :
Herein I send you my report of labor under the appoint-
ment of the Home Mission Society as Exploring Agent for
the third quarter ending the thirty-first day of Dec., 1854.
During the quarter I have visited Portland twice, the Cas-
cades in Washington Ten, The Dalles, east of the Cascade
Mountains, West Union Church, West Tualatin Church
twice, Shilo Church and a settlement of unorganized Baptists
near the junction of the Columbia and Sandy rivers in
Clackamas County; labored 13 weeks; traveled to and from
my appointments 617 miles ; paid nine dollars eighty-two cents
($9.82) for traveling expenses and eighteen cents ($0.18) for
postage; preached 20 sermons. I attended a council in case
of difficulty of a serious kind in which I labored three days
and almost two nights, with but six hours' intermission. The
result of our labors seemed blessed under God in restoring
union to the distracted church,
Respectfully submitted,
EZRA FISHER,
Exploring Agent.
355 The Kansas-Nebraska Act of May, 1854, organized these territories and
left the question of slavery to the vote of the settlers. This led to a large immi-
gration to these regions from both North and South.
CORRESPONDENCE 101
Oregon City, O. Ten, Jan. 1st, 1855.
To Rev. Benjamin M. Hill,
Cor. Sec. of Am. Bapt. Home Mission Soc. :
Herein I send you my report of labor under the appoint-
ment of the Home Mission Society as General Itinerant for
the 3rd quarter ending the 31st day of Dec., 1854. I have
labored thirteen weeks in the quarter; preached 20 sermons;
attended six prayer meetings, two church covenant meetings
and one council of three days ; visited religiously fifty- four
families and other persons, one common school ; traveled to
and from my appointments six hundred and seventeen miles.
Connected with the churches I have visited are three Sabbath
schools, one in Pleasant Butte Church on Calapooia River,
Lynn Co., one in West Union Church, Washington County,
and one in Oregon City, numbering each about twenty-five
scholars and four teachers.
Respectfully submitted,
EZRA FISHER.
General Itinerant.
Received Feb. 9.
Oregon City, O. Ter., Jan. 15th, 1855.
Rev. Benjamin M. Hill,
Cor. Sec. Am. Bap. Home Mission Society.
Dear Br. :
I take my pen to give you a brief account of my late tour
from this place to The Dalles, a rising town and a military
post on the Columbia near the east base of the Cascade
Mountains.
I left home on the 17th of Nov. and traveled twenty-two
miles north to the mouth of the Sandy, a stream nearly as
large as the Mohawk, which rises in the eternal snows of
Mount Hood and flows into the Columbia at the west base
of the Cascade Range, twenty-five miles west from the
celebrated Cascade Falls. Having failed of reaching the
Columbia in time to take the regular steamer, I was detained
102 REVEREND EZRA FISHER
several days till the next trip of the boat. Here I found
between fifteen and twenty Baptist members, including- an
aged minister (Br. Bond), with an enfeebled wife for many
years mostly confined to her bed. They are scattered
through a fertile, timbered, undulating country eight or ten
miles from north to south and perhaps half that distance
from east to west. Br. Bond is preaching- what he can while
laboring with all his powers to obtain a comfortable support
for himself and helpless family. These brethren occupy
prospectively one of the most important country positions in
all Oregon, but at present they have to contend with all the
inconveniences of removing1 forests of enormous growth before
they can reap a harvest from their generous soil. However,
they will soon be placed above want and probably abound in
the farmer's wealth. A church will be constituted here in
the coming- spring, if not before. This point is more promis-
ing than many fields in the Mississippi Valley where labor and
money are expended by missionary societies.
The following week I took the steamer and visited The
Cascades, a town site, with eight or ten families scattered on
the north bank of the Columbia for a distance of three miles
from the head to the foot of the Cascade Falls, about midway
of the Cascade Mountains, from east to west. These families
have resorted here for matters of speculation and, with few
exceptions, manifest less desire for the bread of eternal life
than for the mammon of unrighteousness. This is the great
natural gateway through the Cascade Mountains and must at
no distant day become a place of great commercial and manu-
facturing importance, it being the head of ship navigation to
the Columbia and there being a vast region of the best grazing
country in North America on the Columbia and its hundred
tributaries, which must soon be put in requisition to graze the
cattle and horses of Oregon and Washington territories.
Occasionally through the summer a Methodist circuit preacher
has visited and preached in this place. Here I found one
pious Methodist sister and one or two Campbellite members.
The country on the north bank of the Columbia is now settled
CORRESPONDENCE 103
with families and bachelors most of the way from this place to
Vancouver, a distance of forty-five miles.
The next week I took the steamer356 for The Dalles;
ascended the broad, deep Columbia twenty-five miles to the
mouth of Dog- River,357 a considerable stream tumbling down
with great rapidity from the snowy sides of Mt. Hood.
Here I found Br. Coe, late postal agent for Oregon, and
wife. This settlement consists of three white families, but
will soon be swollen to fifty or 100. The steamer having left
me, on the 29th of November, to save a weeks delay and an
exorbitant price for an Indian and horses, I took my post-
bags and traveling apparel on my back at ten A. M. and took
the emigrant trail, which lay over high mountains and
through deep defiles, and, although the thawing of the frozen
ground coming in constant contact with my India rubber boots
rendered the traveling exceedingly slippery, I reached the
first settlement, three miles from The Dalles, a distance of
eighteen miles, at four P. M., unusually fatigued, yet grateful
to the gracious Giver for strength to perform even the
physical labors of a pioneer missionary. I found twenty-four
families, including three or four of the officers and soldiers, in
this place and vicinity, beside a number of white men who had
married Indian women and some thirty or forty single men
in trade and farming, and gambling, as I had good reason to
suppose.358 Here are stationed two or three companies of
government troops to defend our frontiers from Indian
invasion. Here also are constantly a considerable number of
Indians, amounting to forty or fifty families, who dwell here
and cultivate small fields of potatoes, corn and melons. Here
too the Roman Catholic Church have a mission established
with the Indians and have set up their claim to 640 acres of
land for the mission, immediately below the town and extending
almost to the river bank.859
356 This steamboat was probably the "Mary," the first steamer to run between
the Cascades and The Dalles. — Bancroft, His. of Wash., Idaho and Mont., p. 145-
357 This is the present Hood River. It was called Dog Creek, because in the
early forties some immigrants camping there were reduced to dog meat for food. —
George H. Himes.
358 See note 309.
359 This claim of the Roman Catholics was later set aside. They were, how-
ever, allowed to retain about half an acre of ground for a building site. — Bancroft,
Hist, of Ore., 11:292.
104 REVEREND EZRA FISHER
The soil in the vicinity of The Dalles is generally a loamy
sand, mixed with vegetable mould and decomposed rocks of
various kinds, some of which appear to contain considerable
quantities of alkalies, in some places so much so as to prevent
the growth of vegetation, except a kind of wild rye which
grows with great luxuriance where the alkalies destroy all the
ordinary grass. This soil must hereafter become very rich
manures for lands requiring alkalies. Potatoes, onions, beets,
cabbage, squashes, melons, wheat, oats, peas, etc., have all
been successfully raised here.
The river from the head of The Cascades to this place is
broad and sufficiently deep for the largest class of steamers
and the current very gentle. This must be the great place
of trade for all the upper Columbia country in all future time,
unless a railroad should be constructed through this great
valley to Pugets Sound, and in that event a branch will come
down the Columbia to this place.
At this place I find two persons who have been Baptists
. . . The same Methodist missionary circuit preacher who
has visited The Cascades has visited this place a few times
the past summer. The people here desire the labors of a good
Protestant preacher, but as yet they are entirely uncommitted.
An efficient, common-sense minister should be placed here to
labor at this place and The Cascades. He would occupy
emphatically a missionary post which will be a post of observa-
tion. It will prove to the sreat Columbia Valley what St.
Louis or Chicago is to the Mississippi Valley. True it is small
now, but it will soon be the kev to hundreds ot millions of
wealth and millions of souls. I spent two Sabbaths at this
place, preached to attentive congregations and received the
most cordial hospitality of the citizens. Will your Board send
a man to The Dalles and for once occupy an important post
first amonsr Protestants — one who may be able to work by
the side of Romans, who are doing what they can?
T shall soon attempt to give you what information I have
collected from Washington Ter. : also make one more earnest
CORRESPONDENCE 105
appeal for Oregon City and other parts of the Willamette
Valley.
Yours as ever with high esteem,
EZRA FISHER,
Exploring Agent.
Received Feb. 26.
Oregon City, O. Ten, Jan. 18th, 1855.
To the Rev. Benjamin M. Hill,
Cor. Sec. Am. Bap. Home Mission Society, New York.
Dear Brother Hill :
I shall be obliged to draw an order on you for $200 or
$300 in favor of Abernathy, Clarke and Co., or josiah Failing
& Co. at Portland, in three or four weeks, as I am now
straitened for funds to keep up my ordinary family and trav-
eling expenses. I am also expecting to hear from the goods,
which you shipped on the Wild Ranger for San Francisco,
by every mail and I have not the means to pay the freight
from San Francisco to this place. I send this that you may
have at least two weeks notice before the order is presented.
I gave Br. J. D. Post an order of $150 on you sometime last
summer or autumn, but have never heard from it since ; but
presume it is paid. If that is paid, I suppose there will be
due me, after you receive my last report, which was made out
and forwarded the first day of this month, about $420. I
have received $13 from the Baptist Church in this place
( Oregon City), and wish you to send twenty (20) copies of
the Home Mission Record, twenty (20) copies of the American
Messenger, twenty (20) copies of the Macedonian and one
(1) copy of the Missionary Magazine, all postpaid, to William
C. Johnson, Oregon City, if that amount will meet all the
expenses: if not, send equal numbers of the Record and
Macedonian, fewer of the American Messenger and one copy
of the Missionary Magazine and prepay the postage, applying
$13 on these, no more and no less. Charge the same to my
account. Also pay B. R. Soxley. Philadelphia, one dollar ($1)
106 REVEREND EZRA FISHER
for Mrs. Mary Winston, Oregon City; also one dollar for
Mrs. Rebecca Fanno, Portland, for the Mothers' Journal and
Family Visitant and charge the same to my account. Will you
see that this is promptly paid, as they wish to have their
Mothers' Journal continued.
Received Feb. 26.
Oregon City, O. Ten, Feb. 8th, 1855.
Rev. Benjamin M. Hill,
Cor. Sec. Am. Bap. Home Mission Society, Nassau St.,
New York.
Dear Brother:
I take this opportunity to write you a few lines on
matters in general. And first, our good people in Portland
are about making an effort to build a house for public
worship,360 and today the ladies of that place make a dinner
as the first effort in furtherance of that important work. As
they commence the work in feasting, I hope they will complete
it in praying. The church in Oregon City have been employ-
ing a temporary supply, or rather reciving it, since I left
their service last June, but are making an effort to secure
the labors of a man in Oregon, if they can, and ask the Home
Missionary Society to aid them in his support, as they feel
that there is great uncertainty in obtaining a man soon from
the States. Oh, that the Lord would raise up faithful laborers
and send a few to our Pacific borders ! We are in perishing
need of faithful pastoral labors throughout our churches. We
must pray and try to raise up ministers in Oregon. I wish
we had a well endowed school manned with two or three
good pious professors, to which we could direct our young
men who desire to serve God with singleness of heart. But
money is now scarce, though this is not half so alarming as
the fact that so few of our brethren take a comprehensive
view of our wants and the true remedy. We must educate
, j - nrnHEn
360 The building was not actually begun until 1861. — Mattoon, Bap. An. of
Ore., 1: 140.
CORRESPONDENCE 107
our ministry on the Pacific slope, and I am beginning to think
that we are more able than willing. But this business must
be accomplished by "line upon line." We cannot do this work
at once, but we must not cease doing till this is done; then
we shall support a pious, intelligent, efficient ministry. Our
seat of government is removed from Salem to Corvallis, about
thirty miles farther up the Willamette River.361 Corvallis was
formerly called Marysville, the county seat for Benton county.
The Territorial University is removed from Corvallis to Jack-
sonville, county seat of Jackson County. Now we have an
able church at Corvallis and I think we should make immedi-
ate effort to put in operation a high school at that place. I
shall leave tomorrow with a view of visiting two or three
churches in that vicinity. I shall feel of the public pulse, as
it beats through some of our leading men, on the subject of
bringing up an educational interest at the seat of government.
We all think an enterprise of this kind will in no way operate
prejudicially to our school at Oregon City, but rather favor-
ably. As to the question of your removal from the Bible
house, I hope the Society will let the good brethren in New
York build you a good mission house, if that will end the
unhappy strife.362 What is $40,000 or $100,000 as an offset
to an unhappy division?
Yours,
EZRA FISHER.
Received March 24.
Oregon City, O. Ter., March 5th, 1855.
Rev. Benjamin M. Hill,
Cor. Sec. Am. Bap. Home Mission Society.
Dear Brother:
About three weeks since I drew an order on you in favor
361 The legislature of the winter of 1854-5 changed the capital from Salem to
Corvallis. and the university from Corvallis to Jacksonville. The capital was re-
located at Salem! Dec. 12, 1855. — Bancroft, His. of Ore., II:3$i, .152. The legis-
lature of 1855-6 repealed all acts locating the university. — F. G. Young, Financial
Hist, of Ore. in Ore. Hist. Soc. Quar., VIII: 162.
362 In 1853 a serious discussion arose in the Baptist Home Mission Society
over the acceptance from the American and Foreign Bible Society of rooms in its
new building on Nassau Street. Friends of the "Bible Union" opposed the ac-
ceptance and the trouble threatened to split the Home Mission Society. The
rooms in the A. & F. B. S. building were occupied until 1862. — Bap. Home Mis.
in N. Am., 1832-1882, p. 543.
108 REVEREND EZRA FISHER
of George Abernathy & Co. to the amount of $300. This I
did, as I have done a few instances before, on account of
our great distance. The long delays, after making our quar-
terly reports, if we must first wait till we can get drafts
from New York before we can draw on your treasury, some-
times subject us to great inconvenience. As in the present
case, I had ordered a year's supply of clothing for my family
a year ago last October (I think). The bill was lost in
the ocean ; a second order was made in about four months.
The filling of the bill was no doubt necessarily delayed by
the sickness of yourself and family. The goods were shipped
almost a full year after the first bill was mailed at Oregon
City, and last week I received three boxes and two barrels, a
part only of the goods. I hope to hear from the balance in
two or three weeks. But in this case my available means were
used up, the money has been earned and the labor reported.
I consequently made a draft on you, although it is out of
your ordinary way of doing business. I trust your Board
will pay the order and indulge me again under similar cir-
cumstances. I have received for religious periodicals the fol-
lowing sums which I wish you to pay to the respective agents
and charge the same to my account : For the Mothers' Journal,
from Hector Campbell, one dollar; Mr. Campbell wishes his
Journal discontinued. From Mrs. Olive F. D. Ogle, one
dollar; Mrs. Ogle is a new subscriber; her post-office is Fair-
field, Marion Co., O. Ter. For the Christian Chronicle, Phil-
adelphia, from Thomas M. Read of Marysville (now Cor-
vallis), two dollars; he wishes his paper stopped. For the
New York Recorder, from John Robinson, Marysville (now
Corvallis), two dollars and fifty cents.
Respectfully yours,
EZRA FISHER.
March 6th. — I have just returned from a tour to the cen-
tral part of the valley. Visited Santiam church, Corvallis
(Marysville) church, Albany and French Prairie churches.
Our churches seem too well contented with monthly Sab-
CORRESPONDENCE 109
baths and rest apparently satisfied with few pastoral labors
performed among them. The result is a want of spirituality,
too great a conformity to the world and a reliance almost
exclusively upon special meetings for seasons of refreshings
from the Most High. I spent some time in endeavoring to
ascertain the state of public sentiment relative to the expedi-
ency of establishing a school in the central part of the valley.
All seemed desirous of seeing such a work put in successful
operation, but as yet they have had no conference on the
subject and want some effective man to take the responsibility
upon himself of planning and executing. While this is being
done, the Methodists, who have already three high schools in
the valley and one in Umpqua, will step into Corvallis, the
only important point now to be occupied and raise up an im-
portant school and leave us with the alternative of building
up a high school at some unimportant post some six or eight
years hence, or of raising a rival school at their door. Now
the influence and wealth in the vicinity is Baptist more than
any other denomination. The Baptists have the only house
of worship in the place. The Methodists are making an effort
to build a house of worship.363 Lest they should not be able
to drive all others out, they obtained a charter for a high
school in the place as early as '51. The Presbyterians are
looking to the place for the location of a college. Their
principal proprietor assured me he would give a block of lots
worth about $1000 for the site, if the Baptists would build a
good high school. Although the people in Oregon are almost
destitute of money and are much alarmed at the hard times,
I think a building worth from $2000 to $3000 could be built
by the Baptists the coming year, if the brethren in the upper
country would see their interests in their true light, without
materially affecting the Oregon City College otherwise than
favorably. You may reasonably ask, Why trouble ourselves
about another school while the one at Oregon City can hardly
live? In the absence of a good common school system, evan-
363 The Methodists dedicated their church building in Corvallis in December,
1856.— Bancroft. Hist, of Ore., 11:352.
110 REVEREND EZRA FISHER
gelical Christians have opened schools adapted to the wants
of the people, employed good, pious teachers, and by these
schools they wield a strong influence. If we remain inactive,
we must lose our hold on the confidence of the people and be
set down as inefficient; besides, the sooner we can commit
the denomination to some benevolent enterprise the better for
them and the rising generation. They will do the more for
other work strictly of an evangelical character. Again, I
strongly think we must look to our churches for our rising
ministry on the Pacific borders before twenty years roll
around. The great question with me is, Ought the ministers
now in the field and almost worn out to give any considerable
portion of their time to the cause of education, while so much
of our field lies waste for the want of faithful, Godly ministers
given wholly to preaching the Word?
Br. Chandler baptized two converts into the French Prairie
church Sabbath before last.
Affectionately yours,
EZRA FISHER.
Received April 9.
Oregon City, O. Ten, April 1st, 1855.
To Rev. Benjamin M. Hill,
Cor. Sec. Am. Bap. Home Mission Soc.
Dear Brother:
Herein I send you my report of labor under the appoint-
ment of the Home Mission Society as General Itinerant for
the 4th quartet ending March 31st, 1855. I have labored 13
weeks in this quarter; preached 15 sermons; attended 10
prayer meetings and four church meetings ; visited religiously
45 families and other persons ; visited one common school :
traveled to and from my appointments 307 miles. Two were
received into the French Prairie church by baptism under
the labors of Rev. George C. Chandler. Sabbath schools in
the territory are the same as last quarter. During the quar-
ter I have distributed about 2500 pages of tracts. Several
CORRESPONDENCE 111
of our churches and congregations are beginning to study the
Bible by subjects and meet monthly to give their views of
the duties enjoined, such as the obligations of the Sabbath,
the duties of religious parents, etc. The churches generally
are training their young members as well as could be expected
where but monthly Sabbaths are enjoyed. However, many of
the members visit from church to church, so that perhaps
they attend the Baptist meetings two Sabbaths in a month.
The remaining time they either attend other meetings or stay
at home.
Respectfully submitted,
EZRA FISHER.
Oregon City, O. Ter., April 1, 1855.
To Rev. Benjamin M. Hill,
Cor. Sec. Am. Bap. Home Mission Soc.
Herein I send you my report of labor under the appoint-
ment of the Home Mission Society as Exploring Agent for
the 4th quarter ending March 31st, 1855. I have visited
during the quarter Corvallis, Albany, Oregon City, Corvallis
church, French Prairie church, a settlement of Baptist breth-
ren five miles east of Albany, Lynn Co., who will soon be
constituted into a church; a settlement of Baptists on the
Molalla prairie, where are encouraging prospects; Clackamas
church and Pleasant Butte church; traveled 307 miles to and
from my appointments. I have labored 13 weeks during the
quarter; preached 15 sermons; paid for traveling expenses $2,
for postage 37>4 cents.
N. B. — The traveling has been unusually bad this winter
and my health, for three or four weeks of the first part of
the quarter, was not so good as usual in the winter. This
may account for the unusually small amount of labor I have
performed. I have labored under the influence of bronchitis
and dyspepsia. I have adopted a rigid system of diet and
hope to be able to perform my wonted labors the coming
season.
Respectfully submitted,
EZRA FISHER,
Exploring Agent.
112 REVEREND EZRA FISHER
Oregon City, Mar. 10th, 1855.
Rev. Benjamin M. Hill.
Dear Brother:
The church in Oregon City have invited Br. Johnson and
Br. J. D. Post to supply them the coming year and agreed
to give Br. Johnson $50 and Br. Post $75. Perhaps this
is the best they could do on the whole. But it falls far short
of meeting our wants. Br. Post's time is engrossed in his
school and the most he can do is to preach half the Sabbaths,
attend the weekly prayer meetings and perhaps visit a little
Saturdays in the afternoons. Br. Johnson will preach half
the Sabbaths, but does not contemplate visiting at all. You
will see by this that the church must be greatly neglected
in the pastoral relations. I hoped the church would have
chosen some man as their pastor and asked the Home Mis-
sionary Society to help in his support, so that he could give
himself to the ministry, or have asked your Board to send
them a minister and let him enter upon the work as a man
of God. Perhaps all is for the best. I do not yet see it so.
I noticed in the January number of the Home Mission
Record a notice of my reappointment. I shall endeavor to
serve the Board to my best ability through the summer and
fall at least, if my health will permit and God blesses. I
have received no letter from you for near three months.
Suppose one was lost on the Southerner364 when wrecked. I
expect to spend most of the coming season with the churches
in the upper part of the valley and in Umpqua and Rogue
River valleys and, when in Rogue River Valley, I may cross
the Ciscue [Siskiyou] Mountains into Chasty [Shasta] Val-
ley, as it will be but about 25 miles from Rogue River Valley
and 125 from the settlement in the Sacramento Valley. A
large town called Yreka has sprung up in that valley, in which
it is said there are numbers of Baptist members who have
had but few Baptist sermons preached to them. Yreka365 is
364 The steamship "Southerner," Capt. F. A. Sampson, was wrecked on the
shing
began in 1850."" Important diggii _
town, which was incorporated in 1854. It declined with the mines after 1857. —
Bancroft, Hist, of Calif., VI:4P4.
Washington coast at Cape Flattery, Dec. 26, 1854. — Oregpnian, Jan. 27, 1855.
365 Yreka sprang up as a result of the mining in Shasta County, California,
which began in 1850. Important diggings opened in March, 1851, gave rise to the
CORRESPONDENCE 113
said to be as large as Portland. Should I visit Chasty Valley,
or will our California brother penetrate the mountains from
the south and explore this mining district?
With sentiments of Christian esteem,
EZRA FISHER.
Received April 24.
Oregon City, O. Territory, May 3d, 1855.
Rev. Benjamin M. Hill,
Cor. Sec. Am. Bapt. Home Mission Soc.
Dear Brother:
Yours of March 3d has just come to hand and I now sit
down to answer it. It is with mingled emotions that I learn
that your Board have reappointed me to the work of ex-
ploring agent and general itinerant. I shall endeavor in the
fear of God to enter upon those duties to the best of my
abilities, but in view of the gradual decline of my physical, not
to say mental powers, I am led to hope that your Board will
be looking out for a man of ripe Christian experience and
strong physical constitution to enter upon the responsibilities
of this work after the present year. I feel that I have a right
to ask for a more limited field which will call for less exposure
in winter rains and the inconveniences of a frontier life. Yet
I often feel that I would prefer the ways of Providence to
those of my own choosings. I wish it to be distinctly under-
stood by the Board that my personal inclinations have for a
long time been to locate so that I could reach the extent of
my field of labor by a day's ride. Should you find a suit-
able man to enter upon this work at an earlier period than
the expiration of the present year, I will rejoice to facilitate
his introduction. It seems to me that the labor of such a
man in Oregon should not be dispensed with. As it relates
to the work of collecting for the Home Mission Society, you
know that I am willing to do all that I can in the further-
ance of that object. It is likewise true that your Society
ought to have found more pecuniary aid flowing into your
114 REVEREND EZRA FISHER
treasury from Oregon. Yet our servants and their fellow
laborers have been laboring as fast as they thought the
churches would bear to bring about this object in as healthy
and as permanent a manner as possible. We have to meet
all the influence of monthly Sabbaths and Missouri opinions,
and an educated anti-mission influence in our missionary
churches. These prejudices are so far worn away I believe
in all our churches that they, as churches, recognize the
principle that our ministry should be given to the work and
that they should be sustained somehow or other in that work.
At our last association we made a direct effort to sustain
one man in Lane County, which was an important missionary
field. I should at that time have pleaded the cause of the
Home Mission Society and asked that these efforts might
in some way or other have gone through that channel, but
for the fact that your Board was at the time sustaining no
man but myself in Oregon. The right kind of work was
doing to accomplish the work and open the sympathies of
our brethren. The churches as a whole are coming up to
the work, although much slower than is desired by every
liberal-souled disciple of Christ. It is hard teaching our
brethren the lesson of being dead to the world and alive to
God. Yet four churches, two of which were as little hopeful
as any in the Association, have absolutely paid their minister
(Br. Riley) not less than $1000 the last year by buying him a
claim and providing him with clothing and food for his
family. Four more are paying Br. Chandler the present year
nearly $600. And I do not know of a church, small as our
churches are, which pays their minister less than $100 for one-
fourth of the time, while they scarcely get the labors of the
minister more than two days in a month, except in the riding
to and from the appointments, which may take two days more.
Thus you will perceive that your missionaries have not been
indifferent to the true interests of Christ's church, although
we have not been able to do so much as we would, nor to
direct what is done through the channel which might be
CORRESPONDENCE 115
desired. I rejoice in the love of our divine Master that you
have appointed two more missionaries for Oregon and that
they are in their field of labor. The way is now open for me
to work directly for you without putting on the air of supreme
selfishness and, although we are feeling the effects of what
the world calls hard times, I intend to try and do what I can
for Br. Boyakin at Portland and Br. Stearns366 at Jacksonville
by personal appeals to private brethren, as well as by collec-
tion in the churches, if I can get the subject before the
churches, and I doubt not I can. But the amount that can
be done this year cannot be expected to be large. I have no
fears of injuring my ministerial character in this work if God
goes with me. My greatest fear is that I may not do the work
as well as some other man might. We feel that we must
make an effort to sustain two ministers by the Association
strictly as missionaries in destitute fields; in this all our
brethren will probably unite. We have the men on the ground
whom we may probably employ, our brethren see them and
know them, and have an assurance that something will be
done for them in Oregon when they pay their money. I have
felt, in view of all the circumstances, that we should aid in
this kind of work, and, although we cannot do the work in
the way we would desire, we shall do much of the work which
we should do if all prejudices were removed and we were
doing the work precisely as you would have us do it. We
have with us an old brother, Thomas Taylor, formerly from
Illinois (I think he formerly was in the service of the Home
Mission Society in 111.), who has a destitute field, embracing
a part of Clackamas County and a part of Yam Hill County,
in which there are a number of Baptist members scattered.
The field locally is important, but the country is mostly tim-
bered, consequently slow of improvement comparatively. One
of the points I reported last winter, near the mouth of the
Sandy on the Columbia River. A year's labor would probably
366 This was probably Rev. M. N. Stearns, who had arrived that year from
the East with his father, Rev. John Stearns, and was chosen pastor of the Table
Rock (Jacksonville) Baptist Church. — Mattoon, Bap. An. of Ore., 1:13.
116 REVEREND EZRA FISHER
result in the formation of from one to four churches. Br.
Taylor's family consists of himself and wife. He says he can
labor a year for $300 and will run the risk of raising half that
sum on the field. Br. Chandler proposes to pay $25 of the bal-
ance. Br. Chandler is very desirous that he should be put into
that field. Now will your Board make him the appointment
under such conditions as you may think proper and require
him to report to you and allow me to see what I can raise on
the field for him, yet so as not to interfere with any efforts I
may make for Br. Boyakin and Br. Stearns? Will you leave
Br. Taylor to consult with Br. Chandler and myself respecting
the field? The country we propose is as densely peopled and
as destitute as any part of Oregon and the most remote point
not more than 24 miles from Oregon City.
As ever your fellow-laborer in the vineyard of our common
Master,
EZRA FISHER,
Exploring Agent.
Oregon City, O. Ter., May 4th, 1855.
Rev. B. M. Hill,
Cor. Sec. A. B. M. Soc.
Dear Brother:
I some weeks since wrote you an explanation of the reason
why I drew on you an order payable to George Abernathy
& Co. to the amount of $300. I have all the while supposed
from the course that you had allowed me to pursue that you
would grant me some privileges, on account of my distance
and the length of time it took for me to get your drafts after
requesting you to forward them. My pay has mostly come
in goods and exchange of money collected here. You know
I have always waited as much as I could to suit the con-
venience of the Society, and I trust I have not show an un-
usual spirit of avarice in this matter. But it would be ex-
ceedingly mortifying to me as a prompt Christian minister in
all my business relations to have my order protested and
CORRESPONDENCE 117
come back to Oregon so. I have never in my public life
owed a man over $200 at any given time, and never but once
failed of meeting my pecuniary liabilities punctually at the
time. Now if I have sinned in drawing this draft, I have
sinned as I have done before, unadmonished. I sincerely re-
gret to occasion you or the Board any trouble on that account
or in any measure to occasion Abernathy to doubt my integ-
rity. If your Board should protest the order, will they do
me the favor to issue a draft in favor of me to that amount
and pass it over to Abernathy & Co. and pay it immediately,
as I have received the money and been obliged to pay out a
part of it already to keep up my family. The remaining part
is passing away in the same way. Will you do me the favor
hereafter to settle my accounts at the end of each quarter, on
the receipt of my quarterly report, and within three weeks
from that time forward me a draft covering the amount due
me at the time and let this be a standing order except when
otherwise directed.
Rest assured, dear brother, that I do not make this request
through any unkind feelings. . .
As ever yours,
EZRA FISHER,
Exploring Agent.
Received June 8.
Oregon City, O. Ter., July 1st, 1855.
To Rev. Benjamin M. Hill,
Cor. Sec. of Am. Bap. Home Mission Soc. :
Herein I send you my report of labor under the appoint-
ment of the Home Mission Society for the first quarter of
the year, ending June 30th? as General Itinerant.
I have labored 13 weeks in the quarter; preached 23 ser-
mons ; attended 12 prayer meetings, nine church covenant
meeting's; have assisted at the organization of the church in
the city of Portland :367 have traveled to and from my appoint-
- , q ; ' r! \
367 This was organized by Revs. W. F. Boyakin, H. Johnson, and the author,
May 6, 1855. — Mattoon, Bap. An. of Ore., 1: 14. The author says there were eleven
constituent members; Mattoon> ten.
118 REVEREND EZRA FISHER
ments 494 miles; have visited religiously 30 families and 22
individuals. The church at Portland takes her place beside
older ones of other denominations under favorable prospects,
as you will learn from the reports of Br. Boyakin.
Respectfully submitted,
EZRA FISHER,
General Itinerant.
Oregon City, O. Ter., July 1st, 1855.
To Rev. Benjamin M. Hill,
Cor. Sec. of Am. Bap. Home Mission Soc. :
Herein I send you my report of labor under the appoint-
ment of the Home Mission Society as Exploring Agent for
the first quarter ending June 30th, 1855. I have visited Port-
land, Santiam, Providence,868 Pleasant Butte, Lebanon, West
Tualatin, West Union and Yam Hill churches, the Willam-
ette Baptist Association and Ministers* meeting.
Have collected $24.48 by collection taken on Sabbath at
the Association. Have obtained a subscription in Tualatin
Plains of forty bushels of wheat to be paid to Br. Boyakin
in Portland on or before the first day in Oct., to apply on
his salary. Br. Boyakin will report the value to you as
soon as received. It will probably be worth from $0.75 to
$1.00 per bushel. Paid $3.92 for traveling expenses and
$0.25 for postage — $4.17. Have aided in the constitution of
the first Baptish church in Portland with eleven members.
Have preached 23 sermons and traveled to and from my
appointments 494 miles.
All which is respectfully submitted,
EZRA FISHER,
Exploring Agent.
Received Aug. 11.
368 The Providence Baptist Church in Linn County, at the forks of the San-
tiam River, was organized April 9, 1853. — Mattoon, Bap. An. of Ore., I:ia. The
other churches mentioned have previously been commented upon.
CORRESPONDENCE 119
Oregon City, O. Ten, July 2, 1855.
Rev. Benjamin M. Hill,
Cor. Sec. A. B. H. M. Soc.
Dear Brother :
I have just returned from the annual meeting of the
Willamette Baptist Association, which was held with the Yam
Hill church, ten miles west of Lafayette, the seat of justice
for Yam Hill County. As a business meeting, it exceeded
in interest and harmony all preceding meetings. The churches
appear to be gradually arousing to the importance of the
ministry becoming devoted to the one great calling, the ministry
of reconciliation, and that they should be sustained in that
work by the churches. Three brethren now in the field have
the assurance that their salary from the churches the present
year will exceed $600 each, and other churches are expressing
a willingness to contribute according to their ability. The
Association resolved that they would make an effort to sus-
tain two missionaries the coming year, one in Lane County and
vicinity and the other in Clackamas County and vicinity, and
something over $200 was subscribed on the spot. Resolutions
were passed in favor of the great Christian enterprises, such
as the Baptist Home Mission Society, Publication Society, etc.
The changes in the Association were as follows: Six new
churches received into the body.869 One hundred and twenty-
three baptized; net gain, 232. Some efforts were made to
remove the school from Oregon City, which resulted in a
resolution to open subscriptions for a college in favor of five
places, towit: Oregon City, Corvallis, Santiam, Cincinnati370
and Lafayette, and report next year. The Home Missionary
Society is gradually securing the confidence of the denomi-
nation, but while this is said, other home mission societies
are represented in Oregon, and we cannot predict the results.
Elder Johnson is acting as a missionary of the Free Mission
369 These six were the Union (Polk County), Good Hope (Linn County),
Mount Zion (Lane County), Willamette Forks (Lane County), Palestine (Lane
County), and First Portland Churches. — Minutes of Willamette Baptist Association
and Mattoon, Bap. An. of Ore., I:i6, 17.
370 Cincinnati is the present Eola in Polk County.
120 REVEREND EZRA FISHER
Society, but prudently, and at this session of our Association
we met an agent for the Bible Union soliciting life member-
ships and offering for sale a portion of the Scriptures as
translated by the Union, also introducing their periodicals.
I have no objection to the Union's translating the Scriptures
and selling them to whoever may wish to purchase. But
we in Oregon must be wiser than our brethren at home, if
the introduction of an agent to our little Baptist community,
gathered from the ends of the earth, does not strike some
discordant notes in our infant land. The Lord give us wis-
dom and prudence equal to our day, and save us from sin-
ning in this matter.
As ever yours,
Received Aug. 11. EZRA FISHER.
Oregon City, O. Ter., July 3, 1855.
Rev. Benjamin M. Hill,
Cor. Sec. of Am. Bap. M. M. Soc.
Dear Brother:
I made my last quarters report on the first instant. In
this letter I wish to order you to attend to several branches
of business for me. By this mail I shall order the discon-
tinuance of the Christian Chronicle and substitute the New
York Recorder and Baptist Register in its place. I shall
also order the weekly Tribune, if it is furnished to ministers
at $1 per year. You will therefore meet the orders which I
send you for the payment on the above-named papers. You
will also pay an order which I shall send you for the Baptist
Missionary Magazine. I shall also order you to pay three
dollars to the agent for the Mothers' Journal.
You will, therefore, please send me a draft for the sum
due me, after deducting twenty-four dollars and forty-eight
cents ($24.48), the amount of the collection taken up at the
Willamette Association, and ten dollars ($10) to meet the
periodical demands against me, at your earliest convenience.
Should the periodical bills exceed ten dollars, the publishers
CORRESPONDENCE 121
must wait till after I make my next quarter's report, as I
am much in want of funds to meet my forthcoming expenses.
Let the draft be drawn to me or order.
Respectfully yours,
EZRA FISHER.
Oregon City, July 3d, 1855.
Rev. B. M. Hill, Cor. Sec. Soc.
Dear Brother:
Our school affairs are moving along but slowly. Our com-
munity is so fluctuating, being subject to so many excite-
ments and so many fluctuations, and so extreme, that it is
next to impossible to keep any class of scholars above a few
months, except a few from the more able permanent citizens.
We have been suffering the last twelve months all the in-
conveniences of stagnation in business.371 Farmers have wheat
and beef and pork and butter in profusion, but it is hard to
convert their produce into cash or family supplies. Now
another panic has struck the farmers. New and rich gold
diggings are beginning to be worked high up the Columbia
near Fort Colville.372 This is drawing away the floating
laborers, and some of the farmers are leaving their standing
wheat for the mines. It has not yet been ascertained how
extensive the gold field is on the Columbia, or how product-
ive it will prove, yet notwithstanding the high waters, in-
experienced miners, Frenchmen and half-breeds are said to
wash from fifteen to twenty dollars per day with nothing but
pans. About $5000 worth of the gold has already reached
this place and is pronounced to be gold of the finest quality.
With these and other and varied exciting causes moving upon
the minds of a heterogenious community thrown together from
every part of the globe, it is no strange thing that teachers
371 These hard times are assigned by Bancroft to Indian disturbances, and to
the falling off in the yield of the California mines. Business was prostrated in
California. — Hist, of Ore., 11:337-
372 This gold discovery was in the spring of 1855 and caused, as the author
indicates, the usual stampede to the diggings. — Bancroft, Hist, of Wash., Idaho and
Mont., p. 1 08.
122 REVEREND EZRA FISHER
become discouraged and efforts to cultivate the minds and
morals of the rising- generation should prove less successful
than in older and better graduated communities. Although
our school has failed of exerting that direct and salutary in-
fluence on the denomination which was anticipated, yet it has
done much to elevate the views of the Baptists in Oregon
and has shed its blessings, both direct and indirect, upon
hundreds of our fellow citizens. I fear, however, that we
shall be compelled to make another change of teachers, how-
ever much such a change is to be dreaded. Br. Post has
already manifested discontent and I fear that it may before
long ripen into a removal. I do not know that it is possible
to find a thorough, self-sacrificing teacher who will merge all
the interests of the school into the interest of the denomination
so as to worthily claim the name of a missionary school teacher.
Yet that should be the case with our teachers as well as with
our home missionaries.
Br. Boyakin is doing well at Portland, is popular with his
church and the world. I have but little doubt that the
Masonic fraternity373 sympathize with him and lend him their
aid as a brother of the same order. I hope he will not over-
rate the privileges of that order. He is energetic and elo-
quent and abounds in figures and epithets. May God bless
him abundantly. I expect to go south in three or four weeks.
Shall be able to take up some collections for the Home Mis-
sion Society. Deacon Failing has engaged to take up a col-
lection monthly in the Portland church for the Home Mis-
sion cause. Br. Boyakin will probably report the amount
quarterly.
Yours with Christian esteem,
EZRA FISHER.
Received Aug. 11.
373 The first Masonic lodge in Oregon was organized at Oregon City in 1848
under a charter granted by Missouri, Oct. 19, 1846. By 1855 and 1856 lodges had
become quite numerous. — George H. Himes.
CORRESPONDENCE 123
Oregon City, Aug. 2d, 1855.
Rev. Benjamin M. Hill,
Cor. Sec. Am. Bap. Home Mission Society.
Dear Brother:
Yours of May 25th was duly received. With this I shall
send you the minutes of our Association. The new gold ex-
citement in our territory at the present time calls for a com-
munication from me. The gold region is on the large north
fork of the Columbia River, about thirty miles above Fort
Colville. It has now become quite certain that the mines are
rich and they are supposed to be extensive. But nothing
definite can be relied upon except that most of the French
in the Willamette Valley have either been and returned and
gone the second time or are preparing to go. Already about
1000 of the American population of the Willamette Valley
are on their way to these new mines. Many more are pre-
paring to go; others are anxiously awaiting the first reliable
information. The most extravagant rumors are in circulation
respecting the richness of the mines and the facilities of ac-
quiring the golden treasures. It is pretty satisfactorily as-
certained that the Roman priest at Colville has known of these
mines for years and has enjoined secrecy upon the Indians.
Rumors reliable say the chiefs forbid the Oregonians, except
French and half-breeds, to dig till they have treated with the
Indian agent for their lands. Money is extremely scarce in
this valley and, if there is much gold to be had, our citizens
will have their proportion of it, even at the price of blood.
They will not stand by, by the thousands, and see French
Catholics, half-breeds and Indians monopolize the best of
the diggings. Some reports say that the gold has been found
on only two small bars of the river ; others say that the region
of gold is 300 miles in extent. I have been waiting for the
last two weeks to get at facts before writing you, but this is
safe at the present. Nearly all the lands between the Cascade
Mountains and these mines, on both sides of the Columbia
124 REVEREND EZRA FISHER
River,374 have been purchased of the Indians and now open
one of the most inviting regions to the emigrant for settlement
in North America. The Dalles must immediately become a
point of importance and, should the mines prove rich and
extensive, a point at The Dalles will become a second Sacra-
mento and another at the Cascades, 45 miles below, will scarcely
be less in importance. We should have a man at The Dalles at
this moment, awake to all the interests of religion and hu-
manity in that region. Trade is springing up at that point
with great rapidity. The Methodist Church will undoubtedly
have a man there in a few months. The Congregationalists
are looking on with interest and have sent their man to sur-
vey that field. I shall visit that place as soon as I learn
more definitely the state of things in relation to the mines.
Will you have a man for The Dalles and Cascades as soon
as possible? It will cost as much to sustain a man in that
field as it does at Portland.
I am strongly inclined to the opinion that I shall settle as
near the centre of middle Oregon as circumstances will justify,
perhaps on the waters of the Walla Walla, at the close of
this year, as a self-supporting missionary, to finish my days
where I can be with my family and a little more exempt
from responsibilities than in my present agency. But I leave
that in the hands of the All Wise Being to direct. My friends
here decidedly approve of my plans. Very little can be done
in the agency by way of collecting funds this summer or next,
should the gold excitement prevail. Most of our men will
go to the mines and we must preach to women and children
and runners to and fro. If ever missionaries needed an
unction from on high, ministers and churches in Oregon at
this time are that people. O Lord, give grace to thy servants
to make an entire consecration to Thee!
Last Sabbath I assisted in organizing a church of eleven
members, fifteen miles northeast from this place, between
374 This purchase was by the 'treaties with the Nez Perces, Cayuses, Walla
Wallas, Umatillas, and Yakimas, in June. 1855, and with the John Day, Des Chutes
and Wascopans, about the same time. — Bancroft, Hist, of Ore., II:36o-8.
CORRESPONDENCE 125
Clackamas and Sandy Rivers. Next week I leave for the
upper part of this valley. Our churches generally are pass-
ing through trials and declensions, such as are too common
after revivals, where monthly preaching and monthly meet-
ings take the place of weekly Sabbaths and faithful pastoral
labors through the week. We are everywhere attempting
to impress the churches with a sense of the importance of
regular Sabbath preaching and constant pastoral labors, and
not without success. Yet changes in this respect are slow,
but will come in a few more years. I made my last quarterly
report on the first of July and ordered you to pay for me ten
dollars on periodicals. Also ordered you to forward me a
draft for what will be my due, after paying those little period-
ical accounts. I rejoice at the prospect of harmony being
restored to the churches on the Home Mission question. God
grant that the Bible question may soon be put to rest. Our
Bible Union brethren will have the Bible translated into the
English language. I hope they will do the work faithfully
and leave the American and Foreign Bible Society to prosecute
her appropriate work unmolested and that the Peace which
Christ left with the disciples may find a home in every church
and every heart.
Respectfully yours,
EZRA FISHER.
Received Sept. 11.
Oregon City, O. Ter., Sept. 1st, 1855.
To Rev. Benjamin M. Hill,
Cor. Sec. of Am. Bap. Home Mission Soc. :
Herein I send you my report of labor under the appoint-
ment of the Home Mission Society as General Itinerant for
the second quarter ending Sept. 30th, 1855.
I have labored 13 weeks; preached 21 sermons; attended
five prayer meetings and six church covenant meetings; two
yearly meetings of the churches; visited religiously 34 fami-
lies and 26 individuals; have assisted in the organization of
126 REVEREND EZRA FISHER
the Cedar Creek church, Clackamas County; have traveled to
and from my appointments 818 miles. Four persons have
been received into the La Creole church by baptism after a
sermon I preached on the subject of communion at the re-
quest of the pastor, Br. Riley. Monthly concert and weekly
prayer meeting are observed in the Oregon City church.
Connected with the churches which I have visited are small
Sabbath schools in the Oregon City, Pleasant Butte and
Santiam churches.
Respectfully submitted,
EZRA FISHER.
Oregon City, O. Ter., Sept. 1st, 1855.
To Rev. Benjamin M. Hill,
Cor. Sec. Am. Bap. Home Mission Soc. :
Herein I send my report of labor under the appointment
of the Home Mission Society as Exploring Agent for the
second quarter ending Sept. 30th, 1855.
I have visited Oregon City, Corvallis, Cascades and The
Dalles, Oregon City, Cedar Creek, Luckiamute,375 Lebanon,
Pleasant Butte, Santiam and Providence churches; traveled
to and from my appointments 818 miles; labored 13 weeks.
Have taken up the following collection:
In the Luckiamute church, $2.00 $ 2.00
In the Pleasant Butte church, $6.58 6.58
In the Santiam church, $5.80 5.80
In Oregon City church, $6.12 6.12
Total $20.50
Paid for traveling expenses $16.45
For postage 20
Total $16.65
which you will charge to my account.
375 The Luckiamute Church was organized April i, 1854. — Mattoon, Bap. An.
of Or*., 1: 1 6. Luckiamute is about four miles south of Monmouth, in Polk
CORRESPONDENCE 127
Preached 21 sermons ; have attended the constitution of the
church on Cedar Creek. . . .
Respectfully submitted,
EZRA FISHER.
N. B. — The extra traveling expenses are for a tour to The
Dalles, which I shall make as soon as the yearly meetings
are over this month. If I fail to go I shall deduct the amount
in my next report.
Received Oct. 17.
Oregon City, O. Ter., Oct. 3d, 1855.
Rev. Benjamin M. Hill,
Cor Sec. Am. Bap. Home Mission Soc.
Dear Brother:
Last Thursday I took the steamer for The Dalles and arrived
at The Cascades about eight in the evening. Found The
Cascades in a high state of excitement through fear of a
nightly attack of the Yaccima [Yakima] and Clickitat
[Klickitat] Indians, which was daily expected.376 About 500
of their warriors were reported to be encamped in a plain
about 35 or 40 miles northeast of The Cascades, who are
said to aim at the destruction of the whites at The Cascades
and thus cut off communication between the Willamette Valley
and the upper country (or middle Oregon). Some 15 whites
are reported as already murdered by these tribes, chiefly
miners; one Indian agent is included in the number. Yet
Indian rumors are uncertain. Suffice it to say that I found
The Cascades mostly deserted by the women and children.
The men had organized themselves into a military company
for self defense. The family residing on the north side of
the river midway between The Cascades and The Dalles had
moved to The Dalles for safety. Thirty soldiers had been
sent down from The Dalles to guard the house and out-
376 This was the beginning of the Indian War of 1855-6, which arose partly
over dissatisfaction with the treaties of 1855, and partly over the large influx of
whites, and which involved Eastern Oregon and nearly all of the present Wash-
ington.— Bancroft, Hist, of Wash., Ida. and Mont., pp. 108-170.
128 REVEREND EZRA FISHER
buildings. While I lay at The Cascades an express came down
from The Dalles making a requisition for all the soldiers that
could be spared at Vancouver to be sent immediately to The
Cascades. With this state of excitement, I thought little could
be expected from a visit to The Dalles, as this warlike ap-
pearance from the Indians will seriously retard the settlement
of the whole upper country for a year or two at the least.
Consequently I return without even spending a night on the
land.
All the Pend d' Oreille miners have returned, except a few
French and perhaps a very few whites. About 25 or 30
white families are settled in the vicinity of The Dalles, and
ten or twelve more, besides some fifty or sixty French whites
and half-breeds, are in the Walla Walla Valley in the vicinity
of the Whitman Mission Station. Although we have some 80
or 100 regular troops at The Dalles, these scattered families
will be in great danger, should the Indian war become gen-
eral with the tribes above the Cascade Mountains. O, when
will wars cease, and men everywhere submit to the glorious
Prince of Peace ! If I were a young man, I sometimes think
I should delight to propagate the blessed gospel among these
tribes and see if they could not be saved from the brutal lusts
of outlawed whites and the Jesuital intrigues and supersti-
tion of the Roman priests. I have but little doubt that the
same artful teachers are at work with those Indians that were
accessory to the Whitman massacre. O, when shall that
great City Babylon, in whom was found the blood of the
prophets and of saints and of all that were slain upon the
earth, be thrown down and found no more ! Oh Lord, hasten
it in Thy time.
I shall start tomorrow for a tour in the upper part of the
valley and propose visiting some of the feeble churches in
Lane County, if God permits. I have nothing more that is
new to communicate at this time, but shall communicate on
the subject of the school in this place in a few weeks. I fear
Br. Post will set up an independent school about two miles
CORRESPONDENCE 129
from this place in the opening- of the spring.377 But I cannot
communicate with you officially on that subject till the com-
mittee visit him and report to the trustees.
Yours very affectionately,
EZRA FISHER.
N. B. — The school is now full. May God pour out His
Holy Spirit upon it.
E. FISHER.
Received Nov. 14.
Oregon City, O. Ter., Nov. 27th, 1855.
Rev. Benjamin M. Hill, D. D.,
Cor. Sec. Am. Bapt. Home Mission Society, New York.
Dear Brother:
Yours of Sept. 1st, containing draft No. 8650, $376.24, was
duly received. We here think that Br. Post has very little
reason to complain respecting support. The school, accord-
ing to his statement last spring, has been a paying concern
ever since the first three weeks after he commenced teaching,
and I am quite sure it has paid better since that time than
it did before, if he succeeds as well in collecting as he did
formerly.
Private. His course with us as a board has been rather
singular. He has from time to time avowed his intention to
open an independent school about two miles from town. Last
May the Board of Trustees met to take into consideration
the state of the school and invited him to meet with us. The
first meeting he did not attend. A committee was appointed
to wait on him and inquire into sundry reports which we
thought unfavorable to the prosperity of the Oregon City
College, such as the following: That he had changed the
name of the school in his advertisements; had proposed to
take females as scholars, which he has since done; had pri-
vately expressed his determination to open an independent
377 This school was opened and ran for a time just outside the present south-
ern limits of Oregon City.
130 REVEREND EZRA FISHER
school, as stated above, without consulting with any of the
Trustees on the subject, and that he had announced in a
church meeting that he did not know who the Trustees were,
except two or three, and he did not care. The committee
waited on him and inquired after most of these reports. He
made some apologies and explanations. He was told that an
attempt to set up an independent school would be injurious to
all parties and especially to himself; that the Board of Trus
tees could not cherish the scheme for a moment. He agreed to
desist from that enterprise, if the Trustees would allow him to
reside on his land and teach in our school building. He was
told that we did not care particularly where he resided, pro-
vided he discharged the duties of a teacher faithfully. At
that time he probably would have been dismissed but for Br.
Chandler and myself. We felt that it was difficult to secure
the labors of a competent teacher and that the Home Mis-
sionary Society had already sent us three teachers and we
had little hope they would send us the fourth. We, therefore,
smothered the bursting flame and hoped he would be more
prudent in the future. But it is probable he will open an in-
dependent school as soon as next summer, unless he can again
be persuaded to desist. As a teacher, with few exceptions, we
have little occasion to find fault. Yet we have always felt
that it would have been desirable that the school should have
made a more decidedly religious impression on the public
mind. In view of all the circumstances, we feel that it is
safe to treat this matter kindly till we see some opening in
providence for action.
As ever yours,
EZRA FISHER.
Oregon City, Nov. 27th, 1855.
Rev. B. M. Hill, D. D.
Dear Brother:
Br. Boyakin will probably leave Portland at the close of
the year. He has so signified in a communication to the
CORRESPONDENCE 131
church in that place. I regret much that his stay must be so
short. I believe his plea principally is the sickness of his
family. No doubt the town is subject to intermittent and re-
mittent fevers during the summer and autumn, but much less
severe than in many of the towns on the Mississippi River.
Should he not settle at Corvallis, he will probably leave Ore-
gon. The brethren and citizens at Corvallis appear quite
solicitous that he should settle with them and they think they
can raise $500 towards his salary for the first year. They
have invited him and requested me to exert my influence
to induce him to go to that place. I shall not encourage a
separation at Portland, but, should he conclude to go to Cor-
vallis, he will need about $300, above the $500 the citizens
propose raising him, to sustain his family. It is to be regretted
that the ministers should return to the States after they have
incurred all the expense and privations of removing overland
to Oregon. May the Good Lord direct him and the little
feeble band at Portland to His name's praise! Portland must
have a minister if practicable.
Yours affectionately,
EZRA FISHER.
N. B. — At the strong solicitude of the Santiam church, I
have consented to take the pastoral charge of that feeble,
afflicted band at the expiration of the current year. Elder
Richmond Cheadle, an influential member of the church, has
avowed his disfellowship with that church. He will probably
join the Presbyterian Church, and with him several more may
go. It is thought advisable by all with whom I have con-
sulted that I should accept their invitation and, as they pro-
pose to move my family immediately and the place will be
more central for my winter's labors than this, I have con-
sented to move in a few days. I shall hereafter address you
at Washington Butte Post-office, Linn County, O. T. You
will still address me at this place and the letters will be
promptly forwarded to me at Washington Butte. It is thought
that my presence at the Santiam church may be instrumental
132 REVEREND EZRA FISHER
in arresting the sophistical arguments in favor of promiscuous
communion, while I may be at home the coming winter. This
situation was unsought and entirely unexpected on my part,
and, after much prayer on the subject, I have concluded that
it was one of Providence's calls. The church is very nearly
in the center of the valley and removed far away from most
of the talent in the ministry. Should the Board require it,
I will make up the time I shall lose in moving, which will
be but a few days, after the first of April.
Yours in gospel bonds,
EZRA FISHER.
Received Jan. 15, 1856.
Oregon City, O. Ter., Nov. 28th, 1855.
To Rev. Benjamin M. Hill, D. D.,
Cor. Sec. of Am. Bap. Home Mission Soc. :
Herein I send you my report of labor under the appoint-
ment of the Home Mission Society as General Itinerant for
the third quarter ending Dec. 31st, 1855. I have labored 13
weeks in the quarter ; preacher 27 sermons ; attended 1 1 prayer
meetings; one yearly meeting; six church covenant meetings;
visited religiously 42 families and 31 individuals; traveled to
and from my appointments 660 miles.
Respectfully submitted,
EZRA FISHER,
General Itinerant.
P. S. — The results of the yearly meeting with the Provi-
dence church in the forks of the Santiam and a subsequent
meeting held in the vicinity is about 70 hopeful conversions
and about 40 baptized. A new church constituted; also a
protracted meeting held on the south fork of Santiam; some
eight or ten baptized and a church constituted. For the last
five months the French Prairie church have been somewhat
revived and have had additions almost every month amount-
ing to six or eight, and the interest still continues. This is
in Br. Chandler's field of labor.
Yours, EZRA FISHER.
CORRESPONDENCE 133
Oregon City, O. Ter.? Nov. 28th, 1855.
To Rev. Benjamin M. Hill, D. D.,
Cor. Sec. of Am. Home Mission Soc. :
Herein I send you my report of labor under the appoint-
ment of the Home Mission Society as Exploring Agent for
the third quarter ending Dec. 31st, 1855.
I have visited Corvallis twice, Albany, Salem and Oregon
City, Corvallis, Oregon City, French Prairie, Shilo, Santiam,
Willamette Forks, and Palestine churches. Have labored 13
weeks during the quarter; traveled to and from my appoint-
ments 660 miles; have paid for traveling expenses $3.00;
postage, 30 cents ; total $3.30.
N. B. — Last quarter I was detained from going to The
Dalles, consequently my traveling expenses were four dollars
overcharged. You will therefore deduct four dollars from
that quarter's traveling expenses, which will then read $9.25,
instead of $13.25.
Respectfully submitted,
EZRA FISHER,
Exploring Agent.
Received Jan. 15, 1856.
Oregon City, Oregon Ter., Nov. 29th, 1855.
Rev. Benjamin M. Hill,
Cor. Sec. Am. Bapt. Home Mission Society.
Dear Brother :
To accommodate Brother George C. Chandler, I have re-
ceived of him thirty-two dollars and fifty cents ($32.50) to
be paid to Edward H. Fletcher, 141 Nassau St., New York.
$32.50
Mothers' Journal, 118 Arch St., Philadelphia 5.00
Missionary Magazine, 33 Somerset St., Boston 3.00
Total . . $40.50
Also Mothers' Journal for Mrs. Lucy Jane G.
Latourette 1.00
Total . . .$41.50
134 REVEREND EZRA FISHER
I shall order you to pay the above in a few weeks. Deduct
$41.50 from the amount due me on the receipt of the report
accompanying this and forward me a draft to cover the bal-
ance, which will then be my due, at your earliest convenience.
EZRA FISHER.
Soda Springs, Linn Co., O. Ter., Jan. 1st, 1856.
Rev. Benjamin M. Hill,
Cor. Sec. Am. Bap. Home Mission Soc.,
Baptist Mission Rooms, N. York City.
Pay the agent for the Mothers* Journal, 118 Arch Street,
Philadelphia, five dollars and charge the same to my account.
EZRA FISHER.
Soda Springs, Linn Co., O. Ter., Jan. 1st, 1856.
Rev. Benjamin M. Hill,
Sec. Am. Bap. Home Mission Soc.,
Baptist Mission Rooms, New York City.
Pay the agent of the Baptist Missionary Magazine, No. 33
Somerset Street, Boston, Mass., three dollars and charge the
same to my account.
EZRA FISHER.
Washington Butte, Linn Co., Co., Oregon, Mar. 31, 1857.
Rev. Benjamin M. Hill,
Cor. Sec. Am. Bap. Home Mission Soc.
Dear Brother Hill:
I now take up my long neglected pen to give you a brief
outline of the cause of Christ in Oregon at present; and I
may say at once that we are all famishing under the influ-
ence of a spiritual dearth. The results of the revivals in
'55 and '56 are being witnessed to an alarming degree. In
some churches, most of the converts continue to maintain a
form of godliness; in others, more than half the number of
those who united with the church are now walking in the
broad road of sin, I fear, to ruin; and there are churches
CORRESPONDENCE 135
in which the wayside hearers and professors hold a still greater
proportion. Do you ask the cause of this declension? I
conceive it is not one but legion. Monthly Sabbaths, and in
too many instances no Sabbaths, and visiting represent in a
great degree all Bible reading, as well as almost all religious
reading among the youths. Sabbath school and Bible classes
may be sustained, but it is only the few of our youths be-
longing to religious families who can be induced to become
habitual members. Our members are in each church scattered
over large districts of country, with few conveniences for
bringing their families together on the Lord's day. Those
who would concentrate their influence cannot without a sac-
rifice larger than they can willingly make.
And then the pastoral relation in the churches, beyond that
of preaching on Saturday and Sabbath once in a month to
a given church, and occasionally visiting the most delinquent
members, is merely nominal; we have but two Baptist min-
isters in Oregon who profess to give themselves to the work
of the ministry, and one of them is talking of leaving for the
States; the other is laboring at a salary of $300, and that
from the States, while clerks' hire is from $600 to $2200 per
annum. Our families are supported as Paul supported himself
while laboring for the Corinthian Church.
And then the question of slavery, as well as that of tem-
perance,..must needs be noted, both in and out of the church,
as we approach the period of the adoption of a state consti-
tution, and as we hear of the wrongs endured by the Kansas
patriots on account of their love for the inalienable rights of
man. A large portion of our members are from slave-holding
states, and a larger portion are professedly opposed to slavery,
"but all their sympathies are with the South." What a para-
dox!
And then, too, many of our revivals have singing as the
instrument more than humiliation, prayer, the reading of the
word of God and the preached word. With such a train of
causes, what could we expect other than the sad results we
136 REVEREND EZRA FISHER
are now witnessing" through our whole territory ? Is it a
wonder, under such influences, that our best ministers should
talk sometimes of leaving the ministry, and betake themselves
to teaching, as a means of procuring an honest livelihood?
Ministers indeed seem willing to make great sacrifices for the
cause of the blessed Redeemer, and will preach what they can
under the circumstances. But they must become secularized.
Their minds will not be fruitful in word and doctrine, and all
the blighting influences of an ignorant, undisciplined, dis-
organized ministry and churches driven by every wind of
doctrine must be the tendency in such a state of things.
Now what is to be done? Should we not have in Oregon
at least two substantial, efficient ministers, fully -sustained,
who will approve themselves workmen not needing to be
ashamed? Should not the Home Mission Society immediately
give us such men, either by sending us the men, or appointing
such as we have among us?
Should your Board appoint Brother Chandler to the Ore-
gon City church, that church would do what they could to
help sustain him. Portland church is virtually extinct for the
want of a suitable man. I would suggest that the second
man be appointed to locate himself discretionarily, but at some
important point.
With the interest of the churches, our school at Oregon
City has suffered. Br. Post has withdrawn from that school
and set up an independent school less than two miles from
the building erected by the Baptists and where he formerly
taught. His course with us has not been in harmony with
the interests of the Baptists. I think I speak the sentiment
of the whole denomination, so far as he is known, when I
say that his whole course has seemed to be governed by his
views of his own interest in dollars and cents.
At present the school is taught by a son and daughter of
Br. Hezekiah Johnson, your former missionary, and the school
is doing as well as could be expected under the circumstances.
But we need a teacher qualified to teach the higher branches
CORRESPONDENCE 137
of mathematics and Latin and Greek, as well as the natural
sciences. We all think such a man would be well sustained
and patronized by the denomination and the citizens, if he will
come to us willing to identify himself with the Baptist interests.
A liberal-minded man need feel no embarrassments on this
subject. The public mind in Oregon seems wonderfully im-
pressed with the thought that they are to have no good schools
in Oregon except such as are under the fostering care of some
religious denomination; and to the evangelical churches they
will look for good high schools till they learn effectually that
the churches will not assume this responsibility. We might
to-day have half a dozen flourishing high schools in Oregon,
if we had the houses and teachers and necessary apparatus.
The question is a grave one. Shall we as Baptists suffer these
positions to slide over into the hands of the Methodists and
Congregationalists ? Or, what is worse, leave the rising gen-
eration in Oregon unprovided with even the means of acquiring
a business education, and our churches uncared for in the
great work of raising up a living ministry in our midst? Will
you once more send us a man for Oregon City University?
I write officially.
Yours truly,
EZRA FISHER.
Route of Narrow Gauge Railroad in the Willamette Valley
DEATH LIST OF OREGON PIONEERS
JANUARY I—MARCH 31, 1919
Compiled by GEORGE H. HIKES.
Balaton, Noah F. Gregg, b. Or. 1852; d. Sheridan, Feb. n, 1919.
Barker, Mrs. Miary Ann Hobson, b. Mo., Nov. 22, 1843; 1847;
March 24, 1919.
Echo,
Batcsheller, John Wesley, b. 1830; 1852; d. near Seattle, Wash., Feb.
28, 1919.
Boise, Mrs. Emily Parmenter, b. Mass. 1827; 1859; A Salem, March 26,
1919.
Bush., D. W, b. . 1854; d. Portland, Jan. 12, 1919.
•Chance, William G., b. Ky., Jan. 18, 1849; 1852; d. Portland^ Jan. 21, 1919.
Cook, Robert A., b. Tenn. May 31, 1833; 1853; d. Gold Hill, Or., March
16, 1919.
Davenport, John C, b. N. Y. 18 — ; 1851 ; d. Hoquiam, Wash., March i, 1910.
Driver, Samuel B., b. Ind. June 14, 1852; Or. 1853; d. Wamis, March 4,
1919; nephew of Rev. I. D. Driver.
Egan, John T., b. Canada, 1852; Or. 1852; d. Albany, Jan. n, 1919.
Evans, Mrs. Amanda Jane. b. May 7, 1851; Or. 1852; d. Feb. 11, 1019.
Foster, Mrs. Nancy Jane Hubbard, b. I1L Feb. 6, 1847; Or. 1853; d. Portland,
Jan. 19, 1919.
Fuller, Mrs. Laura M., b. ; Or. 1852; d. Portland, Marcch 28, 19x9.
Harpole, Peter, b. 111. Feb. 5, 1841; Or. 1847; d. Junction City, F«b. 15, 1919.
•Hawn, Jasper C., b. Texas, Feb. 8, 1840; Or. 1843; d. Yamhill, Jan. 25, 1919.
•Hembree, James Thomas, b. Tenn. Sept. 13, 1826; Or. 1843; d. Portland,
Jan. 12, 1919.
Hughes, Mrs. Ella, b. Ohio, 1851; Or. 1858; d. Feb. 6, 1919.
' March 22, 1919.
Mass. Jan. 12, 1919.
, 'Portland, March 27, 1919.
•La Rue, Mrs. Lydia W., b. Vt. 1834; Or. 1853; d. Portland, Feb. 8, 1919.
Lewis, Frederick George, b. Or. 1847; d. Airlie, Feb. 19, 1919.
Magers, J. E., b. Ohio, 1848; Or. 1852; d. near Portland, Jan. 25, 1919.
Martin, James White, b. Or. Aug., 1853; d. Lafayette, Jan. 23, 1919.
Mays, J. R., b. 111. June 29, 1836; Or. 1852; d. North Plains, Feb. 7, 1919.
Miller, W. G., b. Mo. June 25, 1834; Or. 1852: d. Dillard, Jan. 12, 1919.
•Mitchell, William H., b. 111. 1834; Or. 1853; d. Los Angeles, Cal., March 14,
1919.
•McHaley, Andrew J., b. Mo. 1839; Or. 1843; d. Portland, Jan. 24, 1919.
McClure, Mrs. Laura V. Pierce, b. Ohio, May 13, 1837; Or. 1852; d. La
Grande, March — >, 1919.
•Pittock, Henry Lewis, b. England, March x, 1835; Pittsburgh, U. S., 1839;
Or. 1853; d. Portland, Jan. 28, 1919.
•Robison, George Crews, b. 111. Oct. 18, 1837; Or. 1853; d. McMinnville, Jan.
31, 1919.
Russell, A. P., b. Me. 1832; Cal. 1849; Or. Linn county, 18 — ; d. Salem,
March xo, 1019. Father of 17 children, twelve surviving.
Sears, Charles W., b. Va. 1837; Or. 1854; d. Albany, Feb. 18, 1919.
Severson, Peter W., b. N. Y. 1830; Cal. 1856; Or. 1858; d. Portland, Jan.,
1919.
Taylor, John A, b. N. Y. Sept. 12, 1825; Or. 1852; d. Feb. 12, 1919.
Tustin, Caleb S., b. 111. 1830; Or. 1847; d. McMinnville, Feb. xx, 1919.
Umphlette, Mrs. Serena, b. Mo. 1833; Or. 1850; d. near Amity, March ax,
1919.
Van Ogle, H. E., b. Ohio, Sept. 21, 1825; Or. 1853; d. Orting, Wash., F«b. 17,
1919.
Washburn, Charles W., b. Ohio, Sept. 13, 1824; Cal. 1849; Or. 1853; d.
Junction City, Jan. 12, 1919.
Welch, Mrs. Margaret Levisa Simmons, b. Iowa, May 4, 1838; Or. ; d.
Ridgefield, Wash., Feb. 13, 1919.
Only those marked with a * were ever at any time members of the Oregon
'Pioneer Association which was organized in 1873.
THE QUARTERLY
of the
Oregon Historical Society
VOLUME XX JUNE, 1919 NUMBER 2
Copyright, 1919, by the Oregon Historical Society
The Quarterly disavows responsibility for the positions taken by contributors to its pages .
HISTORY OF THE NARROW GAUGE RAILROAD IN
THE WILLAMETTE VALLEY 1
By LESLIE M. SCOTT
Forty years ago the Willamette Valley was eager for rail-
roads, just as now for automobile highways. The navigable
river which drains the valley was an easy avenue of transport-
ation, but wagon roads leading to the river were difficult, and,
in much of the productive area, were impassable in winter and
impossible in summer. Two lines of railroad reached south-
ward from Portland, the one forty-eight miles to Saint Joseph,
on Yamhill River2, the other, two hundred miles to Roseburg3,
in the valley of Umpqua River. Wagon road approaches to
these steel highways were difficult, like those to the river. In
short, agricultural growth was held back by poor means of
hauling to market. The best remedy then known was con-
struction of iron railroads. And the cheapest railroad to
build and operate was the narrow-gauge.4
1 The writer is indebted, for matter of this article, to Charles N. Scott, who
as receiver of the narrow gauge railroad, was its manager in 1885-90; to Richard
Koehler, who was foremost in management of the property after its acquisition
by the Southern Pacific in 1890; to F. E. Beach, who was manager in 1878 in
the initial stages of the railroao:; to Joseph Gaston's Centennial History of Oregon,
the author of which promoted, financed and built the first twenty miles in 1878;
and, especially, to the files of The Oregoniati, the consecutive reading of which
has afforded the working materials of this article. See history of narrow gauge
in The Oregonian, January i, 1889; also March 6, 1889, by William Reid.
2 Built in 1870-72; the Oregon Central Railroad.
3 Built in 1868-72; the Oregon and California Railroad.
4 The rails of the narrow gauge were three feet apart; of standard gauge,
are four feet eight and one-half inches.
142 LESLIE M. SCOTT
The narrow gauge or "Yamhill" railroad, initiated in 1877
between Dayton and Sheridan, in Yamhill County, with a
branch to Dallas in Polk County, grew in 1879-81 to be an
ambitious system, embracing the length of the Willamette
Valley, from Portland to Airlie 80 miles on the west side,
and to Coburg, 123 miles on the east side, a total trackage of
183 miles, with proposed extensions to Winnemucca on the
Central Pacific in Nevada, and to Astoria at the mouth of the
Columbia River, and with proposed connections with
Yaquina Bay, the whole system to contain nearly one
thousand miles of track, seaports at Astoria, Portland and
Yaquina, and transcontinental rail connections with the Cen-
tral Pacific and Union Pacific railroads. The scheme ended
in 1881 when the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company
leased the railroad in order to rid Henry Villard' s system of
its rivalry.
The narrow gauge exercised important competitive effects
upon other railroad lines in Oregon. It forced extensions of
the Oregon and California Railroad. It influenced the policies
of Henry Villard, who was then in command of the Northern
Pacific, the Columbia River rail route of the present Oregon-
Washington Railroad and Navigation Company, and the pres-
ent east side and west side lines of the Southern Pacific in
Oregon. But the narrow gauge was only partly built; the
bridge across the Willamette River near Dundee, to connect
the two main branches, was not constructed; tracks, rolling
stock and bridges fell into disrepair under Villard; the exten-
sion to Portland did not reach completion until a later time,
and then under its Southern Pacific owners, who discarded
the large scheme, and used the tracks merely as "feeders" to
other lines. The tracks of the narrow gauge, broadened to
"standard," now are components of the Southern Pacific, some
of them electrified.
The history of the narrow gauge makes an important nar-
rative in the progress of Oregon, a narrative which the writer
has had in mind during several years, and to which he finds
THE NARROW GAUGE RAILROAD 143
himself brought suddenly by the unexpected call of the editor
of this magazine for "copy."
The initial credits for financing the railroad were supplied
by Yamhill and Polk county farmers. The San Francisco
firm that furnished the rails took mortgage security, and had
to resort to foreclosure for collection. Other credit came
from Joseph Gaston, who had promoted the Portland-Forest
Grove railroad in 1867-70, and who, though possessing but
small means in cash, owned lands which he offered as pledges.
These financial resources were so inadequate that the project
soon fell into receivership, from which it was extricated by
Scotch capitalists headed by William Reid, who in 1878-81
invested some $2,500,000 in the property. This capital of the
Scotchmen also proved insufficient, a further expenditure of
more than $400,000, borrowings by the Oregon receiver in
1885-89, failed to place the railroad on a sound financial basis,
and finally the property passed to the Southern Pacific for
less than half its original cost, netting to the Scotchmen an
apparent loss of some $1,300,000.
So much for the general survey of the history. Now for
details.
Farmers of Yamhill and Polk counties had been waiting
many years for promised railroad construction, when, in 1877,
a narrow gauge scheme was proposed, to extend from steam-
boat connections at Dayton to Sheridan, twenty miles. The
farmers had grown impatient. Joseph Gaston had promised
them a railroad in 1867-70, and Ben Holladay in 1870-73.
The latter had opened the west side railroad from Portland
to Saint Joseph,5 near McMinnville, in 1872, and then had
collapsed financially. Residents of Yamhill and Polk had
expected big things from the west side line, and had seen
5 By way of Forest Grove. At this time the Oregon and California Railroad,
operating between Portland and Roseburg, and between Portland and Saint
Joseph, could not finance the extensions demanded by the people of Willamette
Valley, and the best that it could do was to extend fifty miles in 1878 from Saint
Joseph to Corvallis. This period of popular clamor for railroads, which resulted
in the narrow gauge project, was a period of depression in the earnings of the
Oregon and California lines, brought about partly by low rates, which were due
to river competition and by the need of stimulating wheat producti9n, and partly
by high cost of replacement construction of trestles, bridges and rails. "The net
earnings," writes Mr. Richard Koehler in a recent letter to the writer, "dwindled
down to less than was necessary to pay one per cent on the bonds outstanding."
144 LESLIE M. SCOTT
their hopes dashed to disappointment. So they were keenly
responsive to the independent scheme of the Dayton-Sheridan
promoters.
A leading sponsor in its early stages appears to have been
Isaac Ball, one of the long-suffering farmers. At his instiga-
tion, citizens held a meeting at Amity, October 20, 1877, to
consider the project. The meeting named a committee to
report upon the practicability of the plan, which committee
met at McMinnville, November 1, and reported at a second
meeting at Amity, November 17. The report estimated the
cost of the railroad between Dayton and Sheridan at $150,000,
based upon costs of similar construction in Ohio, Illinois and
Missouri. It cited that the railroad would serve 300,000 acres
of land, which would produce 1,000,000 bushels of wheat
annually. An assessment of fifty cents an acre would build
the railroad, and add five dollars to the value of every acre.6
The report continued :
"Let every farmer figure for himself. Let him count the time it takes to
haul his grain away to Dayton now; count the wear and tear of himself, his
teams and the harness and wagons; and the loss in the prices of grain in not
being handy to the market to catch it at the top notch. Let him also count the
increased cost of all machinery, merchandise, salt, iron, lime, etc., that must be
hauled from Dayton or Saint joe. And then let him consider how much more
grain he could raise, if he could save the time spent in hauling off his crop to
Dayton, and put it on the farm in fall planting."
This report was dated at Dayton, November 5, 1877, and
was signed by B. B. Branson, Charles Lafollette and W. S.
Powell. The second meeting at Amity, which received the
report November 17, responded promptly by pledging $24,000
to the enterprise. The committee also went through the pre-
liminaries of incorporating a company, the Dayton, Sheridan
and Grand Ronde Railway Company.7 The directors of the
company were B. B. Branson (the first president), Ellis G.
Hughes (the succeeding president, elected March 22, 1878),
Sylvester Farrell, W. S. Powell, and F. E. Beach. The sec-
retary of the company and its manager in 1878 was Mr.
6 See The Oregonian, November 15, 1877; also September 24, 1878.
7 Date of incorporation of the Dayton, Sheridan and Grand Ronde Railway,
November 14, 1877; capital stock, $200,000; 2,000 shares, par $100.
THE NARROW GAUGE RAILROAD 145
Beach,8 until the railroad passed into the hands of a receiver,
George Revette.
Joseph Gaston, well known railroad promoter, attended the
two meetings at Amity, and subscribed to one-half of the
2000 shares. He was authorized to canvass the farmers so as
to enlist them to make pledges. The pledges were payable in
three instalments, at specified stages of construction, were to
be refunded by the railroad in three payments, namely, No-
vember, 1, 1880, November 1, 1881, November 1, 1882, and
were to be evidenced by "freight orders or script," that is,
the railroad was to redeem the pledges by rendering an equiva-
lent value of railroad service. This "freight script" was later
held chargeable to the railroad by the supreme court of Ore-
gon, and $61,000 was refunded.9
The heaviest financing was performed by the creditor that
supplied the rails, the Pacific Rolling Mill Company, of Cali-
fornia.10 It accepted three mortgages as follows :
Rails for 20 miles, mortgage executed November 5, 1878 $62,724.56
Rails for 12 miles to Dallas, executed December 4, 1878, 27,134.00
Mortgage executed May 7, 1879 4,058.00
Total $93,916.56"
As the railroad company was unable to make the payments
due under the mortgage in 1878, the rolling mill company
began suit to recover January 23, 1879, and had the receiver,
Revette, appointed, who conducted the management more than
a year, or until April 17, 1880.11
By arrangement with the Scotch buyers of the railroad,
headed by William Reid, the rolling mill company was satis-
fied. The railroad was conveyed June 2, 1879, to a company
representing the new investors, the Willamette Valley Rail-
road Company, and the old company was dissolved.12
8 See Powell vs. Dayton, Sheridan and Grand Ronde Railroad Company, 16
Oregon 34.
9 Joseph Gaston's Centennial History of Oregon says that farmers pledged
$45,000 and citizens of Dallas put up $17,000 additional for the branch to that
town. See Vol. I, p. 533. See also Branson et al vs. Oregonian Railway Com-
pany, Limited, 10 Oregon 279; Powell vs. Oregonian Railway Company, U. S.
reports, Sawyer 13, 536.
10 The contract for rails was dated February 14, 1878.
11 See Pacific Rolling Mill Company vs. Dayton, Sheridan and Grand Ronde
Railroad Company, Willamette Valley Railway Company, Joseph Gaston et al,
U. S. Court, Ninth Circuit, Sawyer 7, 61.
12 See Powell vs. Dayton, Sheridan and Grand Ronde Railroad Company,
13 Oregon 450-52.
146 LESLIE M. SCOTT
Contract for construction had been let in April, 1878, and the
track between Dayton and Sheridan opened for traffic October
24, 1878. The track was poorly constructed and not ballasted.
Speed did not exceed twelve or fifteen miles an hour. The
equipment consisted of two Baldwin locomotives, not heavier
than ten tons each, and a number of flatcars, from which pas-
senger coaches were improvised. The rails weighed twenty-
eight pounds to the yard.
At this juncture, the Pacific Northwest was just opening
upon a progressive period of railroad construction, and begin-
ning to receive great funds of outside capital. In the years
1880-83 Henry Villard expended $150,000,000 upon the lines
of the Northern Pacific railroad and its allied properties.13
His German capitalists of the Oregon and California Railroad
extended in 1878-79 the Portland-Saint Joseph line fifty miles
to Corvallis,14 and the Portland-Roseburg line in 1881-84, one
hundred and fifty miles to Ashland.15 His Eastern investors
in- 1879 acquired properties of the Oregon Steam Navigation
Company and the Walla Walla-Wallula Railroad, and in
1880-84, built the lines of the Oregon Railway and Naviga-
tion Company from Portland to Huntington and to points
north of Walla Walla.16 The Northern Pacific connected with
the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company, at the mouth
of Snake River, by building lines, in 1879-83, through the
Spokane country and the Clark's Fork region. The Pacific
Northwest was electrified with the spirit of financial venture.
And the Willamette Valley was an inviting field for the
investment of Scotch savings. Although the money returns
were poor to the thrifty folk of Scotland, yet who will deny
that the stimulus afforded to the farmers of Oregon may
have strengthened the sons of Oregon to aid the "kilties" on
the late battlefields of France?
13 Villard gained control of the Northern Pacific Railroad in June, 1881.
14 Opened, Portland to Saint Joseph, late in 1872, by Ben Holladay; Saint
Joseph to Corvallis, January 25, 1879, by Henry Villard. .
15 Opened, Portland to Roseburg, November 2, 1872, by Holladay; Roseburg
to Ashland, by Villard, May 4, 1884. Villard took the management of the Holla-
day lines (Oregon and California Railroad) April 18, 1876.
1 6 Villard organized the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company in June-
July, 1879.
THE NARROW GAUGE RAILROAD 147
There came to this far off shore in 1874, from Dundee,
Scotland, a man who was destined to extend the narrow gauge
through the wheat fields of the Willamette Valley, and later,
to lead the way to realization of a railroad for the Tillamook-
Astoria region. He was William Reid. He heralded his
coming with copious newspaper comments both on things of
Oregon and on things of his native heather. With him came
as an asset of his equipment a fund of Scotch persistency and
shrewdness. For five years he acted at Dundee, Scotland, as
American vice consul, in which capacity he published in 1873
a pamphlet entitled: "Oregon and Washington as Fields for
Capital and Labor." This pamphlet had wide circulation and
resulted later in the promotion by Reid at Portland of the
Oregon and Washington Trust Company, which was con-
verted into the Dundee Mortgage and Trust Investment Com-
pany. Thus Reid became resident agent at Portland for Scotch
funds, first for mortgages and then for the narrow gauge
railroad. He organized a board of trade at Portland and
became its secretary, in which capacity he wrote many de-
scriptions of Oregon resources and progress. He organized
the Oregon and Washington Mortgage Savings Bank at Port-
land, and later the Portland National Bank. At Salem he
organized the First National Bank. At Turner and Salem he
built flour mills. Due to his operations, the Legislature of
Oregon enacted a law in 1878 authorizing foreign corporations
to build railroads in Oregon.17 Reid's record in Oregon prog-
ress is that of an energetic and useful constructor.
The Dundee buyers of the thirty-two miles of narrow gauge
railroad, having taken hold of the property in 1879, built in
1880-81 one hundred and fifty additional miles of track, ex-
pending, in all, sums as follows :18
17 See session laws, p. 85.
18 Figures taken from Dundee Courier and ^Argus, March 8, 1889, at time
of bankruptcy in Scotch court. The original capital was 16,000 shares, par £10
each, issued in year 1880; 16,000 additional shares issued in 1881. Original
mortgage £95,000, 6 per cent, ^ dated February ^ 14, 1881; £119,700, 6 per cent,
dated February 4, 1882. To this capital expenditure was added in 1885-89 by the
receiver the further sum of $423,000.
148 LESLIE M. SCOTT
Funds from sale of capital stock, 32,000 shares, par £10, @ £7 17$
6d, £252,000 $1,227,240
Funds from sale of bonds, £214,700 1,045,589
Other borrowed funds 255,225
Total $2,528,054
Construction went forward rapidly in 1880. Ground was
broken for the east side branch at Silverton, April 19, 1880,
by the wife of Governor W. W. Thayer. The line was opened
from Ray's Landing, on Willamette River, near Saint Paul,
to Silverton via Woodburn, October 4, of that year; to Scio,
November 4, and to Brownsville, December 28. The line
leached Coburg in July, 1882. William Reid offered to build
to Albany, if that city would erect a river bridge and pay a
bonus of $45,000, but the total outlay to Albany of between
$100,000 and $140,000 was deemed excessive, and so the nar-
row gauge passed by Albany to the eastward.19 The west
side branch of the road was extended from Dallas to Mon-
mouth in June, 1881, and to Airlie in the following Septem-
ber: from Lafayette to Dundee and Fulquartz Landing, on
Willamete River, opposite Ray's Landing, September 16, 1881.
To connect the east side and the west side branches a bridge
was to be built between Ray's Landing and Fulquartz Land-
ing. The Earl of Airlie, president of the railroad, when in
Portland in October, 1880, directed the chief engineer Major
Alfred F. Sears, to begin at once construction of this viaduct.
This work began the following month but was halted next
year by Henry Villard.20
10 See The Oreponian, March 13, 1880.
20 These operations were conducted by the Oregonian Railway Company,
Limited, a corporation of Dundee, Scotland, formed April 30, 1880. This com-
panv succeeded the Oregon Railway Company. Limited, of Oregon, incorporated
ft 'Portland. February 20. 1880, by William Reid, Donald Macleay and Ellis G.
Hughes, and formally took over the railroad from the earlier company, December
TI, 1880. The Oregon Railway had been preceded by the Willamette Valley
Railroad Company, which conveyed to it, April 2. 1880, and which has been re-
ferred to earlier in this article as the successor of the original Dayton, Sheridan
and Grand Ronde Railway. The chief and the longest lived of these companies
was the Oregonian Railway Company. Its officers in 1881 were William ReiJ,
president, and Ellis G. Hughes, secretary. (Hughes vs. Oregonian Ry. Co., n
Oregon 159.) It is the view of Mr. Richard Koehler that the Central Pacific
project, from Winnemucca, Nevada, to the Willamette _ Valley, in the period
1880-81, was not seriouslv considered by the Huntington interests, and that their
advantage and their preference lay along the land-grant route of the Portland-
Sacramento line. "If there 'was in Mr. Reid's mind at that time," writes Mr.
Koehler in a recent letter to the writer, "a vision of a railroad to Winnemucca.
it was in connection with a similar vision of Mr. B. J. Pengra, who maintained
from the earliest planning of railroad enterprises that the most practicable and
cheapest route was from Winnemucca, via the Pengra Pass and the Middle Fork
THE NARROW GAUGE RAILROAD 149
The junction of the two branches was to be at Dundee, from
which place the railroad was to lead to Portland. The com-
pany directors in Scotland had ordered completion of the
line to Portland prior to September 1, 1881, and construction
was carried on in a desultory way within ten miles of that
city, beginning- in March, 1880, but was stopped in 1881 by
Villard. As the east side and west side branches were sep-
arated by the Willamette River, and the extension of the west
side branch to Portland was not opened until November 26,
1887, the railroad company operated two steamboats, City of
Salem and Salem, through its subsidiary, Oregonian Naviga-
tion Company, Limited.21 These steamboats and others con-
nected with the east side branch at Ray's Landing, and the
west side branch at Dayton. By taking steamboat from Port-
land at 7 o'clock a. m., passengers reached Dayton at 2 o'clock
that afternoon, whence the railroad conveyed them to Lafay-
ette, Dallas, Monmouth and Airlie. The train reached Sheri-
dan at 6:30 p. m. In September, 1881, completion of the track
from Lafayette to Fulquartz Landing expedited this business.
The company also maintained connections with Salem, Cor-
vallis and Albany by means of river boats. Amid the rosy
railroad prospects in 1880-81, Central Pacific extensions to
Oregon by the route of Humboldt River, Goose Lake,
Sprague River, Pensra Pass and Middle Fork of the Willam-
ette River, possible connection with the Scottish narrow gauge
were often heralded. The country was agog with the grand
expectations of Villard's and Huntington's railroad system.
The Dundee investors were happy over the prospect. Airlie,
when in Portland in October, 1880, ordered a survey of the
intermediate route. An ambitious company, the Astoria &
Winnemucca Railroad, incorporated at Astoria, May 8, 1879,
pursued this scheme, and the Oregon Legislature in 1880
of the Willamette. . . . T also firmly believe that while Mr. Reid may have
spoken and written about this errand system of narrow gauge lines, reaching from
Portland to Winnemucca, to Yaquina Bay and to Astoria, he based his action
in taking over and extending the narrow gauge system upon the belief that by
building nearer to the foothills on both sides of the river, than the then existing
lines of the Oregon and California Railroad, he could gather a very substantial
part of the valley business, and thus make the narrow gauge lines pay."
21 See ii Oregon 159, Hughes vs. Oregonian Railway Company.
150 LESLIE M. SCOTT
offered free right of way through state lands. This project
revived in 1885 in negotiations with Huntington, and again
in 1890, when Huntington took over the narrow gauge and
planned extensions. It revived once more during the activities
of E. H. Harriman in 1906-10, and finally lapsed on account
of government repression of railroads.
Villard's move to protect his Oregon and California Railroad
from competition of the growing narrow gauge was the logical
one of gaining control of the invader. The narrow gauge
had given him and his associates a taste of competition when
they had felt impelled to build a road in 1879 to Corvallis, and
to Lebanon in 1880. For the latter extension Villard had
caused to be incorporated the Albany and Lebanon Railroad
Company, March 1, 1880, by Joseph N. Dolph, J. Brandt Jr.,
and Paul Schultze, capital, $200,000. He had also caused to
be incorporated a similar company to build from Salem to
Silverton. This extension was not built, but the Lebanon ex-
tension, eleven miles, opened September 22, 1880.
So Villard sent to Scotland, to negotiate a lease with the
narrow gauge owners for ninety-six years, J. B. Montgomery,
who had built ninety miles of the narrow gauge from Ray's
Landing to Brownsville and had also built parts of the North-
ern Pacific. The lessee was Villard's Oregon Railway and Navi-
gation Company, which like the Oregon and California and the
Northern Pacific, were then controlled by Villard's Oregon
and Transcontinental. The annual rental, $140,000, to be paid
to the Scotch owners, represented seven per cent a year on
the total investment, which, up to that time, amounted to
nearly $2,000,000 or one hundred and sixty miles of track.
This lease was strenuously opposed; by William Reid, builder
and president of the narrow gauge, who, in three years saw
his reasons for opposition to a rival that meant no good to
the narrow gauge, amply verified. Reid's purpose was a con-
nection with the Central Pacific at Winnemucca by the Pengra
Pass and Htimboldt route, the success of which would have
brought to the Pacific Northwest a transcontinental connec-
THE NARROW GAUGE RAILROAD 151
tion with the Central Pacific, Union Pacific, and valuable
activities of progress. Reid sent Ellis G. Hughes, vice presi-
dent of the narrow gauge company, to New York to deal with
Huntington for these connections at the same time that Vil-
lard sent Montgomery to Scotland to deal with the owners.
Hughes arranged a lease for payment to the stockholders of
the narrow gauge four and one-half per cent annually on the
cost of the road, plus one-half of the net receipts of the
Winnemucca extension. But as the four and one-half per cent
offered by Huntington was visibly less than the seven per cent
offered by Villard, the thrifty Scotch prized more highly the
larger promise and chose the money that three years later
proved them penny wise and pound foolish.22
The successful lessee took charge of the narrow gauge,
August 1, 1881, and immediately set about doing its real pur-
poses. Extensions to Portland and Yaquina immediately
stopped ; also the terminal plans for use of the public levee at
Portland, of which more will be said later; also the bridge
project at Ray's Landing which would have united the two
branches of the system. Villard showed plainly his real policy,
namely, to subordinate the lines of the troublesome invader
and make them serve as feeders to the Oregon and California
Railroad. When taken over by the receiver in 1885 the nar-
row gauge system was divided into six separate parts: (1)
Coburg to South Santiam, 39 miles, operated in connection
with the Lebanon branch of the Oregon and California Rail-
road ; (2) South Santiam to West Stayton, eleven miles, not
operated; (3) West Stayton to Woodburn, thirty-nine miles,
operated in connection with the Oregon and California Rail-
road; (4) Woodburn to Ray's Landing, ten miles, not oper-
ated: (5) Fulquartz Landing" to White's Junction, sixteen
miles, not operated ; (6) White's Junction to Airlie, forty
miles, operated in connection with the Oregon and California
Railroad. This policy worked ruin to the narrow gauge prop-
erty. Bridges washed out by floods were abandoned. The
22 See details of lease negotiations in The Oregonian, March 6, 1889, written
by William Reid.
152 LESLIE M. SCOTT
railroad in the three years ensuing the lease went to wreck
as an earning property. Finally, the Oregon Railway and
Navigation Company, after retirement of Villard from its
affairs, abandoned the narrow gauge and repudiated the lease,
May 14, 1884, as null and void.23 Consternation ensued. Bonds
of the narrow gauge at once fell from 120 to 40. Stock shares
which had brought $40 fell to $2. Without terminal connec-
tions, tracks and rolling stock dilapidated, the plight of the
railroad was sad, indeed.24 A receivership ensued under
Charles N. Scott, who was appointed by the circuit court of
the United States, Judge Deady, March 30, 1885, and took
charge of the property April 14, 1885. 2S The receiver was
named in the lease suit against the Oregon Railway and Navi-
gation Company and not in foreclosure for the creditors.
Under the receiver's management bridges, track and equip-
ment were restored as well as available borrowings would
avail until the railroad was taken over in 1890 by the Southern
Pacific.
The Scotch owners sought remedy in the United States
circuit court of Judge Deady to bind the Oregon Railway and
Navigation Company to the ninety-six year term of the lease
and were victorious in that court by winning judgments for
the rental dues, but the supreme court of the United States on
March 5, 1889, held the lease void because it had not been
validated by the Legislature of Oregon. Judge Deady, on
March 18, 1885, and at intervals thereafter awarded judgment
against the lessee for accruals of unpaid rent. The supreme
court of the United States held that the Oregonian Railway
Company had no power to execute the lease and the Oregon
Railway and Navigation Company no power to accept it.
For success of the narrow gauge system, after the lease
fiasco in 1884, it was clear that these several things must be
23 The Oregon Railway and Navigation Company continued to operate the
lines until November 15. 1884. See The Oregonian, November 12, 1884.
24 See article by William Reid, The Oregonian, March 6, 1889.
25 Charles Napier Scott proved himself an effiicent railroad man and an
able administrator of the narrow gauge. Before coming to Oregon he had many
years' experience in railroading. He was born April 16, 1846, at Hamilton,
Ohio. He is a resident of Portland, Ore. He was finally discharged as receiver
August 12, 1891. (Portland Evening Telegram, August 12, 1891.)
THE NARROW GAUGE RAILROAD 153
done: Restoration of the bridges across North Santiam and
South Santiam; erection of a bridge between Ray's Landing
and Fulquartz Landing ; extension of thirty miles to a terminal
outlet at Portland from Dundee; purchase of new rolling
stock and renewals of ties and trestles. Receiver Scott set
himself to the task of rebuilding the Santiam bridges, repair-
ing the tracks and roadbed and buying new equipment, while
William Reid undertook the work of building the connecting
bridge across Willamette River and the extension to Port-
land. As the receiver could raise funds only by borrowing,
he was authorized by the United States court to issue certif-
icates of indebtedness amounting in all in the five years of
his administration, to some $423,000.26
The Dundee-Portland extension was undertaken by the Port-
land and Willamette Valley Railway Company, incorporated
January 19, 1885.27 The widespread interest taken in the crea-
tion of this company throughout Willamette Valley is attested
by the large number and the scattering of its incorporators,
who were: W. S. Ladd, H. C. Leonard, R. B. Knapp, Wil-
liam Reid, Van B. DeLashmutt, Aaron Meier, J. A. Chapman,
Ira F. Powers (Sr.), John Schuerer, J. F. Coyne, C. E. Smith,
William Gallick of Portland; A. R. Burbank, H. Hurley, J. H.
Olds, W. D. Fenton, P. P. Gates, J. M. Kelty, R. P. Bird, R.
R. Daniel, W. M. Townsend, J. W. Watts of Lafayette; L.
Bently, T. S. Powell, A. W. Lucas, D. T. Stanley, Wm. Daw-
son, N. B. Gregg of Monmouth; Goodman Hubbard, Charles
F. Johns, H. L. Deacon, Geo. W. Crystal, Wm. Grant, F. G.
Richmond of Dallas; Peter Hume, J. M. Moyer, Oliver P.
Coshow, W. R. Kirk, Thomas Kay, R. N. Thompson of
Brownsville ; A. Coolidge, R. C. Geer, L. C. Russell of Silver-
ton; Robert Pentland, W. E. Price Jr., J. C. Johnson, R. F.
Ashly, H. A. Johnson Jr., Frank J. Villa of Scio.28
The Portland and Willamette Valley Railway Company was
capitalized at $150,000 capital stock and $400,000 bonds. Its
26 Contracts for the Santiam bridges were let July 26, 1886; first authoriza-
tion to borrow money granted by United States circuit court ApriJ ig, 1886.
27 See The Oregonian, January 18, 1885.
28 See The Oregonian, January 18, 1885.
154 LESLIE M. SCOTT
funds were supplied by Huntington, Thomas H. Hubbard and
their associates, but the source of the money was not publicly
known at the time of construction. The work of building tres-
tles and making rock cuts was extensive and costly. For ex-
ample, Chehalem Creek was spanned by a 700-foot trestle ; Blair
Creek by a 1000-foot trestle; Rock Creek by an 1800-foot
trestle and Tualatin River by a 180-foot trestle. Deep rock
cuts were made at Elk Rock? Oswego and Chehalem Gap. The
chief engineer was H. Hawgood.
Construction of the route had suspended in 1881, at the
time of the Villard lease and was resumed in January, 1886,
by the new company. The track was finished to Elk Rock,
near Oswego, in the following December. This progress was
signalized December 11, 1886, by an excursion of Portland citi-
zens to Dallas.29 The first train arrived in South Portland,
November 26, 1887. The first train started from Jefferson
Street, Portland (public levee), July 23, 1888.
The narrow gauge system gravitated to the Southern Pa-
cific in the years 1885-90. In that period the Southern Pa-
cific absorbed the Oregon and California Railroad. The
Southern Pacific entered into negotiation in 1887 with the
stockholders and bondholders of the Oregon and California
and succeeded in adding the railroad properties of that com-
pany to its extensive domains and of connecting them with its
California lines.30 Southern Pacific acquisition of the narrow
gauge by steady steps was a natural sequence and became
obvious in 1887, when Huntington's ownership of the Port-
land-Dundee line was no longer concealed, and his negotia-
tions with the Scotch owners of the other branches of the
system were tending to a focus. In May, 1887, control was
announced of the Portland and Willamette Valley Railway by
the Pacific Improvement Company, the principal stockholders
of which, C. P. Huntington, Leland Stanford, Charles Crocker,
29 By steamboat, City of Salem, Portland to Elk Rock. For narrative, see
The Oregonian, December 13, 1886.
30 See Argument of B. D. Townsend, U. S. vs. Oregon and California Rail-
road Company, p. 17. Connection with California made at Ashland, December
17, 1887.
THE NARROW GAUGE RAILROAD 155
Charles F. Crocker and Timothy Hopkins, controlled the
Southern Pacific. This second merging of the two railroads
of the Willamette Valley (the first by Villard in 1881), was a
disappointment to Oregon citizens, who had hoped for com-
petitive activities.31
A corporation, formed by Reid to build the Ray's Landing
bridge, called the Oregonian Railway Bridge Company, in-
corporated at Portland, July 21, 1886, capital, $100,000, but
the merging with Southern Pacific interests in 1887 made the
bridge project superfluous. This bridge was repeatedly au-
thorized by the Oregon Legislature.32
The "seizure" of the public levee at Portland for a terminal
by William Reid and his Portland and Willamette Valley
Railway, made many vexing episodes in the progress of the
extension to that city. This property on the river bank at foot
of Jefferson Street had been bestowed upon the city by Stephen
Coffin, one of the proprietors of the townsite, for public
wharfage purposes. It was situated just where Reid needed
his terminal, and Reid proceeded to appropriate it through
the Legislature, against protests of Portland. This action had
the support of farmers of the Willamette Valley, who desired
to afford an outlet for the narrow gauge system. The Legis-
lature made two grants of the levee, the first in 1880,33 the
second in 1885.34 The first franchise was awarded to the
Oregonian Railway Company over Governor Thayer's veto,
but the act was defeated in the supreme court of Oregon in
March, 1881,35 but Judge M. P. Deady in the United States
circuit court allowed temporary use of the levee pending the
suit. This franchise lapsed by its own limitations, because the
narrow gauge extension was not built before expiration of the
time limit for completion, July 1, 1882.
The second award of the levee, this time to the Portland
31 S«e The Oregonian, July 8, 1889, for history of control by Southern Pacific
On May 5, the Pacific Improvement Company acquired for the Southern Pacific,
stock control of the Oregonian Railway Company, but not control of the bond
ownership until 1889.
32 See session laws 1887, pp. 339-40; also session laws, 1889.
33 See session laws, pp. 57-60.
34 See session laws, pp. 100-06.
35 See 9 Oregon 231, Oregonian Railway Company vs. City of Portland.
156 LESLIE M. SCOTT
and Willamette Valley Railway, included a free right of way
through state lands. The railroad entered into possession of
the levee December 1, 1887, after tests in the state and federal
courts. The company built warehouses and a depot on the
river bank, and its successors occupied the property some
twenty-five years.
The latter history of the narrow gauge is soon told. The
lines of the Oregonian Railway Company were foreclosed by
a group of Southern Pacific interests in 1890, chief of whom
were C. P. Huntington and Thomas H. Hubbard. The line of
the Portland and Willamette Valley Railway was foreclosed
in 18?2 by the same interests. A new company was formed
in 1890 to take over the property, the Oregonian Railroad
Company, T. E. Stillman, president; Richard Koehler, vice
president; W. W. Bretherton, secretary; Charles N. Scott,
superintendent ; C. B. Williams, auditor ; A. L. Warner, acting
auditor; George H. Andrews, treasurer. Receiver Scott
turned over the railroad to this company in May, 1890. Soon
afterwards the work began of broadening the east side road
to standard gauge. At this time Huntington was considering
large projects in Western Oregon, among them the Astoria
railroad and the Fengra route across Cascade Mountains,36
together with an extension of the narrow gauge from Silver-
ton to Portland.37 Surveys for the latter ran by way of Lents
and Molalla,38 but the surveyors were called in late in 189039
and the project was abandoned. Huntington extended the
railroad from Coburg to Springfield and Natron. Further
extension to Wendling was made in 1900. The west side
branch was made standard gauge in 1893. Crocker and Stan-
ford interests for a time opposed Huntington's schemes as to
the narrow gauge acquisition, and were brought into line, ac-
cording to current gossip, by Huntington's threats of connect-
ing the narrow gauge system with the Central Pacific.40
36 For Huntington's plans, see Quarterly, vol. xv, pp. 231-32.
37 See The Oregonian, April 7, 1890.
38 See The Oregonian, August 5, 1890.
39 See The Oregonian, December 2, 1890.
40 See The Oregonian, November 24, 1890; December 24, 1890.
THE NARROW GAUGE RAILROAD 157
The mortgage bonds of the Oregonian Railway Company,
amounting to £214,700 or $1,045,589, were paid in full by
Huntington in 1889, pursuant to arrangements made with the
official liquidator, David Myles, appointee in bankruptcy by
the supreme court of session of Scotland, March 20, 1889, to
wind up the affairs of the Oregonian Railway Company, Lim-
ited, and sell its property for benefit of the creditors.41 Myles
sent to Oregon his attorney, Alexander Mackay, to examine
the railroad properties. The number of stockholders of the
bankrupt railroad was 183? only two of whom dwelt in Oregon,
J. B. Montgomery, 4,000 shares out of 32,000, and William
Reid, 149 shares. Reid had also owned 4,000 shares before
the Villard lease, and sold all but his 149 shares because dis-
liking the prospect of Villard's control. The price paid to the
liquidator yielded a balance of some $135,000 over the bonds,
to pay floating indebtedness due Scotch creditors, amounting
to $250,000. The proceeds were distributed to the various
creditors in Scotland, January 15, 1890. Huntington paid, in
addition, receiver's certificates to the amount of some $423,000.
The cost to him of the 147 miles of the Oregonian Railway
amounted as follows :42
To the mortgage bondholders, £235,000 and other creditors ............ $1,064,450
To the holders of receiver's certificates ............................. 423,000
.$1,487,450
The cost of the thirty miles of the Portland-Dundee line
probably brought the total up to $2,000,000. The loss accruing
from the narrow gauge system came out of the pockets of the
stock subscribers which appears to have been practically a
total loss, $1,227,240, and also out of the coffers of Dundee
bank lenders to the extent of $115,000 additional. The lines
of the Oregonian Railway Company were foreclosed in the
United States circuit court at Portland, in 1890, and the report
of the master in chancery, George H. Durham, was finally ap-
proved August 12, 1891. The transfer to Huntington took
place May 20, 1890. Huntington made an inspection of the
41 See The Oregonian, February 10, 1890.
42 Newspaper dispatches of the time of the sale stated the purchase price at
$1,500,000. (The Oregonian, June 27, 1890.)
158 LESLIE M. SCOTT
road April 27, 1890. The receivership of Charles N. Scott was
not officially terminated, however, until August 12, 1891. In
the summer of 1890 the newly organized company abandoned
the line between Woodburn and Ray's Landing, ten miles. Late
in 1890 the narrow gauge system was leased to the Oregon
and California Railroad, but was not formally absorbed by
the latter company until 1893.43
43 The principal places along the route of the narrow gauge, and the mileage,
were as follows: Portland to Oswego, 7.3 miles; Tualatin, 13.1; Newberg, 26.4;
Dundee Jt, 28.8; Fulquartz, 31.2; Kay's Landing, 33.3; St. Paul, 35.4; Wood-
burn, 43.4; Mt. Angel, 49.7; Silverton, 53.9; Howell Prairie, 58.2; Macleay,
63.8; Waldo Hills, 66.1; Aumsville, 69.1; West Stayton, 72.9; North Santiam,
75; West Scio, 78.3; South Santiam, 83.8; Lebanon Jt., 90.8; Brownsville,
103.7; Coburg, 123.0. Dayton, 32.7; Lafayette, 34.7; Dayton, Tt., 37.8; Whites,
44.8; Sheridan Jt., 50.2. Ballston, 52.9; Sheridan, 57.2. Perrydale, 52.4; Dallas,
63.0; Monmouth, 70.1; Airlie, 79.4.
From official time tables, 1887. Running time, Portland to Dundee Jt., 3
hours; Dundee to Lafayette, 37 minutes; Sheridan Jt. to Airlie, 2 hours, 30 min-
utes; Ray's Landing to Coburg, 8 hours.
BEGINNINGS OF CHRISTIANITY IN OREGON
By GEORGE H. HIMES
To determine the exact date when the first seeds of Chris-
tian truth were planted in Oregon soil — meaning historic
Oregon, or the "Oregon Country/' the area bounded on the
south by the 42d parallel, west by the Pacific Ocean, north by
the 49th parallel, and east by the summit of the Rock Moun-
tains— is very difficult. So far as known, the first white men
known to have set foot on any portion of this soil were Davis
Coolidge, first mate of the sloop Washington, commanded
at this time by Capt. Robert Gray, and Robert Haswell, third
officer of the Columbia, who had been transferred to the sloop
as second mate, and several of the crew. On or about August
3, 1788, the little vessel "made a tolerably commodious harbor"
—presumably Tillamook Bay — when Captain Gray sent the
officers named ashore with several of the crew, among them
his colored boy, Marcos, to get some grass and shrubs. The
latter, having used a cutlass in cutting grass, carelessly stuck
it in the sand while carrying the grass to the vessel ; whereupon
a native seized it and ran to the Indian village. Marcos pur-
sued the thief and seized him by the neck, but was soon over-
powered by the savages and killed. The officers and men re-
treated to their boats and rowed to the sloop, followed by the
natives in canoes, who were checked by swivel fire from the
sloop. One of the crew was wounded by a barbed arrow.
The next men to touch the soil of Oregon were Captain Gray
and his clerk, John Hoskins, "in the jolly-boat," and presuma-
bly a number of his crew — all going "on shore to take a short
view of the country," in the afternoon of May 15, 1792, on
the north bank of the Columbia at a point about twenty miles
from its mouth.
Whether Gray or any of his men gave the Indians,
who were very numerous about the good ship Columbia
when it was anchored in what is now known as Gray's Bay,
any hint or suggestion relating to religion in any sense, is not
160 GEORGE H. HIMES
known. There is no doubt,^ however, that there were white
men upon the Oregon shore before the date above mentioned,
but who they were, and where they came from, or whether they
sought to instill religious convictions of any sort into the minds
of the natives, is and probably always will be unknown.
With the advent of the Lewis and Clark Exploring Expedi-
tion in November, 1805 — the first expedition of the kind sent
out by the Government of the United States — the John Jacob
Astor sea expedition in October, 1810, and the Wilson Price
Hunt party, the overland section of the Astor party, in April,
1811, the North- West Company in December, 1813, and the
Hudson's Bay Company, which absorbed the North-West
Company in 1821 and began active operations in Oregon in
1824 — there came a considerable number of French Canadian
employees and traders, most of whom had been trained in the
Roman Catholic church to some extent. While these men led
wild lives to a considerable degree, yet they never forget their
faith, and in every emergency, when danger threatened, they
appealed to God for succor. However elemental their ideas of
worship, they probably followed the best light they had at
the time. In this manner the Indians by whom these trappers
and traders were surrounded received their first impressions
of the White Man's "Book of Life," and learned of the "Black
Gowns" long before they were visited by a priest.
The Wilson Price Hunt party already alluded to as coming
overland in 1811-12, endured great hardships and lost a good
many men by desertion, among them twenty-four Iroquois,
who had received religious instruction from the Jesuits, or
"Black Robes," as they were known, belonging to the mission
near St. Louis. By intermarriage they became members of
the tribe whose territory was embraced in what is now the
country in the vicinity of the present city of Spokane, Wash-
ington. Before long they began to yearn for the presence of
the "Black Robes," and a council was called and the probability
of securing a visit from them discussed. Finally four braves
volunteered to go to St. Louis to communicate their desires,
BEGINNINGS OF CHRISTIANITY IN OREGON 161
and in the spring of 1831 they started eastward and reached
their destination that fall. Their presence, however, did not
seem to attract any special attention, since there were many
Indians about St. Louis at that time. The hardships of the
journey told heavily upon them, and two became dangerously
ill and afterwards died. In their sickness both asked to be
baptized by the black-robed priests, which was done. Their
Christian names were Narcissa and Paul, and the record is in
the Cathedral of St. Louis, and both were buried in the Roman
Catholic cemetery at that place, Narcissa on October 31st and
Paul, November'l7th, 1831.
The story of the Indians going from the "Oregon Country"
to St. Louis in search of the white man's "Book of Life" has
been repeatdly told, but has been doubted in many quarters.
The above statement with reference to the occurrence was con-
densed from the writings of Rt. Rev. Joseph Rosati, Bishop of
St. Louis in 1831 ; and a further proof that the Indians ar-
rived in St. Louis in 1831 may be found in the letter books of
Gen. William Clark, Governor of Missouri at that time, now
in possession of the Kansas Historical Society.
A second deputation was sent in 1832, consisting of one
Iroquois and his family. He arrived safely in St. Louis, had
his children baptized, was returning home to his people, with
the hope of soon having priests in his country, but was killed
by the Sioux Indians.
Dr. John McLoughlin, of Canada, who began his career in
1800 as an employee of -the North-West Company, when that
company was merged into the Hudson's Bay Company in 1821,
was selected as chief factor to take charge of the combined
business of both companies in all the territory west of the
Rocky Mountains. He came to Oregon in 1824 and changed
the headquarters from Astoria to Belle Vue Point — the site of
the present citv of Vancouver — and built a fort there. He
permitted the employees whose terms of service had expired
to settle in the Willamette vallev and on the Cowlitz river.
Numbers of these men had married Indian wives, had children,
and began to wish for the presence of a priest.
162 GEORGE H. HIMES
Upon Dr. McLoughlin's arrival he began the practice at once
of reading the services of the Episcopal Church every Sunday,
and frequently would read a chapter in the Bible, a sermon or
a tract or a prayer. Most of the gentlemen of Fort Van-
couver, according to Mrs. Whitman, who arrived there in
September, 1836, were Scotch Presbyterians, and a few were
Episcopalians. However, many of the laborers were Roman
Catholics and had a service of their own, at which Dr. Mc-
Loughlin officiated in French, and sometimes would translate
a sermon or a tract, but this kind of service was not satisfac-
tory. Accordingly two petitions were sent to the Bishop on
Red River for a priest, one on July 3, 1832, and the other on
February 23, 1833. In response two missionaries were
granted — Rev. F. N. Blanchet and Rev. Modeste Demers ; but
thev did not arrive at Fort Vancouver until November 24,
1838, after enduring incredible hardships in coming over the
northern lake, river and horseback route. These fathers toiled
alone for four year?, and in 1842 were reinforced by two
more priests. On December 1. 1843. the Oregon Mission was
erected into a vicariate apostolic. This was erected into an
ecclesiastical province on July 24, 1846. with three sees —
Oreeon City. Walla Walla and Vancouver Island. Rt. Rev. F.
N. Blanchet, Rt. Rev. A. M. A. Blanchet, and Rt. Rev. Modeste
Demers being constituted the presiding: Archbishops and
Bishops respectively, with perhaps forty helpers.
So much for the planting of the Roman Catholic work.
Now I will recite the origin of the Protestant work among the
Indians.
By the close of the vear 1832 the knowledge of the Indians'
trip to St. Louis became generally known throughout
Protestant missionary circles, and plans began to be formed
with reference to responding* to their request. Dr. Samuel
Parker, of Ithaca. N. Y., a Congregational minister and a
supporter of the American Board of Commissioners for For-
eign Missions — the foreign Missionarv Societv of the Congre-
gational. Presbvterian and Dutch Reformed Churches — was
one of the first, and I am not sure but the very first, among
BEGINNINGS OF CHRISTIANITY IN OREGON 163
Protestants, to take up the call and urge a quick and hearty
response. But his efforts did not arouse those to whom he
appealed to sufficient activity to begin operations at once.
The Macedonian cry reached the ears of Dr. Wilbur Fisk,
President of the Wesleyan Methodist Academy at Wilbraham,
Mass. He was a man of action, prompt and decisive, and on
March 20, 1833, he wrote a letter to the Methodist Missionary
Board suggesting the establishment of a mission to the Flat-
heads without delay. This Board having a fund which could
be used at once, considered the suggestion favorably, and after
a few preliminaries, Dr. Fisk became the leading spirit in pro-
moting the enterprise.
In recalling the young men who had been former students
under him, his mind reverted to one Jason Lee, who had come
to his school from Canada, and who was then in the service
of the Wesleyan church at Stanstead, Canada, the place of his
birth.
Mr. Lee caught the inspiration from Dr. Fisk and at once
said, "Here am I, send me." Needed preparations were made
as rapidly as circumstances would permit, and in March, 1834,
Revs. Jason Lee and Daniel Lee, and three laymen, Cyrus
Shepard, P. L. Edwards and C. M. Walker, started in com-
pany with Captain Nathaniel J. Wyeth, of Massachusetts, who
was coming west on a business expedition.
On the way across the plains, Sunday, July 27, 1834, Mr.
Lee held public worship in a grove. This was the first re-
ligious service he conducted after starting for the Pacific
slope from Liberty, Mo., April 21, 1834. His audience was a
mixed company of Indians, half breeds and Canadian French-
men. That evening, while two of the French-Canadians were
racing, a third one ran across the track and a collision ensued
which caused the death of one of the riders. Although the
deceased person was a Roman Catholic, Captain Thomas Mc-
Kay, requested Mr. Lee to conduct the funeral service, which
he did the next day, thus making Monday, July 28, 1834, mem-
orable as being the day on which the first funeral service west
of the Rocky Mountains was conducted by a Protestant min-
164 GEORGE H. HIMES
ister. On Monday, September 15, 1834, Mr. Lee and party
arrived at Fort Vancouver, and were kindly received by Dr.
McLoughlin and the gentlemen of the fort. Several days were
spent by Mr. Lee in looking" out a mission station. At length a
suitable one was found, whereupon he returned to the fort on
Saturday, September 27. The next day he held religious serv-
ices at the fort, and the following account I take from his
diary:
"Essayed to preach to a mixed congregation of English,
French, Scotch, Irish, Indians, Americans, half-breeds, Japan-
ese, etc. some of whom did not understand five words of
English. Found it extremely difficult to collect my thoughts
or find language to express them ; but am thankful that I have
been permitted to plead the cause of God on this side of the
Rocky Mountains, where the banners of Christ were never
before unfurled. Great God ! grant that it may not be in vain,
but may some fruit appear even from this feeble attempt to
labour for thee.
"Evening: — Preached again, but with as little liberty as in
the morning: but still I find it is good to worship in the public
congregation. My Father in Heaven, I give myself to Thee.
May I ever be Thine and wholly Thine — always directed by
Thine unerring counsel, and ever so directed as to be most
beneficial in the world, and bring most glory to the Most High,
that I may at last be presented without spot, and blameless
before the throne."
Lee intended to locate in the Flathead country, but Dr. Mc-
Loughlin nersuaded him to abandon that idea and establish
his mission in the Willamette Valley, giving as a reason that
he would be more easily protected in the event of attack by
Indians if he was not so far away from Vancouver. Lee
vielded to this argument, and began his work in what is now
Marion County, a few miles below Salem. That mission farm
is now owned by Mr. A. M. Lafollet. It may be of interest
to know that on September 22, 1834, Lee and his companions
were on French Prairie, that on the following Sunday, Sep~
BEGINNINGS OF CHRISTIANITY IN OREGON 165
tember 28, he preached at Vancouver, and on the next day,
September 29, preparations were made for returning to lay the
foundation of Christian work here, and on October 6 the jour-
ney was completed and the party encamped on the spot selected
for their mission ten miles north of Salem, on the east bank of
the Willamette river.
The first sermon preached by Mr. Lee in the Willamette
Valley was on October 19 at the house of Mr. Gervais, near
the present town of that name, and the congregation was
composed of French, half castes and Indians. The following
March, Mr. Shepard, who had taught school at Vancouver
during the winter, assumed charge of the mission school. Lee
soon saw that he was poorly equipped to accomplish what he
desired, hence he appealed for reinforcements. In response,
Dr. Elijah White and his wife, Alanson Beers and wife. Miss
Anna Maria Pittman, Miss Susan Downing, and Miss Elvira
Johnson, arrived in May, 1837, and in September of that year
Rev. David Leslie and wife, Rev. H. K. W. Perkins and Miss
Margaret Smith arrived. With this addition the way seemed
clear to Lee to advance his outposts. Accordingly he made
a trip as far south as Fort Umpqua, from which he returned
in March, 1838. This not proving altogether satisfactory, he
concluded to establish a mission at The Dalles, and with this
purpose in view he left the Willamette on March 14, 1838, and
reached his destination on the 22d. The mission there was
decided upon and placed in charge of Rev. H. K. W. Perkins
and Rev. Daniel Lee.
Affairs moved along in the even tenor of their way until
July 16, 1837 — a day which should be forever memorable in
the history of religious effort on the Pacific Coast. That day
Jason Lee was married to Anna Maria Pittman, Cyrus Shep-
ard to Susan Downing, and Charles Roe to Miss Nancy, an
Indian maiden of the Callapooia tribes. Rev. Daniel Lee offi-
ciated at the marriage of Jason Lee, and then the latter per-
formed the ceremony for the other two couples, and preached
a powerful sermon from Numbers 10:29 — "Come thou with us,
and we will do thee good : for the Lord hath spoken good con-
cerning Israel."
166 GEORGE H. HIMES
The rules of the Methodist Episcopal Church were then
read by Mr. Lee, after which he baptized the young man just
married and received him into the church and administered
the Lord's Supper. At this point a young man who had been
raised a Quaker and who for some time had shown a change
of heart, asked to be baptized and partake of the Lord's Sup-
per. This man's name was Webley Hauxhurst, and I have
been informed that he lived a consistent, well ordered Christian
life until his death fifty years later. Thus it was that the ordi-
nances of the church were observed for the first time, according
to the Protestant form, on the Pacific Coast.
The following winter Lee felt that a special effort should be
made to arouse a greater interest in the religious work of
Oregon, and began to realize that it was not alone to the In-
dians that the Gospel should be preached, but that the gradu-
ally increasing population of the whites should also have
Christian privileges. With this in view he started east over-
land in March, 1838, carrying with him a memorial to Con-
gress from the American settlers in Oregon which aroused
such a degree of interest on the part of the President and
Congress that five thousand dollars was given out of the "Se-
cret Service" fund of the Government to aid in Americanizing
Oregon. Lee's efforts produced a sensation, arousing the mis-
sionary authorities of the Methodist Episcopal Church to vig-
orous action. This resulted in the equipment of the Ship Lau-
sanne for a voyage around the Horn to Oregon, and upon Octo-
ber 25, 1839, she set sail for the Far West carrying 51 souls,
known as the "Great Reinforcement/' arriving in the Columbia
in May, 1840, and finally debarking at Vancouver on June 1st.
Soon after, three buildings were erected in Salem — the first
there — and thus that place became the headquarters of the
Methodist mission field. The preaching force brought on the
Lausanne were allotted as follows : Nisqually, Puget Sound.
J. P. Richmond; Clatsop, J. H. Frost; Umpqua, Gustavus
Hines, W. W. Kone; The Dalles, Daniel Lee, H. K. W. Per-
kins ; Willamette Station, Daniel Leslie ; Willamette Falls, A. F.
Waller.
BEGINNINGS OF CHRISTIANITY IN OREGON 167
In connection with Rev. J. P. Richmond it may be said that
he was the first minister to begin work north of the Columbia
River ; that in the summer of 1840 he went to a point about
twenty miles from the present city of Tacoma, and built a log
cabin, and surrounded it by a stockade for defense from the
Indians, about three-quarters of a mile from old Fort Nis-
qually, which was a post of the Puget Sound Agricultural
Company, a branch of the Hudson's Bay Company, established
in 1833, and that here, on August 16, 1841, Dr. W. H. Willson
and Miss Chloe A. Clark were married. The first child of
this union was the late Mrs. J. K. Gill of this city.
The name of Willamette Falls was soon changed to Oregon
City, and there Waller erected the first Protestant church on
the Pacific Coast, the building of which was begun in 1843 and
dedicated in 1844. A little later he built the first house of
worship in Salem. Early in 1842 it was decided to create
an educational institution to be known as the Oregon Institute,
and on October 26, 1842, it formally came under the control
of the Methodist Church, and the "Oregon and California Mis-
sion Conference" was organized, by authority given by the
General Conference of the United States, on September 5,
1849. At this time on the entire Pacific Coast there were 348
members of the Methodist Church and six probationers; of
Stinday Schools there were nine, with 261 scholars. At the
close of the Conference of March 22, 1853, which by that time
was called the Oregon Conference, there were 35 local preach-
ers. 558 church members, and 214 probationers.
The first camp meeting in Oresron or on the coast was near
what is now Hillsboro, and was begun on July 12, 1843. The
first dav 14 were present, Rev. Jason Lee preaching from the
text. "Where two or three are gathered together in my name
there am I in the midst of them." The other ministers present
were: Rev. Gustavus Hines, Rev. H. K. W. Perkins, Rev.
David Leslie, and Rev. Harvey Clark, the latter a Congrega-
tionalist. Mrs. Wiley Edwards, now of Portland, is probably
the only person living who was present at that meeting. On
Sunday there were about 60 present, of whom 19 were not pro-
168 GEORGE H. HIMES
fessing Christians. At the close of the day 16 of these made a
public profession, among- them Joseph L. Meek, so well known
in the early annals of Oregon.
I now return to Dr. Parker. By the spring of 1835 he had
been commissioned by the American Board, and had chosen
Dr. Whitman to be his companion in undertaking "an explor-
ing mission to ascertain by personal observation the condition
of the country, the character of the Indian tribes, and the
facilities for introducing the Gospel and civilization among
them." Dr. Parker started on March 14, from Ithaca, New
York, and arrived at St. Louis on April 4, finding Dr. Whitman
already there. They proceeded on their journey and arrived
at Green River on August 12. Here they met a large number
of Indians, and it became apparent at once that they were
not prepared to do the work that they saw would be needed
among the Indians, consequently Dr. Whitman returned east,
taking with him two Ne£ Perce boys, whose presence in the
East greatly assisted him in arousing the Christian public
to activity in missionary effort. The effect of this was to
secure an adequate equipment, and in March, 1836, Dr. and
Mrs. Whitman, Rev. and Mrs. H. H. Spalding, and Mr. W. H.
Gray started on the trip overland to Oregon. They arrived at
Vancouver September 12. Mrs. Whitman and Mrs. Spalding
were the first white women to cross the continent, and for the
first time a wagon was brought to waters flowing into the
Columbia. Dr. Whitman at once selected his mission station
at Wai-il-et-pu, six miles west of the present city of Walla
Walla, and in October he and Mrs. Whitman went thither and
began their work among the Cayuses. In November Mr. and
Mrs. Spalding went to Lapwai on the Clearwater, thirteen miles
from the present city of Lewiston, a tributary of the Snake,
and raised their standard among the Nez Perces. The mis-
sion church at Wai-il-et-pu was formally organized August
18, 1838, with seven members. That fall reinforcements ar-
rived in the persons of Rev. Elkanah Walker and wife, Rev.
Cushing Eells and wife, Rev. A. B. Smith and wife, W. H.
Gray and wife, and Andrew Rogers — all sent by the American
BEGINNINGS OF CHRISTIANITY IN OREGON 169
Board. All of these united with the mission church already re-
ferred to on Sept. 2d, making a membership of sixteen. At a
meeting held soon after Mr. Gray was selected to assist Mr.
Spalding, Mr. Smith to aid Dr. Whitman, Messrs. Walker and
Eells were to select a new location among the Spokanes, and the
place chosen was six miles north of Spokane river. In the
summer of 1839 Mr. Smith located at his own request at
Kamiah, sixty miles from Lapwai, and remained until 1842,
when he dissolved his connection with the mission and went
to Sandwich Islands. In the fall of 1839 Mr. Gray removed
from the mission and located in the Willamette, and for a time
was a teacher at the Oregon Institute at Salem. With these
exceptions the missionary force among the Indians remained
the same until it was broken up by the massacre of Dr. Whit-
man, his wife, and twelve others on November 29-30, 1847.
In 1840 Rev. Harvey Clark and Rev. John S. Griffin came
to Oregon as independent Congregational missionaries. The
latter sought a location among the Indians of the Snake River
region, but finally abandoned it and came to the Willamette
valley and settled in the vicinity of what is now Hillsboro.
Mr. Clark also came to the valley and settled at West Tualatin,
now Forest Grove. The first Congregational church to be
organized was that of "The First Church of Tualatin Plains,"
as it was originally, called, in 1842, of which Rev. Mr. Griffin
was the acting pastor. In 1845 the location was changed to
Forest Grove, when Rev. Harvey Clark became the pastor.
Early in his ministry a log house was built which answered
for school use on week days and church purposes on Sunday.
In this building what is now Pacific University had its origin.
The second Congregational church organized was that at
Oregon City, in 1844, with three members. This was really
a Presbyterian church, and was first known as "The First
Presbyterian Church of Willamette Falls." Rev. Mr. Clark
served the church until 1847, walking thither from Forest
Grove, at every preaching service, a distance of more than
twenty miles. He was followed by Rev. Lewis Thompson, a
Presbyterian minister, who preached a few times. A Mr.
170 GEORGE H. HIMES
Robert Moore, the leading Presbyterian member, having with-
drawn to assist in the organization of a Presbyterian Church on
the west side of the river at Linn City, the remainder of the
members, some time in the latter part of 1848, voted to change
the name to the "First Congregational Church of Oregon City."
Rev. George H. Atkinson, of Massachusetts, a graduate of
Andover, the first minister sent to the Pacific Coast by the
Congregational Home Missionary Society, arrived at Oregon
City on June 23, 1848, via Cape Horn. His first service was
held in a private house, and the membership of the church
numbered seven. Subsequent services were held in the court
room and then in the basement of a house; but by August,
1850, a church edifice was erected at a cost of $3,900, and
dedicated. Lumber was $80.00 per thousand; carpenters'
wages ten dollars a day; windows, twenty dollars apiece; and
everything else in proportion. The lot where the church now
stands cost $250.00, and it was covered with heavy timber,
most of which was removed by Dr. Atkinson. He did a good
deal in aiding to build the church in carrying lumber, brick
and mortar. Labor was indeed very hard to get, as a large
proportion of the population had gone to the gold mines in
California. Out of these two churches came the organization
of the Congregational Association of Oregon on July 13, 1848.
The third Congregational Church was that at Milwaukie,
organized in 1850 by Rev. Horace Lyman, with three mem-
bers. At that time it was difficult to decide which was the
most promising place for a church, Milwaukie or Portland.
At length, however, it became apparent that the latter place
would lead, hence all the members at Milwaukie moved away.
The fourth was the First of Portland, on June 15, 1851,
by Rev. Horace Lyman, pastor, with ten members, and the
fifth was that of the First Church of Salem on July 4, 1852,
by Rev. D. R. Williams, who had taught school at Forest
Grove for the greater part of the previous year.
Among our Baptist brethren the early church organizations
were as follows: The church of West Union, May 25, 1844,
with six members. That fall Rev. Vincent Snelling, the first
BEGINNINGS OF CHRISTIANITY IN OREGON 171
Baptist minister to reach Oregon, arrived and served this
church for a time. Its location was a few miles north of
Hillsboro, Washington County. Revs. Ezra Fisher and Heze-
kiah Johnson (1845) were the next Baptist ministers to arrive,
and churches were organized at Yamhill and Rickreall in 1846,
at Oregon City in 1847, at Clatsop plains, near Astoria, in
1848. These, with the West Union church, had a combined
membership of 95. On June 23 and 24, 1848, pursuant to
a call by the West Union church, an association was organized,
each church being represented by four delegates. It was
resolved that two hundred dollars be raised at once to employ
a minister to travel and preach within the bounds of the
association for one year. The church at Forest Grove was
organized on May 22, 1852, and it was the thirteenth Baptist
church organized in Oregon.
In the period under review there was but one Presbyterian
church organized, that of Clatsop Plains, on September 19,
1846, by Rev. Lewis Thompson, and in the historical summary
of the growth of the Presbyterian denomination in Oregon,
published by the First Presbyterian Church in Portland under
date of June 18, 1899, it asserted that that "was the first
Presbyterian Church on the Pacific Coast." The Presbytery
of Oregon was organized on November 19, 1851.
The first service of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the
original Oregon Territory was held at Vancouver in 1836, by
Rev. Mr. Beaver, the chaplain of the Hudson's Bay Company.
He held services at Cathlamet, also. Rev. St. M. Fackler held
services at Champoeg, and possibly at Oregon City. The
first Episcopal missionary was Rev. William Richmond, who
arrived in Portland in May, 1851, and organized Trinity Church
on May 18. On the 25th he organized St. Paul's at Oregon
City. The first Roman Catholic Church in Portland was dedi-
cated Feb. 22, 1852. By the end of 1854, the total number of
Catholics in Oregon Territory was 303.
It is impossible to state with any degree of certainty the
number of professed Christians connected with Protestant
172 GEORGE H. HIMES
churches in Oregon at the close of the year 1852, but it will be
seen from the foregoing that the Methodist, Congregational,
Baptist, Presbyterian and Episcopalian denominations were
represented in an organized form — the aggregate of all prob-
ably not exceeding 1,000 persons. To my knowledge there
was a goodly number of the Disciples of Christ — sometimes
known as "Campbellites" — in this field, but I do not think
there was any regular organization. The total population of
Oregon at the close of the year 1849 was about 10,000.
THE FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON— V.
By LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE, Ph. D.
CHAPTER X
THE TREATY OF 1846
Simultaneously with the congressional agitation over the
question of giving notice, the steps which were to lead to a
settlement of the controversy between Great Britain and the
United States were being taken. The British Government, as
we have seen, had not been too pleased when Pakenham rejected
Folk's offer in the way he did. After some uneasiness on the
part of Lord Aberdeen as to how the question could be re-
opened, since it was obvious that England must move first if
anything was done, he authorized Mr. Pakenham once more to
propose arbitration.
Already, while awaiting new instructions from his govern-
ment, Pakenham had talked matters over unofficially with
Buchanan, who found the British minister no less friendly
although more grave. In anticipation of these informal con-
ferences Buchanan had asked, at a Cabinet meeting, what sort
of a manner he should assume with Pakenham; particularly
he desired power to say that the President would submit a
British proposition to the Senate.1 But Polk said he had not
yet determined upon this course and under no circumstances
would he intimate that he was thinking of it. Buchanan, there-
fore, could do no more than he had at previous times in the
way of smoothing a path for renewed negotiations. He did,
however, inquire of Pakenham the significance of the military
and naval activity of Great Britain, and was assured that the
preparations had no reference to the United States.
This assurance did not satisfy the President. He had
Buchanan ask McLane to bring the question up with Aberdeen.2
In the same dispatch in which this query was sent Buchanan
1 Polk Diary, I, 119-21.
2 Buchanan to MfcLane, 13 Dec. Works of Buchanan, VI, 341-2. Also pri-
vate letter of same date, Ibid.
174 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
told the American minister, although the President did not
at first approve the notion, that in all probability if the British
government should make a proposition for settling the Oregon
controversy the President would submit it to the Senate for
advice. This hint was but one of those which, in the months
that followed, revealed the true manner in which the negotia-
tion was being conducted ; ostensibly Washington was the scene
of action, with Pakenham and Buchanan the principals; quite
as much, however, did the negotiation take place in London
between Lord Aberdeen and Mr. McLane. The formal ex-
changes occurred in America; the real dickering was done in
England. Buchanan's communications, both to Pakenham and
to McLane, were always supervised and sometimes dictated
by the President ; those to the minister in London afforded the
material for the campaign which finally brought the compro-
mise offer.
On the twenty-third of December McLane's hint that a new
proposal for arbitration might soon be expected was received
by Buchanan. It was discussed at length by the President and
his Cabinet and all agreed that arbitration could not be ac-
cepted, but Polk refused to allow the Secretary of State to
tell Pakenham that a new proposition on which to base nego-
tiations would be respectfully considered; this would mean
that the United States had taken the first step, and Polk was
determined that Great Britain should move first. He did say
definitely that if Pakenham should offer the United States free
ports on the sea and on the Straits of Fuca north of 49 degrees
he would confidentially consult three or four Senators from
different parts of the country and might submit such a propo-
sal to the Senate. So difficult did Buchanan find it to bring
himself to the President's view as to what constituted a proper
reply to Pakenham's probable overture that Polk dictated to
him what he should write :3
"I would refer him to the correspondence and your last note
3 In part the difficulty Polk had with Buchanan was due to the latter's dis-
appointment about an appointment in Pennsylvania; he thought the President was
using his patronage in such a way as to hurt him in his own state. Diary, I,
134-6, 143-7.
THE FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 175
of the 30th of August, and say, it has been at your option with
a perfect liberty to propose any proposition you thought proper,
and you had no reason to conclude from what had occurred here
that the Government would not have treated such a proposition
with respectful consideration when made. You have made no
new proposition, & the question therefore stands in its present
attitude."
Four days later the formal offer of arbitration was received.
Buchanan, when he received the note, agreed with Pakenham
that he would like to see the question settled; although he
would present the British proposition to the consideration of
the President he must say that both he and the President
thought a negotiation appeared the better way to go about
the business. After learning that the arbitration proposal
would find little favor, P'akenham proceeded to comment on
some of the bills introduced in Congress, particularly the ones
which would make land grants to settlers; such measures, he
believed, were in contravention of the terms of the convention
of 1827. The proposed fortification of the Columbia River
brought up the subject of the Hudson's Bay Company, and
Buchanan understood from the drift of the conversation that
the rights of this company formed one of the most serious
obstacles to a settlement of the question.4
In Cabinet it was discovered that the British proposition
was to submit to an impartial tribunal not the question of title,
but of division of the Oregon country, and all were in accord
that it could not be accepted. As Buchanan wrote McLane,5
to accept this basis would be to acknowledge that the President
had been in error in asserting the title on the part of the United
States, and it would be an admission that Great Britain had
good title to some part of the territory. On this ground, then,
Buchanan notified Pakenham that the proposition was inadmis-
sible. The British minister this time was not inclined to balk
at trifles and on his own authority, subject to the approval of
4 Pakenham to Buchanan, S. Doc. No. 117, agth C. ist S. ; Pakenham to
Aberdeen, 29 Dec., Br. & For. S. Papers, 34:-i37-8. A Memorandum to the
conversation is in Works of Buchanan, VI, 350-3.
5 29 Dec., Sen. Doc. No. 489, 29th Cong1, ist. Sea. See Polk, Diary, I, 147-
149.
176 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
his government, he suggested a modification to meet the objec-
tion ; first let the title be considered by the arbiter, then, if it
should be found that neither party had good title to all the
region, an equitable line of division could be made. Further-
more, since there seemed to be some question as to whether
there could be found a suitable arbiter, there might be a "mixed
commission with an umpire, or a board composed of the most
distinguished civilians and jurists of the time, appointed in such
a manner as to bring all pending questions to the decision of
the most enlightened, impartial and independent minds."6
No immediate answer was returned to this proposal, not
because Polk intended to accept it, but, as Buchanan informed
McLane,7 because it was desired to find out what had been the
impression made by the Annual Message upon the British gov-
ernment and people. McLane was told once more that the
United States would never accept any proposition which in-
volved the surrender of anything south of 49 degrees, and, in
view of popular excitement, state legislature resolutions, and
the temper of Congress, "if the British government intend to
make a proposition to this givernment they have not an hour
to lose if they desire a peaceful termination of the controversy."
While the second arbitration proposition was before the
administration Polk made to his Cabinet a tentative sugges-
tion which would have redoubled the efforts of the Whigs in
Congress could they have known of it. He suggested for con-
sideration a possibility for a new line of approach to the solu-
tion of the question, since it appeared probable that no division
of the territory could be agreed upon; let there be made a
treaty of commerce, whereby each country agreed to relax
its restrictive tariffs; Great Britain should lower her taxes
on American foodstuffs, cotton, tobacco and other articles to
a "moderate revenue standard" and the United States would
do the same with its duties on British manufactured articles.
Such a reduction of the United States schedule of duties would
6 Buchanan to Pakenham, 3 Jan., Sen. Doc. No. 117; Pakenham to Buchanan,
16 Jan., Ibid.; Pakenham' to Aberdeen, Br. & For. St. Papers, 34: 140, (20 Jan.)
7 Buchanan to McLane, 29 Jan. Given in full in Works of Buchanan, VI,
366-8. Only parts of the letter were submitted to Congress.
THE FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 177
be a great object for England and she might be willing to
surrender all of Oregon if the United States should pay a
round sum for the improvements made by the Hudson's Bay
Company.8 This suggestion was not enthusiastically received ;
Buchanan for one saw in it, if carried out, a total loss of popu-
larity in his own state, for Pennsylvania was not even then a
good place in which to talk about lowering tariffs.
On the fourth of February Buchanan formally rejected the
British offer of arbitration, stating that if for no other a single
reason was sufficient basis for the rejection; the territorial
rights of a nation were not properly a subject for arbitration,
especially if, as in this case, the amount involved was great.9
Holding as he did that the title of the United States was best,
the President could not jeopardize all the great interests in-
volved with the possibility, however remote, of depriving the
United States of all the good harbors on the coast. The ter-
ritory was not of equal value to both nations, for it could at
best be but a colonial possession of Great Britain while it would
be an integral part of the American Union. Although these
considerations, said Buchanan, had no direct bearing on the
question, they were presented because they would explain why
the President refused to adopt any measure which would with-
draw the title from the control of the Government and the
people of the United States. With this rejection of arbitration
the negotiation rested for a time.
While it had under consideration the answer to the British
minister the Cabinet had before it the resolutions from both
houses asking for copies of correspondence between the two
governments later than that submitted with the Annual Mes-
sage. Again a carefully selected list was prepared and for-
warded by the President. It included Buchanan's inquiry of
McLane about the warlike preparations in Great Britain;
8 J. Q. Adams, when he read of the revolution in Great Britain's commer-
cial policy then taking place, wrote in his diary (Memoirs, XII, 248) : "It is evi-
dent that the Oregon question will be settled by the repeal of the corn laws and
the sacrifice of the American tariff; a bargain, both sides of which will be for the
benefit of England, and to our disadvantage; a purchase of peace, the value of
which can only be tested by time." The date of the entry is 20 February. Folk's
suggestion is in his Diary, I, 191-2.
9 Buchanan to Pakenham, Sen. Doc. No. 117.
178 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPER
McLane's reply reporting the conversation with Lord Aber-
deen; and the formal notes relating to the propositions for
arbitration.10
McLane, meantime, had been active in London, although
always acting informally.11 He reported the British disap-
proval of Pakenham's rejection of Folk's offer, a disapproval,
he said, which all classes expected to have weight with the
American government in disposing it to a favorable reception
of further overtures which might be made for resuming nego-
tiations. This had been indicated in Parliament12 as well as
in official circles outside. On the basis of this disposition of
the British Government McLane urged that the last American
proposition be taken as the starting point for a final adjust-
ment, allowing joint occupancy and free navigation of the
Columbia for a period of from seven to ten years longer.
Better terms than these, he thought, were not to be obtained.
To this suggestion Buchanan was directed, after a full Cabinet
discussion,13 to reply to McLane that the President would con-
sent, though reluctantly, to present to the Senate for advice a
proposition on the lines indicated by McLane ; — 49 degrees to
the sea and then the straits, but the matter of free ports must
be omitted if the tip of Vancouver's Island were yielded,
although they might stand if 49 degrees without deviation were
adopted. \ - , ^^TJ
"There is one point on which it is necessary to guard,
whether the first or the second proposition should be submitted
by the British government. The Strait of Fuca is an arm of
the sea, and under public law all nations would possess the
same right to navigate it, throughout its whole length, as they
now have to the navigation of the British Channel. Still, to
prevent further difficulties, this ought to be clearly and dis-
tinctly understood."
These indications, sufficiently plain to us in studying the
period at a later date, that Polk was going to submit a compro-
10 Globe, XV, 332. For war preparations see Chap. XI below,
it McLane to Buchanan, 3 Feb., Sen. Doc.t No. 489.
12 3 Hansard, 83; 9 seq.
13 Polk, Diary, I, 244-5. Buchanan to McLane, 26 Feb., Works of Buchanan,
VI, 377-83.
THE FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 179
mise offer, if one came, to the Senate, which would undoubtedly
advise him to accept it, were not upon the surface then. Even
members of his Cabinet were still a little uncertain of the
situation, and, except for those Senators with whom Polk
talked freely and to whom he had stated that he would submit
a proposition to the Senate, Congress was wholly at sea. In
the Senate the debate on the notice was going on ; in the House
the topic was quiescent for the moment, although early in
March it was in the forefront again. The war spirit had some-
what subsided, however. The threatened change of ministry
in England, which would have given Palmerston the Foreign
Office, had not taken place and men felt that Aberdeen could
be counted on to pursue a pacific course as long as he was
given half an opportunity.14 Nevertheless there was general
unanimity in the belief that things must go on and be settled;
the problem must be solved and giving notice was the first step
on the American side.15
Before McLane received an answer to his suggestion he
wrote again,16 following an interview with Lord Aberdeen,
that the United States could not expect the British govern-
ment to accept anything less than 49 degrees to the sea and
free navigation of the Columbia for the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany for a period of years. If it should be found that the
Columbia was not navigable at the point where it was crossed
by the forty-ninth parallel this point would probably not be
insisted upon. He reiterated his belief that no proposition
of any sort would come until the notice had been acted upon
in Congress. The same day he wrote Calhoun to much the
same effect, although here he stated that he believed the British
government, despite repeated refusals, still had some notion
that the United States would ultimately agree to arbitration.
14 For instance the letters of Webster, Calhoun, Ingersoll and others re-
flect this view; there would be peace, although fust how they could not tell. Yet
J. R. Poinsett wrote Van Buren, 2 Mar., (Vari Buren Papers, Vol. 53) : "I very
much fear our foreign relations are becoming too complicated for the management
of those, who now direct them, to be disentangled without war."
15 Buchanan analyzed the situation in a letter to McLane, 26 Feb., Works,
VI, 385-7. I ,-: ! d, *>dW
16 To Buchanan, 3 Mar., No. West Bound, Arb.; to Calhoun, Correspondence
of Calhoun, 1076-9.
180 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
The American cause, he felt, had been hurt by the long delay
over the notice, as well as by the opinion of some American
writers who belittled the pretensions of the United States. An
article in the North American Review, especially, had pro-
duced in England the feeling that the claims of the United
States were not, even in the minds of Americans, as good as
had been stated.17
Henry Wheaton, then on his way to Berlin as American
minister to Prussia, had felt the British pulse as he stopped
in London. From there he wrote Calhoun18 that he did not
believe the government or the people were inclined to push
matters, nor did he think that the passage of the resolutions
for notice would be taken as a hostile measure. He told the
"great mediator" (his own appellation) that he always let it
be understood when anyone talked to him about Oregon that
49° must be adhered to as the most equitable boundary
line, that there was no possibility of modifying this basis.
This letter, and possibly the one from McLane, was in Cal-
houn's possession when he made his great speech in March
and undoubtedly added to the conviction with which he urged
a conciliatory course.
Arbitration had been and was being urged in England out-
side official circles. In the July (1845) issue of the Edinburgh
Review Senior had exhaustively examined the Oregon ques-
tion and had come to the conclusion that arbitration was the
only way out. The newspapers, when in a conciliatory mood,
looked upon it as a most satisfactory solution. The London
Quarterly Review, however, believed that in the end a line
following 49° and the Straits of Fuca would be selected.19
"We are more and more convinced by the advices which we
have lately received, that the American cabinet will not and —
if it would — could not make any larger concession. It is, we
believe, all that any American statesman could hope to carry,
and we are equally satisfied, that on our part, after so much
delay and complication, and considering it in its future effect
17 Bow«n's article, Jan., 1846. Other articles of the same tone are found in
American Whig Review, Jan. and Feb., 1846.
1 8 10 Feb., Correspondence of Calhoun. 1071.
19 March, 1846, VoL XLVTI, 603.
THE FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 181
on the tranquility of the district itself, it is the best for our
interests and sufficient for our honor."
Among all the other indications that the British mind was
adjusting itself to 49° is a significant letter from Joshua
Bates, head of the British banking house of Baring, to a Bir-
mingham Quaker, Sturgis. Early in December he wrote that
stockjobbers were saying "the 49° is about right and
there can be no difficulty." This was written before Congress
had received Folk's message so the suggestion of fuller terms
for a settlement are the more suggestive. The Hudson's Bay
Company, he said, desired a settlement and might be more
tractable if allowed twenty years' occupation and the right
of pre-emption of the lands they were then cultivating, together
with the right to elect their allegiance when the United States
assumed full control. "This with 49° and the end of
Vancouver's Island is as much as any American, be he Bos-
tonian or Carolinian, will, I think, consent to give. If Great
Britain is not satisfied with that, let them have war if they
want it."20 In April Bates wrote Sturgis that the Oregon
Question was as good as settled.21 "Your pamphlet has done
more than all the diplomatic notes. I claim the merit of sug-
gesting the mode of getting rid of the question of the Hudson's
Bay Company and the navigation of the Columbia, by allowing
the company to enjoy it for a fixed number of years. Mr.
McLane and the Government had not thought of it. In the
Quarterly is an article written by Croker which completely
adopts these views."
The British government was, as McLane had more than
once pointed out, waiting for Congress to act upon the notice
for as soon as word reached London that the Senate had
passed the resolutions and before McLane had received in-
structions, Aberdeen summoned him to a long conversation and
20 2 Dec. In No. West Bound. Arb., 42-3.
21 3 Apr., Ibid. The Quartely referred to is the London Quarterly Review
quoted above. J. Q. Adams received a copy of Sturgis' pamphlet, in which Bates'
suggestions had been incorporated, also a letter from Sturgis who told him, Adams,
that his speech in Oregon was inflaming his countrymen to war. Adams notes in
his diary (Memoirs, XII, 256-7), that "Sturge" was a Quaker to whose unqualified
denunciation of war he could not subscribe. Adams took the trouble to write
Sturgis explaining his own position on the whole subject.
182 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
talked over with him the offer which he thought he should
make. The proposition as outlined and as reported to Wash-
ington by McLane included ( 1 ) a boundary line following 49°
to the seat and the Strait of Juan de Fuca with free
navigation of the Straits confirmed; (2) security of British
and American property rights north and south of the proposed
boundary; and (3) free navigation of the Columbia for the
Hudson's Bay Company, although Great Britain would claim
no right to exercise any police or other jurisdiction for itself
or the company ; the navigation rights would be under exactly
the same conditions which should apply to American citizens.
"It is scarcely necessary for me to state," added McLane by
way of comment, "that the proposition as now submitted has
not received my countenance. ... I have therefore felt
it my duty to discourage any expectation that it will be accepted
by the President, or, if submitted to that body, approved by
the Senate."22 The two points, of free navigation of the
Columbia and the claim to all Vancouver by Great Britain, seem
to have impressed McLane with the fear that no adjustment
could be expected. He reported that Lord Aberdeen seemed
to have the impression that the Senate would advise the Presi-
dent to accept these terms and the latter would not take the
responsibility of rejecting them without consulting the Senate.
The same steamer which brought McLane's letter to the
United States also bore instructions to Pakenham. After a
careful review of the course of the British government on the
Oregon Question and including a statement of the situation
of the previous summer, Lord Aberdeen said that Her Majesty's
government would "feel themselves criminal if they permitted
considerations of diplomatic punctilio or etiquette to prevent
them from making every proper exertion to avert the danger
of calamities which they were unwilling to contemplate, but
the magnitude of which scarcely admits of exaggeration."
The legislature of the United States, moreover, had, in com-
plying with the recommendations of the President to terminate
22 To Buchanan, 18 May, No. West Bound. Arb., 49-5». To Calhoun he
wrote in similar vein. Correspondence of Calhoun, 1073-4.
THE FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 183
the convention of 1827, accompanied their decision with con-
ciliatory sentiments. Therefore the British government di-
rected its minister in Washington to propose to the American
government terms which had been drawn up in the form of a
treaty which accompanied the instructions. The relative con-
cessions involved in the proposal were reviewed and compared
by Lord Aberdeen, but, said he, "I am not disposed to weigh
minutely the precise amount of compensation or equivalent
which may be received by either party . . . but am con-
tent to leave such estimiate to be made by reference to a
higher consideration than the mere balance of territorial loss
or gain. We have sought peace in the spirit of peace."23
Even more conciliatory was the letter of private instructions
which accompanied the document intended to be shown the
American Secretary of State.24 Pakenham was told to con-
clude a treaty on the terms outlined, if possible, "since the
present constitution of the Senate appears to offer a greater
chance of acquiescence . . . than might be present at any
future period.1' However, if the President declined to accept
the proposal, and made a counter-proposition, "you will ex-
press regret that you possess no power to admit any such
modification, and, without absolutely rejecting whatever pro-
posal may be submitted on the part of the United States, you
will refer the whole matter to your government." This time
there was to be no opportunity for a slip on the part of the
minister.
Before information reached America of the steps taken by
the British government, men of the conciliation party felt that
it was for the United States to show by some sign a disposition
to settle the controversy and preserve peace, for, not being
altogether in the confidence of the President they had not his
conviction that an offer would be made from the other side.
Senator McDuffie thought that a renewal of the offer of 49°
should accompany the notice. Richard Rush, who had
23 Aberde€n to Pakenham, 18 May, S. Ex. Doc., I, pt. 6, 226-8, 42d Cong.
3d S«s.
24 Ibid., 228-9.
184 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
eagerly watched the proceedings from the outside, wrote Vice-
President Dallas to the same effect, and Dallas pressed this
view upon the President.25 To them as well as to all others
who raised the point Polk always returned the same answer;
the move must come first from the other side, but he invariably
softened this statement by his old formula that, in confidence,
he would say that he intended to submit any reasonable offer
to the Senate for previous advice.
A more difficult situation faced the President on account of
an article in the official organ, the Union. Ritchie, the editor,
had not been taken into the confidence of the man whose gen-
eral views he was supposed to spread broadcast, so, when the
notice was finally passed by Congress, he thundered out against
the Democrats who had combined with the Whigs to oppose
the President. A storm immediately arose. Buchanan re-
ported that there was much dissatisfaction among the Demo-
crats ; somebody, they said, ought to be associated with Ritchie
to make the Union a strong paper and to prevent alienation
of members of the party. Allen, whose views the condemned
article might have been expected to represent, thought a man
like Francis P. Blair (who with Rives had formerly conducted
the Union) ought to be associated with Ritchie who could
not get five votes as Public Printer from the Calhoun faction.
Polk himself agreed that although he disapproved the course
of Calhoun and his followers, the article had been too denuncia-
tory and severe. He talked it over with Ritchie, who was
much perturbed and excused himself by saying that he had
prepared it late at night and in a hurry. Thereupon the Presi-
dent gave him the sketch of an article on the matter, telling
him to "make out of it what he pleased." "This is the second
or third time since I have been President," wrote the Presi-
dent in his Diary, "that I have sketched an article for the paper.
I did so in this instance to allay, if possible, the excitement
which I learned the article in yesterday's Union had produced
among the Democratic members."26
35 Polk, Diary, I, 348-9; 37»-
26 I, 351 seq.
THE FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 185
Allen went so far as to propose to Cass that they take steps
to convert the Congressional Globe into a daily and, under
Blair and Rives, make it a new Democratic organ. Both Polk
and Cass, who grasped the situation more clearly than the Ohio
Senator, saw that this would only split the party more since
the proposed sheet would probably be a Van Buren and Wright
paper and its first issue would be taken as the beginning of
the next presidential campaign. Allen did not press the topic
and it was dropped.
Throughout the country as a whole, except in parts of the
West, the passage of the notice was looked upon as a virtual
settlement of the Oregon Question, for they were few who
believed that then the President would refuse to consider a
compromise which in some way was going to be proposed.
Editorial advice was not wanting. For example the Charles-
ton Mercury from the stronghold of Calhoun said,27
"We repeat that we are glad the matter is now in the hands
of the President, with the wishes and views of Congress and
the people clearly expressed — we sincerely hope that he will
not allow any mere notion of form or etiquette to prevent him
from at once acting on England for the settlement of the
boundary at 49°. If we were to choose for ourselves we would
rather be the party to make the offer of 49° than to receive
one from the other side."
Confidence that there would be no further hitch in settle-
ment received a severe blow when the Mexican situation was
brought before Congress and that body was stampeded into a
declaration of war. Calhoun, who tried to prevent the Presi-
dent's sending any message on the subject, feared that it would
affect the European relations and arrest or possibly defeat the
settlement of the Oregon Question. There would be, he
thought, a powerful incentive for England and perhaps France
to get into the contest.28 Yet at the same time Buchanan was
speaking "publicly and confidently of a settlement at 49°"
and adding that this would not have been obtained if
27 Quoted in Niles* Register, 16 May.
28 See letters to T. C. Clemson, 12 and 14 May, to J. E. Calhoun, 29 May,
Correspondence of Calhoun, 690, 692-4.
186 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
54 degrees 40 minutes had not been claimed. He asserted as
confidently that there would be no war.29 Such information,
coming from the Secretary of State, was taken to express the
sentiments of the Administration and could not fail to have
effect. Nevertheless it was undoubtedly fortunate for the
United States that the offer from Great Britain was sent as
it was. A new ministry was in office, with Lord Palmerston
of imperialistic tendencies as Foreign Secretary, when the
treaty as ratified in the United States was received in London ;
it would have been passing strange if such a ministry would
not have held out for the demands first formulated by Canning
had it seemed expedient to do so. As it was the treaty had
been submitted to the Senate by the time England had received
news of the outbreak of hostilities with Mexico.
On June third Buchanan received McLane's letter forecast-
ing the British offer. "If Mr. McLane is right in the character
of the proposition which is to be made, it is certain that I can-
not accept it, and it is a matter of doubt in my mind whether
it be such as I ought to submit to the Senate for their previous
advice," commented the President.39 But he submitted the
letter to his Cabinet the next day. Buchanan inclined to sub-
mitting the offer to the Senate, for, as he pointed out, if free
navigation of the Columbia was only for the period of the
existing charter of the Hudson's Bay Company the point would
not be vital. Bancroft, Marcy and Mason also thought it
should be submitted.
On June sixth the formal proposition from Pakenham was
before the Cabinet where the discussion was largely over the
proposed navigation concession. Buchanan had changed his
mind and thought it doubtful whether the right would termi-
nate in 1859 when the existing charter of the Company ex-
^Webster to Haven. 28 May. Speeches and Writings, XVI, 454- 'Neverthe-
less only two weeks before this Buchanan had urged Polk to allow him to send
to the ministers of the United States in foreign countries along with the announce-
ment of the war a statement that in going to war the object of the United States
was not to dismember Mexico. When Polk refused Buchanan said "You will
have war with England as well as Mexico and probably France, too, for neither
of these powers will stand by and see California annexed to the United' States."
Polk, Diary, I, .397-8.
30 Polk, Dutry, I, 444-8; 451-62 passim.
THE FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 187
pired; Walker and Marcy agreed with Polk in thinking it
would, and they, together with Bancroft and Johnson, said
offer should go to the Senate. Buchanan was still in doubt;
friends of 54 degrees 40 minutes were such good friends of
the administration that he wished no backing out on the propo-
sition. This volte-face on the part of the Secretary of State
angered the President, although he records that he remained
calm, and caused him to explain that submission of a proposi-
tion was in line with the Annual Message, as well as in
accord with the acts of former presidents. Thereupon Buchanan
said he would advise submission but declined to prepare the
message to accompany it. Privately the other members of the
Cabinet spoke to the President expressing their astonishment
at the course of Buchanan, and he explained it in this way :
"My impression is that Mr. Buchanan intends now to shun
all responsibility for the submission of the British proposi-
tion to the Senate, but still he may wish it done without his
agency, so that if the 54° 40' men shall complain, he may be
able to say that my message submitting it did not receive his
sanction. I shall be disappointed if any message which can be
drawn will receive his assent. He will choose to dissent and
if it is condemned he will escape all responsibility. In his
dispatches to Mr. McLane I have more than once, & in the
presence of the Cabinet, caused paragraphs to be struck out
yielding as I thought too much to Great Britain, and now it
is most strange that he should suddenly, and without assign-
ment of any reason, take the opposite extreme, and talk as
he did yesterday of 'backing out from 54° 40'."
A second time Buchanan was requested to draw up the mes-
sage and refused, saying he would have no agency in its
preparation; he also doubted if any of his own or McLane's
dispatches ought to be sent to the Senate, which Polk ex-
plained to himself on the ground that Buchanan had formerly
urged 49° and this would be shown. He was, however, dis-
satisfied with Folk's draft of a message and finally drew one
up himself, but neither the President nor the rest of the Cabinet
thought it was suitable, while Bancroft reminded his colleague
that he had himself said a month ago "the title of the United
188 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
States north of 49° was a shakling one." After some more
discussion Polk, with the assent of all but Buchanan, deter-
mined to send only that portion of his own draft which sub-
mitted the British offer, gave his own reasons for taking the
course, reiterated his opinions of the Annual Message, and
ended with a declaration that he would be governed by the
advice of the Senate.31 He had already consulted several of
the Senators and all had advised sending the offer although
the 54° 40' men had said that they would vote against accept-
ing it.
Accordingly the proposition reached the Senate on June
tenth, and as that body went into executive session Senator
Sevier was heard to say, "Now, fifty-four forties, come up to
the scratch."32 This they attempted to do, but numbers were
against them and voted down every effort to block immediate
consideration of the message and the offer. The next day
Haywood's resolution advising the President to accept the
offer was adopted by a vote of 38 to 12, and even an amend-
ment proposed by Niles to fix the time limit for the Hudson's
Bay Company's privileges was rejected.33
When the treaty itself was before the Senate for ratification
Benton urged its acceptance as presented, but Cass said that it
was not an ultimatum but a "project" to be met with a counter-
project, basing his contention upon the correspondence of Mc-
Lane which had accompanied the treaty. Allen wished the
iniquities of the peace men to be exposed to light by moving
the suspension of the rule which closed the doors for execu-
tive session, but only a small group of 54° 40' men would sup-
si See Message in Richardson, IV, 449-50. On the day the Message was sent
to the Senate Polk offered to Buchanan to nominate him to the vacant position
on the Supreme Bench at the next session of Congress. Buchanan, who had
been indicating that he would like the place, seemed gratified and, a little later,
urged that his name be sent immediately. When Congress convened in December,
however, he had changed his mind and did not wish the place, probably because
presidential possibilities seemed brighter.
32 Register, 13 June. Globe, XV, 1223. The "veil of secrecy" was removed
in July and the proceedings printed.
33 The point was brought to the attention of Pakenham by Buchanan who
explained that the United States understood that the Company was to enjoy the
privilege only for the duration of its actual charter. McLane was also instructed
to make this (point clear to Lord Aberdeen. Buchanan to McLane, 13 June, Sen.
Doc. No. 489. The treaty was signed, ratified and sent to England by Robert
Armstrong, consul at Liverpool, on the 226. of June.
THE FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 189
port him. The alignment on ratification was the same as that
when the resolutions for notice were adopted two months
before, with the exception of two votes ; Evans, a Maine Whig,
had voted against the notice and now supported the treaty,
while Cameron, a Pennsylvania Democrat, opposed the treaty
although he had voted for the resolutions.
Some of the Western Senators were not inclined to submit
to their defeat without protest. Allen resigned his position as
chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations, saying as
he did so that his views and those of the majority of the Senate
were so diametrically opposed that he felt it inadvisable
longer to retain the position.34 Cass, whom Allen urged to
resign also, refused to do so but would not accept the chair-
manship which would naturally come to him. Allen succeeded
in blocking the election of a successor to himself, being sup-
ported by Hannegan, Semple and Atchison, who had "lashed
themselves into a passion" because of the action of the Senate
and who after "that time voted and acted with the Whig
party."35 They voted for Whigs for the committee position
and refused "through many ballottings to vote for Senator
Sevier, who was the Democratic candidate, and ultimately
defeated his election." "They now," went on Polk in describ-
ing their conduct, "vote against my nominations as I suppose
out of spite. . . . They oppose and embarrass the military
bills for the prosecution of the war against Mexico. They pro-
fess to be in a great rage (there is certainly no reason for
their course) at the settlement of the Oregon question, and
yet they can find no just cause of complaint against me. . . .
Their course is that of spoiled children." Later on Senator
Atchison told the President that he had been excited on the
Oregon Question but he remained a personal and political
friend. Hannegan, however, harbored so deep a resentment
that it was not until the following January that he could bring
himself to call upon the President."36
34 Globt, XV, 972.
35 Polk, Diary. I, 472, 477, 486-7.
36 Ibid., II, 78, 348. Webster wrote his son that 54° 40' men seemed a "good
deal cast down." Van Tyne, Letters, 330.
190 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPER
Rumors of what was going on found their way into news-
papers and current discussion. In the House one last attempt
to save the honor of the country was made by McDowell
who asked for a suspension of the rules to allow him to intro-
duce a set of resolutions in which he asserted once more the
"clear and unquestionable title," in spite of which there had,
"it is believed, within a few days past, (been) submitted to the
President, and through him to the Senate, a proposition to
surrender half of Oregon. In view of the ignorance of the
people as to what was going on he called upon the House to
resolve with him that the question ought to be submitted to
the people for their decision, and that if the treaty-making
power had been used to settle a question of such magnitude
it would "furnish another example of Senatorial and Executive
supremacy which (was) incompatible with the Constitution and
the rights of the people." The House was not of his mind
and refused to suspend the rules. Representative Sawyer,
however, denounced the President for backing down and the
Senate for deliberately voting away half the disputed terri-
tory; "If England knew the character of the treaty-making
power as it exists in the present Senate she could ask anything
she wants and gets it. We are degenerate sons of noble sires."37
There remains the question, not important perhaps, but of
interest, as to the real "savior of the country." Was it Polk,
Benton, Calhoun or some other? On the day that the Senate
advised the President to accept the British offer Calhoun
wrote, "It is to me a great triumph. When I arrived here it
was dangerous to whisper 49, and I was thought to have taken
a hazardous step in asserting, that Mr. Polk had not disgraced
the country in offering it. Now a treaty is made on it with
nearly the unanimous voice of the country. I would have an
equal triumph on the Mexican question, now the Oregon is
settled, had an opportunity been afforded to discuss it."38
Senator Benton claimed that he had proposed the course
37 Globe, XV, 979. 16 June.
38 To T. C. Clemson, n June; to J. E. Calhoun in the same strain, 2 July;
Correspondence, 697, 698.
THE FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 191
which led out of the difficulty, that of submitting a British
offer to the senate.39 The President, he said, had been in a
quandry at the reception by the public of his offer of 49°, he
had quailed before the storm raised by five hundred Demo-
cratic newspapers, and he had underhandedly urged Senators,
including Benton himself, to speak in favor of Forty-nine.40
Benton saw all the Whig Senators and found that they intended
to act in the best interests of the country, patriotically, in spite
of the attacks upon them by the Administration. As for him-
self, although he was subjected to similar attacks, he pursued
his course depending neither upon the President nor upon
the newspapers, but guided by his study of the question for
twenty-five years. Four years later, in 1850, he referred to
his course on Oregon as not only having been opposed by
Greenhow's book but by those who had made that " false and
shallow" document the compendium of all knowledge "When
I was actually extricating the United States from war by
exposing the truth (about 49° as a line) I was blackguarded
in the organ, calling itself Democratic, by Greenhow."41
Besides the President, whose course will be considered in
the next chapter, there may be another claimant of the honor.
In 1847 a candidate for Parliament from Glasgow, McGregor,
told how he had received a letter from Daniel Webster saying
that unless there was an equitable compromise at the forty-
ninth parallel as a basis there would be trouble between the
two countries.42
"Mr. McGregor agreeing entirely with Mr. Webster in
the propriety of a mutual giving and taking to avoid a rup-
ture, and more especially as the whole territory in dispute was
not worth 20,000 pounds to either power, while the prepara-
tions alone for war would cost a great deal more before the
countries could come into actual conflict, communicated the
contents of Mr. Webster's letter to Lord John Russell, who
39 Thirty Years' View, II, 673 seq.
40 On the third of January, 1846, Preston King had the House clerk read a
charge made in the London Times that Polk would rely upon the Whigs and a
few Democrats to block the action of the House; Polk would thus appear popular
in the West, by a daring declaration, while N«w England and the South would
prevent fatal consequences. Globe, XV, 131.
41 Ibid., XXI. Pt. 2, 1662-
gon
41 YtHrf.. AA1, ft. 2, 1 552-3.
t London Examiner, 24 July, 1847, quoted in Marshall, Acquisition of Or€~
. 372-3.
192 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
at the time was living in the neighborhood of Edinburgh, and
in reply received a letter from Cord John, in which he stated
his entire accordance with the proposal recommended by Mr.
Webster and approved by Mr. McGregor, and requested the
latter, as he (Lord John) was not in a position to do it him-
self, to intimate his opinion to Lord Aberdeen. Mr. McGregor,
through Lord Canning, Under Secretary of the Foreign De-
partment, did so, and the result was that the first packet that
left England carried out to America the proposition in accord-
ance with the communication already referred to on which the
treaty of Oregon was happily concluded. Mr. McGregor may
therefore be very justly said to have been the instrument of
preserving the peace of the world, and for that alone, if he
had no other service to appeal to, he has justly earned the
applause and admiration not of his own countrymen only, but
of all men who desire to promote the best interests of the
human race."
Whether it was Mr. McGregor or Mr. Webster who was
the "instrument of preserving the peace of the world," or
whether a further claim could be brought by Joshua Bates
or any other, it is sufficiently obvious that no one man could
claim the merit of having brought about the adjustment. So
far as the United States was concerned it is sufficient to point
out that events clearly showed that no one man, President or
Senator, was in a position to determine the outcome. The
North and the South wanted no war, and they were lukewarm
about Oregon. As the Charleston Mercury put it just after
the notice had been authorized by Congress :
"What has Congress been doing? Why carry out western
measures under western dictation? Oregon and 54, 40 —
with its kindred measures — rifle regiments, mounted and un-
mounted— increase of the army — bills to protect settlers and
establish our laws in Oregon — mail facilities to Oregon, to
be followed soon, we suppose, with a grand railroad to Oregon.
And then nearer home, their rivers and harbors, and that most
magnificent of all humbugs, the Cumberland road — a regular
wagon road. Thanks to the economical sensibilities of the
Yankees, this was too much for even their stomachs, and they
threw it up."43
43 Quoted in< NileS Register, 16 May.
CHAPTER XI.
POLK AND OREGON
The most spectacular as well as the most critical episode in
the history of Oregon's relations to the Federal government
of the United States is inextricably bound up with James K.
Polk. Any study of the Oregon Question in its last diplomatic
stages necessarily makes President Polk the central figure,
whether the topic is viewed as an issue in Congress or an
international controversy between Great Britain and the United
States. In fact, adequately to treat the subject in the period
from March, 1845, to June, 1846, necessitates an attack from
three points ; the diplomatic, the Congressional — including the
Senatorial action in executive capacity — and from the plans
of President Polk. The three phases are so interwoven that
it is difficult to deal with one and not introduce the others,
and yet each has its individual stamp and must be followed out
by itself if a clear picture is to be presented. Having, in the
foregoing chapters, taken the Congressional and diplomatic
sides, it remains to consider the problem of Folk's attitude on
the Oregon Question.
And a problem it is. Polk has left us his diary, which in
print makes four good sized volumes, with an intimate account
of his life while he was President, with the exception of the
period between March and August, 1845. The diary is an
invaluable document for throwing light upon most sides of
national political activity during one administration, and it
was the Oregon Question itself that suggested keeping such
a record, for, says Polk, in the entry of 26 August, 1846 :!
"Twelve months ago this day, a very important conversation
took place in Cabinet between myself and Mr. Buchanan on
the Oregon Question. This conversation was of so important
a character, that I deemed it proper on the same evening to
reduce the substance of it to writing for the purpose of re-
taining it more distinctly in my memory. ... It was this
1 II, 100-1.
194 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
circumstance which first suggested to me the idea, if not the
necessity, of keeping a journal or diary of events and trans-
actions which might occur during my presidency."
The resolution was faithfully carried out and to Folk's care-
ful transcription of each day's events is due in considerable
part our knowledge of the inside factors of the political game
of that eventful period. Shrewd comments on men in public
life afford glimpses which illuminate otherwise obscure occur-
rences. Yet in one respect the Diary is most exasperating:
nowhere does Polk let us see completely enough the workings
of his own mind to ascertain how he came to adopt the course
he followed with respect to Oregon. So far from explaining
his apparent volte-face Polk assumes or seems to assume that
his course from the beginning was undeviating and that which
happened, so far as he personally was concerned, was exactly
what might have been expected. Consequently there is no
help in his definite statements, and it becomes necessary to
gather hints as they seem to have been casually, perhaps, un-
consciously, dropped.
Three possible explanations of Polk's course naturally sug-
gest themselves : the declaration of the Baltimore convention
was political thunder which was intended to influence voters
in a certain section, and Polk's inaugural was in harmony with
it in order to maintain the ruse for a decent time; a second
possibility is that while Polk really took the Baltimore plat-
form in good faith, events, too strong for him to resist, forced
him to depart from its pronouncement; a remaining solution
would attribute to Polk a plan by which he intended from
the outset to accept a compromise at the proper moment.
Although leading to the same end this last explanation differs
from the first in that a policy of laissez-faire finds no place in it.
It is necessary to recall the words of the Baltimore con-
vention respecting Oregon: "Resolved, That our title to the
whole of the territory of Oregon is clear and unquestionable ;
that no portion of the same ought to be ceded to England or
any other power." Compare this with the statement in Polk's
Inaugural Address: "Nor will it become in less degree my
THE FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 195
duty to assert and maintain, by all constitutional means, the
right of the United States to that portion of our territory which
lies beyond the Rocky Mountains. Our title to the country
of Oregon is 'clear and unquestionable' ; and already our people
are preparing to perfect that title by occupying it with their
wives and children. . . . The world beholds the peaceful
triumphs of the industry of our emigrants. To us belongs
the duty of protecting them adequately wherever they may be
upon our soil. The jurisdiction and the benefits of our re-
publican institutions, should be extended over them in the
distant regions they have selected for their homes." Certainly
no one can blame the westerner from reading in this a con-
firmation of his belief that all of Oregon was to be insisted
upon, and all meant up to 54° 40'.
The same impression was forced upon others, more respon-
sible for the declaration of the Democratic party at Baltimore.
John C. Calhoun as Secretary of State was telling Mr. Paken-
ham, the British minister, that the parallel of 49° North Lati-
tude was the lowest line the United States would accept,
although he hinted that perhaps the United States might not
insist upon the tip of Vancouver's Island. At the same time
the popular understanding in the country at large was that the
Democratic party would never accept anything less than the
Russian line. Calhoun, while not on the surface an active
worker in the preliminaries of the Baltimore convention, was
the leader of his party in the South and was not unacquainted
with the causes which led to the nomination of President Polk.
Yet Calhoun, in May, 1845, when writing his daughter about
not being in the newly-formed cabinet, declared that with Folk's
"imprudent declaration in the (Inaugural Address) in refer-
ence to the Oregon question, I could not have remained in it
had he invited me. I did my best in a conversation I had with
him, a week or ten days before he delivered his inaugural,
to guard him against the course he took in reference to Oreogn,
but it seems in vain." He went on to say that he had had the
negotiation in such a state that he saw his way through and
would have laid the results before Congress at the last session,
196 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
had Mr. Pakenham received expected instructions from his
government in time.2
To Francis W. Pickens3 he wrote in the same strain : "I fear
Mr. Polk has taken a false view of that important question.
The remarks of the inaugural in reference to it, have made it
impossible to settle it by negotiation, unless he retracts, or ex-
plains away what he has said. . . ."
"I saw the danger, and endeavored to guard Mr. Polk, in
my first interview, against it ; but as it seems in vain. I, also,
endeavored to guard Mr. Buchanan, but I know not whether
with more success. A war with England about Oregon would
be the most fatal step, that can be taken ; and yet there is great
danger that it will come to that. In my opinion, if prevented,
it must be by the Senate and the South. The question might
have been successfully managed. I saw my way clearly
through it, and left it in a good way. . . ."
It is fairly clear that Calhoun never thought that any presi-
dential candidate when he had won the campaign and had been
inaugurated would ever take seriously the literal words of a
campaign slogan. Such was the view of the Democracy of
the South and of the North for the most part ; only in the
West, and there were exceptions there, was Polk expected to
adhere to the plank. Thomas Benton said that 54° 40' was
adopted as a "campaign message" and the framers of the plat-
form knew little of the geographical situation or of former
treaties and negotiations.4 The bulk of the Democracy in the
House of Representatives, however, appeared to be convinced
that Folk's words meant what all believed to be the literal
meaning of the platform, and this view was strengthened when
his first Annual Message outlined what he had done in the
summer of 1845 and apparently reiterated his determination
never to surrender a foot of Oregon. The Whigs, too, un-
derstood him in the same way and did; their best to show that
this meant war with Great Britain.
2 22_May, 1845, Correspondence, 656.
to J
showed that his views were shared by many of his political friends.
4 Thirty Years' View, II. 677.
THE FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 197
The press, Whig and Democratic, saw in the Inaugural what
Calhoun had seen, for if the Oregon Question had been pushed
into the background during the presidential campaign, it came
to its own in the publicity attained from the time the Inaugural
was pronounced to the Treaty of 1846. With growing intensity
the newspaper discussion was waged, for the most part along
party lines. The Whig papers deplored the tone of the Presi-
dent and brought forward arguments and assertions as to
why negotiations should be continued and a compromise
reached. On the other hand the Democratic papers, taking the
lead from the new Administration paper, the Union, backed
the cry for all of Oregon, although some portions of the South-
ern press would not take the same stand. The Charleston
Courier,5 for example, showed the influence of Calhoun's views
when, discussing the Inaugural, it advocated a compromise
"in which each party may relinquish a part of its extreme claim,
with no loss of honor, nor surrender of dignity, or sacrifice of
material interests." But the New York Evening Post6 had
gathered a large number of leading articles from western papers
and was gratified to see "the cordial unanimity of opinion with
which (the Oregon Question) is taken up, and the universal
determination that our rights to the territory should be stoutly
and ably advocated. There is but one sentiment and one voice
on the subject. What is clearly ours will be so claimed and
maintained, let Great Britain take offense as she may."
"Undoubtedly," was the reply of the National Intelligencer
(Whig), "'what is clearly ours' ought to be 'so claimed and
maintained,' at the proper time and in a proper manner. But
the very question at issue, in this case, between the United
States and Great Britain, was deemed a fit subject for negotia-
tions by all previous administrations of this government, and
now admitted by the present to be such, is, what is clearly ours ?
The 'universal determination,' the Evening Post will grant,
cannot determine a question of right."
Between the National Intelligencer and the Union arose an
5 p^oted «» #•'«* Register, 31 May, 1845.
198 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
editorial controversy over the tone of the Inaugural. The
Intelligencer, Whig as it was and sore over the defeat of Clay,
took many occasions to point out the defects of the Administra-
tion's policy, especially on the most pressing matter of Oregon.
One of these articles reviewed the situation and concluded
with the opinion that the "case should go forward to its peace-
ful and reasonable decision; and we hope, as is our public7
duty, that it will, in spite of all blusterers, cis or trans- Atlantic."
The response of the Union to this leader represents the views
of the Administration so far as those could be read by the
public in general, for Ritchie, a strong Polk man in the cam-
paign, had left the Richmond Enquirer to come to Washington
as editor of Folk's organ. Ritchie's answer, then, to Gales and
Seaton may well have been considered an outline of Folk's
desired interpretation of the Inaugural and as such is important
enough to be liberally quoted :
"We do not understand that the executive of the United
States have any intention of closing the door to any nego-
tiation with Great Britain on the Oregon Question, and, there-
fore, we might suppose that all the inferences which the
National Intelligencer draws from the supposed Violent ground
that the United States (for instance) will not negotiate' upon
such a course, leaving us the 'alternatives of submission or war'
and all denunciations which it so gratuitously pours forth upon
the 'shocking absurdity' and the barbarous doctrine that 'we
ought not to negotiate,' (which the National Intelligencer
attributes to some of the republicans,) and thus we revive the
'old umpirage of private rights — the wager of battle' are en-
tirely misplaced.
"We certainly do not understand that the negotiation about
Oregon is at an end ; or that our administration is determined
or willing to terminate it ; or that there is no prospect of amic-
ably adjusting the dispute; or that it must necessarily end in
breaking up the peace of the two countries. . . We yet
trust that the 'case may go forward to its peaceful and reason-
able decision' ; and in spite, too, of all unnecessary menaces of
the British ministers and all the blusterings of the London
journals.
"Instead of giving gratuitous and superfluous advice to our
7 13 May.
THE FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 199
cabinet, we should have been better pleased to see the National
Intelligencer coming out with the expression of its own
opinions on the question itself. We should have been better
satisfied to have seen the National Intelligencer vindicating
the just claims of our country against the assaults and argu-
ments of British tongues and British pens ; and we still hope
to see that journal thus employed and not again, as in the case
of Texas, counteracting the rights and interests of our own
country."
To this exposition the Intelligencer called the attention of
its readers and bade them mark the course of the government
which had had its course thus outlined in a reputed organ:
"We who watch the power, can now oblige it to speak out, and,
when it has spoken, can force it to stand to what it has said."
The editors considered that the Administration had in so
many words bound itself to negotiate on the "question which
has spread so much alarm through the moneyed and commer-
cial interests of the country — the Oregon question."8
Most western papers and many of the northern papers of
Democratic tendencies looked upon Folk's pronouncements as
unequivocal in its support of the claim to 54° 40'. The Whig
papers and some of the southern Democratic papers, as noted
above, reflected the views shown in the citations above. Here
and there, however, was sounded a note, bitter in the West
and hopeful in the East, which indicated a shade of doubt.
The St. Louis Republican, for instance, after printing a letter
in which Peter Burnett discussed the possibility of an inde-
pendent Oregon, said:9
"In reality there is no reasonable prospect of a settlement of
the question by negotiation, for years to come; and there is an
influence in the administration of Mr. Polk, which will prevent
a resort to any other means. Neither Mr. Calhoun nor any
of his friends, in South Carolina, nor any of the mettlesome
statesmen of that school, who were so hot in the pursuit of
Texas, will tolerate or permit a resort to arms in defense of
our rightful claim to Oregon. They will have no war with
Great Britain, come what else may; and Mr. Polk is not the
man to defy them in such a contingency. What is now only
8 The articles were in the Intelligencer, 5 and 7 May; the Union articles a*e
quoted in Niles' Register of 10 May.
9 Of 9 August, 1845, quoted in Register, ^3 August.
200 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
in contemplation in Oregon (i. e., an independent establish-
ment) may, therefore, soon become absolutely necessary to
their own security, and all will admit that there is excitement
enoug"h in the project of organization of an independent gov-
ernment, and the offices and honors which even such a govern-
ment would bring with it, to make it acceptable to a people so
far removed from the United States as that of Oregon."
But if the President needed only moral support in his pur-
suit of a policy which would prefer war to the surrender of one
inch of Oregon's soil that support was forthcoming in various
ways aside from speeches in Congress and newspaper articles.
In Illinois, for instance, there was held a State convention at
which it was resolved "that the general government were
bound to adhere to the declarations of President Polk, in his
inaugural speech in relation to Oregon, and to maintain and
defend our right to every inch of that territory."10 Governor
John H. Steele, in his message to the New Hampshire legis-
lature in June of 1845, went into an analysis of the situation
and asserted that previous offers of compromise had been
unfortunate:11
"I say unfortunate, because no people or government ever
yet admitted, or even proposed to waive or yield any of its
rights to the claims or demands of Great Britain, but in the
end had cause to repent of so doing." The memory of the
disgraceful proceedings by which "that haughty power ob-
tained possession of a large portion of the State of Maine"
ought to be in people's minds, and warned by it the administra-
tion should not again be coaxed or threatened out of just
rights. "But it is not my desire or intention to enter into a
discussion of that question. It is in the hands of an able and
patriotic administration, who will no doubt, use every honor-
able exertion to bring it to an amicable close. At any rate,
I feel confident that no timid concession, no unmanly sur-
render of clear rights, will be made ; and that no truckling to
menace will again stain the annals of our beloved country."
In one of the counties of Pennsylvania a meeting came to
the resolution that, "in regard to our just claims to Oregon,
we will have no compromises but at the cannon's mouth." A
10 In Niles1 Register, 19 July.
11 Ibid., 21 June.
THE FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 201
largely attended meeting in Marion County, Illinois, declared
that the title to 54° 40' was clear and the joint occupation
agreement should be terminated immediately and military posts
established on the road to Oregon.12 Such expressions of
popular feeling are but indicative of a sentiment which was
growing with rapidity in the summer and autumn of 1845 and
upon which the conservative elements of the North and South
looked with apprehension.
Across the water a similar popular clamor was rising as a
result of the Inaugural. The matter was considered important
enough to elicit from Lord John Russell a question in the House
of Commons,13 and the answer of Sir Robert Peel was not of
a character which would allay apprehensions. The British
press was stirred into renewed activity and, led by the London
Times, conducted a campaign of education as to the sinister
designs of the United States. The blunt statement of Presi-
dent Polk had been a blow to the amour-propre of England and
the feeling was everywhere expressed that the insolent Yankee
must be taught to adopt a different tone. "There are certain
animals that may be led, but won't be driven — Bull is one of
them," is the way Wilmer & Smith's Times put it. "In his
intercourse with foreigners he prides himself upon his cour-
tesy, and he expects the same courtesy in return. The new
president's peremptory style has stirred up his bile, and the
House of Commons has scarcely reassembled after the Easter
recess, when Lord John Russell's" question brought up the
matter. This article went on to call attention to the London
Times' editorial which could be considered an indication of
the stand which the government would take.14
"We are justly proud" said the Times, "that on the Oregon
question as well as on that of the northeastern boundary the
British government has uniformly shown its moderation as
well as its firmness on our side. It is impossible not to deplore,
on the other hand, that ill regulated, overbearing, and aggres-
sive spirit of American democracy, which overlooks the real
1.2 Several such items are in the Register for 9 August
13 3 Hansard, 79; 178 sea.
14 Niles' Register of 26 April contains these as well as other quotations from
the press of England.
202 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
present interests of the two nations in the Oregon territory —
that, namely, of letting it alone for another half century at
least, or deciding the matter by arbitration before any local
interests have sprung up too powerful to be so disposed of.
"But, since the Americans, and even the press of the United
States, are determined that the question shall be allowed to
rest no longer — since they have rejected the proposal for an
arbitration, and ostentatiously announce claims and measures
utterly inconsistent with the system of joint occupation, or the
equitable recognition of any concurrent rights at all, it is fit
that they be warned in the most explicit manner that their
pretensions amount, if acted upon to the clearest causa belli
which has ever yet arisen between Great Britain and the Amer-
ican Union."
Such was the view of the Times, and such was the attitude
of the British press in general, although there were sugges-
tions that the whole matter might still be arranged if the proper
attitude on the part of the American government could be
restored. The more moderate papers went so far as to suggest
the modifications which might be made on each side to effect
a settlement, suggestions which were in the air on both sides
of the Atlantic and which eventually found their way into the
treaty. So the London Examiner after setting forth the claims
on both sides claimed that it would be madness for either party
to claim its maximum, hence the only question was what was
the minimum which would be accepted by each; forty-nine to
the sea with all Vancouver's Island for Great Britain, it
thought, was the basis for such a mutual surrender.15 The
same proposal was made by Senior in the Edinburgh Review,
much to the disgust of the more radical prints.16 The Exam-
iner admitted that whatever policy Lord Aberdeen should adopt
his course would be attended with difficulty. "The American
negotiator will employ against him every sort of misrepresenta-
tion of principle and facts ; for though the national law of the
American courts and legal writers is admirable, that of their
diplomatists, and indeed of diplomatists in general, is usually
a tissue of sophistry and falsehood. We trust that the English
15 25 April, 1845, quoted in Register, 14 June. Papers on both sides quoted
liberally from those of the opposite side.
16 Of July. 1845; Vol. 82:123-37.
THE FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 203
negotiators will not follow their example." It is clear that
the editors of the Examiner had not learned that American
diplomacy differed from all other in the world.
So the war talk on both sides of the ocean grew as the
uncompromising stand of Polk during 1845 prevented any
immediate adjustment. If this stand was maintained in order
to carry out in a realistic manner a political game, a mere
keeping up of appearances with a promise never intended to
be kept, then it came dangerously near producing a tragedy.17
Yet those who were close to the President found in his words
the same meaning that the more sanguine westerners approved,
and that the British public and conservative elements in Amer-
ica feared.
The Inaugural had its share in making it difficult for the
President to find a man to his liking to replace Edward Everett
as minister to Great Britain. Calhoun, who declined the honor,
wrote Francis W. Pickens, who had also been approached,18
"In addition to the reasons you have assigned, there are others
connected with the Oregon question as it stands, which I
fear, would make the position of a minister in England who
is true to the South embarrassing, should he be charged with
any duties connected with it." Martin Van Buren was sounded
on the subject and refused the mission after he had consulted
with his friends. One of these,19 after talking the question over
with Governor Silas Wright of New York, wrote that the
President had no right to make such a request of an ex-
President unless he put it on the ground of a great emergency ;
"if the President would call an extra session of Congress and
present your name, then the country would say you ought not
to decline, "but the demand should be so strong as to take the
whole matter of the Oregon Question out of the "hands of
17 The Paris Journal des Debates and the Globe, both) Guizot papers and pro-
British, held that the American demands were unreasonable, and it was hinted
that a rupture between the United States and Great Britain would show the sym-
pathy, if not actual intervention, of France would be for England. (Register, 7
Jun.) La Presse, hostile both to the French ministry and to England, said the
stand of the United States "as to the territory of Oregon not sustainable." La
Constitutionel, Thiers' organ, attacked the French tendency to lean toward Great
Britain "to the prejudice of an ancient and faithful ally like the United States."
(Register, 14 June.)
18 Correspondence of Calhoun, 653.
19 N. C. Flagg to Van Buren* 16 May, 1845. Van Buren Papers, 53.
204 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
the Baltimore conspirators." Franklin H. Elmore of South
Carolina was also invited to accept the post but he too de-
clined it.
Louis McLane, of Delaware, finally consented to undertake
the task. Mr. McLane had had wide experience in public
service ; he had served in both houses of Congress, had been a
minister to Great Britain, and had, under Jackson, been Secre-
tary of the Treasury and Secretary of State. Nevertheless,
from a party standpoint, his appointment was looked upon as
peculiar.
"I do not understand the selection of McLane — unless it
was made under the excessive horror of 'cliques' about which
poor old Mr. Ritchie proses so much, and it was thought that
it was better to select for so high a mark of honour one who
was no democrat at all than any of those who had the mis-
fortune as to be such prominent democrats as not to escape
belonging to some clique or other — north, east, south, or west.
It has sometimes occurred to me that the President and the
Secretary of State see that in the present public feeling about
Oregon they cannot yield any thing and that (notwithstanding
the disclaimers) they intend to let the negotiation be really
made in London, and to throw upon the minister there the
concession which may be submitted to. I must say I have
more confidence in Mr. McLane's spirit and sagacity than I
have in those of the President or Secretary and think he will
make an abler negotiator than either of them ; but I can hardly
think of any one whose acts will be more jealously watched
by the democracy of every section of the country."20
While Mr. Gilpin's surmises regarding the probable outcome
were tinged with a certain shrewdness he was evidently un-
aware of the efforts Polk had made to obtain the services of
eminent democrats before he turned to McLane.
In the Cabinet there was, certainly until late in 1845, a con-
viction that there would be a break with Great Britain before
the President would yield a point. After the proposal of 49°
had been made and refused, and when the question of with-
drawing the offer was being discussed, Buchanan struggled
hard to leave a loophole through which the British minister
^~H. D. Gilpin to Van Buren, 7 July, Ibid.
THE FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 205
might gracefully bring back a counter-proposition.21 Polk
was obdurate ; he had given much thought to the question and
he was glad the offer had been rejected; "it having been re-
jected he felt no longer bound by it, & would not now be
willing to compromise on that boundary." To the Secretary's
suggestion that war might follow the President replied, "If
we have war it will not be our fault." Buchanan then stated
that he supposed there would be a war sometime but he did
not think the people of the United States would be willing
to sustain a war for the country north of 49° and if there
had to be one he would like to have it for some better cause, —
"for some of our rights of person or property or of National
honour violated." Whereupn Polk told him that he differed as
as to popular sentiment and he thought "we had the strongest
evidence that was to be anywhere seen that the people would
be prompt and ready to sustain the Government in the course
which he had proposed to pursue."
Many a time in the months following (this conversation
took place in the latter part of August) did the Secretary of
State strive to secure some definite word which he could use
in his negotiation and to the comfort of his own soul, to the
effect that a compromise could be made, but he was forced
reluctantly to resign himself to the belief that the President
was bent on maintaining the stand of the Inaugural which
seemed to be "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight." Such too was the
opinion of the other members of his Cabinet although no other
of them found it so hard to be reconciled as did Buchanan.
And today, in reading the record left by President Polk him-
self, it is difficult to see how any other view could have been
reached. Yet is is to be noticed that nowhere did Polk record
that he would make no compromise; nowhere did he say that
he intended irrevocably to insist on the full claim.
At this point it is interesting to note the views of two con-
temporary historians of Folk's administration. Lucien B.
Chase, a Tennessee Democrat and a member of both the
ai Polk, Diary, I, 4. This is from an entry on a separate sheet noting the
sonrersation which was responsible for the diary.
206 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
Twenty-ninth and Thirtieth Congresses, was a sympathetic
biographer, and his work was published in 1851 when all the
events of the period were fresh in mind; furthermore Mr.
Chase felt himself in close touch with what was going on both
through members of both houses of Congress and on account
of his relations to the President. Nevertheless the following
excerpt shows how little he really did know of the situation:22
"In connection with the Oregon Question, Mr. Polk com-
mitted a fatal error, amounting to what Tallyrand would call
a 'blunder,' and which, having the effect of alienating some of
his warmest friends greatly embarrassed his administration
throughout. In his first communication to the American peo-
ple, he proclaimed to the world, that pur title to the country
of the Oregon was 'clear and unquestionable.' In that asser-
tion he was but reiterating the opinions of his constituents,
solemnly expressed at the ballot-box. The statement was still
more solemnly uttered in his message to Congress. In the
same communication he announced a principle which should
control the Government of the United States. If it is the
unchangeable policy of this country to prevent Europeans from
colonizing any portion of this continent, it applies to a terri-
tory to which we have no claim, as well as that which belongs
to us; and if we cannot suffer them to colonize parts of the
American continent to which we have no claim, how can we
surrender territory to which our title is 'clear and unques-
tionable' ?
"In this communication (i. e., that asking the advice of the
Senate on the British proposition) he committed himself to the
action of the Senate, and it was well understood at Washington
what advice that body would give him. To reject the pro-
posal of the English Government would have brought him
into collision with a large majority of the Senate. The nerves
which had remained unmoved in many political struggles, and
the firmness which had often overcome the most fiery opposi-
tion, where the cheeks of the resolute and bold blanched with
terror, were shaken at the prospect of a rupture with Great
Britain unsanctioned by one branch of the legislative power."
(pp. 50-1.)
Another contemporary biographer was John S. Jenkins23
who discusses Folk's Oregon activities in this way :
22 History of the Polk Administration, 32, 33; 50, 51.
23 James Knox Polk and a History of His Administration (1851), 233, 4; 235.
THE FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 207
"So thoroughly was Mr. Polk convinced, that the American
title to the whole of Oregon was 'clear and unquestionable/
that if he alone had been responsible, he would have instantly
declined to surrender any portion of the territory. But by
former negotiations the government appeared to be committed
to an equitable division, and a decided majority of Congress
were avowedly favorable to a compromise. There was, too, a
new consideration connected with the question, — one of policy
and expediency, motives which always have, and which always
should, with some limitations, control the actions of nations and
individuals. Upper Oregon and the Island of Vancouver were
comparatively valueless, except for the excellent harbors within
the Straits of Fuca, which were the only safe and easily acces-
sible one in the whole territory. Those of the southern shore
of the Straits were, indeed, to belong to the United States
under the British proposition ; but war now existed with Mex-
ico, and as that country was largely indebted to American
citizens, and was confessedly bankrupt, Mr. Polk, as a wise
and sagacious statesman, could not but have foreseen that
the contest would terminate with the acquisition, as a satis-
faction for the American claims and the expenses of the war,
of a large portion of contiguous territory, in which was em-
braced the bay of San Francisco, the finest harbor on the Pacific
coast."
"Thus, by the firm determination of Mr. Polk, was this vexed
question, which at one time threatened to interrupt the friendly
relations subsisting between the two nations . . . forever
settled in a spirit of amity and concord; each party magnani-
mously surrendering part."
If two contemporaries of Polk could reach such diverse con-
clusions as to Folk's conduct, contemporaries who supposedly
were in touch with the political situation, it is not surprising
that the contemporary man on the street was puzzled. The
explanation, then, cannot be found in the suggestion that
Polk was keeping up a campaign bluster for effect. The
matter was overdone; it was not played skillfully to that end
for it disrupted the Democratic party. In any case someone
besides Polk himself would have had to know the real situa-
tion, but political friend and foe alike came to the conclusion
almost unanimously that Polk really intended to carry out the
Oregon plank of the Baltimore convention.
206 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
Only two other explanations offer themselves : Polk took the
platform in good faith until he saw the course it pointed was
absolutely impracticable, or he had from the beginning a plan
which contained his course on Oregon as one of the main
threads. Of the two explanations the latter presents more the
appearance of being the real one. There was a "bluff" but
it was not primarily for the benefit of Great Britain; it was
not a trick to force Great Britain into yielding the territory
between the forty-ninth parallel and the Columbia,24 but it
was a portion of the game whereby California and other Mexi-
can territory was to be secured ; Oregon was a secondary con-
sideration throughout the whole episode. Friend and foe were
alike mystified ; the southerner who desired more territory to
the southwest was as much bewildered as was the northerner
who saw in Folk's madness a course which meant war and com-
mercial disaster.
Polk undoubtedly intended to get as much of Oregon as he
could, but that it occupied a secondary place in his thoughts
is definitely suggested by an entry in his diary recording an
interview with Colonel Benton. Before Congress convened
in December, 1845, Buchanan had shown Benton the corre-
spondence between the British and American governments —
except the instructions to McLane — at Folk's request. Then
Benton called to discuss the situation (October 24, 1845). He
doubted the completeness of the United States claim when
Polk outlined the recommendations which he was going to put
into his Annual Message (although he did not tell Benton that
these were to be a part of that document). Polk further stated
that he inclined to reaffirm Mr. Monroe's doctrine about settle-
ment of the American continents, whereupon Benton said that
Great Britain possessed some sort of a title to Eraser's River,
the same kind that the United States did to the Columbia.25
"The conversation then turned on California," Polk wrote,
"on which I remarked that Great Britain had her eye on that
country and intended to possess it if she could, but that the
24 At McLaughlin in his Lift of Cats explains it.
*f Diory, I. f «.
THE FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 209
people of the U. S. would not willingly permit California to
pass into the possession of any new colony planted by Great
Britain or any foreign monarchy, and that in reasserting Mr.
Monroe's doctrine, I had California and the fine bay of San
Fracisco as much in view as Oregon. Colonel Benton agreed
that no foreign power ought to be permitted to colonize Cuba.
As long as Cuba remained in the possession of the present
government we would not object, but if a powerful foreign
power was about to possess it, we would not permit it. On
the same footing we would place California."
This conversation took place, it is to be noted, in October,
nearly a year before hostilities with Mexico began and while
the belief was growing that Mexico was going to acquiesce
in the loss of Texas. Folk's plan was to prevent Great Britain's
securing a foothold in California, which the Hudson's Bay
Company coveted. But so long as California was a part of
Mexico there was always danger that this province would
pass into the possession of some strong power, and its posses-
sion by the United States would be the only real security
against such a contingency. Mexico, however, would not cede
California to the United States, therefore California must be
taken. In order to do this the United States must fight Mexico,
the people of the country must be brought to a proper warlike
pitch, and Great Britain must be kept busy so that there
would be no temptation to create a diversion to the south, for
there was no likelihood that Great Britain would risk the
Northwest, where the Hudson's Bay Company had valuable
interests, in reaching south to California which was as yet
only longed for. In the United States there was no strong
disposition to provoke hostilities with Mexico, even in the
South, which presumably would gain most from such a move,
but, as we have seen, there was a decidedly belligerent tone
when Great Britain was under discussion.
All through the summer the war talk had been increasing in
both England and America ; this Polk knew very well. For
instance, shortly after his interview26 with Benton, he was
called upon by Mr. Ward, Boston representative of Baring
26 Diary, I. 73-5-
210 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
Brothers and Company, who told the President that he was a
friend of the Administration. He said it was of great interest
to his firm to know whether there would be peace or war; he
had heard that the President was in favor of claiming all
Oregon, in which case there should be danger of war. All
the satisfaction Ward could get was the assurance that the
general policy of the country was peace. Polk considered the
call from Ward as significant because less than a week before
Buchanan had received McLane's letter in which the govern-
ment's dissatisfaction with the course of Pakenham had been
stated, and the willingness of the British government to listen
to a new proposition indicated. In spite of these opportunities
to allay the war rumors, and against the advice, almost plead-
ing, of Buchanan for permission to show that the United States
would go part way toward a compromise, Polk insisted that
the burden of reopening the negotiation should be placed
wholly upon Great Britain.
When the Annual Message was discussed in Cabinet Polk
told Buchanan, who was trying to secure a modified tone,
that he had not seen ten Congressmen who were "not roused
on Oregon and willing to go the whole length."27 All the 54° 40'
men were pleased with the message. It called attention to the
accompanying documents which gave the details of the offer
of 49°, its rejection and then the withdraway of the offer. The
offer was explained in this way :
"Though entertaining the settled conviction, that the British
pretensions of title could not be maintained to any portion of
the Oregon territory under any principle of public law recog-
nized by nations, yet, in deference to what had been done by
my predecessors, and especially in consideration that proposi-
tions of compromise had been thrice made, by two preceding
administrations, to adjust the question on the parallel of forty-
nine degrees, and in two of them yielding to Great Britain
the free navigation of the Columbia, and that the pending
negotiation had been commenced on the basis of compromise,
I deemed it my duty not abruptly to break it off."
27 "It was manifest to me that in the whole discussion Mr.
Buchanan disapproved the course which he saw I was inclined to take, and that
he was laboring to prevent it." Diary » I. 81.
THE FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 211
But, continued the Message, the spirit of moderation had not
been met by a like spirit on the part of the British negotiator.
"Had this been a new question, coming under discussion for
the first time, this proposition would not have been made. The
extraordinary and wholly inadmissible demands of the British
government, and the rejection of the proposition made in
deference to my predecessors, and the implied obligations which
their acts seemed to impose, afford satisfactory evidence that
no compromise which the United States ought to accept can
be effected. With the conviction, the proposition of compro-
mise which had been made and rejected, was, under my direc-
tion, subsequently withdrawn, and our title to the whole of
Oregon asserted, and, as is believed, maintained by irrefragible
facts and arguments.
"The civilized world will see in these proceedings a spirit
of liberal concession on the part of the United States ; and this
government will be relieved from all responsibility which may
follow the failure to settle the controversy."
Following this was the list of recommendations respecting
Oregon, including the request for authority to terminate the
convention for joint occupancy.
"At the end of the year's notice, should Congress think it
proper to make provision for giving that notice, we shall have
reached a period when the national rights in Oregon must either
be abandoned or firmly maintained. That they cannot be
abandoned without a sacrifice of both national honor and in-
terest, is too clear to admit of doubt."
With a final reference to the title of the United States the
President mentioned the best offer the British had made and
stated that a "trifling addition of detached territory'" could
never be considered by the United States without abandoning
her rights, her self-respect and her national honor.
A few days later Senator Benton said to Polk, in the pres-
ence of Judge Mason, the Attorney-General, "Well, you have
sent us the message. I think we can all go it as we under-
stand it."28 And this is exactly what took place. The 54° 40'
men hailed the Message as fulfilling their utmost desires; the
28 So Polk records, Diary, I, 116. In his Thirty Years' View Benton states
that the Message put the issue of peace or war into the hands of Congress. (II,
658.) Such a view of the situation would obviously be to advance the reputation
of those who took a prominent part, especially in the Senate, for moderation.
212 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
moderates, like Benton, were not so sure of it. Buchanan, in a
letter marked "private & confidential and not written as Secre-
tary of State," told McLane,29 "The message has been better
received throughout the country than any similar communica-
tion to Congress in my day. All moderate men are conciliated
by our offer of 49° ; whilst the fire-eaters are satisfied with its
withdrawal & the assertion of our whole claim. This is the
feeling which pervades the whole Democratic party & a very
large proportion of the Whigs."
The newspapers, which during October and November,
had been alternately predicting that war was inevitable and that
negotiations would succeed, judged from the Message that the
negotiations had failed and that "either England or the United
States must back out of Oregon, or fight for it."30 Neverthe-
less even the editors were a little puzzled ; while the first
"hasty reading" gave the impression that the negotiation was
ended further consideration seemed to cast doubt on this con-
clusion.31 The total silence of the Message on taking steps
in preparation for war seemed to mean that the Administra-
tion did not expect hostilities, but a tumble in stocks which
came a week later showed that the market was uneasy.
After the Message the pendulum swung from war to peace,
and along with popular speculation as to the international
result the political significance of the whole thing was worry-
ing the Democratic party. While the South could undoubted-
ly "save the country" and prevent war32 this would mean a
break in the union of the West and South ; should southern
Democracy prevent war and in so doing allow the protective-
anti-Texas-Oregon wing of the party be in the ascendant, with
Wright, Benton & Company wielding the sceptre? Polk, too,
was impressed with the political capital which was made out
29 Works of James Buchanan, VT, 342.
30 Mies' Register, 6 Dec., 1845. For weeks the Register had gleaned th«
papers for expressions of opinions, and had printed them under the caption,
"Peace or War.' The Message comment was headed, "Our worst anticipations
have been realized." A fiery article in the Union, just before Congress assembled,
had claimed "All Oregon or none."
31 Nat. Intelligencer, 6 Dec.
33 Charleston Mercury, quoted in Nat. Intelligence, 17 Nor.
THE FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 213
of it all.33 Calhoun was firmly convinced that only by the
efforts of southern Senators could war be averted, and it was
on this account that he returned to the Senate in the winter
of 1845-6.34
To one observer the Annual Message was not convincing.
When John Quincy Adams was asked by George Bancroft
what he thought of the document and whether he disapproved
of the offer of 49° he said he did not disapprove the offer
although he himself would not have made it. He approved the
reference to Monroe's doctrine and hoped that the President
would adhere to it by force of arms if necessary, but added
that he "had not been entirely without apprehension that Mr.
Polk would ultimately recede from it." Later, after Adams
had read the correspondence submitted with the Message, he
noted that the most remarkable thing about it all was that
notwithstanding Folk's positive assertions he had made the
offer, "which was formerly made under the impression that
it would not be accepted." "My own opinion is that this
offer should never again be made, nor accepted if offered by
Great Britain herself; but it is too clear to me that Mr. Polk
will finish by accepting it."35
In Europe the Message produced the same feeling that the
majority of Americans had, that it uncompromisingly com-
mitted the American government and people to demand all
Oregon or fight, although the press was inclined to think some
way would be found out of the muddle.36 In Parliament there
was some disposition to press the matter although no formal
step was taken until April when a demand for papers was
refused by the government.37 Aberdeen stated that the nego-
tiation was not at an end, and, while nothing could prevent
33 Diary, I, 264-5. See quotation in Chapter IX.
34 See m Correspondence of Calhoun, letters to Clemson and to T. H Ham-
mond, 18 and 28 September, 1845. See Globe XVIII, 878, for story told by Holme*
rbid., 096. that by Bayly of Virginia how some Whig merchants of New York re-
ouested Holmes to use his influence with Calhoun to have him return to the
Senate to lead the 49° forces. Bayly refuted the statement made by Holmes that
until Calhoun appeared in Washington no Democrat dared lift his voice for any-
thing but 54° 40'.
35 Memoirs, XII, 218-221.
36 Niles* Register, of 3 Jan., 1846, has a summary of the views of the British
press.
37 3 Hansard, 79:120-4,
214 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
the American government from terminating joint occupation,
England could depend upon its government to uphold the honor
of the country. An amicable settlement was to be preferred,
but should it be otherwise, "I can only say we possess rights
which, in our opinion, are clear and unquestionable; and, by
the blessing of God, and with your support, those rights we
are fully prepared to maintain." In the United States it
was believed that the Government's stand was emphasized by
the report of increased military preparation.
On all sides, then, Polk could see that there was a strong
belief that war was scarcely to be escaped. Nevertheless not
only did he do nothing which would remove this feeling but
he actually added fuel to the flames, although alleging all the
time that he believed there would be no war. As we have
seen38 Polk was urging military and naval preparations at the
same time he was telling various Senators, confidentially, that
he would submit a reasonable British proposition to the Senate
for its advice. By his messages, by his conversations with
members of both houses, by the activities of his Secretaries
of War and Navy with congressional committees, Congress
was not allowed to forget that trouble might come, even when
the discussion on the notice had taken a turn so that it was
well known it would be passed with some sort of conciliatory
sentiments.
During the period from the beginning of December until
toward the last of April the Mexican question occasionally
came before the Cabinet in one form or other, but there was
no serious discussion of a possibility of war from that quarter ;
whenever the possibility of war was up it was always connected
with the Oregon Question and Great Britain. It was not until
the middle of January that it was definitely known that Slidell
would not be received in Mexico, thus putting an end to im-
mediate hope of renewing diplomatic intercourse. General
Taylor was ordered to take up his position on the north bank
of the Rio Grande in the strip which Mexico claimed did not
and never had formed a part of the province of Texas.
38 See Chapters VIII, IX, and X above.
THE FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 215
With some of the Senators toward the end of March and in
April Polk talked over the Mexican situation. He broached
the possibility of purchasing New Mexico and California to
Allen, Benton and Calhoun, and of the latter asked if it might
not be possible to secure from Congress an appropriation, such
as had been given to Jefferson in 1806, so that steps to this
end might be taken.39 Calhoun cautioned patience and advised
a settlement of the Oregon Question before anything was
tried with Mexico. After having thought the matter over a
few days Calhoun said that although he approved the object
he believed it was inexpedient to bring it before Congress at
the time. Polk said nothing" more about it for time, until it
was evident that the notice would be passed in a conciliatory
form. Then, on April eighteenth, he spoke of it again to
Calhoun ; he believed strong measures would have to be taken
with Mexico. Calhoun, however, again cautioned the Presi-
dent against a hasty course ; there were, he said, in Washing-
ton ministers of several foreign countries who had satisfied
him of their desire to act as the common friend of both parties
in the Oregon matter, and this question should be settled before
there was any thought of pressing the claims against Mexico.
There can be little doubt that Polk was sure, as soon as the
British government learned of the passage of the notice, that
an offer on substantially the same lines McLane had been urg-
ing upon Aberdeen, with his own tacit permission, would come.
Such an offer Polk had hinted he would submit to the Senate.
Consequently he could have little doubted the peaceful conclu-
sion of the Oregon controversy when, on the ninth of May,
he received official notice that General Ampudia had ordered
Taylor to retire with his forces behind the Nueces. He had,
therefore, no hesitation in sending his famous Mexican Mes-
sage to Congress.
The Message fell upon willing ears. The war spirit which
had been so carefully fostered ever since the opening of the
presidential campaign in 1844 responded nobly to the chal-
lenge and legislative action necessary to provide forces for a
Mexican war fitted easily upon the steps already taken to pre-
216 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPER
pare for possible hostilities with Great Britain. Congress, ac-
cording to testimony even of southerners who were not un-
willing to see the addition of territory which might presumably
be to their benefit, were stampeded into a declaration of war.
That Polk intended to force an issue with Mexico in order
to obtain California and New Mexico — providing they could
not be obtained in any other way — has been brought out many
times; that he never intended to allow the Oregon Question
to jeopardize the acquisition of the southern territory seems
equally clear. He intended, no doubt, to get as much of Oregon
as possible and was not willing to have the issue brought
bluntly before the British government to stir that body into
action. But before all he was thinking of the Mexican terri-
tory and played the British concern over Oregon along with
the war spirit in his own country to make sure of that. No
doubt his course was tinged with opportunism, but the essen-
tial game seems to have been this. From his own record it is
sufficiently clear that he expected a peaceful solution of the
controversy with Great Britain, a solution which would never
have attained had he continued to insist upon all of Oregon.
Furthermore he was probably aware that his real sentiments
on the tariff issue fell in with the desires of the English people
and he may have counted on their willingness to relax their
pretensions in Oregon rather than to force an issue and bring
a high-protectionist party into power.
Some time after the treaty was signed and Congress had
adjourned there came an incident which emphasizes the belief
that Polk intended to maintain that his course throughout had
been marked with consistency. When McLane returned from
London in the summer of 1846, in answer to an address from
the Chamber of Commerce of New York, he made certain
statements which were taken by some of the Whig papers as
an admission that the President's Annual Message and his
instructions to McLane were inconsistent. Polk accepted Mc-
Lane's explanation that, while the President was assured of the
soundness of the title to 54° 40' as an abstract question, never-
theless McLane was instructed to secure an adjustment on
THE FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 217
the basis of 49° since that line had been offered in July of
1845. "The truth is," says Polk, "Mr. McLane's language in
his New York address was susceptible of being misinterpreted,
and that has given rise to the whole controversy. The Whig
press has seized upon it for political capital, and (this) has
made it necessary to set forth in the Democratic the true state
of affairs."39
Among other things McLane had said in his address, "Hav-
ing some knowledge from my official position at that time of
the policy and object of the Convention of 1827, I am quite
persuaded that its main design was to lead in a future parti-
tion of the territory, to the recognition of our claim to the
country not north, but south of the 49th parallel, and between
that and the Columbia River." When Richard Rush saw his
statement in print he wrote the acting Secretary of State Trist
to say that this view was all new to him, for he held that Adams'
view of the title was the same as he had maintained in Congress
the previous winter, to 54° 40'. Then Rush proceeded to
comment on the course of Polk :
"For one, I am unshaken in the belief that it was the Presi-
dent's opening message to the first Congress he met, on the
second of December last, that produced the settlement of the
Oregon difficulty. It was like a great bumb-shell thrown into
the British Cabinet. It took them by surprise, and first aroused
them to the unavoidable necessity of a settlement. I thought
when it appeared that it would lead to war, so bold was it,
though every word was just; whereas it lead [sic] to peace."40
Toward the very end of his Administration (16 February,
1849) there is found in Polk's Diary one more reference to
his course with Oregon. Howell Cobb and John H. Lumpkin,
Representatives in Congress from Georgia, had called on the
President and in the course of the conversation Oregon and
Polk's relation to it were mentioned. Lumpkin told of a
conversation he had had with Allen who said, in reply to a
39 Polk, Diary, I, 313, 317, 37-7 (30 Mar.. 3 and 18 April.)
40 Diary, II, 136, 139, 167-8, 173-3, for this McLane episode and the newt-
payer controversy.
218 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPER
question as to what the President would do if the British
offered 49°, that (to use Folk's words)41
"That was all understood, that if such an offer was made
that the President should submit it to the Senate, and that
two-thirds of that body would never advise its acceptance.
Mr. Lumpkin said that when the contingency happened & I
took the very course indicated he was surprised to find that
Mr. Allen disapproved it, and, in consequence of it resigned
his post as chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations
of the Senate. My notes in this Diary in relation to Senator
Allen's course were very full at the time, they will be found to
be in accord with Mr. Lumpkin's statement. Before my annual
message of December, 1845, was sent to Congress I submitted
it to Mr. Allen, and he advised me in the event (Great Britain)
returned my offer of 49° to me to take the very course I did,
and with which, when I did it, he found fault. By referring
to this Diary a few days before the meeting in Congress in
December, 1845, and in the early part of June, 1846, what
occurred between Mr. Allen and myself will be found recorded.
I note Mr. Lumpkin's statement to-night for reference if the
subject should ever be brought before the public by Mr. Allen."
Whether Polk actually believed his course was absolutely
consistent in spirit there is nothing to show; that he believed
it consistent in the letter is clear. Whatever may be one's
personal opinion of his policy it must be admitted that he
showed himself a man of much greater political ability than
most of his contemporaries thought him, or than he has been
pictured by most later accounts.
41 Ibid., IV, 335-7-
Professor R. L. Schuyler (Polk and the Oregon Compromise, in Political
Science Quarterly, XXIV, 443-61), finds nothing to warrant an imputation of
double dealing in Folk's course. H« concludes that Polk, finding the Senate
would not go with him in his stand on Oregon, decided to throw the whole issue
upon the Senate so that the Treaty of 1846 was in reality a Senate Treaty.
NEWS AND COMMENT
By LESLIE M. SCOTT
"WHERE WAS BLUE BUCKET?"
Casual discovery of lumps of yellow metal, in the fall of
1845, in Central or Eastern Oregon by members of the "Meek's
Cut-off Party," gave rise to the idea, after discovery of Cali-
fornia gold three years later, that the lumps were of the
precious metal, and ever since that time the place of the dis-
covery has been a subject of discussion. A quantity of the
lumps, gathered in a blue bucket, gave rise to the name. This
was probably the earliest discovery of gold on the Pacific
Coast.
In March, 1919, Tyra Allen, of Pendleton, started discus-
sion of the subject by asking "Where was Blue Bucket?" in a
letter printed in the Canyon City Eagle. Numerous responses
came forth in several newspapers, especially in the Portland
Oregonian. George Irvin, of Monument, Grant County, said
in an article quoted in The Oregonian of April 23, 1919, that
the discovery was made in Spanish Gulch of the John Day
country. "Son of a Pioneer," writing in that newspaper of
April 25, 1919, said the discovery occurred probably on a
tributary of John Day River. He wrote :
"The party proceeded for a number of days, crossing a di-
vide separating the valley of the Malheur from either the
Silvies or the John Day River, and somewhere near the end
of this digression encampment was made on a small stream
(more probably a tributary of the John Day River). Either
while fishing in this stream or while taking water therefrom
for camp purposes, numerous pieces of yellow metal were
found in the stream bed or grass roots, the character of which
was debated and tests made by hammering the nuggets into
different forms on the wagon tires."
The father of this writer was a member of the pioneer
party. Mrs. Ruth Herren Leonard, of Dayton, Washington,
whose father was also a member of the party, quoted him, in
220 LESLIE M. SCOTT
The Oregonian of April 26, 1919, as giving the place as in
Tygh Valley, but this explanation lacks credence because the
party seems not to have entered Tygh Valley but to have
turned northward to the Columbia River without crossing
the Deschutes River. W. W. Oglesby, of Cottage Grove, Ore-
gon, wrote in The Oregonian, May 1, 1919, that the place of
discovery was in the waters of John Day River. After the dis-
covery, wrote Mr. Oglesby, the party spent two days reaching
Farewell Bend of the Deschutes River, whence the party turned
north to the Columbia. O. C. Applegate, writing from Klamath
Falls, in The Oregonian of May 6, 1919, leaned to the belief
that the discovery was made in the region of Stein Mountain.
The place of the Blue Bucket is scattered over a wide
variety of opinions, and may never be known. Fifteen years
later the placer diggings of Eastern Oregon began an activity
that produced large findings of gold, especially in the John
Day country. The frequency of gold nuggets in the beds of
streams makes the Blue Bucket story not merely credible, but
in connection with the many authentic versions of the story,
places it beyond question of doubt.
NOTE.— It is not easy to fix the date when the phrase "Blue Bucket Mines"
came into use. It certainly was as early as 1868, for it is positively known that
Stephen H. Meek, the leader of the party of immigrants in 1845 over the route
afterwards referred to as "Meek's Cut-off," conducted thirty men that year along
that trail in search of the mine of that name, without success.
According to a statement given me by William F. Helm many years ago,
whose father, mother, five brothers and one sister and himself were members
of the Meek party, the term "Blue Bucket" originated in this way: The Helm
wagons, yokes, and many of the camp utensils, including several buckets, were
painted blue. At one camp on a tributary of the John Day River numerous small
yellow pebbles were found along the water's edge and among the grass roots. An
attempt was made to catch some fish, but the current being very swift, the effort
failed. Then Col. W. G. T'Vault, Thomas R. Cornelius and James Terwilliger,
the latter a blacksmith, conceived the idea of pounding one of the bright pebbles,
and, finding it/ soft, pounded it thin and used it as a sinker on their fisn lines.
Others did the same. At one of the camps where an experience occurred of the
kind here related two blue buckets were left, the Helm family having no further
use for them.
None of the company had any idea of gold at this time. Their minds were
fully occupied by the effort to get out of the wilderness, as their situation was a
very serious one. At length the party reached The Dalles and went down the
Columbia River on rafts, all settling in the Willamette Valley.
It will be remembered that gold was discovered in California January 24, 1848,
by James W. Marshall, an Oregon pioneer of 1844. News of this discovery reached
the Willamette Valley in July following. Soon afterwards a number of the adults
of the Meek party of 1845 went to the California mines, and then they became
aware 'that the "pebbles" that had been seen and used as sinkers on fish lines
were gold.
Mr. Helm went to the vicinity of Canyon City in 1863, soon after the gold
discovery of that year, and always insisted that there or in the region near there
was the locality where the gold was found in 1845. That was the opinion of
Thomas R. Cornelius also, who at the time of my first acquaintance with him in
1866 was one of the substantial citizens of Washington County, Oregon. — George
M. Himcs, Curator and Assistant Secretary.
NEWS AND COMMENT 221
PACIFIC RAILROAD DATES
May 10 is the anniversary of the completion of the first
transcontinental railroad — the Union Pacific-Central Pacific,
the "last spike" of which was driven at Promontory Point, 53
miles northwest of Ogden, in 1869. The running time of pas-
senger trains between San Francisco and Chicago thereafter
was six and one-half days. This event is a momentous one
in Pacific Coast progress. The second transcontinental rail-
road, the Southern Pacific — Texas & Pacific — was completed
in 1882 ; the third, the Northern Pacific, in 1883. The "last
spike" of the Northern Pacific, September 8, 1883, was a grand
event for the Pacific Northwest, and great stores of expecta-
tion and realization attach to it.
THE NAME OF MOUNT RAINIER
Efforts to change the name of the snowpeak from Rainier
to Tacoma are continuous in the city of Tacoma. The Port-
land Oregonian ventured to adjust the trouble by suggesting
Mount Roosevelt, but the old name which Captain George
Vancouver applied in 1792 seems as firmly fixed as ever.
Several years ago the Legislature of Oregon "changed"
Mount Pitt to Mount McLoughlin, an act appropriate enough
since Pitt means nothing and McLoughlin has lasting signifi-
cance, but Mount Pitt remains in everyday speech around the
peak. It is curious to contemplate the persistency of names
and sounds in human speech. Science and history show that
the sounds of words and the notes of animals are more dura-
ble even than mountains. Mount Tacoma is euphonious and
appropriate, but when one contemplates the long list of ill-
fitting geographical names the thought occurs, "Why stop
with Mount Rainier?" and then the task becomes insurmount-
able. Common agreement would establish Mount Tacoma, but
that seems just as impossible now as during the many past
years of the effort.
222 LESLIE M. SCOTT
FREQUENCY OF SLIGHT EARTHQUAKES
Earthquake tremblers are reported frequently from parts
of the Pacific Northwest, and each time cause speculation as
to the nature of the disturbances. Within the records of the
white men, running back eighty or ninety years, there never
has been a general or severe earthquake in this region. But
the reading of newspaper files shows that slight tremblers
have been felt every year in some parts of this large area. A
small local disutrbance was recorded at Seattle, June 5, 1919.
The most frequent area of disturbance has been the Puget
Sound region. Probably the severest at Portland occurred
October 12, 1877, February 29, 1892, and February 25, 1895 ;
at Puget Sound, March 16, 1904. These quakes caused
walls to crack and dishes to rattle and church bells to ring, but
did no real damage. The geological youth of the Pacific
Northwest and the many fresh volcanic vents indicate recur-
rent seismic activity, but written history records no violence.
ANNUAL MEETING OF OREGON PIONEERS
Members of the Oregon Pioneer Association held their an-
nual meeting in the Portland Auditorium June 19, and elected
the following officers: J. J. Hunsaker, of Yamhill county,
pioneer of 1847, president; C. H. Caufield, of Oregon City,
1853, vice-president ; George H. Himes, of Portland, 1853, sec-
retary; William M. Ladd, of Portland, 1855, treasurer. Other
members of the board of directors are : John W. Baker, 1853 ;
Miss Ellen Chamberlain, 1857; G. D. Chitwood, 1853. The
pioneers were welcomed by Mayor George L. Baker, and W.
H. H. Dufur, retiring president, delivered the response.
George W. Riddle, 1852, of Douglas County, rendered the
annual address. Nathan H. Bird, 1846, presided at the after-
noon session. The woman's auxiliary of the association served
dinner in the basement of the Auditorium.
NEWS AND COMMENT 223
ENCAMPMENT OF INDIAN FIGHTERS
The annual grand encampment of the Indian war veterans
of the North Pacific Coast was held at Portland June 18. The
veterans adopted a memorial asking Congress to equalize the
pensions of the Indian fighters. Officers elected are: Cyrus
H. Walker, grand commander; C. W. Wallace, vice grand
commander ; Otto Kleeman, grand adj utant ; Mrs. F. L. Bene-
dict, assistant adjutant; Charles H. Chambreau, grand pay-
master; T. Brouillette, grand chaplain; W. R. McCord, cap-
tain of the guard.
THE BATTLESHIP OREGON
Whether the battleship Oregon shall be broken up for junk
or whether the state of Oregon shall maintain the sea fighter
as a memorial is a question that has been active in the news-
papers since the government has had to supplant its old war
fleet with modern vessels. The annual cost of upkeep of the
Oregon has been estimated at $20,000, a sum which has dis-
couraged advocates of the memorial plan. The Oregon was
built at San Francisco and commissioned there in July, 1896.
In 1898 the vessel made its famous voyage of 14,000 miles in
68 cruising days from San Francisco to Santiago, Cuba, to
participate in the destruction of the Spanish fleet July 3, 1898.
Sister ships of the Oregon, the Iowa, Massachusetts and In-
diana are to be relegated and broken up, together with the
Kentucky, Kearsarge, Alabama, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio,
Missouri and Maine. These battleships made up a very pow-
erful fleet fifteen years ago and cost more than $90,000,000,
but are obsolete in competition with newer vessels. The most
famous American battleship is the Oregon, and there is strong
sentiment for preservation of the vessel, but ways and means
for paying the expense have not been devised.
224 LESLIE M. SCOTT
AIRPLANE AND STAGE COACH
The first airplane flight across Cascade Mountains was ac-
complished June 30, 1919, between Seattle and Ellensburg,
115 miles, in 1 hour, 15 minutes, by J. M. Fetters and Ser-
geant Owen Kissel, army aviators. Airplane flights in the
Pacific Northwest have been frequent this year. In connec-
tion with the rose festival at Portland, June 10-13, airplanes
made numerous trips. The most noteworthy flights have been
those between Portland and Sacramento in one of which Gov-
ernor Ben W. Olcott was a passenger. These speed journeys,
at 100 miles an hour or better, covering the distance between
Portland and Sacramento in less than six hours, recall by
contrast the first speed test between the two cities in 1860, that
of the pony express, which consumed seven days pf continuous
travel night and day in covering the 700 miles, and was hailed
as a triumphant feat of speed and endurance. The running
time in winter was twelve days.
MONUMENT FOR CAPTAIN HEMBREE
The ambush and death of Captain Absalom J. Hembree by
Indians in the Yakima War of 1855-56, has been a tragic event
in Pacific Northwest annals, and the scene of the tragedy will
be marked with a monument by the state historical society of
Washington. The place where Captain Hembree fell was
identified June 22, by W. D. Stillwell, of Tillamook, Oregon,
95 years of age, who accompanied Captain Hembree at the
time of the tragedy. The place is five miles from Toppenish,
Washington. Others present on June 22 were M. V. Stillwell,
who is the son of W. D. Stillwell, W. P. Bonney, secretary of
the state historical society of Washington, and L. V. Me-
Whorter and C. H. Newell of Yakima, County.
MR. TEAL'S "THE PIONEER"
The Pioneer, a memorial bronze statue, the gift to the
University of Oregon by Joseph N. Teal, of Portland, stands
NEWS AND COMMENT 225
on the university campus, where it was unveiled May 22, 1919,
by T. G. Hendricks, of Eugene, Oregon. The designer, A.
Phimister Proctor, used as his model, J. C. Cravens, a trapper,
whom he found on the ranch of William Hanley, in Harney
County. Many pioneers were present at the unveiling cere-
mony.
EXAMINATION OF NACHESS TRAIL
Examination of the Nachess trail of 1853, by a party of
pioneers, for the purpose of choosing sites for markers of the
Washington State Historical Society, was accomplished July
13-21. In the party were George H. Himes, Ezra Meeker,
C. B. Bagley, Mr. and Mrs. W. M. Woolery, Mr. and Mrs.
Elden M. Gordon, W. P. Bonney, Sam W. Wall and Mr. and
Mrs. David Longmire. The party traced the route of the trail
on the west side of the mountains up to Bare Prairie, some 50
miles northeast of Tacoma, and, on the east side, ascended
Nachess River as far as automobiles would go. The old trail
through the mountains is almost obliterated and for a dis-
tance of fifty miles cannot be followed by automobiles. The
party located the site of Camp Montgomery, southeast of Ta-
coma, the site of the old block-house on Yelm River, and the
site of the stockades on Chambers' Prairie.
MISCELLANY
A pageant of Oregon history, displayed at Salem during
commencement exercises of Willamette University, early in
June, 1919, was brilliantly successful. The pageant was writ-
ten by Professor Delia Crowder-Miller, and commemorated
the 75th anniversary of the university. The display contained
22 episodes besides prologue and epilogue.
Whitman College, at Walla Walla, celebrated its quarter-
centennial in its commencement exercises in June.
Umatilla County pioneers held a two days' picnic at Weston
early in June, and elected the following officers : M. L. Wat-
226 LESLIE M. SCOTT
son, president; R. Alexander, vice-president; S. A. Barnes,
secretary; J. H. Price, treasurer. The sons and daughters of
Umatilla pioneers elected the following officers: Amy Car-
gill, of Freewater, president; Mrs. William Reed, of Athena,
vice-president ; Mrs. W. S. Price, of Weston, treasurer ; Mar-
jorie Bullfinch, of Weston, treasurer.
The annual celebration at Champoeg, to commemorate the
historic event of May 2, 1843 — the founding of tjie provisional
government of Oregon — was held May 3, 1919. The attend-
ance was 1000 persons, and was the largest that has thus far
done honor to the annual event.
The first annual reunion of the descendants of Henry and
Elizabeth Hewett, Oregon pioneers of 1843, was held at the
old home place, seven miles south of Dayton, Oregon, Satur-
day, July 12. Seventy- five members of the family were
present.
The McLoughlin house, at Oregon City, perpetuated as one
of the historic relics of Oregon, contains a growing collection
of valuable mementoes of early days. The annual meeting of
the McLoughlin Memorial Association was held June 30, 1919.
W. P. Hawley, the paper manufacturer, was elected to hon-
orary membership. Mr. Hawley gave the house to the city,
which caused the structure to be restored and moved to a high
site overlooking the Willamette River.
The sixtieth aniversary of the pioneer banking house, Ladd
& Tilton, was celebrated at a dinner for the employes at Mult-
nomah Hotel, Portland, June 5, and afterwards at a theater
performance in Alcazar Theater. The bank was opened June
1, 1859, by William S. Ladd and Charles E. Tilton at 105
Front Street.
Grays' Harbor Pioneer Association held their annual picnic
at Brady June 25, and elected the following officers: Presi-
dent, Elmer Brady; vice-presidents, O. B. Newton, Satsop; J.
J. Carney, Aberdeen; Mrs. H. W. Patton, Hoquiam; trustee,
NEWS AND COMMENT 227
W. E. Campbell, Hoquiam ; secretary, Mrs. J. E. Calder, Mon-
tesano ; treasurer, Mrs. H. B. Marcy, Montesano ; chaplain,
Rev. Charles McDermoth, Aberdeen; historian, A. C. Girard,
Aberdeen ; delegate to annual meeting of state society, M. J.
Luark, Montesano. W. P. Bonney, of Tacoma, secretary of
the State Historical Society, was the principal speaker.
Twenty acres of land at Grand Mound, including the famous
"mound," have been deeded to the state by John R. James,
pioneer settler of Southwest Washington, and son of Samuel
James, the first man to settle in Grand Mound prairie. Other
heirs of the James estate, numbering approximately 80, will
give money for the beautification of the place, which is now a
public park.
The department of history at the Oregon Agricultural Col-
lege, under Professor J. B. Horner, is preparing a map locat-
ing the prehistoric mounds of Oregon. This is being done
partly as a result of the recent exploration of the prehistoric
burial grounds on the Calapooia by summer school students.
Two additional mounds were discovered on the Osburn farm,
which makes approximately 30 mounds along the banks of the
Calapooia and half as many others on streams near by.
Douglas County, Oregon, residents held a reunion at Port-
land June 22, 1919, in Peninsula Park, to renew old acquain-
tances and review events of that part of Oregon. The speak-
ers were : W. H. Brackett, George H. Himes, G. C. Love, A.
M. Crawford and George W. Riddle. George C. Johnson was
elected president ; Lou L. Parker, secretary, and Nancy Drain
Singleton, treasurer.
Organization of local history materials will be undertaken
at Eugene by a committee of a teachers' conference which
held session at the University of Oregon the latter week in
June. A. N. French, professor of education in the university,
and J. C. Almack, director of the extension division, suggested
methods of organization. Dr. H. D. Sheldon, president of the
conference, was authorized to name a committee for this work.
228 LESLIE M. SCOTT
Sons and Daughters of Oregon Pioneers on June 18, 1919,
elected the following officers : Mrs. Benton Killin, president ;
H. G. Starkweather, vice-president; Miss Lillian M. Hackle-
man, secretary. Mr. Starkweather narrated the history of the
Oregon state seal, and Robert A. Miller spoke on pioneer fra-
ternalism. Cyrus H. Walker's resolution for equal pensions for
soldiers of the Civil and the Indian wars was adopted. The
meeting was in Library Hall, Portland.
A memorial park near Hood River in honor of the eight
soldiers of the county who lost their lives in the European
war, and the returning soldiers of that conflict, is to be estab-
lished at Ruthton Hill, where O. P. Dabney has given a site.
Linn County pioneers and their sons and daughters held a
reunion at Brownsville June 18-20. Speechmaking, picnicing
and athletics contributed to the festivities.
Salmon Brown, 83 years old, son of John Brown, of civil
war fame, died at Portland May 10, 1919. He shot himself
with a revolver on account of sickness and despondency.
Mrs. Eliza Warren, daughter of the missionary, Rev. H. H.
Spalding, died at Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, June 21, 1919, and
the body was buried at Brownsville, Oregon, June 26, where
the remains of other members of the Spalding family are in-
terred. She was born at the Lapwai mission in 1837, and was
married to Andrew Warren in 1859. Brownsville's main
street is named after the Spalding family.
The 21st annual reunion of the Kelly Clan was held June
28, 1919, at Portland, at the home of Mrs. O. P. S. Plummer
on the Dosch road. Interesting features of the afternoon pro-
gramme were the reading of the family history by Nellie Faw-
cett and an address by Father Hoberg of McMinnville, who
is 92 years of age, and who was well acquainted with the four
Kelly brothers. There are now some 200 descendants in Mult-
nomah County.
The Henkle family, of Benton County, Oregon, held its an-
nual reunion at the Wyatt home, three miles west of Cbrvallis,
June 26, 1919, with 162 members of the family present.
THE PIONEER
DEATH LIST OF OREGON PIONEERS
APRIL 1— MAY 31, 1919
Compiled by GEORGE H. HIMES
Anderson, Mrs. A. J., b. 111., 1839; pioneer of 1852; d. The Dalles, April
12, 1919.
Bailey, Mrs. Bridget, b. Ireland, 1826; Or. 1857; d. Wedderburn, May, 1919.
Brown, Mrs. Alice Virginia, b. Or., Aug. 5, 1859; d. Langell Valley, May 9,
1919.
*Bettman, Lazarus, b. Ger., 1835; pioneer 1856; d. Portland, May 22, 1019.
Emerson, Mrs. Mary Jane, b. 111., 1838; pioneer 1850; d. Cottage Grove,
May 9, 1919.
Fisher, George, b. Or., April 20, 1856; d. Eugene, April 17, 1919.
Fitzpatrick, Mrs. Margaret Elizabeth McCubbin, b. Or., Apr. 3, 1855; d.
Lostine, Apr. 3, 1919.
Ford, Mrs. Georgiana Percival, b. Olympia, Oct. 23, 1856; d. Olympia, April
15, 1919.
Gilmore, Charles H., b. Or., Feb. 10, 1856; d. Mt. Pleasant, Or., May 5, 1919.
Gouly, P. P., b. Mich., 1846; Or., 1846; d. Mt. Pleasant, Or., May 5, 1919.
Graham, David, b. N. Y., 1836; pioneer 1857; d. Seattle, May 19, 1919.
Hannum, Wm. M., b. Pa., Aug. 28, 1832; pioneer 1851; d. Josephine Co.,
April 19, 1919.
Hendricks, Glen Owen, b. Dallas, Or., June 23, 1857; d. Portland, April 17,
1919.
Heustis, Mrs. Sarah M., b. Idaho, 1849; d. Portland, Apr. 17, 1919.
*Hill, Henry C. b. Mass., 1835; pioneer 1847; d. Orting, Wash., May n, 1919.
Holt, Dr. C. R., b. Or., 1859; d. Portland, April 26, 1919.
Howard, Mrs. Edna Jane Smith, b. Mo., 1841; Or., 1852; d. Albany, May
28, 1919.
Imbler, Mrs. Margaret, b. Ohio, March 4, 1827; pioneer 1852; d. Roseburg,
April 12, 1919.
Jameson, Mrs. Jane Lady, b. Mo., 1837; pioneer 1853; d. Vancouver, Wash.,
May n, 1919.
Kandle, Wm. A., b. Olympia, 1853; d. Ashford, Wash., May 18, 1919.
Lane, Mrs. Simon E., b. Or., 1852; d. Roseburg, May 20, 1919.
Leever, C. T., b. ; pioneer 1850; d. Lebanon, April 9, 1919.
Lewman, John Amman, b. Ky., 1834; Or., 1852; d. Provolt, March 27, 1919.
17, 1919.
Mos
Lindley, fames, b. ; Or., 1853; d. Lebanon, Feb. 19, 1919.
Marks, Matthew, b. ; pioneer 1852; d. Yakima, Apr. 25, 1919.
Maxwell, Mrs. Susan Christian, b. 1845; pioneer 1853; d. Noti, Or., May
Cosier, Alonzo, b. Ind., 1838; pioneer 1852; d. Oregon City, May 26, 1919.
McGuire, Mrs. Maria, b. Canada, 1832; pioneer 1852; d. Salem, Apr. 21, 1919.
McKinney, J. N., b. Iowa, 1838; pioneer, 1845; d. Hillsboro, May 8, 1919.
*McNemee, Adam, b. Mo., 1841; pioneer 1845; d. Portland, March 29, 1919.
Nooning, Mrs. Susan Vickers, b. Ohio, 1849; pioneer 1852; d. Portland,
May 7. 1919.
Payne, Champion T., b. Mo. ; Or. 1852; d. Ashland, Feb. 14, 1919.
*Pettey, Manville B., b. 1841; pioneer 1854; d. Jennings Lodge, April,
, 1919.
*Raffety, Dr. Charles, b. 111., 1839; pioneer 1852; d. Portland, May 18 1919.
Richards Mrs. Mary F., b. Or., 1846; d. near Oakland, Or., April 30, 1919.
•Richey, Wm. G., b. 111.—; Or. 1852; d. Camp Creek, Feb. 23, 1919.
Richardson, Rebecca Ann, b. Mo., 1838; pioneer 1853; d. Lane Co., May
10, 1919.
Rickard, John, b. England, 1830; Or. 1852; d. Corvallis, May 10, 1919.
Robertson, Mrs. R. M., b. ; pioneer 1848; d. Spokane, May 4, 1919.
"Rowland, Mrs. Eliazbeth M., b. 111., Apr. 25, 1841; pioneer 1852; d. Apr.
16, 1919.
Sieforth, Mrs. Polly G. Bowen, b. Mo., Sept. 21, 1842; pioneer 1853; d.
Dallas, Or., Apr. 22, 1919.
*Stuart, Alfred V., b. Or. 1853; d. Portland, Apr., 1919.
*Thyng, Mrs. Caroline Bozorth, b. Iowa, 1842; pioneer 1852; d. Portland,
Apr. 17, 1919.
Wakeman, Miles, b. N. Y. 1829; Cal., 1849; Or. pioneer, 1851; d. Pleasant
City, Apr. 26, 1919.
Walters, Mrs. Rachel Belknap, b. Iowa, 'May 21, 1843; d. Portland, May 14,
1919.
Watkins, J. C, b. ; Or. 1852; d. Eugene, Feb. 12, 1019.
White, Marion Jackson, b. Mo., 1845; Or. 1852; d. Woodburn, Jan. 29, 1918.
Whorton, Mrs. L. B. Veatch, b. 111., 1832; d. near Eugene, Jan. 22, 1919.
Wilson, Mrs. W. H., b. Mo.; Or. 1843; d. Drain, May 27, 1919.
Only those marked * were ever members of the Oregon Pioneer Association,
which was organized in 1873. All persons are eligible who came to, or were born
in, the original "Oregon Country" at any time prior to Dec. 31, 1859, that being
the year that the State was admitted to the Union.
THE QUARTERLY
of the
Oregon Historical Society
VOLUME XX SEPTEMBER, 1919 NUMBER 3
Copyright, 1919, by the Oregon Historical Society
The Quarterly disavows responsibility for the positions taken by contributors to its pages.
ADDRESS DELIVERED BY JOSEPH N. TEAL AT
EUGENE, OREGON, MAY 22, 1919, ON THE
OCCASION OF THE UNVEILING OF
THE PIONEER
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen :
More than two years have passed since I wrote Judge
Robert S. Bean, President of the Board of Regents, of my
desire to erect a memorial to the Oregon pioneers and to have
it placed on the grounds of the University of Oregon. The
letter I then wrote expresses my sentiments and thought so
accurately that I can do no better than read it to you today.
It is as follows :
"It has long been my earnest desire to express my admira-
tion and respect for the Oregon pioneer. Having given
the subject much serious thought, I am now addressing
you for the purpose of laying before you and the Board of
Regents of the University the plan I have formulated, and
to obtain your consent and approval for the carrying out
of my idea.
The pioneer represents all that is noblest and best in our
history. The men and women who saved the west for this
country were animated by the highest motives. They made
untold sacrifices and endured hardships of every kind in
order that their children might enjoy the fruits of their
labor. Their courage, foresight, endurance and industry
should] ever be an inspiration to the youth of the country.
232 JOSEPH N. TEAL
I therefore propose to erect a memorial, which it seems to
me should stand on the campus of our great institution of
learning, the University of Oregon, where for years to
come the rising generation of Oregon will have before them
a reminder of those to whom they owe every opportunity
they enjoy.
Accordingly I have commissioned Mr. A. Phimister
Proctor, the distinguished American sculptor, to model a
statue typifying the real pioneer of the West. It is my
sincere desire and hope that, as the genius of Saint Gaudens
has typified in imperishable bronze The Puritan, the genius
of Proctor will in like degree typify The Pioneer. Should
my plan meet with the approval of yourself and the Board
of Regents of the University, I would request that at the
proper time and in concurrence with Mr. Proctor, a place
be designated on the University grounds upon which the
monument may be erected."
This day evidences the fulfillment of this desire, and we
have gathered together in honor of those to perpetuate whose
memory this statue was designed. While it is a matter of
greater satisfaction to me than I can express to have the
opportunity of testifying in this way to my affection for the
pioneers of Oregon, it is the genius of the artist which makes
it possible to express in enduring bronze not only the senti-
ment, but the man. I wish to express not only my sincere
admiration for Mr. Proctor's genius, but the thankfulness I
feel for his unselfish devotion to the task and for the zeal
and spirit which from the inception of the idea to this dedica-
tion have animated his work. The sculptor, not only an
artist of rare genius, but a man of nature, of the mountains
and plains, knowing at first hand the pioneer and his life,
his real worth and what he endured and sought, has created
a type true to life — the real pioneer as we have known him.
This statue is erected and dedicated to the memory of all
Oregon pioneers. It is in no sense personal or individual and
it is my earnest wish and hope that this fact may ever be
kept in mind.
The reasons for selecting the University of Oregon as the
A. PH1M1STER PROCTOR
THE OREGON PIONEERS 233
home of this memorial are many. It is sufficient to say that
here the Willamette and Mackenzie Rivers join their waters
into one grand channel and create this beautiful valley, the
paradise to which the pioneer struggled over great mountains
and across desert plains, to which he first came in numbers,
and in which he first made his home. Here, too, the state
which he created has founded its great institution to train its
young men and women. No more fitting place than the
campus of the University of Oregon could be found for the
memorial. Here amid these beautiful surroundings, in this
institution of learning, acting as an inspiration to Oregon's
young manhood and womanhood, this pioneer in bronze will
find a hospitable home in the land he loved so well. I am
happy in the thought that I have had the opportunity thus to
show my love and admiration for those whose life was largely
spent in a work whose greatness and value will be better
understood when viewed down the perspective of time. The
greatest honor I have is in honoring them. Joaquin Miller
thus painted the pioneers:
"I only know that when that land
Lay thick with peril, and lay far
It seemed as some sea-fallen star,
The weak men never reached a hand
Or sought us out that primal day.
And cowards did not come that way."
Mr. President, my share in this very satisfactory enterprise
is ended: with this memorial, there goes every good wish for
this University, coupled with the sincere hope that those who
seek guidance and aid within its classic walls will never lose
sight of what they owe the pioneer.
JOSEPH N. TEAL
QUALITIES OF THE OREGON PIONEERS
AN ADDRESS
AT THE UNVEILING OF THE STATUE "THE PlONEER" ON THE CAMPUS OF
THE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON, AT EUGENE, OREGON, MAY 22, 1919,
BY FREDERICK V. HOLMAN, PRESIDENT OF THE OREGON HISTORICAL
SOCIETY, AND FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE OREGON PIONEER ASSOCIA-
TION AND OF THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF OREGON PIONEERS.
Mr. President, Mr. Proctor, Mr. Teal, the Faculty and Students
of the University of Oregon, Ladies and Gentlemen:
I am not on the programme for an address, and I was not
aware that I should make any remarks until my arrival in
Eugene at noon today. But since I have been asked to do so,
I cannot refrain from saying a few things which I have in
my mind, for I am a native son of Oregon, and I have been
for many years President of the Oregon Historical Society, and
I am familiar with the early history of Oregon, its settlement,
its upbuilding, and its making, and the kind of people the
Oregon pioneers were and are.
Ever since its organization the Oregon Historical Society
has been engaged in determining the facts and the truths of
history, particularly relating to the history of Oregon. It ex-
amines traditions and folklore. It endeavors, as it were, to
separate the grain from the chaff. It studies the motives, the
ideals, and the acts of people in regard to the settlement and
upbuilding of Oregon. It seeks to know the truth. Mr.
Proctor in this statue, typical of the Oregon pioneers, has
portrayed truth in a way which should give to him the thanks
of every student and lover of early Oregon history. This
statue is a gift to the State of Oregon by a son and grandson
of true and worthy Oregon pioneers. Great credit is due to
Mr. Teal for his patriotic and unselfish generosity in making
this gift.
The Anglo-Saxon race is a branch of the Teutonic race. It
was and is a liberty-loving race. It believes in the protection of
life and of liberty and in the rights of property and the pursuit
236 FREDERICK V. HOLMAN
of happiness. This race has large powers of assimilation, and
its great ideas of liberty and of the rights of mankind caused
other races to become a part of it, so it became a people as
well as a race. In early historic times it made its power felt
and for centuries contended for the rights of the people in
England, where it had made its home, and finally succeeded
in making England a free country, as evidenced by the Revolu-
tion and Settlement of 1688 and the policy of the English
people ever since. Its instincts and traditions caused some
of its people to come to North America to begin and to con-
tinue its settlement and civilization. The first of these
people came about three centuries ago. Many of them came
thereafter from time to time. They landed on the Atlantic
Coast and pushed on westward. They soon adapted them-
selves to conditions and learned self-reliance and how to over-
come the difficulties of establishing themselves in a new coun-
try, theretofore peopled only by Indians. They continued to
push on westward and occupied what are now the states of Ken-
tucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and
other western lands, now the Central States of this country.
Their courage, their powers, their self-reliance and their ideals
increased as they moved westward. They fought Indians ; they
cut down forests; they reclaimed wild lands; they established
homes, schools and churches. It is of this people that most of
the early Oregon pioneers are a part.
The instincts and traditions of the Anglo-Saxoni race have
ever been to move westward. The star it had followed, which
showed the westward course of empire, at last stood and
shone over Oregon. Here was a wild land to be made useful
and become a part of the civilized world. It was about two
thousand miles west of the forefront of civilization in the
United States at that time. Between that forefront and Oregon
there are great plains, rugged mountains and large rivers to
be crossed, a road to be established for them and for others,
coming after them, to travel successfully to Oregon — "the
land where dreams come true." There were great numbers
QUALITIES OF THE OREGON PIONEERS 237
of savage Indians to be encountered and forced to respect the
rights and property of these immigrants.
The lure of Oregon had appealed to many who had settled
in the western states and territories. In May, 1843, without
preconcert, but moved by a common impulse, nearly nine hun-
dred men, women, and children met at Independence, Missouri,
ready and anxious to start on the long trip to Oregon. Some
were poorly equipped for so long, arduous, and perilous an
expedition, for they had few precedents. But they were re-
sourceful and filled with an abiding faith in their ability to
succeed.
They were courageous folk, filled and moved by great ideals,
not that they knew they had ideals, and they probably would
have resented any intimation that they had them. But never-
theless they had these ideals and were influenced by them.
These pioneer immigrants moved slowly westward, driving
the oxen which pulled their wagons until they arrived at Fort
Hall, about seven hundred miles east of here. There they
were told that it was impossible to take their wagons to the
Columbia River. But they were not frightened by this in-
formation. The men determined to go on as far as they
could, for they were self-reliant, and their wives and daughters
had every confidence in these resolute men. Loving arms went
around stalward necks, with cheering words and saying:
"Where you go we will go with you and help in every way."
It was a momentous occasion. They could have abandoned
their intentions to go to the Willamette Valley, and by forced
marches, probably, have arrived at their starting point in
Missouri before traveling by wagons became impossible the
ensuing winter. If they failed to reach the Columbia River
probably almost all of the party would have died of starvation
or from exposure. There was little game west of Fort Hall.
They cut themselves off from all sources of supply. If they
failed it would probably have been many years before there
was another overland expedition of immigrants to Oregon.
It was practically impossible to send large numbers of immi-
238 FREDERICK V. HOLMAN
grants by sea. The government of the United States did
nothing to encourage or to assist the early settlement of
Oregon. The peaceful settlement of the Oregon Question,
especially by the occupation of Oregon by American citizens,
would probably have been impossible. It was a daring deter-
mination.
If they had failed! These immigrants of 1843 were
intrepid, determined, resourceful, and self-reliant. They were
not accustomed to fail in any enterprise they undertook to
accomplish.
And so, taking in their own hands the lives of themselves and
of their wives and children and their fortunes, they accepted
the chances, relying on themselves and their ability to suc-
ceed. It was a heroic resolution fully carried out. They sur-
mounted every difficulty. They made roads and crossed
great rivers and went over seemingly impassable mountains
until they came to The Dalles on the Columbia River, beyond
which travel with wagons was impossible at that time. They
came down the Columbia River, rescued and succored and as-
sisted to establish themselves in the land they had seen in
dreams, the beautiful Willamette Valley, then a fertile wilder-
ness, by that princely great humanitarian, Dr. John Mc-
Loughlin, the Father of Oregon. Thus the immigrants of '43
made and showed the way to Oregon for others to follow.
This first home-building immigration was followed by success-
ful immigrations, of the same quality of people, in the succeed-
ing years. The coming of these immigrants was the cause of
the peaceful settlement of the Oregon Question, which for
many years had threatened to embroil the United States and
Great Britain in a long and bloody war. The British govern-
ment feared that the whole Oregon country would be peopled
by immigrants from the United States.
And these are the pioneers of Oregon to whom be ever-
lasting praise and glory. The coming to Oregon of its pioneers
is one of the most daring movements and one of the most
interesting and romantic stories of the settlement and upbuild-
QUALITIES OF THE OREGON PIONEERS 239
ing of any part of the United States. These pioneers and
their qualities, characteristics and ideals Mr. Proctor has
exemplified and shown in this statue.
I have not time to go into details or to show how these pio-
neers upbuilded and made this beautiful Oregon of today, of
which we are so proud.
Many of these pioneers have gone to the Great Beyond
and those now living will soon follow to honored graves. It
is for their descendants to take up the work which these
pioneers left unfinished. What they did can never be for-
gotten.
But the Oregon pioneers did not comprise all of the people
of Anglo-Saxon ancestry and heredity in the United States
nor all who were influenced by its traditions and instincts. They
exert the great controlling influence in the civilization and life
of this country. It was their influence which caused the
Declaration of Independence to be made andl the war of the
American Revolution to be fought. They carry on Anglo-
Saxon ideas of the rights of life, liberty, property and the right
of the pursuit of happiness. All these have been put to the test
in the great world war beginning in 1914. The United States is
a peaceful nation. But its people are not pacifists. There
was, at first, great horror on account of German atrocities.
This nation was greatly stirred by the sinking of the Lusi-
tania. But that was a British ship and its sinking was not
an attack upon the United States, dastardly as was the crime
of its destruction and the murder of its passengers. While
it was an offense against humanity and against civilization, it
was not a cause of war for the United States.
But there came a time when the rights and liberties of this
country and of the whole world and their peoples became
involved ; when as a nation, guided by Anglo-Saxon heredity,
instincts and traditions, it was not only proper but necessary
that this country should be a participant in the war; that
this country should make war so there be world peace; and
that the liberty of the whole world should be made safe. And
240 FREDERICK V. HOLMAN
then we did not hesitate to do our duty. The nation was
united in its determination that the war should end against
Germany, and our people pledged their all that success might
be attained. The young men gave themselves to fight its bat-
tles. The older men contributed their moneys. The Govern-
ment Liberty loans and Victory loans were subscribed and
oversubscribed in many parts of the country by people of all
classes, by men and women, and even by children. The young
women gave their services as nurses. And all over the country
women, old as well as young, willingly and earnestly engaged
in Red Cross work and other desirable and necessary war
work and activities for the support, comfort, and health of
the soldiers and sailors of America and for the successful
conduct of the war. The Anglo-Saxons were true to their
traditions. This universal response is the glory of our nation.
When an American general, at the tomb of LaFayette,
stood at attention and saluted the place where the body of
America's great friend is buried, he said : "LaFayette ! we are
here." It was an acknowledgment that America would pay a
debt of honor which it owed to France. But that was only a
part of the object of our entering into the war. There was
the world's liberty at stake. The assassins of free govern-
ment were to be conquered and to be subdued. And nobly did
our boys do their part.
The armies of France for nearly four years had fought
nobly, bravely, gloriously. But France was almost bled white.
They had sworn to die in the last ditch and they were peril-
ously near the eastern bank of that ditch. Although they
were fighting desperately they were being slowly forced back
and were nearly overwhelmed. Their cry was : "When will
the Americans come?" And the Americans came and nobly
did they act. They may have lacked somewhat in military
discipline, somewhat in esprit de corps, but they pressed on and
fought with a dash and an intrepidity which surprised the Ger-
mans. They were not to be denied. Had they been com-
manded and led by God's Archangels of Vengeance and of
QUALITIES OF THE OREGON PIONEERS 241
Victory; had they been inspired by the specter of Joan of
Arc, clad in armor, with flashing sword in hand, mounted on
a spectral grand war horse, urging our boys on to victory, they
could not have fought more bravely or more effectively. But
they did not need to be so commanded or led or inspired.
They were actuated and impelled by centuries, nay more, by
thousands of years of Anglo-Saxon heredity, instinct, tradition,
and courage. And they had it in their hearts.
When the Americans took part in the war it was the begin-
ning of the end of the war. At Contigny, at St. Mihiel, at
Soisson, at Chateau Thierry, at Belleau Wood, at Argonne
forest, and elsewhere they showed their quality and their
desire and intention and ability to succeed.
The liberty-loving branch of the Teutonic race overcame
the liberty-destroying and autocratic branch of that race. The
Hun met his master and was vanquished. The world was
made safe for democracy.
And Oregon boys were there, and nobly did they do their
part. Many of them are worthy descendants of noble Oregon
pioneers. They were true to the genius and traditions of their
race. "Oh, when will their glory fade!" Never, while the
history of this war is known. As the Oregon pioneers showed
their peaceful qualities in coming to Oregon and in its settle-
ment, its upbuilding, and its making, so their descendants
showed their virtue, and their fighting and heroic qualities in
this war. Their actions show that the race has not degenerated.
Mr. Proctor, with his genius, has perpetuated all these quali-
ties in this statue, and they will be recorded forever in history.
The Anglo-Saxon qualities and ideals, its traditions and
instincts, its love and support of the rights of life, of liberty,
and of the rights of mankind will survive even the downfall
of this republic and will endure as long as the human race.
The human race from its beginning 'has always been inter-
ested in monuments and statues as work of art, especially
when they typify great events and manly qualities. The ador-
ation of statues as deities is forbidden. But it is impossible to
242 FREDERICK V. HOLMAN
forbid the veneration of that which moves or touches the
human heart. Could even divine power prevent the venera-
tion of the graves of our ancestors, our relatives, our friends,
and those of the world's great men and women?
This statue symbolizes and immortalizes in a remarkable
way the Oregon pioneer and his qualities — his courage, his
determination, his instincts and his high ideals and those of
the race or of the people of which the Oregon pioneer is a
fine specimen and example. Let everyone, and especially the
young men and young women who are now and who will be
students of this university, observe and study well this statue,
and thus learn and appreciate what the Oregon pioneers —
the founders of Oregon — were and are. Let them strive to
emulate the qualities and virtues of the Oregon pioneers and
to respect and to venerate what they hoped, what they dared,
what they wrought, and what they accomplished.
THE BRITISH SIDE OF THE RESTORATION
OF FORT ASTORIA.
KATHARINE B. JUDSON, M. A.
The object of history, as the writer understands it, is to
teach wisdom for the future from the successes and mistakes
of the past. It is to tell the facts of the past so honestly as
to do justice to both sides, and in order to do so, it is obvious
that the mistakes of one's own country must sometimes be
brought to light. Otherwise, one takes the German point of
view that whatever one's own country does is morally right.
The restoration of Astoria is a case in point. With an
element of the ludicrous in it, in the visit of the Ontario, there
is also an exhibition of devious, winding, political manoeuvers
by John Quincy Adams which one would rather hide. Writers
have heretofore taken the point of view that the restoration
was gained by American cleverness as against British intrigue,
and therefore Adams is praised.
There is no truth in that point of view. Not one statement
could the writer find, even in the private notes of the British
Foreign Office officials to each other, that would indicate
the slightest intention of outwitting America in the claim for
the Northwest Coast and the Columbia River.
From July, 1913, to August, 1914, (being caught in Eng-
land by the war,) the writer went through some seven hun-
dred volumes in the British Public Record Office, including
diplomatic correspondence, Colonial and Foreign Office re-
ports, Admiralty reports, ships logs, and consular reports, from
1790 until 1867, which would have a bearing on Oregon
history.
This last date, be it noted, is extraordinary. The usual per-
mission granted to qualified scholars closes with 1837. When
the writer made the remark, in a seminar in the University
of London, that she intended asking for extended permission
for the records until 1846, she was quickly assured by two
English college professors of history that such permission was
244 KATHARINE B. JUDSON
more than doubtful. She made the application, however,
through the correct channels, and permission was received "as
requested." But on searching the volumes through the 1840s,
she found that in the San Juan controversy, many papers
belonging to the Treaty of 1846 had been taken out of their
proper volumes and used as enclosures in later ones. Many
important records were missing upon reaching the end of the
1846 records. She, therefore, in trepidation, asked permis-
sion of the official in charge of this special "government
room," — not the usual Round Room — if the permission from
the Foreign Office would allow her to look through later
volumes for the missing papers of the 1840s. He answered
"No," very courteously, but very positively, adding he would
look up the permit. With an amazed face he then returned
and reported that the Foreign Office had failed to set a date
of limitation upon the permit and therefore I was free to search
to present date if I chose. He added that it was the first time
he had ever known the Foreign Office to make such a mistake
— but Oregon history will profit by it.
In addition to these unusual privileges, the writer had the
permission of the late Lord Strathcona, Governor of the Hud-
son's Bay Company, to search the archives of the Hudson's
Bay Company, and many a day she spent in His Lordship's
unoccupied office in Lime Street, searching through the rec-
ords, journals, reports and correspondence, of the famous old
English company. The results given here are rather more
as an advance paper upon the history now being written by
her, than as a final settlement of the whole question.
It must be remembered, in all Oregon history, that the
bitterness of America towards Great Britain was intense. Not
only was the Revolution fought on American soil, with suffer-
ing unknown to the English people, many of whom did not
approve of this war by their foreign king, but the hatred
following that had not died out before the War of 1812 was
on, and in this war, as in the other, the Indians had joined
the more tactful British rather than the aggressive Americans
RESTORATION OF ASTORIA 245
who were taking their lands away from them. The Ameri-
cans tried, indeed, although almost in vain, to use the Indians
against the British ; but they did not know how to manage the
redskins chiefly because of their own aggressiveness.
And that aggressiveness showed itself continually towards
Great Britain. British diplomats wrote home, from Washing-
ton, in despairing tones, "The aggressiveness of these Ameri-
cans!" But the Americans were crying, — and clippings at-
tached to the diplomatic letters prove it, — "The aggressive-
ness of Great Britain!" "Like father, like son." John Bull
and his son Jonathan were so exactly alike they could not
possibly understand each other — until each had mellowed, and
time and distance had softened bitter feelings.
And though this may seem far afield, in it lies the explana-
tion; of much of Oregon's history, and the threat of a third
war over the Northwest Coast of America.
In 1804 — the writer cannot locate the citation at the
moment, amongst a mass of papers, — the North West Com-
pany wrote to the Colonial Office, expressing their determina-
tion to explore to the Pacific, and asking that they be given
the monopoly of any route found across the Rocky Moun-
tains and to the western ocean. Such a monopoly was re-
fused. In that same year, be it noted, Lewis and Clark
started across the continent, through old-time Louisiana, and
the southern border of the Oregon Country which lay beyond.
In 1807, David Thompson, long hammering at the diffi-
culties of the Canadian Rockies, unsupported by his Indian-
fearing voyageurs, and actively opposed by surrounding tribes
who feared their enemies west of the Rockies would thereby
gain trading goods and guns, suddenly found his way unop-
posed. The Indians, so he states,* had gathered around the
"headwaters of the Mississourie," expecting the return of the
white men that year. Had Lewis and Clark returned, or other
white men appeared, doubtless there would have been a battle,
or many gifts to avert one. So Thompson crossed the Rockies
~~*F. o. 5, Vol. 441.
246 KATHARINE B. JUDSON
and made his way that year, and for several following, around
the headwaters and upper reaches of the Columbia, arriving" at
the mouth of the Columbia in July, 1811, a few months after
the arrival of Astor's men.
It is clear, in studying fur trade history in its entirety, that
Astor's plan of an overland route, with posts on the Columbia
or the Pacific, was not so new or so brilliant as usually cred-
ited to "a German person, named Oster," as he is described
in a letter of the time. Nor was his outlay of money more
daring than that of the North West Company. Nor was his
plan of operation very different in idea, though with better
financial backing, than the plan of Captain John Meares,
half-fraud though Meares was. The laudation of Astor has
always seemed exaggerated to the writer.
The British, meanwhile, had in their own eyes a clear case
to the ownership, or possession, of the North West Coast.
They, aside from the Spanish, were the first to explore, as
well as to discover ; and the first to trade. America followed
more than a boat's length behind; and American traders had
been on the coast only a year when Spanish claims were set-
tled so far as Great Britain was concerned, without protest
or question by America, in the Nootka Sound Convention.
As to the actual discovery of the river, Meares's record was
confusing: on approaching the "bay," he says he "steered
in," — meaning "steered in towards." And upon beating a
retreat, he says he "steered out," — he did, but without steering
in. Broughton, representing an official exploring party, in his
chagrin and attempt to rob Gray of the credit due to the
first crossing of that bar, claimed that he was the first to
explore the "river," and that added to the confusion. If the
exploration of fur traders could count for national claims,
then the British were first through Meares's claim of having
"steered in," — three years ahead of Gray. But if fur traders
did not count, then Vancouver's expedition was the first, and
here again was Broughton's claim.
"The discovery of the Columbia is lost in obscurity," wrote
RESTORATION OF ASTORIA 247
one Foreign Office official to another, in a private memor-
andum,— and it was. Gray's fur-trading log was not located
by the Government until 1817, — the summer the Ontario sailed.
When it was looked up through the ship's owners, an affi-
davit was made only of that fortnight of entering and trading
in the river, and the exit. The Government did not even
claim the log, — a mistake as against Vancouver's official, pub-
lished reports, sanctioned and recognized by the British Gov-
ernment. When in 1837 tension had increased, and the Ameri-
can Government searched for Gray's log again, both he and
his wife were dead, and the niece to whom he had left the
treasure had used the log for wrapping paper! So far as
Government records went, there was plenty of obscurity, and
the configuration of the coast, the shape of that large bay-
like mouth of the river, and the bars, seem not to have been
comprehended by either government to any degree.
The sale of Fort Astoria is too well known to need com-
ment, aside from the fact that almost invariably there is
omitted the statement, as given by Alexander Henry, (in his
Journals, ed. by Coues), that Wilson Price Hunt, after an
investigation of the prices at which the fort and furs were sold,
assented to them and thus sanctioned the sale. Without his
approval the arrangements made by McDougall for the sale
could not have held; so the charge of treachery seems quite
unfounded for this, as well as for other reasons.
But with the war on, the North West Company's nudging
of the British Government, asking for a warship to capture
this post, brought the matter to the attention of Colonial
officials and other British statesmen. The Americans were
mere squatters on the Columbia from the British point of
view, and hardly was the fort sold, on the Columbia itself,
and Captain Black's reports sent in cipher overland to Canada,
and to London, — this being the quickest route, — than plans
were being made to colonize the North West Coast. By dis-
covery, exploration, trade and contiguity to Canada, the British
248 KATHARINE B. JUDSON
considered it theirs. It only remained to make America see
reason. Spain's claim had been practically settled.
On July 4th, 1814, William Pitt sent some notes to Lord
Castlereagh1 which he called: "Observations on a pamphlet
entitled, 'A Compressed View of the Points to Be Discussed
in Treating with the United States of America,' with supple-
mentary remarks." In these notes Pitt suggests the desira-
bility of a treaty with Russia, giving her all north of 58°, (the
entrance to Cross Sound), and perhaps Cross Sound to the
Frozen Sea, or a line east to Mackenzie River from its mouth,
Slave Lake, Slave Lake to Athabasca Lake, and due west
to Cross Sound. In this way, he thought, Russia's territory
would be convenient to her Asiatic possessions, and the most
advantageous part of the Coast would be secured to Great
Britain from 58° to the Columbia at 46 degrees.
It has usually been thought that the restoration of Astoria
gave the impetus to the Columbia as a line of demarkation,
even by a very recent writer.2 But it is clear that Pitt, if he
regarded Great Britain as having full claim to the Calif ornian
line, did not intend to exclude the Americans entirely from
the Pacific coast line.
Pitt's plan covered the following points : For protection
and the advancement of commerce, and especially the fur
trade, he thought there should be a line of internal communica-
tion across the continent. That there was one, he seemed not
to know. The British fur traders did not always notify their
government of all exploration made by them. At Nootka
Sound, Pitt would plant a colony of "useful and industrious
British subjects," with a governor, supplying them from the
Sandwich Islands, China, and New South Wales. These
colonists were to form a Provincial Corporation, with a small
naval force to check piracy. Clergymen were to be sent there
for the settlers and missionaries for the Indians. He refers
to Vancouver's recommendations in Book 4, Chap. 9. The
advantages would be: British commerce, the propagation of
1 F. O. 5, Vol. 103.
2 Oreg. Hist. Quar., Dec., 1918, p. 277.
RESTORATION OF ASTORIA 249
Christianity, and the general civilization of extensive and un-
enlightened British possessions.
A week later, July 11, 1814, William Pitt sent a second
note to Lord Castlereagh on this matter.3
The reduction of the navy and army, he thought, would
give good selections for colonists. These should be young
men of the best character, soldiers and sailors, married, with
not more than two children to a family. Each should be
skilled in some trade or calling useful to a colony. Care must
be taken in the selection of officers for defence, and for gen-
eral policy of the colony, — married men, he thought, with
some property. The colonists were to engage in trade, fish-
eries, and commerce, as well as to explore the country and
its resources. The precedent for such action had been set by
Russia, after the death of Peter the Great, in ascertaining the
resources of the country and the people. Many hints, Pitt
thought, could be obtained from; the Lewis and Clark reports,
and from Miiller's report on the Russian people. The selec-
tion of colonists should include some men of science, skilled
in natural history, mineralogy, etc. He suggested as a leader
a Mohawk chief, educated in Scotland, of high character, well-
informed, master of the English language, an Indian, yet
warmly attached to Great Britain. Pitt was sure Sir Alex-
ander Mackenzie, the North West Company, and the Hud-
son's Bay Company, would all aid in such a scheme.
There was great overcrowding in England at that time, and
economic suffering was great. This may have been at the
bottom of Pitt's plan; but nothing seems to have come of it.
It is likely that the Government felt more inclined to aid col-
onists to points in eastern Canada, where safety was greater
and expense much less.
The Treaty of Ghent was signed Christmas Eve, 1814, at
the little Flemish town of that name. The Columbia River
was not mentioned in the treaty. Shortly after their return
from Ghent, Lord Bathurst told Simon McGillivray, that "re-
3F. O. 5, Vol. 103.
250 KATHARINE B. JUDSON
quiring from the Americans any recognition or guarantee of
His Majesty's rights thereto, might tend to cast doubt upon
a title which was already sufficiently clear and incontestable."
[See entire letter below.]
And James Monroe, for America, had written to the pleni-
potentaries, under date of 22ndi March, 1814, "On no pretext
can the British Government set up a claim to territory south
of the northern boundary of the United States. It is not be-
lieved that they have any claim whatever to territory on the
Pacific Ocean. You will, however, be careful, should a defini-
tion of the boundary be attempted, not to countenance in any
manner, or in any quarter, a pretension in the British Govern-
ment to territory south of that line."3*
So the road to difficulties lay wide open. Hardly was the
ink dry on that Treaty of Ghent than John Floyd of Virginia
brought in, 1815, the first of his annual bills for the occupation
of the Columbia. The bill did not reach a third reading.4
That same year, 1815, Admiral Porter was urging the ex-
ploration of the Pacific.5 Two frigates, the Guerriere and
the Java were to have been placed under Porter to explore the
Pacific and the North West Coast. This was Admiral Porter's
own idea, outlined in a letter written 'to John Madison, then
President. The expedition was never sent out; the idea was
revived again in the late 1820s, a commander and ships as-
signed, but actually the scheme was carried out only in 1840
by Commander Charles Wilkes.
But the race for the possession of the North West Coast
had begun under governmental sanction. No longer was it
merely a question of the fur trade.
On July 18th, James Monroe sent a message to Anthony
St. John Baker, then British Charge d'affaires at Washington,
following it up by a letter evidently requested by Baker :
[Monroe to Baker]6
3a Bancroft, North West Coast, Vol. 2, pp. 294-5.
4F. O. 5, Vol. 157.
5 F. 0. 5, Vol. 157.
6 F. O. 5, Vol. \ly.
RESTORATION OF ASTORIA 251
"Department of State,
"July 18th, 1815.
"Sir,
"It is represented that an expedition which had been sent
by your government against the post of the United States
established on Columbia River had succeeded in taking pos-
session of it. By the first article of the Treaty of peace, it is
stipulated that all territory, places, and possessions whatso-
ever taken by either party from the other during the war,
shall be restored without delay, with the exception only of the
islands on Passamaquoddy Bay, which should remain in the
possession of the party in whose occupation they then were,
subject to the decision provided for in the 4th article. As the
post on the Columbia river was taken during the war, and is
not within the exception stipulated, the United States are of
course entitled to its restitution; measures will therefore be
taken to occupy it without delay. It is probable that your
Government may have given orders for its restitution; to
prevent, however, any difficulty on the subject, I have to re-
quest that you will have the goodness to furnish me with a
letter to the British Commander there to that effect.
"I have the honor to be
&c., &c., &c.,
James Monroe.
"To Anthony St. John Baker, Esq.,
&c., &c., &c.,
The next day Baker addressed the following letter to Lord
Castlereagh.7
"Washington, July 19, 1815.
"My Lord—
"Mr. Munroe having requested an interview with me at the
Department of State, I accordingly waited upon him at the
time appointed.
"He stated he was desirous of speaking to me upon one or
two points, the first of which related to the establishment
7 F. O. 5, Vol. 107, No, 24.
252 KATHARINE B. JUDSON
which the United States had possessed before the war on the
Pacific ocean at the mouth of the Columbia River, but which
had been broken up by a naval force, sent by the British gov-
ernment for that purpose. He conceived that it fell within
the meaning of the first article of the Treaty of Ghent, and
ought to be restored, for otherwise it would have been par-
ticularly excepted in the treaty as had been the case with
the Passamaquoddy Islands, and requested to know whether
I agreed in that opinion.
"I replied that I had not considered the subject which was
unexpected by me; that in fact, I did not immediately call to
mind what was the result of the expedition to which he alluded,
and was not aware that any persons whatsoever had been left
upon the spot who could affect the restoration required, should
the case be thought to come under the treaty, but that I was
ignorant of any transaction between the two Governments
which recognized the claim of the United States to any part
of the coast of the Pacific ocean.
"He did not state the foundation on which the claim to this
territory rested insisting merely upon the fact of its having
been captured from the United States during the war which
brought it within the Treaty * * *" [Omission on the
fishery question.]
"Mr. Munroe * * * led me to expect that he would
make a written communication * * * relative to the re-
storation of the settlement on the Columbia River * * *
[Omissions on fisheries.]
"P. S. Since writing the above, I have received Mr. Mun-
roe's letter relative to the restoration of the settlement on
Columbia River, a copy of which I beg leave to enclose. It
is my intention in my reply to refer him to Rear Admiral
Dixon, who commands in those seas.
A. B."
RESTORATION OF ASTORIA 253
Five days later, Baker sent the following answer to Secre-
tary Munroe:8
"Washington, July 23, 1815.
"Sir:
"I have had the honor to receive your letter of the 18th
instant acquainting me that it had been represented to the
American government that a British force sent for that pur-
pose had succeeded in taking possession of the United States
establishments on Columbia River, and claiming its restora-
tion under the words of the 1st article of the Treaty, upon
the ground of its having been captured during the War ; stat-
ing likewise that His Majesty's Government may have given
orders for its restitution, but requesting with a view to pre-
vent any difficulty on the subject, that I would furnish a letter
to that effect to the British Commander there. As I have re-
ceived no communication on the subject of these orders from
His Majesty's Government, you will readily, I am convinced,
perceive the unpracticability of my forwarding a letter of this
nature ; and although it is believed that the post in question has
been captured (of which, however, the American Government
does not appear to have any certain information on which to
ground the claim of restitution) yet another point equally es-
sential remains in great uncertainty, viz : whether any persons
whatsoever were left to retain possession of it. My impres-
sion is that the establishment was broken up, and the persons
found there brought away. Vice Admiral Dixon, however,
the Commander in Chief of His Majesty's Naval Forces on
the Brazil Station, within whose command the Pacific Ocean
is included, is no doubt in possession of every necessary infor-
mation in relation to this post, and will be able to communicate
on the subject with any authorized agent on the behalf of the
United States * * * [Omissions on other subjects.]
Baker also wrote, on July 24th, 1815, to Vice- Admiral Man-
ley Dixon, in charge of the Pacific; and another letter went
post haste to Sir Gordon Drummond, Governor of Canada,
8F. O. 5, Vol. 107.
254 KATHARINE B. JUDSON
asking him for information which might be secured from the
North West Company. The inquiry went to William McGil-
livray, but his brother Simon happened to be in Canada, hav-
ing just arrived from England (see letter below, dated New
York, November 15, 1817,) and together the Nor'westers
made their answer. A copy (checked against the dateless
original) with a subsequent note from Simon McGillivray,
dated March 23rd, 1822, is used.
The explanatory note is given first, then the report of 1815 :9
"Appendix
"The Statement of which the following is a Copy was drawn
up at Montreal in 1815, at the request of Sir Gordon Drum-
mond, who had been applied to by the British Charge
d' Affaires at Washington for information on the subject of
the settlement at the Columbia River for it seems that even
at that early period the American Government took a very
different view of the case from that which has been expressed
by Lord Bathurst and from the ulterior measures of Govern-
ment it is evident that they (the Americans) have carried their
point as far as the restitution of Fort George.
"The opinion given by Lord Bathurst and by Mr. Gouldburn
after the ratification of the Treaty of Ghent are perfectly in
my recollection, but it is of little use now to refer to them
further than to show how the American Government succeeds
in establishing points and obtaining concessions.
(Signed) Simon McGillivray."
London, 23rd March, 1822."
"Appendix
"Statement relative to the Columbia River and adjoining
Territory on the Western Coast of the Continent of North
America. [1815]
"The claim of Great Britain to the Sovereignty of a con-
siderable part of the Northwest Coast of America was orig-
9C. O. 6. Vol.
enclosure, found in F
6. Original was taken from its place and used as an
• O. 5, Vol. 123. Checked against the duplicate used.
RESTORATION OF ASTORIA 25 S
inally founded from rights derived from the Discovery of the
Country by Sir Francis Drake who in the reign of Queen
Elizabeth visited the Northern part of California which coun-
try he called New Albion, and of which he took possession
in the name of his Sovereign. Since that time the claim has
never been relinquished although the Spaniards have been
allowed to encroach upon the country in question, by extending
their settlements to the Northward of the place whereof Drake
had taken possession, yet still the Country situated to the
Northward of the Spanish Setlements was always claimed by
Great Britain and the claim was tacitly admitted if not pub-
lickly recognized.
"This early right of discovery is, however, important only
in a discussion of claims with Spain; for as to any claim
which may be set up by the United States of America, it will
be easy to find rights prior to theirs without going back fur-
ther than the Reign of his present Majesty. Captain Cook's
repeated visits to that Coast and his taking renewed posses-
sion thereof in His Majesty's Name before the Americans
became an independent people, is surely a sufficient title
against them, and the occurrences at Nootka Sound in 1789
and the Armament against Spain in consequence of the ag-
gressions committed upon British Subjects on that Coast, af-
ford ample proof that the possession thus taken was not meant
to be merely a nominal possession but it was considered by
the Government of that day a matter of such importance as
to afford a sufficient cause for going to war with Spain.10
"Subsequent rights of Discovery, also prior to any that can
be claimed by the United States may be adduced as a further
confirmation, if any were wanting, of the Title of Great Britain
to the Territory in question. In the year 1792 Sir Alexander
McKenzie, then a Partner of the North West Company, ex-
plored the Country beyond the Rocky Mountains and was the
first who penetrated to the Pacific Ocean. He also took pos-
10 [Note by McGillivray] : Reference may be particularly had to the negotia-
tion upon that subject with the court of Madrid m the year 1790 and the con-
vention of 28th October of that year, which was the result of these negotiations
and of the armament referred to.
256 KATHARINE B. JUDSON
session of the Country in the name of his Sovereign, and pre-
viously, in 1791 [1792], Captain Vancouver had surveyed the
Coast and the River Columbia from its mouth to the falls,
which are 200 Miles from the Sea. Soon after Sir Alexander
McKenzie's Voyages, the North West Company established
Trading posts in the Country beyond the Rocky Mountains
and upon the head Waters of the Columbia River. So that
besides the repeated Acts of taking formal possession, British
Subjects have for above Twenty Years been in actual posses-
sion of the Interior of the Country in question and have
maintained the same uninterruptedly.
"It was only about two years ago that the Government of
the United States began to set up pretensions11 to the North
West Coast; for until after their purchase of Louisiana from
Bonaparte they had never possessed or had even claimed any
Territory to the Westward of the Missisippi ; but upon mak-
ing the purchase of the Province of Louisiana and finding
that its Geographical Boundaries to the Northward and West-
ward had never been expressly limited or defined, they im-
mediately took advantage of this circumstance to claim Bound-
aries as extensive and indefinite as possible; and without
waiting to have the 'matter of right investigated or ascertained
they hastened to take possession of the Country so claimed by
them, intending doubtless when they once had taken posses-
sion to maintain it whether right or wrong. With a view,
therefore, to extend their territorial claims across the Conti-
nent to the Pacific Ocean and establish a communication
therewith through the Rivers Mississourie and Columbia, the
American Government in the year 1806 [1803] fitted out an
expedition to explore the Country under the Command of
Captains Lewis and Clarke, who proceeded to the head of the
River Mississourie thence across the Rocky Mountains to
the River Columbia and so down to the mouth of that River
from whence they returned [1806] by the same route.
ii Throughout this diplomatic correspondence, pretensions is used with the
meaning of claim, not with the more sinister meaning now more usually at-
tached to it.
RESTORATION OF ASTORIA 257
"In order to give the Expedition as much as possible the
Air of a Voyage of Discovery, and to make it appear as if
they were exploring and taking possession of an unknown
Country, though in fact the Country in the Interior was well
known to the Traders from Canada, the Americans as they
went along, bestowed new Names on Rivers, Mountains, &c.,
such as Jefferson's River, Madison's River, and so forth, for-
getting or affecting to forget that the Columbia River had
already been surveyed by Captain Vancouver and that a route
across the Continent to the Pacific Ocean had already been
traversed by Sir Alexander McKenzie, both of whom as well
as Captain Cook, had taken possession of the Country in the
name of His Majesty as hereinbefore mentioned.
"Uniting this project of the extension of Territory, with
another favorite object, the obtaining possession of the Fur
Trade, and detaching the Indian Nations from their partiality
to the British and Canadian Traders, the American Govern-
ment, soon after the return of Captains Lewis and Clarke,
established a Chartered Company at New York to prosecute
the Fur Trade of this New Country under the name of the
Pacific Fur Company at the head of which was Mr. John
Jacob Astor of New York and this Pacific Fur Company
commenced their operations in the Summer of 1810, when
Ships were sent to the Coast, a Fort Built at the mouth of
the Columbia River, the Country taken possession of as Ameri-
can Territory, and named Astoria and the rights of Great
Britain disregarded.
"Representations upon this subject were from time to time
made to His Majesty's Government by the North West Com-
pany's representatives in London. Upon this subject they
have had the honor of conferring with several of His Majesty's
Ministers12 at different times and they all expressed their
opinion that the country in question belongs of right to Great
Britain and that the United States had no just claim whatever
12 [iMote by McGillivray] : The ministers particularly alluded to as having
given decided opinions on the subject are the Earl of Harrowly, the Marquis of
Wiellesley, Lord Viscount Castlereagh, Earl Bathurst, Mr. George Rose, etc ,
etc., etc.
258 KATHARINE B. JUDSON
to the possession of it, but still no measures were for some
time adopted by Government to interfere with their then new
Establishment at the Columbia River, and this forbearance
may be imputed to the following causes, viz. viz. 1st. The
object was remote and possibly considered of less importance
than it would have been under different circumstances. The
Country was engaged in War with numerous and powerful
Enemies and Government was doubtless unwilling to add to
their number by quarrelling with America or adding to the
causes of quarrel already existing.
"The North West Company had in the meantime extended
their Trading Posts across the Mountains to the Pacific
Ocean, and it became necessary to send their people Supplies
by Sea from England, but they had previously applied to
Government for a Charter or Grant of the Trade of the Coun-
try to be thus supplied, and to the East India Company for
permission to carry its produce to China, and thus Two Years
were occupied by these applications and preparatory arrange-
ments.
"This was the state of matters at the commencement of the
late War with the United States, when at length Government
resolved to interfere in the matter. The American Company
was in possession of a Fort or Trading Post at the mouth of
the Columbia river and also of some Posts in the Interior.
The North West Company had established several Posts in
the Interior, and had sent a party to proceed to the Coast in
the summer of 1813, to meet a Ship with Supplies from Eng-
land which was fitted out in the fall of 1812, and which must
have proceeded on her destination even without the protection
which Government afterwards granted but ultimately the pro-
tection sought was obtained.
"The Phoebe frigate and the Cherub and Raccoon Sloops of
War were sent around Cape Horn and the Raccoon was sent
to the Columbia, to destroy the American Establishment and
to take possession of the Country as British Territory. From
the detention which had occurred in the sailing of this Expedi-
RESTORATION OF ASTORIA 259
tion from England, their arrival at the Columbia was much
later than had been contemplated, and [than] arranged with
the North West Company's people who had proceeded to
meet them from the Interior and who reached the Sea
in August, 1913, while the Raccoon did not make her
appearance until the month of December following, and
the North West Company's ship the Isaac Todd not until April,
1814. The People from the Interior therefore despairing of
the arrival of their expected Supplies and Support by Sea,
found it necessary to make the best arrangement in their
power with the people whom they found in possession of the
Country. Many of these though Partners or Servants of the
Pacific Fur Company were British subjects and would not
fight against their Country, and learning of the American War
inclined them to change sides. The Americans were not suf-
ficiently strong to defend their Fort in the event of this defec-
tion taking place, and they were under apprehensions from
the expected arrival of the Men of War. The result was an
arrangement by which the Americans agreed to retire from
the Country and to sell the Goods which they had at their Fort
which the North West Company's people purchased, and thus
when the Raccoon appeared in December, 1813, she found
the place in possession of Friends and her Officers were not
a little disappointed in their hopes of prize Money. Captain
Black of the Raccoon once more took formal possession of
the Country in His Majesty's name and called the principal
post Fort George, under which name it is now held by the
North West Company.
"It is evident from this statement that Fort George is not
a Conquest the restoration of which the American Govern-
ment are entitled to claim under the 1st Article of the late
Treaty, nor could it have been so considered by the f ramers of
that Treaty for one of the representatives of the North West
Company had the honor of .an interview with Lord Bathurst
on the subject after the ratification of the Treaty was known
and not long after Mr. Gouldburn's return from Ghent ; when
his Lordship declared decidedly that the Country in question
260 KATHARINE B. JUDSON
was not considered as a Conquest to be restored under the
Treaty, but as a British Territory to which the Americans had
no just claim, and the reason which his Lordship assigned for
this country not being mentioned in the Treaty was, that, re-
quiring from the Americans any recognition or guarantee of
His Majesty's rights thereto might tend to cast doubt upon a
Title which was already sufficiently clear and incontestable."
The many mistakes in the above report, both as to facts and
dates, are no greater, if as great, as those made in speeches in
the American congress. On both sides they indicate the lack
of knowledge prevailing and the resulting confusion.
THE FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON— VI
By LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE, Ph.D.
CHAPTER XII
TERRITORIAL ORGANIZATION
From all outward appearances there was nothing to prevent
the Twenty-ninth Congress from proceeding to the comple-
tion of the work for Oregon when it convened in its second
session in December, 1846. While it was expected that there
might be some angry reverberations from the storm of the
previous session, no repetition of that hurricane could occur
for the question of the boundary was permanently settled. It
now remained for Congress to make those customary provi-
sions for territorial organization, surveys and land disposi-
tion, Indian regulation and the like which had so often been
before Congress with other portions of the public domain. To
this end Polk included in his second Annual Message a brief
recommendation calling attention to the remaining needs of
Oregon.1 The Secretary of the Treasury also mentioned the
desirability of extending the revenue laws of the United States
to Oregon for, as he pointed out, there might easily be inaug-
urated an illegitimate trade in goods from the Orient and
elsewhere which would affect the more settled portions of the
Union. He also adverted to the advisability of land grants ;
"with a system of liberal donation of tracts of land in Oregon
sufficient for farms to settlers and emigrants, this highly inter-
esting portion of the Union would soon contain a considerable
population ; and near and convenient as it is to Asia, its com-
merce would rapidly increase, and large revenue accrue to the
Government."2
The Indian Commissioner, in his report to the treasury de-
partment, pointed out the exposed condition of the American
citizens in Oregon. He mentioned the fact that the trade rela-
tions of these Indians of the Northwest were chiefly with the
1 Globe, XVI, 10.
2 Niles Register, g Dec. 1846.
262 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
Hudson's Bay Company, and since there was intercourse be-
tween the bands of natives north and south of 49° it would
be very easy for persons inimical to the United States to
excite them to hostility towards Americans. In view of con-
ditions the department, soon after the adjournment of Con-
gress the previous summer, had assumed the responsibility of
appointing as subagent of Indian affairs an American citizen
resident in Oregon.3 This gentleman had been instructed to
visit the different bands and endeavor to promote a feeling of
friendship toward the United States and its citizens.
President Polk, in framing his Message, had also had in
mind a recommendation that Congress provide for the survey
and marking of the boundary between the possessions of Great
Britain and the United States, but he had stricken out this
paragraph on the advice of Buchanan, who told him it would
revive another heated discussion of the international issue.
Moreover, Buchanan added, it was well to recall the long
delay and great expense of surveying the Northeastern
boundary, for similar conditions might arise in the North-
west.4
Folk's recommendation for territorial organization was re-
ferred to the appropriate committees of each house and at
an early date bills were reported. In the Senate, Breese, and
in the House, Douglas, for the Committee on Territories,
brought in measures for extending the laws of the United
States over Oregon and for creating a territorial government.
The House took action first, on the eleventh of January.5
The bill, in the ordinary form, was provocative of discussion
on two grounds ; the franchise in the territory and slavery.
The Committee bill extended to all free male white inhabitants
of Oregon, over the age of twenty years, who had been resi-
dents of the territory at the time of the passage of the act, the
right to vote in the first election and to be eligible for office;
3 Ibid., 8 Jan., 1847. Elijah White had nreviously resigned. See chapter IV
above and chapter XIII below.
4 Polk, Diary, II, 254. Walker thought this a reflection on him as a relative of
his had been connected with the Maine survey.
5 Globe, XVII, 1 66 seq.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 263
after the election qualifications both for voting and for office
holding were to be fixed by the Legislative Assembly. W. W.
Campbell, a Native American of New York, moved to insert
in the proper place the words "who is a citizen of the United
States." After some discussion an amendment suggested by
Douglas was adopted as clearing up the difficulty: to the
original provision was added the proviso, "that the right of
suffrage shall be exercised only by citizens of the United
States and those who shall have declared on oath, before some
court of record, their intention to become such, and shall have
taken an oath to support the Constitution of the United States
and the provisions of this act."
The slavery issue was not so easily disposed of. It was
well understood that the war with Mexico would not leave
the territorial situation of the United States as it had been
before the outbreak of hostilities ; furthermore, the region be-
tween the Rockies and the first belt of States west of the
Mississippi was already offering attractions to pioneer spirits
who would carry with them their accustomed institutions
and ideas. That particular portion of the slavery discussion
and resultant legislation which ended with the Compromise
measures of 1850 may be said to have started with the debate
on the Oregon Territory in the winter of 1846-7. As the bill
for Oregon's organization was being read to the House James
Thompson, a Pennsylvania Democrat, desired to know whether
an amendment suggested by him relative to slavery had been
included. Douglas read the 12th section which he thought
would satisfy the query :
"The inhabitants of said territory shall be entitled to enjoy
all and singular the rights, privileges and advantages
granted and secured to the people of the territory of the
United States northwest of the Ohio river, by the articles
of compact contained in the ordinance for the government
of said territory, on the 13th day of July, 1787; and shall
be subject to all the conditions, and restrictions, and prohibi-
tions in said articles of compact imposed on the people of
said territory."
264 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
This provision, said Douglas, was in harmony with the
terms of the provisional constitution which the people of Ore-
gon had adopted.
Stevens Adams of Mississippi, a Democrat, when this article
was under consideration, proposed as a proviso:
"That nothing in relation to slavery in this act shall be
construed as an intention to interfere with the provisions or
spirit of the Missouri Compromise; but the same is hereby
recognized as extending to all territory which may hereafter
be acquired by the United States."
Objection was made to this because it applied to territory
other than that under consideration in the bill. Hannibal Ham-
lin of Maine objected to the introduction of the question of
slavery at all while discussing the Oregon bill. He contended
that the Missouri Compromise had nothing whatever to do
with Oregon; when the matter of slavery had come up with
the annexation of Texas Congress had been told that the law
of heaven prevented slavery in part of that State, yet when it
came into the Union slavery existed in every part of it. "It
was time now," he said, "that it should be fully understood;
that the resolution had been taken, that there should be no
more slave territory admitted into the Union or suffered to
exist there."
Adams withdrew his amendment but Burt, of South Caro-
lina, proposed to insert at the place where there was reference
to the slavery provision of the Northwest Ordinance the words :
"inasmuch as the whole of the said territory lies north of
36° 30' north latitude, known as the line of the Missouri
Compromise." He supported his amendment with an examina-
tion of the whole question of the Northwest Ordinance which
he said was in violation of the terms of the Virginia cession,
the Missouri Compromise, and the rights of the South under
the Constitution to which the Compromise added nothing.
Some of his southern friends, he said, doubted the wisdom of
submitting the amendment at that moment, but if the South
failed to raise her voice at that time it would never again
have an opportunity and another precedent to her disadvan-
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 265
tage would have been made. The language of the gentlemen
from the West and from New England, he continued, was
plain enough that the South must move then or not at all.7
Pettit, of Indiana, took issue with him on the power of the
United States over territories which, he contended, was sov-
ereign. The South was not ready to answer to Burt's call;
the amendment was lost after little discussion by a close vote.
Further consideration in the Committee of the Whole House
resulted in minor changes only, except that the recommenda-
tion of the Committee on Territories for a grant of one section
per township for educational purposes was increased to two.
When the bill was reported to the House it was adopted as it
stood although Burt made another attempt to have his amend-
ment included. The final vote, however, had not been taken
before the Wilmot Proviso and all that it implied had been
brought before the House. Leake of Virginia had stated the
position of the South: twice the South had been cheated by
compromises, once in 1820 and again in 1833 (on the tariff),
and now the House had deliberately rejected Burt's amend-
rent the adoption of which would have shown the good faith
of the North. By refusing to allow all mention of the Mis-
souri Compromise in the Oregon bill it was obvious that there
was shown the same spirit which had produced the Wilmot
Proviso, and it must all be looked upon as an Ultimatum, not
a Protocol, of the North. In that case, said Leake, it was
well for the North to hear the Ultimatum of the South : if the
Wilmot proviso should be engrafted upon any legislation as a
part of a permanent policy, "They (the Northerners) will
have put the South to the exercise of those reserved rights
guaranteed by the Constitution, and which have not been and
which shall not be wrested from us. We cannot, we will not,
we ought not, to submit to it. You have put us on the de-
fensive and we will defend! For the fraternal bond that has
hitherto connected us, you will have substituted the chain of
despotism: we will sever it. By making us feel the union only
7 Globe, XVII, 178-9; Appendix, 116-7.
266 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
through its oppressions, you will have driven us to the neces-
sity of withdrawing from it, in order to avoid its despotism.
By interfering with the rights of property, you will have driven
us to the necessity of withdrawing it from your grasp."8
Leake was supported by Rhett of South Carolina and was
opposed by Thurman of Ohio who flatly stated the point of
view of the North as this : while not agreeing with the abol-
itionists, both Whigs and Democrats of the North believed
that the Federal Government had supreme power over the ter-
ritories, and through that government he and his colleagues
were going to oppose the extension of slavery. Hamlin also
reiterated this sentiment and said that each side might as well
know where it stood; the North proposed that no territory
then free, nor any territory subsequently added to the Union,
should be slave. He, for one, was in favor of a declaratory
law (like the Wilmot Proviso) to that effect.
The vote on the passage of the Oregon bill was 133 to 35
in its favor. Of the negative votes two came from the North
(one Whig and one Native American) ; the other thirty-
three from the South were cast by twelve Whigs and twenty-
one Democrats, but a considerable number of the southern
Representatives would not vote.9
The Senate referred the House bill to the Committee on
Judiciary which retained it until the twenty-fifth of January.10
It was then reported out with amendments, and on the twenty-
ninth recommitted that some errors might be corrected. On
the last day of the session Mr. Allen called up the bill, and,
when objection was made on account of the many important
measures which would have to be neglected if it should be
taken up, declared that he understood the scheme. The interest
in the Northwest was at that moment the weakest of the three
interests in the Union; it was overshadowed by the Northeast
and the South, both of which conspired to check action. The
8 Leake in Globe, XVII, 188; Appen., 111-3; Rhett, Appen., 214-7; Thurman,
188-90; Hamlin, 195-7.
9. Ibid 197.
10 Ibid., 199, 246, 283, 570.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 267
two old wings were overshadowing the new center, and this
could be seen by examining every vote taken since 1820 ; "the
old North and the old South dreaded the power of the new
center, and so were willing to let Oregon become independ-
ent." Allen's efforts, however, could produce no action and
after a little desultory discussion of the House suffrage amend-
ment which Huntingdon (Connecticut) and Webster looked
upon as a dangerous innovation, the bill was tabled and so
killed.
The vote on tabling was twenty-six to eighteen. Fifteen
of those who wished to postpone action were from slave
States, while six of the eighteen in favor of immediate action
also came from south of Mason and Dixon's line. As such
the vote does not reveal very much, but if the personnel of
the northern Senators who voted to table the bill is considered
a little more light is afforded. Gilley (N. H.) and Wood-
bridge (Mich.) were the two northern Democrats who voted
to table; the Whigs were Clayton (Del.), Davis and Webster
(Mass.), Evans (Me.), Greene and Simmons (R. I.), Hunt-
ington (Conn.), Miller (N. Y.), and Upham (Vt.). When
one considers the course of the Whigs during the crisis of
1848-50, their attempt to prevent a break by framing compro-
mises, one can find in this list of names something which
affords an explanation of their vote on the Oregon bill in
1847. All but one of those who voted against tabling were
Democrats; this group also included all the western Senators
except Woodbridge of Michigian and the two from Kentucky.
The Senate action must also be interpreted in the light of
the resolutions introduced by Calhoun on the nineteenth of
February.11 While these were applicable prospectively and
looked rather to the territory held and about to be acquired
in the Southwest rather than in Oregon, it was necessary to
make the principle apply to all if it would have any force;
and so, in the light of this declaration of principles, it is not
difficult to see that the supporters of the "peculiar institution"
ii Ibid., 445.
268 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPER
were unwilling that a decisive step should be taken with Ore-
gon. "The territories of the United States belong to the sev-
eral States composing this Union," read the resolutions, "and
are held in common by them as their joint and common prop-
erty" ; no discrimination between the States could be made by
Congress, their common agent, so that any State should be
deprived of its full and equal rights in any territory, acquired
or to be acquired.
"The enactment of any law which should directly, or by
its effects, deprive the citizens of any of the States of this
Union from emigrating, with their property, into any of the
territories of the United States, will make such discrimina-
tion, and would therefore be a violation of the Constitution,
and the rights of the States from which such citizens emi-
grated, and in derogation of that perfect equality which
belongs to them as members of this Union, and would tend
directly to subvert the Union itself."
Moreover, Calhoun went on to state in his declaration of
faith, it was a fundamental principle of the American political
creed that a people has the right to form that sort of a gov-
ernment which seems best adapted to its needs; this principle
is embodied in the Constitution, consequently any attempt on
the part of Congress to place upon a people any other restric-
tions than that its government shall be republican would be
not only against the Constitution but "in direct conflict with
the principle on which out political system rests."
The skirmish of 1846-7, therefore, but presaged the bitter
strife which waged in 1847-8 about Oregon and its territorial
organization but not with reference to it as such.
With such a fate for the most important measure recom-
mended by the President it is not surprising that the minor
suggestions were not followed out. There was, to be sure,
some little discussion of the Senate bill intended to provide
for a survey of the lands in Oregon and to make grants to
settlers.12 It did not pass, although it reached the third read-
ing, for it was recommitted on account of two features; no
12 Globe, XVII, 219, 255-6, 266, 275-6, 293-4.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 269
provision was made for quieting the Indian title, and there
was no recognition of the claims of the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany and its servants. Congress had the customary petitions
for grants of lands ; the railroad question did not come up
except when the House committee to which had been referred
the memorials of the last session asked to be discharged from
further consideration of the same. Thomasson of Kentucky
introduced a resolution in the House to inquire into the
expediency of setting apart a portion of the country west of
the Rocky Mountains for the use of the Indians of Oregon
in perpetuity, "in which district no white man shall settle with-
out permission of the President of the United States, and
then only for the purpose of instructing and improving the
Indians."18
Colonel Benton believed that the defeat of the territorial bill
was the work of pro-slavery propagandists and he did not
fail to give publicity to this opinion. On the twenty-ninth of
March, just as he was leaving Washington, he went to the
President with a letter, a copy of which he intended to send
to the people of Oregon the next day by the newly appointed
deputy postmaster of Astoria, Shively. Polk urged him
strongly not to send the letter as it would inflame the inhab-
itants of Oregon where they were so far out of touch with
the older portion of the United States that they would be
unable to see the whole issue in its proper perspective.
* * * "I think it right," wrote Benton, "to make this
communication to you at the present moment, when the
adjournment of Congress, without passing the bill for your
government and protection, seems to have left you in a
state of abandonment by your mother country. You are
not abandoned! nor will you be denied protection for not
agreeing to admit slavery. I, a man of the south and a
slave-holder, tell you this.
* * * This will be a great disappointment to you,
and a real calamity ; already five years without law or legal
institution for the protection of life, liberty and property!
1 3 The lett«r was published in the New Orleans Mercury, quoted in Niles'
Register, 8 May. See Polk, Diary, II, 444 seq.
270 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
and now doomed to wait a year longer. This is a strange
and anomalous condition! almost incredible to contemplate;
and almost critical to endure! — a colony of freeman, 4,000
miles from the metropolitan government, and without laws
or government to preserve them ! But do not be alarmed
or desperate,, you will not be outlawed for not admitting
slavery. Your fundamental act against that institution *
* * will not be abrogated ! nor is that the intention of the
prime mover of the amendment. Upon the record, the
judiciary committee of the senate is the author of the amend-
ment ; but not so the fact ! That committee is only the mid-
wife to it. Its author is the same mind that generated the
'fire-brand' resolutions of which I send you a copy, and of
which the amendment is the legitimate derivation. Oregon
is not the object. The most rabid propagandist of slavery
cannot expect to plant it on the shores of the Pacific, in the
latitude of Wisconsin and the Lake of the Woods. A home
agitation, for election and disunion purposes, is all that is
intended by thrusting this fire-brand question into your
bill ! and, at the next session, when it is thrust in again, we
will scourge it out! and pass your bill as it ought to be. I
promise you this in the name of the south as well as the
north ; and the event will not deceive me."14
Said the President, "I disapproved the letter, but knowing
his (Benton's) domineering disposition and utter impatience
of contradiction or difference of opinion, and knowing that I
could not change his opinions, I contented myself with simply
stating my objections to the letter and expressing my doubts
of sending such a letter." Nevertheless the next day Polk
urged Benton to reconsider his decision; "I told him that
Oregon was a Northern Territory & that slavery could never
exist there, that I condemned Mr. Calhoun's course, but this,
I feared, would not be understood by the inhabitants of Ore-
gon, who were far removed from newspapers and other sources
of information." It would produce a mischievous excitement
in Oregon where there would be alarm while, as those in
Washington knew, there was no cause for it. Besides, said
14 Benton voiced similar sentiments when he was notified that the Democracy
of Missouri desired him as their candidate for president. He thought a northern
man should be elected. Regsiter, 7 May, 1847.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 271
Polk, only a day or so before the Secretary of State had ad-
dressed a communication to. the people of Oregon, as the
Senator knew, giving them assurances that they would be pro-
tected by the United States and expressing the opinion that a
territorial bill would be enacted at the next session of Con-
gress. Colonel Benton took the President's remarks under
consideration — that the letter would do less harm if published
in an eastern paper — but the letter went on to Oregon.
According to Benton, Calhoun's object in all his agitation
was to secure the presidency at the next election, a view in
which Polk concurred, although he did not say so to Benton.
Furthermore, "in the course of the conversation Gen'l Benton
dropped the idea distinctly that the New York gentlemen
(Dickinson and Dix and the delegation in the House) had
gone home from Congress with a full record of all the facts &
intended to make an issue on that question * * * The
truth is there is no patriotism in either faction of the party.
Both desire to mount slavery as a hobby, and hope to secure
the election of their favorite with it. They will fail and ought
to fail."
The President, however, did not confide to Benton nor
even to his own diary that he himself was in general accord
with the general idea which actuated Calhoun: i. e., the erec-
tion out of the territory to be gained from Mexico of units in
which there would be no restriction on slavery. Polk was not
guided by the desire to be president a second term, for if there
is in his course any consistency to be ranked with that with
which he worked to obtain California and' New Mexico, it is
his unfailing discouragement of all suggestions that he should
try for a second election. If it was not to curry political favor
with the South that Polk pursued his course, neither was it
merely to provide for the extension of territory where slaves
might be held legally ; he desired an expansion of the territory
of the United States, but more, he did not wish his country
disrupted on the issue of slavery, and so he strove to maintain
the balance between the two sections. This is testified to by
LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
the fact that he resisted the importunities of Buchanan and
others in his Cabinet to secure all or a much larger portion
of Mexico than he did, for this would have disturbed the bal-
ance as seriously in favor of the South and so equally have
threatened disunion.
The letter written by Buchanan, to which Polk referred,
was entrusted to Shively.15 It noted the failure of the terri-
torial bill but pointed to the encouragement to be derived
from the large vote in the House in its favor, and contended
that this foretold a successful issue at the next session. The
disposition of the United States was, moreover, seen in the
passage of an act extending postal facilities to the people of
Oregon, as well as in that of the last session for a regiment
of riflemen. The steadiness with which the demands against
Great Britain has been maintained was also proof that Oregon
would never be abandoned.
Good use was made during the summer and autumn of
1847 of the blazing issues raised by the Mexican war and the
prospective increase in territory for the United States. In the
North the principles of the Wilmot Proviso received approval
and ten States, through their legislatures, formally endorsed
the proposition,16 while some of these went further and insisted
that no new States should be admitted unless slavery should
be prohibited. Oregon was swallowed up in the greater issue
of slavery and its extension. An interesting, although not im-
portant, comment on the position Oregon was assuming even
in the West is afforded by a one-time ardent pro-Oregon,
54-40-or-Fight paper, the Missouri Republican. After pub-
lishing a letter from L. W. Boggs? once governor of Missouri,
on the route to Oregon and California, the Republican said :17
"We give place to his instructions not because we desire
to be understood as recommending any man to go either
to California or Oregon * * * If we were asked our
advice in this matter we would tell any man who has any-
15 Works of James Buchanan, VII, 258-60; 29 March, 1847.
1 6 Register, 18 Sept. Ohio, New Hampshire and Vermont were opposed
to admission with slavery.
1 7 Quoted in Niles Register, 6 Nov., 1847.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 273
thing to hope for in any of the states or territories of this
union — who is not absolutely an outcast from society and
deprived of all chances of maintaining a respectable stand-
ing— not to move one foot towards either Oregon or Cali-
fornia. We have made inquiries from discreet and intelli-
gent men who have visited both countries and they have
uniformly concurred — not an exception now occurs to us —
in representing both territories as inferior in advantages to
those offered by our own state, and as representing no in-
ducement to take any respectable man there." And those
already there would be glad to get away if they could.
The Thirtieth Congress presented an example of that mid-
administration political change which has so often occurred
in our country. Instead of a comfortable majority of Demo-
crats in both houses, Polk found the House of Representatives
in the hands of the Whigs by a small majority. The loss to
the administration forces had been most serious in New York
and Pennsylvania, although there had been scattering defec-
tions elsewhere in the ranks. This disaster Calhoun traced to
the "course of the Administration in reference to the Oregon
and Mexican questions;" the Democratic party had become
distracted, disheartened and divided, and the Whigs were not
much better off.18
How much the Oregon situation played a part in the con-
gressional elections of 1846 is open to question ; certainly it
was subordinated completely to the greater issues of the
Mexican war. On the whole, although the Whig party tried
to make political capital by holding up as a horrible example
the course of the President in the Oregon matter, it seems that
a feeling of satisfaction — everywhere except in parts of the
West — prevailed; there was satisfaction that the outcome had
been no worse.19 Besides, the President had gotten more
from Great Britain than many expected that nation to yield
without war.
In considering the action of the Thirtieth Congress on the
18 Calhoun to Lewis S. Coryell, 7 Nov., Correspondence, 709; see also letter
to his daughter, 21 Nov., Ibid., 713.
19 This was the note of a speech by Webster at Philadelphia on Dec. zd, 1847.
Works (1854) II, 320 seq.
274 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
Oregon territorial bill it is constantly to be borne in mind that
the whole struggle was but an aspect of the greater question
of slavery, its extension, and its relation to the fruits of the
Mexican War. That war having dragged through 1847 —
Mexico City was occupied by American troops on September
14th — had been ended by the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo,
signed on the second of February, 1848, and ratified a month
later by the Senate. The cession of Upper California and
New Mexico to the United States had brought about exactly
the situation which had in prospect stimulated the debates in
the previous session of Congress, consequently the Thirtieth
Congress dealt with existing conditions rather than with an
expected situation as its predecessor had. Nevertheless, the
discussion was resumed with exactly the same spirit which
had animated the Twenty-ninth Congress although feeling ran
higher and a greater tenseness in the country at large was
reflected in the increasing vehemence of partisans on both
sides of the question. It is not the purpose here to discuss
the greater issue in all its ramifications but only the Oregon
side of the question.
The Third Annual Message of President Polk renewed the
recommendations of the former message, particularly laying
emphasis upon the necessity of creating a territorial organiza-
tion. There was, he told Congress, a demand for the pro-
tection of the laws of the United States, for a legalization of
the Oregon government which, in its existing provisional form,
was "wholly inadequate to protect (the inhabitants) in their
rights of person and property, or to secure them in the enjoy-
ment of the privileges of other citizens, to which they (were)
entitled under the Constitution of the United States." They
should be granted the right of suffrage and the privilege of
sending a Delegate to Congress, and should have all the cus-
tomary rights of the inhabitants of other portions of the terri-
tory of the United States. No direct reference, of course,
was made to the slavery issue as it touched this subject, al-
though at the end of the Message, Polk did call to the atten-
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 275
tion of Congress the words of Washington, where he warned
his countrymen against allowing sectionalism to tinge their
deliberations.20
In both houses, bills for the territorial government of Ore-
gon were introduced early in the session. In the Senate it
was Stephen A. Douglas, who now had left the House and
was entering upon his eventful career in the upper body, to
whom was granted the honor of introducing the measure
which was immediately referred to the Committee on Terri-
tories.21 The Senate, however, did not take up this- bill until
after the House bill had been under discussion for over a
month, hence, since each House pursued its own course, it is
with the latter that we must deal first.
The House Committee on Territories introduced a bill on
the ninth of February ; it was made a special order of the day
for the fourteenth of March and on the twenty-eighth of March
it was called up by Wentworth, an Illinois Democrat, and con-
sidered in Committee of the Whole.22 The slavery debate,
which had to that time fastened upon other topics — the Loan
Bill, the Deficiency Appropriation Bill, and nearly every other
measure before the House — now seized upon that which, to-
gether with the bills for the organization of New Mexico and1
California, gave the most legitimate excuse for its consid-
eration. John Gayle, of Alabama (Whig), and Ephraim K.
Smart, of Maine (Democrat), occupied the time upon this
first day with their views upon the constitutional power of
Congress in legislating for the territories. The Southerner
took the ground that hitherto legislation and decisions of the
Supreme Court had considered States and territories as upon
the same legal footing; Congress could not legislate upon
domestic affairs within the States, consequently it could not
for the territories. Furthermore, territorial governments could
not of themselves exclude slavery for that would infringe
upon the rights of citizens of certain States who might desire
20 Globe, XVIII, lo-n. 20 Ibid., 136.
21 Ibid., 136.
22 Ibid., 322; debate of 28 March, 542-8.
276 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
to take up their residence in that which was common property
of all the States. Mr. Smart took the opposite ground and
said that Congress had legislated for territories from the
beginning, thereby exercising an undoubted constitutional pre-
rogative. Besides, said he, the opponents of the clause re-
stricting Oregon from allowing slavery admitted that the
climate there was such that slavery could never exist; if this
statement was spoken in sincerity there would be no objection
to legal prohibition.
With personal variations these sentiments were those which
charactized the debate throughout; on the part of the op-
ponents of the extension of slavery the purpose was to have
included in the bill a specific prohibition of it in Oregon;
those from the South preferred that no reference whatever
should be made to slavery, thus upholding Gayle's contention
that Congress could not legislate up the subject. If, however,
it should prove impossible to obtain this, the next best thing
would be to obtain some kind of a statement which recognized
the extension of the line of the Missouri Compromise to the
Pacific.
Nothing further was done with the House bill until the first
day of May when there was an attempt to have it made a
special order. The House, however, like the Senate, in addi-
tion to have more pressing business (the appropriation bills),
was unwilling to proceed seriously with this measure before it
was apparent what general principle, if any, was to be estab-
lished with reference to territories, consequently it was nearly
a month before any further mention of the Oregon bill was
made.
Meantime there had arrived in Washington one of the two
messengers sent from Oregon to present the pleas of that
territory to Congress. J. Quinn Thornton had arrived in May
with a letter from Governor Abernathy to Douglas. On the
basis of this letter Thornton had drawn up a memorial, dated
May 25th, wherein was a brief history of the Oregon colony,
and a description of the establishment and work of the Provis-
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 277
ional Government. It stated that there had been thought of
electing a Delegate to represent the territory in Congress, but
this had not been done because there was no law authorizing
such action, and there had been no time to elect a Delegate
and get him away on the only vessel which could reach the
Atlantic Coast in time to have him of any use; furthermore,
it was not expedient to elect a Delegate with the expectation
that a seat would be accorded by courtesy. After this intro-
duction the memorial proceeded to enumerate the desires of
Oregon ; in the first place there should be a regular territorial
organization, and the law for this should recognize
private contracts, all legislative and judicial acts already ex-
isting, and provide for the transfer of suits to the new courts ;
then the Indian title to the land should be extinguished ; grants
of land should be made on the basis of a five years' residence,
and other grants for those who might, during a limited time,
come into Oregon, as well as grants for educational provision ;
the revenue laws should be extended ; and finally there should
be appropriations to pay the public debt, for a library, to im-
prove the mouth of the Columbia, employ pilots, erect lights
and buoys and buy; a steam tug. A good wagon road from
Missouri to the Willamette valley with a cordon of military
posts was much needed, and the colony would benefit by an
appropriation for seeds and for agricultural implements. After
this most modest list of pressing needs the memorial concluded
with a final plea for a good territorial act — but a bad one would
be better than none.23
On the twenty-ninth of May, Caleb Smith of Indiana, chair-
man of the House Committee on Territories, asked general con-
sent to allow him to offer a resolution making the bill to
establish the Oregon territorial government a special order24
of the day immediately following the passage of the appro-
priation bills, except for Fridays and Saturdays. McClernand
(Illinois) asked Smith to modify his resolution so that the
House might at once go into Committee of the Whole on the
23 Sen. Misc. Doc. No. 143, 3oth Cong., ist &es.
24 Glob*, XVIII, 788 seq.
278 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
subject for he had just received from a resident of Oregon
a letter depicting the distressing situation of the colony where
the inhabitants were being harassed by the Indians.
McClernand's appeal for immediate action was supported
by a message from the President transmitting a memorial from
the legislative assembly of the Provisional Government.25 The
sorry condition of the people was described and Congress was
urged to provide both an organized government and to send
men to protect the whites in Oregon from the natives.
"If it be at all the intention of our honored parent,"
concluded the memorial, "to spread her guardian wing over
her sons and daughters in Oregon, she surely will not re-
fuse to do so now, when they are struggling with all the
ills of a weak and temporary government, and when the
perils are daily thickening around them and preparing to
burst upon their heads. When the ensuing summer's sun
shall have dispelled the snow from the mountains, we shall
look with glowing hope and restless anxiety for the coming
of your laws and your arms."
President Polk recommended the appeal to the earnest at-
tention of Congress and advised provision for a regiment of
mounted men and authority for the Oregon government to
raise a volunteer force; these together, he thought, would
be sufficient to deal with the Indian troubles. He pointed out
the necessity of prompt action if the territory was to benefit
by it that year for if the laws were enacted too late in the
summer the mountain passes would be closed and it would
be late in the spring of 1849 before assistance could reach
the Columbia valley.
Howell Cobb of Georgia agreed that immediate action was
necessary, but Collamer (Maine) raised the question as to
why the mounted riflemen provided for by the last Congress
had not been used for the protection of Oregon. He was
not satisfied with Cobb's explanation that these men had been
used in the Mexican War, since the bill had made no especial
25 Richardson, Messages, IV, 584-6. Polk, Diary, II, 463-4. The memorial
and papers were brought by Joseph Meek, who had been sent on this mission
at about the same time Thornton had left with the Governor's letter for Douglas.
Two rival factions in Oregon were represented by the two messengers.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 279
designation of their , service ; he said there was something
suspicious in Cobb's eagerness, it looked as though there
might be an attempt, in which the President was implicated,
to rush the Oregon territory bill through under an emergency
plea and thus gag Congress in its discussion of the major issue.
Collamer's suspicions were shared by others, consequently the
two measures were separated and the question of protection
was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs. Nothing,
however, came of it; whatever protection Oregon received
from Federal troops came from those which the President
detailed for that duty after their services were no longer
needed for the Mexican situation. The territorial bill awaited
its place after the appropriation bills, as Smith's resolution
provided, and did not appear again until late in July.
So long did other matters engage the attention of Con-
gress, legislative and political — the presidential nominations
had occurred and the campaign of '48 was well under weigh —
that the Senate had proceeded to take up, discuss and pass
its Oregon bill before the House was in full swing on the
debate over its own measure.26 On the thirty-first of May,
two days after the President's message and the memorial were
received, the Senate postponed prior orders and took up the
bill Douglas had introduced four months earlier. Upon
Benton's motion it was amended by adding a section to au-
thorize the raising of volunteers in the territory. Next Hale
(Maine) proposed section 12 of the last session's bill, ex-
tending to Oregon the provisions of the Northwest Ordinance,
as an amendment to the original measure. This raised a storm,
mostly from the southern Senators; said Benton, if this
"pestiferous question" had not been raised Oregon would al-
ready have had a government and the Indian disturbances
would have been quelled at their beginning. Hannegan
(Indiana) said the amendment was not heeded because every-
body knew the Missouri Compromise covered Oregon. In
view of the excitement his amendment had created, Hale pro-
26 Globe, XVIII, 804 seq.; Appen., 684 seq.
280 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
posed that the question be postponed) a few days, although he
said there would be slaves in Oregon unless Congress kept
them out. Westcott gave notice that he would move a sub-
stitute for the bill, the Senate bill of the last session.
The next day the bill was up with the question of Hale's
amendment the immediate point of discussion. He withdrew
it since he had been accused of casting a fire-brand into the
Senate although he announced that he would renew it or not
as circumstances should seem to direct. This action brought
up Westcott't amendment (the substitute bill) : the personal
guaranties of the Northwest Ordinance should apply, and the
laws of the Provisional Government would continue in force
until the end of the first session of the legislature provided by
the bill, with this priviso :27
"But no provisions of such laws, or of any act hereafter
passed by the Legislative Assembly of said! Territory shall
be construed to restrict citizens of any of the United States,
or of any Territories thereof, from immigrating with their
property to, and settling and residing in, said Territory, and
holding and possessing their property therein, and fully
participating in all the benefits, advantages, privileges, and
immunities thereof as a Territory of the United States, with
such property, on an equal footing with the citizens of any
of the United States ; and all laws and parts of laws which
shall operate in restraint of, or detriment to, the full en-
joyment of such rights, are hereby declared to be null and
void."
This restriction, which in so many words would allow
slavery in Oregon, was in direct contravention of the laws of
the Provisional Government. While Hale's amendment, which
might be renewed at any time, presented the radical anti-
slavery views, Westcott's voiced the opinions of the pro-slavery
men. Those who wished to see the bill passed in some form
joined with those who desired to keep the real issue submerged
in attempting to dodge the issue if possible. They were willing
to see struck out of the bill the 12th section by which, since
it continued the laws of the temporary organization, slavery
27 Globe, Append., 690.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 281
would be actually prohibited. However, when Bright (Indi-
ana), with the consent of his friends, agreed to strike out
this section Hale threatened to renew his amendment if the
motion should prevail. Calhoun held that Bright's proposition
did not touch the real issue, the real difficulty, which involved
three questions : the power of Congress to interfere with per-
sons emigrating to a territory which was their property; the
power of a territorial government to do the same thing; and
the power of Congress to vest this power in a territorial gov-
ernment. Westcott's amendment alone, he thought, would
solve the problem. Hereupon Dickinson of New York pro-
posed that the troublesome section be left out and that the
people of the territory be allowed to settle the matter as they
should chose; in other words he advocated the "squatter
sovereignty" which played so prominent a part a few years
later.
Upon the question of striking out the 12th section the debate
continued, its theme always being the same. Houston of
Texas proposed to insert in this section, after the provision
which continued such existing laws in the territory as were
not incompatible with the provisions of the act, the words,
"or in violation of any rights by the laws or Constitution of
the United States vested in or secured to the citizens of the
United States, or any of them/'28 Such a clause could be
interpreted according to the wish of each party, and it was
adopted.
The third day of the debate passed without progress. On
the next day (June 3d) Foote (Mississippi) proposed to in-
sert after "existing laws now in force in the Territory of
Oregon" the words, "provided the same shall be compatible
with the laws and Constitution of the United States." To
this Westcott would not agree because such a proposal, which
intended to leave the whole issue to the decision of the Su-
preme Court, would take the question not a step in advance;
the Court would have no jurisdiction, for the right to take
282 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
slaves to Oregon rested upon the fact that there was nothing
in the Constitution to prohibit it. Badger (North Carolina)
tried to get at the problem1 in another way by submitting as a
substitute for Foote's amendment the provision of the Ordi-
nance of 1787 omitting the slavery clause.
Here the discussion rested until the twenty-third of June
when previous orders were again postponed to let the bill come
up.29 At that time Badger withdrew his amendment, and
Berrien, who had previously renewed the amendment to strike
out section 12, said that his proposition put the whole issue
squarely before the Senate, the best way to come at the whole
question. Nevertheless, Jefferson Davis presented an amend-
ment, which he proposed should come at the end of the bill,
reading :
"Provided, That nothing contained in this act shall be so
construed as to authorize the prohibition of domestic slavery
in said Territory whilst it remains in the condition of a
territory of the United States."
The whole measure appeared to be in danger of meeting
the fate of its predecessor of the year before. In desperation
the friends of the bill brought up the question with the Presi-
dent who advised them to bring forward and press the adoption
of the Missouri Compromise line to the Pacific.30 Hannegan,
to whom Polk first made the suggestion, agreed that it was the
only practicable way of settling the difficulty; Breese (Illinois),
Bright, Foote, and the members of the Cabinet, concurred in
the opinion. Even Bradbury, a Maine Democrat, while he
did not exhibit any enthusiasm over the proposition, admitted
that it seemed the only way out especially in view of the
action of the Barnburners of New York, who had bolted the
Democratic platform as framed at Baltimore. Accordingly at
the President's table Foote wrote out, at Polk's dictation, the
amendment which Bright copied and proposed on the twenty-
seventh of June.31
29 Ibid., 871; Appen., 861 seq.
30 Polk, Diary, III, 501-4.
31 Ibid., 505.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 283
"That in all the Territories owned by the United States,
including Oregon, New Mexico and Upper California, which
lie north of 36° 30' north latitude, slavery and involuntary
servitude, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes where-
of the party shall have been duly convicted, shall be and is
hereby forever prohibited; Provided always, That any per-
son escaping into the same whose labor or service is law-
fully claimled in any State or Territory of the United States,
such fugitive may be lawfully reclaimed and conveyed to
the person claiming his or her labor or services as afore-
said.""
Thus the question of slavery and all the territories of the
United States came before the Senate in the debate which
engaged the talents of the most gifted men on both sides. "It
(the debate) has been," wrote Calhoun,33 "very able and high
toned on the part of the South, with a great concurrence of
views between Whigs and the democratic members of the
South. I do hope our present danger will bring about union
among ourselves on the most vital of all questions. All other
questions ought to be dropped. In Union lies our safety."
To put the matter even more plainly Underwood of Kentucky
(Whig) added to B right's amendment the further proviso:34
"That citizens of the United States emigrating, with their
slaves, into any of the Territories of the United States south
of said parallel of latitude, shall be protected in their prop-
erty in their slaves so long as the Territory to which they
emigrate continues under a territorial government."
The struggle to eliminate all reference to slavery, or to
embody in the bill some clause specifically opening all the new
territories to slavery, was thus tacitly abandoned, and the con-
test turned to the next best course, according to the South,
of marking in definite terms a region for the expansion of
their institutions. Nevertheless the debate continued to thresh
over the question of constitutionality of Congressional action,
as well as to bring out what the South called the northern
desire to crush their future political power.
32 Globe. XVIII, 868.
33 To
34 Glo
33 To T. ^•,?,^"J10U1?' 9 July> Correspondence, 759.
be, X'"
284 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
Thus locked, unable to proceed because neither side would
retreat from its stand, the question stood when Polk, on the
sixth of July, transmitted to both houses the ratified treaty
with Mexico, and urged provision for a territorial organization
in the region newly acquired by the United States.35 Not alone
to this public message did the President trust but he held long
interviews with the Senators of his party and impressed upon
them the necessity of settling the question in order "to allay
excitement, prevent the organization of geographical parties,
& preserve the harmony of the union."36 Bright was a frequent
visitor at the White House and was one of those most eager
to secure action ; in one of his interviews he suggested as the
most satisfactory solution the adoption of the phraseology of
the Texas Annexation Resolution which extended 36° 30'
as the dividing line between free and slave territory.
The preliminary step for a compromise was taken by adopt-
ing Clayton's (Maryland) motion for a committee of eight,
two from each party in each section, following the precedent
set at the time of the Missouri Compromise and the Comh
promise Tariff of 1833. 37 This was seconded by Foote.
Calhoun, however, pointed out that the act of 1787 was a
compromise but the North had rendered it null by refusing to
return fugitive slaves, a charge which he had previously
brought, especially against the people of Michigan. Several
objected to the scheme because the committee would have the
Oregon bill before it, when it was understood that slavery
would not be permitted there. Since no one could suggest
any other solution the motion was adopted by a vote of 31
to 14. All the votes against the compromise committee were
from the free States, eight Whigs and six Democrats. The
committee, which as selected by ballot, was composed of
Clayton (Chairman), Underwood (Ky.), Whigs, and Calhoun
and Atchison (Mo.), Democrats, for the south; Clarke (R. I.),
35 Richadson, Messrages, IV, 587-93.
36 Polk, Diary, IV, 9, 12-14. Cobb, Houston, Bowden (Ala.), McLane (Md.),
Sebastian (Ark.), Bright (Ind.), and several from the House talked with the
President.
37 Globe, XVIII, 928 seq.; Appen., 914 seq.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 285
Phelps (Vt), Whigs, and Bright (Ind.), and Dickinson
(N. Y.), Democrats, for the North.
The committee immjediately proceeded to its work, but it
found nearly as much difficulty in reaching a basis of com-
promise as had the Senate itself. In the first place an un-
qualified acceptance of the compromise line (36° 30') was
rejected, but Dickinson suggested a modification of what he
had proposed on the floor of the Senate chamber; that is,
non-interference with the question in New Mexico and Cali-
fornia. Upon this basis the committee reached a tentative
proposition of the following nature: the existing land laws
which prohibited slavery in Oregon were to be left in force
until altered by the territorial legislature; in California and
New Mexico the legislative power should be vested in a
Governor, Secretary and three Judges for each territory, and
these men should be restricted by Congress from legislating
upon the question of slavery, leaving the question, if it should
arise, to the judiciary. Calhoun, who was brought to con-
ference with the President through the mediation of Colonel
Franklin H. Elmore of Charleston,38 told Polk, who approved
the plan, that he would support the proposition ; much de-
pended upon the President who would appoint the judges who
might be northern men for Oregon but for the other two
territories they must be southerners in order that the southern
views on slavery might be maintained. "The tone of his con-
versation," wrote Polk, "on this point seems to be designed
to elicit a pledge from me to this effect. I at once felt the
delicacy of my situation & promptly replied that that was a
subject upon which I could not speak, that if the laws passed
in the form suggested I would do my duty, and jocosely
added that my friends, as Gen'l Harrison's Cincinnati com-
mittee in 1844 [1840?] said for him, must have a 'generous
confidence' that I would do so."
38 Polk, Diary, IV, 17-24. Elmore had asked Polk to request Calhoun to
call (he had not done so since the Oregon treaty of the year before) ; but Polk
said that the Senator was an older man and had been longer ini public life,
and a request of this sort would make it appear that he was seeking some sort
of influence over him; he would, however, be glad to see Calhoun.
286 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
The compromise plan met with one objection from the
northern memjbers of the committee; they insisted that there
should be provision for appeal to the Supreme Court of the
United States, a modification which Calhoun and the two
other southern members did not like. Calhoun, in fact, sug-
gested to the President that the whole matter might as well
be allowed to go over to the next session of Congress; that
is, until after the election had shown the sentiments of the
people. Polk strongly objected to this. Finally, however,
Calhoun yielded the point and a bill was reported to the
Senate on the eighteenth of July, on the lines outlined; that
is, the original Oregon bill with added sections dealing with
New Mexico and California.39
On the twenty-second the bill was called up. There was
a short discussion in which it was contended that there was
no connection between Oregon and California, the best title
to Oregon came from the Louisiana purchase so the Missouri
Compromise applied under any circumstances. Moreover,
those who were less sanguine than the comjmittee had appeared
to be felt that the root of the question had not been touched at
all. Nevertheless a test of strength was taken on a motion
to strike out all after the 20th section (i. e., all except the parts
relating to Oregon) and but seventeen votes as against thirty-
seven could be mustered to defeat the compromise at that
point. Hamlin, who said he was admonished by whisperings
that the measure was to be pressed to a decision then and there,
pointed out that the power of Congress to legislate on the
subject of slavery was contained in the strongest terms in the
bill ; he objected to limiting the duration of the existing Oregon
laws to three months after the meeting of the first Legislative
Assembly because that would bring the question of slavery
again before Congress. This point was brought up by others
and produced from Clarke (R. I.) an amendment to the sec-
39 Ibid., IV, 24; Globe Appen., XVIII, 1139-40- Clayton, reporting the bill,
outlined the course of the discussion and added that it was the view of the
committee that this bill _ would ultimately settle the whole question. The follow-
ing day he stated that this was not intended as a report, but as a personal opinion;
the bill must speak for itself.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 287
tion extending legislative powers to the territory to the effect
"that no law repealing the act of the provisional government
of said Territory, prohibiting slavery or involuntary servitude,
shall be valid until the same shall be approved by Congress."40
Like most compromises the bill did not meet with ardent
support ; even those who had been responsible for it were dis-
satisfied, and Underwood was outspoken in his complete oppo-
sition to the principle involved : the portion regarding Oregon,
said he, could not be voted for by any Senator without sur-
rendering all constitutional objections to the power of Con-
gress over slavery ; there ought to have been a compromise on
36° 30' but this had been defeated by the northern Senators.
He urged his compatriots of the South to migrate to Cali-
fornia and New Mexico and so settle the question in such a
way that they would be satisfied.
On the morning of July 27th the bill was pushed to the
final vote after a twenty-one-hour sitting of the Senate. Dur-
ing the all-night session the bill had been resolutely attacked
by the more radical northerners, the Free-Soilers, who wished
to wear out their colleagues and force an adjournment before a
vote could be taken. Senator Niles was interrupted by Foote
who called his attention to the dawning light.
"Well, sir," calmly replied the gentleman from Connecticut,
"then I shall proceed with my argument with renewed en-
ergy. ... I have ten distinct heads, containing distinct
grounds of objection to the extension of slavery over those
Territories, which I propose to consider seriatim. There is
plenty of time before us, and I shall proceed very deliberately
in this discussion."41
Dickinson took occasion to taunt his Free-Soil colleagues
with having given a portion of Oregon to Great Britain; the
"Free-soils" objected to the bill, he said because it gave the
people of Oregon the right to legislate for themselves ; they
40 Appendix to Globe, XVIII, 1141-74, for the discussion.
41 At 2 A. M. Senator Niles was talking and only one Senator besides him-
self was in sight; he moved an adjournment, and the sleeping members were
roused from sofas and chairs in the lobby and anterooms to vote down the
motion, 32 to n. Every other attempt to adjourn before the bill was voted on
met with the same fat*.
288 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
professed to favor popular liberty, yet were insisting that a
hasty and imperfect code of laws, designed to suit earlier days
and framed under the influence of a British corporation, should
be forced upon the people of the Territory until it should
become a State. "A baser system of quack legislation never
disfigured the records of civilized mjan! A blacker decree of
despotism, in principle, was never fulminated since the edict
of Nantes!"
During the debate various amendments which were pro-
posed in order to nullify the compromise features were voted
down. Hale, Davis (Mass.), Clarke, Baldwin (Conn.) all
attempted in one form or another to defeat the purpose of the
clauses dealing with New Mexico and California, but with no
success. No vital amendment was made and the bill in essen-
tially the form reported by the com/promise committee was
passed by the Senate on a vote of 33 to 22. All but three of
the full membership responded to their names when the roll
was called, and one of these three had "remained till a late
hour" when he had been "obliged to go home on account of
fatigue."42 The twenty- two votes against the bill were all
from the North, except for two from Kentucky and one (Bell)
from Tennessee. Nine Senators from the free States, four
of them westerners, voted for the bill. Thirteen Whigs were
for the measure while four opposed it.
The House had just gotten started with its Oregon bill
when the Senate Compromise bill reached the Speaker's desk.
During the Senate debate, which had been closely watched by
the Representatives, some Congressmen had announced to
the President their intention to vote for it when it should
reach them, but the strength of the northern non-slave vote
was shown by the summary manner in which it was disposed
of. Smith of Indiana expressed the sentiments of most of his
northern colleagues when he said that the bill contained no
promise of settling the controversy, and Alexander H.
Stephens, of Georgia, taking the same ground, moved, as a
42 Webster was not present, and Jones of Iowa did not take his seat until
December, 1848.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 289
test of the House, that it be laid on the table. By a vote of
112 to 97 this was done and a motion to table the motion to
reconsider was carried, 114 to 96.43 Thus in a few minutes
all the work of the Senate was undone and the House pro-
ceeded with the discussion of its own bill.
"I regard this vote of the House's as most unfortunate,"
recorded the President in his Diary** "The majority, I learn,
was made up of every Northern Whig, of about half the
Northern Democrats, & of 8 Southern Whigs. Those of the
Democratic party whose sympathies are with the Barnburners
of New York, or who are timid & afraid to risk their popu-
larity at home, united with the Whigs to defeat the bill. * *
* The political factions in Congress are all at work and they
seem to be governed by no patriotic motives, but by the effect
which they suppose may be produced upon the public mind
in the pending Presidential election. A heavy responsibility
rests upon these, and especially upon the 8 Southern Whigs,
who have united to defeat this mieasure of compromise of this
most delicate & vexatious question. If no Presidential elec-
tion had been pending I cannot doubt the compromise Bill
would have passed the House. If it had done so the agitation
would have ceased and the question would have been at rest."
He thought it probable that the Northern candidate would
take more distinctly anti-slavery ground (i. e.. Van Buren,
who had been nominated by the Democrats who were dis-
satisfied with the Baltimore platform) ; that no candidate
would have a majority in the electoral college, and so the
election would go to the House. The Whig leaders in both
Houses, he learned, desired to adjourn early and so prevent
any action on the territories, thus enhancing, as they supposed,
the chances of General Taylor, their candidate.
In addition to the ever-present slavery issue, which occupied
most of the attention of the House, there was some objection
to the particular form of the land grant provisions and to the
veto power given to the governor in the House bill. The
43 Globe, XVIII, 1006-7. ^ ,>•
44 IV, 33-4.
290 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
measure, however, was reported to the House by the Com-
mittee of the Whole in its original form, except for a few
minor details and the addition of some sections, relating to
ports of entry, recommended by the Committee on Commerce.
Toward the end of the discussion in Committee McClernand
had moved to strike out all but the enacting clause and to
insert the Senate bill; he was declared out of order, in the
midst of great confusion. An appeal from the ruling was
taken but the House upheld the chair. A similar fate over-
took an attempt to substitute the Senate compromise for the
whole bill.
On the second of August the bill as reported from the
Committee of the Whole was taken up in the House and
disposed of with no debate. There was no division on the
amendments except that relating to the governor's veto, which
was taken away by the House, and that on slavery. In Com-
mittee at a tim£ when there was a light attendance the 12th
section had been striken out, but the House now replaced it
by a vote of 114 to 88. The bill was then ordered engrossed
and passed (129 to 71). In the division on the slavery section
all the Congressmen from the slave States voted to retain the
Committee amendment with the exception of fourteen who
refused to vote ; ten northern Representatives voted with their
southern brethren, they were from Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and
Pennsylvania.45
The defeat of the Senate measure in the House had been
taken by all as a most unfavorable omen; nevertheless the
western Democrats were determined to save something from
the wreck if possible. Hannegan,46 on the last day of July,
in giving notice that he would introduce on the following
Monday a bill for organizing the territories of Oregon, Cali-
fornia and New Mexico, stated that it was his conviction
that it was vain for any individual to attempt to adjust the
question; the defeat of the compromise measure had brought
to members of both houses numerous requests from all over
45 Globe, XVIII, 1027.
46 Ibid., loio, 1016.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 291
the country to leave the matter open because that would pro-
mote the interests of his (Hannegan's) favorite candidate for
the Presidency (i. e. General Cass). That, however, he con-
sidered an impossible way to view the situation, for Christen-
dom would look upon the United States as on the verge of civil
war, especially as talk of disunion was so freely heard within
the Senate chamber. It was the duty of Congress to adopt
some measure to put a stop to this treasonable talk, for it was
moral treason to breath the word "disunion." Benton, too,
offered a bill, framed upon the act of 1806 by which the
people of Louisiana were to be governed according to existing
law until other provision should have been made. He said
he would call this up later if nothing better should be presented.
The House bill, however, came before the Senate on August
third. Senator Clayton was for extending it the same courtesy
the Senate bill had received in the House, but this was refused,
Clayton himself being the only one to vote for it. The bill
was referred to the Committee on territories and by that com-
mittee reported back two days later with two major and two
minor amendments ; the veto power was restored to the gov-
ernor, and in the proper place were inserted the words, "In-
asmuch as the said Territory is North of the Parallel of 36 30,
usually known as the Missouri Compromise."
On the eighth of August the Senate took up the bill and
modified the veto amendment so that any act disapproved by
the governor should be specifically submitted to Congress in
such a way as to provide a Congressional veto of the gov-
ernor's veto. As to the amlendment touching the Missouri
Compromise Douglas stated that it was the unanimous desire
of the committee that no Senator's vote should be understood
as committing him for the future. The northern radicals,
however, refused to take this view and some of the southerners
(e. g., Butler of South Carolina) opposed giving the North
all the valuable territory north of the compromise line; this
Oregon bill, said Butler, which two years before had been an
innocent measure, now masked a battery from behind which
292 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
the institutions of the South were being attacked. On two
days the bill was discussed, but no decision was reached. On
the tenth of August the Senate convened for an evening
session and threshed over the slavery issue until the final vote
was taken the next morning at ten o'clock. First the com-
mittee amendment was voted on, with the understanding that
if it was lost a vote should be taken on an amendment, sub-
mitted by Douglas, extending the Missouri Compromise line
to the Pacific without reference to Oregon. The committee
amendment was lost, 52 to 2, and the Missouri Compromise
clause was inserted (33 to 21). The opposition to the amend-
ment was nearly the same as that to the Compromise Bill which
had passed the Senate a couple of weeks before; Atherton
(New Hampshire Democrat), Breese and Phelps, who had
voted for the Compromise Bill, now voted against the amend-
ment ; Atherton and Phelps voted against the bill. Fitzgerald
(Michigan) and Underwood had opposed the Compromise bill
and now voted for the amendment and the bill ; Calhoun voted
for the amendment but against the bill, which, he said, was
ambiguous.
During the night while the Senate discussion was in prog-
ress the. House was in great confusion so long as it sat, and
the next morning the excitement was even more pronounced.47
When the Oregon bill was brought before it for concurrence
the whole section dealing with the veto was rejected, for, it
may be remarked, the veto might conceivably be used to pro-
mote pro-slavery interests, since the governor would be ap-
pointed by a southern President. The Missouri Compromise
line provision was lost, 121 to- 82.
The bill was now before the Senate again (12 August).
Benton moved that the Senate recede from its amendment and
spoke feelingly for action on the bill. He said he had voted
reluctantly for the compromise amendment, but now that the
Senate had taken its stand enough had been done for concilia-
47 So stated the reporter of the debates, and the President, who had gone to
the Capitol late in the evening and had stayed until 11:30 P. M. in order to
sign such bills as should be presented to him. Diary, IV, 79.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 293
tion; in the meantimle Oregon was in a deplorable condition
and it would be criminal to adjourn before passing the bill.
The provisional government, he went on, had reached a point
where it could no longer handle the situation, and not only
would there be war between Indians and whites but between
whites and whites. Berrien begged his colleagues of the South
not to let slip this opportunity for if the Senate amendment did
not prevail the North would rule the South with a rod of iron.
Calhoun spoke with bitterness of the defeat which the South
had experienced ; he denounced any southerner who supported
this attempt of the North to turn the population of the whole
South into slaves, for it had become not a question of terri-
torial government but of the existence of the Union itself.
Several attempts were made to induce Benton to withdraw
his motion, which had precedence under the rule, but the
Missouri Senator was adamant ; he was going to see that bill
pass if it was a human possibility.
All through the night and until nine o'clock on Sunday
morning the ground was beaten over in the southern attempt
to prevent action but finally the futility of the endeavor was
seen. The amendments to which the House had refused its
concurrence were taken up one by one and the Senate receded
from its stand. The vote on the veto was 31 to 23 and that
on the slavery section was 29 to 25. Four Senators did not
vote; Clayton and Sturgeon were absent and Atherton paired
with King of Alabama, who had left the Capitol exhausted.
Those who voted to recede were all from the free States ex-
cept Benton of Missouri and Houston of Texas. Party lines
were forgotten ; twelve Whigs and seventeen Democrats voted
to recede, and eight Whigs and seventeen Democrats voted not
to recede.
Only one recourse was now left and to the President went
Senators to urge him to refuse to sign the measure. Turney
of Tennessee protested that the President must not sign;
Calhoun said the bill must be vetoed on constitutional grounds ;
Hannegan said he would sustain a veto.48 Polk, however, had
~# Diary, IV, 71-3.
294 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
already made up his mind to approve the bill even before the
Senate had acted. He had consulted his Cabinet and had
found its m/embers unanimous for approval since Oregon was
north of 36° 30'. Then, asked he, should he accompany the
signed bill by a message explaining that this was the reason
for his approval? All agreed that some explanation should
be made, although Buchanan qualified his assent by stating
that its effect upon Cass' chances of election should be con-
sidered, and Walker inclined to think that a statement in the
Union would serve the purpose better than a message. Ac-
cordingly Polk requested Buchanan and Walker to prepare a
draft which was read and discussed in Cabinet on the twelfth ;
on the thirteenth, after the Senate had receded from its amend-
ments, Polk revised the draft and with the advice of all his
official family, except Buchanan, took it with the bill to the
Capitol.
When he arrived at his room there he found the Senate
engaged in a discussion as to whether the rules relating to
presenting measures for the president's signature on the last
day of a session should be suspended. Polk frankly told many
of the Senators that if the rule should not be suspended it
would defeat not only the Oregon bill but many other impor-
tant measures, and in that case he would immediately issue a
proclamation for an extra session of Congress. This threat
was sufficient to cause the rules to be suspended, for not only
had Congress been in session more than eight months, but
the presidential campaign was in full swing and many fences
needed immediate attention. Calhoun made one final appeal
and urged the President, if he was bound to sign the bill, to
do so in the usual manner and not accompany the signature
with a mteasure. The request was of no avail and the President
signed both bill and message and sent them by his private
secretary to the House.49
In this message50 Polk reviewed the course of the statesmen
of earlier days on the slavery issue including the framing of
49 Polk, Diary, IV, 76-7. Globe, XVIII, 1083-4.
50 Richardson, Messages, IV, 606-10.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 295
the Missouri Compromise which calmed "the troubled waters
and (restored) peace and good will throughout the States of
the Union. A similar adjustment, he went on, would un-
doubtedly produce the same happy results, for it had been
successfully applied to Texas when that State was admitted.
"The Territory of Oregon lies far north of 36° 30', the
Missouri and Texas compromise line. Its southern bound-
ary is the parallel of 42°, leaving the intermediate distance
to be 330 geographical miles. And it is because the pro-
visions of this bill are not inconsistent with the laws of the
Missouri compromise, if extended from the Rio Grande to
the Pacific Ocean, that I have not felt at liberty to withhold
my sanction. Had it embraced territories south of that
compromise, the question presented for my consideration
would have been of a far different character, and my action
upon it must have corresponded with my convictions * *
"Holding as a sacred trust the Executive authority for the
whole Union, and bound to guard the rights of all, I should
be constrained by a sense of duty to withhold my official
sanction from any measure which would conflict with these
important objects."
This blunt statement of the President's stand upon the whole
issue the House refused to allow to go before the country as a
public document and in spite of the efforts of some Repre-
sentatives it was not officially printed until the following De-
cember, after the election. It was circulated, however, in the
newspapers, since Polk, with a little difficulty secured a copy
from the Clerk of the House for that purpose.
Oregon, having played a major role in international rela-
tions, now completed its first appearance as a leading figure
in the slavery drama, a part which it took again when the
question of statehood came up. After being the subject of
discussion for many years it was furnished, as far as the law
went, with the ordinary form of organic law, excepting that
its governor had no veto power and slavery could not legally
exist within its borders so long as the territorial status con-
tinued.
ON SIT
5.
THE OREGON
ATION
PRESIDENT UAM G. T'VAVLT
VICE - PRESIDENT JAMES W NESMITH
SECRETARY- JOHN E
TREASURER -GEORGE ABERNETHY
- -
ROBERT NEWELL fl.COVCH
JOHN E.tONG ,
* EDITORS *
FIRST » WILLIAM G , T VAV LI FOV fit H - AARON £. WAIT
SECONtt * HEHftY A. G. LEE , FIFTH -. WILSON BM1N
THIRD * &EGRGE LAW CVRRY SIXTH - D. J. SCRNEBLY
- C. L, GOODEIC
^IUST - JOHN FUM!
SECOND -'N.W.COLV
— "•- *" pf HVDSO
"OVRTH » S.BENTLY
PRINTERS
HAWLEY WLP A.
HISTORICAL TABLET AT OREGON CITY
ADDRESS BY GEORGE H. HIMES, CURATOR AND ASSISTANT SECRETARY
OF THE OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY, AND SECRETARY OF THE OREGON
PIONEER ASSOCIATION, AT THE DEDICATION OF THE TABLET PREPARED TO
MARK THE SITE WHERE THE OREGON SPECTATOR, THE FIRST NEWSPAPER
WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, WAS PRINTED ON FEBRUARY 5, 1846.
The unveiling of a tablet at Oregon City on August 9th
to mark the site where The Oregon Spectator, the first news-
paper in American territory west of the Rocky Mountains
was issued on February 5, 1846, seventy-three years and seven
months before, was an interesting feature of the joint pro-
gramme of the National and State Editorial Associations at
their meetings in Portland on August 8-10, 1919.
At the time The Spectator was started the difficulties con-
fronting such an enterprise were very great. Then Oregon
City had a population of less than five hundred. The total
population of the "Oregon Country" — meaning the area now
constituting the States of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and
the parts of Montana and Wyoming west of the summit of
the Rocky Mountains — did not exceed two thousand. The
total voting population on June 3, 1845, was five hundred and
four. Yet the citizens in and around Oregon City determined
to have a newspaper. A subscription paper was prepared that
year and enough pledges at ten dollars a share were secured to
aggregate approximately twelve hundred dollars. That sum
was entrusted to Gov. George Abernethy and forwarded to
New York; and through him a hand-press, type, cases and
other items needed in a printing plant, including a supply of
paper, were purchased and sent to Oregon City via Cape Horn
in a sailing vessel. Arrangements were made with John
Fleming, a printer from Ohio, who came across the plains to
Oregon City in 1844, to do the printing. The size of the
paper was 11^ by 15^2 inches, with four pages of four col-
umns each, and it was issued twice a month at $5.00 a year.
Beginning with September 12, 1850, the paper was issued
weekly with D. J. Schnebly as editor, and the subscription
price was raised to $7.00 a year.
298 GEORGE H. HIMES
Time does not permit reference to many other details of
interest; suffice it to say that the journal had a fitful existence
until the date of suspension in March, 1855, having been
edited by seven different persons, and its mechanical depart-
ment operated by nine different printers. It is likely that
there were others, but no trace of them can be found. The
salary of the first editor, an attorney named W. G. T'Vault,
was at the rate of $300.00 per year. He was a native of Ken-
tucky and was reported to have had some experience as an
editor in Tennessee before coming to Oregon. His services
were dispensed with at the end of two months.
Out of the twenty-two persons whose names appear upon
the tablet I have had a personal acquaintance with thirteen,
the first of them being T. F. McElroy, who was associated
with James W. Wiley in publishing the Columbian, the first
newspaper north of the Columbia river, the first issue of which
was on September 11, 1852, at Olympia at the head of Puget
Sound. He was master of the first Masonic lodge in Wash-
ington— Olympia No. 1, in 1853, and officiated at the funeral
of James McAllister, a member of his lodge, who was killed
by Indians on October 28, 1855, at the beginning of the
Yakima Indian war which lasted a year, and was a neighbor of
my father's family. Acquaintance with George B. Goudy
began soon afterwards, as he was a captain of volunteers dur-
ing that Indian war. Both men became prominent in public
affairs in the early days of Washington Territory.
Other members of The Spectator family achieved consider-
able distinction, notably James W. Nesmith, as supreme judge
of the Provisional Government, volunteer soldier, Superin-
tendent of Indian Affairs, United States Senator, and member
of the House of Representatives ; George Law Curry, as secre-
tary of Oregon Territory and the last territorial governor;
Wilson Blain, as a minister and educator; Aaron E. Wait, as
a lawyer and circuit judge; D. J. Schneby, as a newspaper
man at Ellensburg, eastern Washington.
My association with the men mentioned, together with a
HISTORICAL TABLET AT OREGON CITY 299
growing consciousness of the importance of memorials to
perpetuate the beginnings of various enterprises as well as
events of historical importance, led me more than forty years
ago to make a thorough investigation in locating the site of the
building where The Spectator was printed. Then this point was
selected as the proper one and the choice was confirmed by a
number of persons then living who had been original subscribers
to the paper, among them the late Hiram Straight, a pioneer of
1843, Sidney W. Moss, Medorem Crawford, F. X. Matthieu,
and J. R. Robb, pioneers of 1842, W. Carey Johnson, a pioneer
of 1845 ; and this choice had additional confirmation by Wil-
liam L. Adams, who bought the Spectator plant in April, 1855,
and issued therefrom the Oregon Argus on the 21st of that
month, as well as by David W. Craig, his foreman.
A number of plans for securing a tablet to mark this spot
occurred to me from time to time during these passing years,
but none seemed feasible until after this property had been
acquired by its present owner, the Hawley Pulp & Paper Com-
pany. About eighteen months ago Mr. Hawley was inter-
viewed and a tentative plan for a tablet submitted to him. This
he accepted and I was bidden to proceed to carry out the idea
suggested. No definite time, however, was agreed upon for
the fulfillment of the project.
In April of the present year, after learning that the National
Editorial Association had arranged to make a coast-wide trip
in August, it occurred to me that if the contemplated tablet
could be dedicated as a feature on the joint programme of
the National and State Editorial Associations it would be
well to have the tablet ready for the ceremony of dedication
on the date already alluded to. The matter was then referred
to Mr. Hawley, and he consented to all the arrangements that
I had made, and the editorial associations alluded graciously
gave the proposed dedication a place upon the joint programme.
And now, here the tablet is, owing to the public spirit of
Mr. Willard P. Hawley, and a photostat copy of No. 2 of The
Spectator, February 19, 1846, can be seen in his office.
300 GEORGE H. HIMES
This memorial, mounted on a huge bowlder taken from the
foot of the cliffs near by where the five Indians who killed
Dr. Marcus Whitman, his wife and twelve others, on No-
vember 29-30, 1847, were hung on June 3, 1850, is to honor
the beginning of newspaper life on the Pacific Coast.*
*The tablet stands on; the right hand or west side of Main street, Oregon City,
near the office of the Hawky Pulp & Paper Company. When the buildings that
ar« contemplated by this company are erected a recess or alcove will be provided
in order that the tablet may be readily seen from the street.
POLK AND OREGON,— WITH A PAKENHAM
LETTER
KATHARINE B. JUDSON, M. A.
The contributions of Mr. Shippee on "The Federal Rela-
tions of Oregon, V." in the June Quarterly, reminded the
writer of a rather interesting letter written during the Con-
gressional debate, from Richard Pakenham, British Ambas-
sador, to the Elarl of Aberdeen, the original of which was
found in the London Public Record Office. The letter is
given below :
Richard Pakenham to the Earl of Aberdeen.
"Washington, March 29, 1846.*
"My Lord,
[Formalities, and general reference to the debates in Congress,
on the Oregon question.]
******* *
"But a fact which I must not omit to point out to Your
Lordship's notice, is, that it seems to have become a received
opinion among even the most moderate members of the Senate,
that the claims of the United States extend fully to the parallel
of 49, which they consider ought to be insisted on as the
basis of any arrangement.
"So certain is this, that the advocates of a peaceful settle-
ment of the question are now universally designated as 49
men, in contradistinction to those who go for the whole of
Oregon even at the risk of war, and are called 54.40 men.
"In the course of this debate, a good deal of interest was
excited by the speech of Mr. Haywood of North Carolina,
(Intelligencers of 23rd and 24th March)** who from the
intimacy which has long subsisted between him and Mr. Polk
was supposed to speak, in a certain degree, the President's
opinions.
"Mr. Haywood's language was entirely in favor of com-
promise upon the basis of 49, and he gave it to be understood
•Foreign Office, series 5, vol. 447, No. 34.
302 KATHARINE B. JUDSON
that those who imagined that the President was inclined to
persist in asserting at all risks a claim to the whole of Oregon,
or that he felt bound by the resolution to that effect, passed
at the Convention which nominated him to the Presidency,
were mistakes.
"This avowal was received with violent indignation by the
advocates of extreme measures. I beg leave to request Your
Lordship's attention to the extraordinary language made use
of on the occasion by Mr. Hannegan of Indiana (Intelligencer
of 6 March)** who did not hesitate to declare that if it was
true that the President thus belied the pledge taken by the
Baltimore Convention: —
" The story of his infamy would be circulated from one
end of the land to the other, and his perfidious course would
sink him in an infamy so profound, in a damnation so deep,
that the hand of resurrection could never reach him, — a
traitor to his country so superlatively base need hope for neither
forgiveness from God nor mercy from man.'
"This is what the President has brought upon himself by
the imprudent lengths to which he allowed himself to go in
his inaugural address, as well as in his Message of the 2nd
December, and in the correspondence of his Secretary of State
on the subject of Oregon.
"Fortunately for the country, the party in the Senate who
think with Mr. Hannegan, is so insignificant, not numbering
as it has repeatedly been asserted in the course of the debate,
above a fourth, or as some say, a fifth, of that body, that
Mr. Polk need have no fear that he will not be supported
amply, both in and out of the Senate, if he should wisely
determine to adopt a moderate and pacific course of policy, —
but what his real intention in this respect may be, he has
given the public no opportunity of judging, since the scene in
the Senate of which I have above spoken." * * *
(Signed) Richard Pakenham.
To the Earl of Aberdeen, K. T.
**Citations by Mr. Pakenbam.
DEATH LIST OF OREGON PIONEERS
June 1-September 30, 1919.
Compiled by GEORGE H. HIKES.
Applegate, Miss Irene, b. Mo. 1839; Or. 1843; d. Yonealla, July 35.
Baker, Melvin, b. Tenn. 1836; Or. 1853; d. Sherwood, Aug. 15.
•Barger, Mrs. Rebecca Smith, b. Ohio Jan. i, 1825; Or. 1847; d. Portland, Sep-
tember 22. (Was crowned "Mother Queen" of Oregon Pioneers in June, 1917.)
Beard, Ambrose, b. Or. 1855; d. near Fossil, July 29.
Benefiel, William Harrison, b. : 1857; Or. 1852; d. Portland, Aug. 15.
Burns, James H., b. Or. 1851; d. Bridgeport, Baker County, Aug. 7.
Burton, Dixon, b. Cal. 1853; Or. 1882; d. Eugene, June 16.
Caldwell, Gerald, b. Va. 1827; Or. 1845; d. Williams, Josephine County, Sept. 10.
Caldwell, W. H., b. 1849; Or. 1856; d. Aug. 7.
Caspell, Mrs. P. A., b. Or. 1856; d. Salem, Aug. 22
Catlin, James, b. 111. 1834; Or. 1848; d. Palo Alto, Cal., June 16.
Chrisman, Pret., b. Mo. 1845; Or. 1851; d. Cottage Grove. Aug. 18.
*Clarke, William Jessup, b. Or. Feb. 24, 1857; d. Portland, June 20.
Denver, Mrs. Eva, b. Or. 1859; d. Astoria, June 19.
Dunn, Mrs. Cecelia Christian, b. 111. 1840; Or. 1852; d. Eugene, June 15.
Graham, Walter, b. N. Y. Oct. 12, 1828; Or. 1853; d. Seattle, Sept. 15.
Griggs, J. A., b. Holland, N. Y., May 9, 1834; Cal. 1852; Or, 1872; d. Cottage
Grove. Sept. 20.
*Haley, Mrs. Mary Ann W9odcock, b. Mo. 1842; Or. 1844; d. Portland, June 24.
Hamilton, Mrs. Mary C. Mires, b. Iowa 1842; Or. 1852; d. Fossil, Sept. 26.
Harbert, Joseph W., b. 1835; Or. 1859; d. Walla Walla, July 27.
Heater, Mrs. Mary Jane, b. Aug. 30, 1829; Or. 1850; d. near Newberg, Sept. 4.
Hill, Dr. J, L., b. Tenn. 1851; Or. 1853; d. Albany, Aug. i.
Hines, Cicero, b. Mo. Feb. 4, 1846; Or. 1848; d. Gales Creek, Aug. n.
*Hodgkin, Mrs. Adelaide Jennings, b. Or. Feb. 6, 1855; d. Vancouver, Sept. 20.
"Houck, Mrs. Leah J., b. Mo. Feb. 5, 1842; Or. 1853; d. Portland, Sept.
•Hurley, Mrs. Mary A. McCarver, b. 111. 1842; Or. 1843; d, Santa Barbara,
Cal., Aug. 5.
Johns, W. W., Or. 1852; d. Salem, Sept. 27.
* Jones, Mrs. Losia Amelia, b. I1L 1846; Or. -850; d. Stevenson, Wash,, March 6,
1919.
Kandle, Frank M., b. Ind. 1842; Or. 1851; d. Portland, Aug. 15.
Keeney, Mrs. M. R., b. 111. 1857; d. Kalispell, Mont., June 8
Kennedy. Charles, b Mo. 1850; Or. 1852; d. Portland, Oct. 31, 1918.
LaChapelle, Mrs. Adrian, b. Oregon Ter. 1819; d. St. Louis. Or., June 6.
Laffey, Mrs, Bernard, b. Mich. 1830; Or. 1852; d. Portland. Aug. 27.
Larkins, Cicero Nelson, b. Or. 1857; d. near Oregon City, Aug. 14.
Lewis. Mrs. Mary Dunn, b. Iowa 1853; Or. 185.; d. Astoria, Aug. 17.
*Luelling, Mrs. Mary Campbell, b. Mass. 1834; Or. 1849; home at Milwaukie, Or,.
for many years; d. Orofino, Idaho, Aug. 23.
Marquis, James W., b. Mb. 1841; Or. 1850; d. Portland, Sept. 14; served in
First Or. Cavalry in Civil War.
*Meldrum, John W., b. Iowa Dec. 17, 1839; Or. 1847; d. near Milwaukie, Sept 23.
Mercer, Mrs. Ann Stiver, b. Eng. 1841; Or. 1852; d. Seattle, Sept. 30.
Michals, Girard B., b. 1839; Or. 1847; d. Sedro-Wooley, Wash., July.
"Miller, George R. H., b. Ireland 1832; U. S. 1854; enlisted in U. S. Army at
Cincinnati May 18, 1855; Or. that year; d. Oregon City, July 2.
Miller, Mrs. Maria A. Probst, b. Or. 1856; d. Knox Butte, Lmn County, Sept. n.
*Moore, Mrs. Margaret Octavia Meldrum, b. 111. 1836; Or. 1845; d. Portland
Sept. 25.
"Moore, Mrs. Mary Helen Me Williams, b. Mo. 1830; Or. 1845; d. Hillsboro,
Aug. 9.
Moss, Mrs. Emiline Barr, b. Mo. Nov. 27, 1845; Or. 1853; d. Sept. n.
McCain, James, b. Ind. 1844; Or. 1848; d. McMinnville, Aug. 5.
McKinncy, John F, b. Mo. 1832; Calif. 1850; Or. 1851; d. Aug. i.
Osborn, Alexander R., b. Utah 1847; Or. 1847; d. Bandon, Dec. o, 1018
Owen, Mrs. Millie A., b. Or. 1852; d. Nov. 6, 1918.
Paquette, Mrs. Monica, b. Canada 1838; Or. 1841; d. Scotts Mills, July n
Pease, Archie L., b. Oregon City, 1859; d. Portland, Aug. 27.
Peterson, Mrs. Louisa Cyrene Denney, b. Or. 1853; d. Beaverton, July 6.
Pettys, Amanuel C., b. N. Y.j Or. 1854; d. lone, June 18.
Price, James H., b. Oregon City, June 8, 1847; d. Tacwna, April 10, 1919.
304 GEORGE H. HIMES
Robbins, Mrs. E. Ellen Rees, b. Or. Sept. 18, 1851; d. Portland, Aug. 4.
Sears, David Walker, b. Mo. _ 18.49; Or. 1850; d. Sherwood, Sept. 9.
Shortridge, Mrs.
Shrum, Andrew _
Simons, Mrs. Elmira
June 13.
alker, p. Mo. 1849; Or. 1850; a. anerwooa, sept. 9.
. Amelia, b. Ind. 1835; Or. 1853; d. Eugene, Aug. i.
Jackson, b. Mo. 1841 ; Or. 1846; d. Boise, Idaho, July 23.
ilmira Rose Ann, b. 111. May 30, 1844; Or. 1852; d. Lebanon,
white child b. on
111119 WC91 Ul A UI tidllUj 8HJ Iftl d» KJILTWIJ.
Turnidge, Joseph Lane, b. Scio, Feb. 3, 1856; d. South Bend, Wash., Aug. 24.
Van Atta, William, b. 1841; Or. 1854; d. Vance, Wash., Aug. u.
* Warren, Mrs. Eliza Spalding, b. Or. Nov. 15, 1837; d. Coeur d'Alene, June 21.
The second white child born in Oregon Territory.
Wells, Lovell H., b. 1834; Calif. 1855; Or. 1907; d. Portland, Sept. i.
Wilson, Mrs. Angie, b. 1848; Or. 1852; d. Sprague, Wash., Sept. 10.
Wilson, Mrs. Hannah Dickerson, b. N. J. 1832; Or. 1847; d. Yoncalla, May
Wild
f,7\Vifliam H., b. N. Y. 1822; Or. 1848; d. Lostine, July 20.
Note — Only those marked * joined the Oregon Pioneer Association.
THE QUARTERLY
olthe
Oregon Historical Society
VOLUME XX DECEMBER, 1919 NUMBER 4
Copyright, 1919, by the Oregon Historical Society
The Quarterly disavows responsibility for the positions taken by contributors to its pases .
BRITISH SIDE OF THE RESTORATION OF
FORT ASTORIA— II.
By KATHARINE B. JUDSON, M. A.
(Continued from page 260)
Meanwhile, the Nor'westers had been very uncertain as
to their rights and standing on the North West Coast, not
only as indicated by McGillivray's interview with Lord
Bathurst, but by the letters of Inglis, Ellis & Co., to Henry
Gouldburn.
In one, dated London, July 25th, 1815,13 they stated they
had fitted out for the River Columbia quantities of manufac-
tured goods, solely for Indian trade, but "We have been very
much alarmed by reports circulated of other stipulations made
in a commercial treaty subsequent to that of Ghent, by which
all intercourse of trade is said to be interdicted between His
Majesty's subjects and the Indian tribes residing within the
territories of the United States." They ask for information,
and whether the British Government will protect them, espe-
cially on the Columbia, and on the coast north of it, should they
"be molested by American citizens or the American govern-
ment." "We are perfectly aware," they add, "that our own
interests in this trade must be sacrificed by necessity to views
of public policy." They insist, however, they must have the
13 C. O. 42, Vol. 164.
306 KATHARINE B. JUDSON
actual situation before investing more money in the Columbia.
Three days later,14 the firm again wrote to Henry Gould-
burn, 28th July, 1815, "to ascertain whether we may rely on
the protection of His Majesty's Government in our arduous
undertaking of establishing a colony, (to carry on the fur
trade between China and the Columbia River) on the shores
of the Pacific, which was first discovered and taken possession
of by British subjects. . . .
"We certainly would prefer prosecuting the trade as British
subjects, unconnected with citizens of any other state, but
still from circumstances which have come to our knowledge,
it may become absolutely necessary, either to combine our
interests in the trade with those of American merchants, or to
abandon it entirely, without we have some assurance of protec-
tion on the part of our government."
Again on 2nd August, 181 5, 1S in a third letter to Gouldburn,
Inglis, Ellis & Co. write: "We have established a colony of
British subjects on the Columbia River, for the purpose of
carrying on the fur trade with China."
Three vessels in two years, they stated, had been sent with
Indians goods, "for that trade [Columbia] in which we have
involved property exceeding one hundred and fifty thousand
pounds sterling.
"We are now assured that that property is subjected to
the risk of forcible seizure by American citizens or the Ameri-
can government, on the plea that as British subjects we have
no right to carry on trade with Indians within the territories
of the United States, which are now said to extend to the
shores of the Pacific."
The Nor'westers again demand assurance of safety in car-
rying on their trade from the mouth of the Columbia to Rus-
sian settlements, and from the Rocky Mountains to the sea.
If the colony on the Columbia river was on British soil, they
could advance trade; otherwise they must abandon it.
The other side of this correspondence will never be known,
i4~C. O. 42, Vol. 164.
15 C. O. 42, Vol. 164.
RESTORATION OF ASTORIA 307
until the long-lost North West Company documents are discov-
ered,— unless burned, or destroyed, — which will probably be in
some cellar or attic in Montreal. They are not in London,
nor have they ever been in the possession of the Hudson's
Bay Company, as stated by Edward Ellice to that Company
in a letter of 1825, after the two companies had merged and
the English company made inquiry regarding the papers of
the Nor'westers.
The year 1815 was a busy one for the Americans, as the
British saw it.16 Aside from the economic problems involved
by the great European wars, a rumor was out that Spain had
again ceded the Floridas to Great Britain in payment for
money loaned during the war in the Peninsula. Secretary
Monroe was very anxious about it. That year, also, there
was the war with the Dey of Algiers. The Indians were also
on the rampage, on the northern and western frontiers, and in
the Floridas. The British noted it. And the determination
seems to have become stronger at Washington to have the
future of the United States troubled with as few neighbors
as possible, — and that meant controlling a larger section of
the North American continent. War had broken out also in
South America, where Spain was fighting her badly-treated
colonists.
A bill appeared again in 1816; but the public were paying
little attention to the Columbia, at that moment.
By 1817, decisions seemed to have been reached, as shown
in a letter from Sir James Lucas Yeo, written from H. M. S.
Inconstant, Spithead, 30th August, 1817, to John Wilson
Croker, Secretary of the Admiralty, London.17
The sympathies of the United States were with the Spanish
insurgents, he wrote, especially in Florida, trade was at a
standstill, and Americans said to be in close touch with the
Spanish insurgents on the Pacific. The United States were
"indefatigable in training the militia and have removed every
i6F. O. s, Vol. 106. Baker to Foreign Office.
17 F. O. s, Vol. 128.
308 KATHARINE B. JUDSON
foreigner from their army." Large orders had recently been
given to the cannon factory, and everything "portends a rest-
less and hostile spirit towards this country." Meanwhile, in
the same letter, Sir James also noted that the Ontaria, a U. S.
sloop of war, was sailing around the Horn with three com-
missioners and two secretaries "to obtain possession of some
island or territory in that quarter, preparatory to their estab-
lishing a very extensive commerce in those seas."
To omit the Ontario for a moment, a better view is gained
of the United States as a whole, by continuing the British
comments on the general trend of things. On April 16th,
1818, James Buchanan (a relative of the President of the
same name), then British Consul at New York, wrote to
Lord Castlereagh :18
The acquisition of Louisiana, the claims founded thereon,
the seizure of and means used to obtain the Floridas, the
energetic increase of the navy, the determination to rival the
naval and maritime power of Great Britain, the commercial
warfare the United States are now carrying on towards Eng-
land, the avowed aim to possess Cuba and His Majesty's
possession in North America, which pervades all classes, sanc-
tioned by the measures of the executive . . . — well, it
made America a rather difficult country for Great Britain to
deal with. And it explains John Quincy Adams and the send-
ing of the Ontario.
On November 7th, 1817, Charles Bagot wrote to Lord Cas-
tlereagh, from his post at Washington:19
"A report has been in circulation here that the United States
sloop of war Ontario who has lately sailed from New York,
and which is believed to be destined to the South Pacific, has
received instructions to proceed also to the mouth of the
Columbia river, I cannot hope to ascertain positively whether
this report is well founded or not, but I thought it right to com-
municate it privately to Sir John Sherbrooke, in order that
he may, if he thinks proper, put the North West Company
i8~F. O. 5, Vol. 135.
19 F. O. 5, Vol. 123.
RESTORATION OF ASTORIA 309
upon their guard against any design which may possibly be
in contemplation of the American government to re-establish
the settlement which they formerly attempted to make at the
mouth of that river, and of which your Lordship will see by
a reference to Mr. Baker's despatch No. 24, of the year 181 5,20
that soon after the peace they endeavored to claim the restitu-
tion under the 1st article of the Treaty of Ghent . . ."
But Simon McGillivrary, down in New York City, had also
heard rumors, and he took prompt means to communicate
with the British representative at Washington, as below :21
"New York, November 15th, 1817.
"To his Excellency,
the British Ambassador.
"Sir,
"I am induced to take the liberty of addressing this letter to
your excellency, in consequence of information which I have
obtained, relative to the destination of the United States ship
Ontario, which sailed about six weeks ago for South America,
and which, according to newspaper report, is likely to have
gone to the Pacific Ocean.
"I am not at liberty to mention the channel through which
I have received the information in question, but it comes from
a source which in my opinion entitles it to attention. Other-
wise, I certainly should not have presumed to make this appli-
cation to your Excellency upon the subject.
"My information is that the Captain of the Ontario has
instructions to proceed ultimately to the Columbia River, and
to seize or destroy the establishment and trade of the North
West Company upon that Coast, — what pretext may hereafter
be set up to justify this attack I really cannot imagine unless it
should be the recent act of Congress prohibiting foreigners
from any trade or intercourse with the Indians within the
territories of the United States, and the assumption that the
country bordering upon the Columbia River form a part of
20 Quoted above.
21 F. O. 5, Vol. 123.
310 KATHARINE B. JUDSON
their territories. This assumption, destitute of foundation as
it can easily be shown to be, is one which the American gov-
ernment has aimed at setting up ever since the purchase of
Louisiana, and the attention which they have always directed
towards that object affords in my opinion a strong corrobo ra-
tion of the story relative to the Ontario.
"In the month of July, 1815, Mr. Baker, who was then
Charge d'Affaires at Washington, applied to Sir Gordon
Drummond, who at that time administered the Government of
Canada, for some information relative to the actual situation
of the country in question, and Sir Gordon Drummond conse-
quently applied to my brother, who, as the principal director of
the North West Company, was of course the person most
competent to speak to the facts. I happened at the time to
be in Canada, having recently arrived from England, where I
usually reside, and where I had the honor of seeing and con-
versing with my Lord Bathurst upon this very subject, subse-
quent to the ratification of the Treat of Ghent. Having also
been the person chiefly engaged in planning and fitting out the
North West Company's adventures to the Columbia River,
from the first suggestion of that undertaking, I necessarily had
an intimate knowledge of the particulars which appeared
requisite to answer Mr. Baker's enquiries, and after due con-
sideration and comparison of the information thus possessed
by different individuals a statement was drawn up22 and sent
to Sir Gordon Drummond, who transmitted it to Mr. Baker,
and that gentleman, whom I had the honor of seeing at Wash-
ington afterwards, but before your Excellency's arrival, ac-
knowledged having received the statement, but discouraged
any discussion relative to it which I attempted to introduce.
"I heard no more upon the subject until now, on my way
from Canada to England, that the information reached me
which has caused this letter, and having among my papers a
copy of the statement in question, I take the liberty to enclose
it, in case it may be found to contain any thing worthy of your
22 See McGillivray statement above.
RESTORATION OF ASTORIA 311
Excellency's consideration. The state of the country in ques-
tion still remains nearly the same as at the time this paper
was written. Fort George and various trading stations in
the interior are held by the North West Company, who have
about three hundred persons permanently employed in the
trade of the country between the Rocky Mountains and the
Pacifick Ocean. We have one vessel now on that coast and
another sailed from England with supplies for our people in
September last.
"I cannot presume to suggest to your excellency any course
to be adopted on this occasion but it appears to me that the
question might be put whether the Ontario had any instruc-
tions to act [with] hostility towards the British traders on the
North- West Coast, and the Columbia River. This, however,
I merely venture to submit to your Excellency's judgment, and
have the honor to be, &c.} &c.
SIMON McGiLLivRAY."
On November 21st, 1817, Sir Charles Bagot received this
notice from Simon McGillivray, that the Ontario was "to seize
or destroy the establishments and trade of the North West
Company" on the Columbia. In a report to Lord Castlereagh,
he wrote:23
"Upon receipt of this letter, I thought it my duty to lose
no time in endeavouring to ascertain distinctly, from the Amer-
ican government, whether such a measure really was in con-
templation; and I accordingly asked for a conference with
Mr. Adams, at which I communicated to him the information
I received, and requested him to acquaint me whether it had
any foundation.
"Mr. Adams appeared to me to be considerably embarrassed
by my question, but after a short silence, he said that the
Ontario had certainly gone to the North West Coast of Amer-
ica, but that she had not received any orders either to destroy
or disturb the trade of the North West Company.
"He then said that I must be aware that the United States
2$ F. O. 5, Vol. 123.
312 KATHARINE B. JUDSON
had long possessed a settlement upon the Columbia River
which had been captured during the late war, and that upon
the peace, application had been made to Mr. Baker for its
restoration, to which Mr. Adams alleged that Mr. Baker merely
replied that the fort had been destroyed, and that he believed
that no persons would be found there who could make restitu-
tion, and that the object of the voyage was to re-establish
this settlement ; which, he rather seemed to imply, was already
in the possession of the United States.
"Having ascertained the fact of which I desired to be
assured, I made very little observations upon Mr. Adams'
remarks ; but in the short conversation which followed, he stated
that the Columbia had been first discovered by an American
ship which sailed from Boston between the years 1780 and
1790. To this I immediately replied that the coast had been
uniformly claimed by Great Britain, as might be seen by refer-
ence to the discussions which had formerly taken place with
the Spanish government, the only government with whom any
discussion upon that subject could arise."
Further than that, Mr. Adams then "only observed that,
in his opinion, it would be hardly worth the while of Great
Britain to have any differences with the United States on
account of the occupation of any part of so remote a territory."
But Sir Charles thought that a ship of war sent to a country
claimed by Great Britain was "a serious matter." He had sent
an express to Sir John Sherbrooke, asking if they could warn
the North West Company through an express sent by their
interior posts, overland. The Ontario, so Sir Charles noted in
a closing sentence, had on board a Mr. Tyler for Peru.
But Sir John's answer24 was that it was too late for an
express overland. The North West Company would send a
memorial, to be used as a basis of representations to "the
United States cabinet."
On December 23, 1817,25 the North West Company did
present a petition to Sir John C. Sherbrooke, Governor of
5, Vol. 130.
5, Vol. 131.
RESTORATION OF ASTORIA 313
Upper and Lower Canada, and Vice Admiral, asserting their
rights to the North West Coast, stating that the Ontario "is
bound for the North West Coast of America, with intentions
hostile to the trade and establishments of the North West
Company in that quarter." She was going to Fort George,
yet that was a "place not having been taken possession of by
right of conquest but by a right founded on the just claims of
discovery and previous possession of the country by His
Majesty's subjects."
On November 24th, Sir Charles wrote to Lord Castlereagh,
in cipher:26
"My Lord,
"I have been this day informed by Mr. Adams, in answer
to an inquiry which I thought it my duty to make upon the
subject of the destination of the United States sloop Ontario,
commanded by Captain Biddle, and rated at eighteen guns
which sailed from New York the 4th of last month [October]
that that vessel had been ordered to proceed to the mouth of the
Columbia River, for the purpose of establishing the settlement
of which the United States were dispossessed during the late
war.
"I have thought it proper to lose no time in giving Your
Lordship this information.
"I shall write more fully by the packet which will sail in
a few days.
"I have the honour to be with great truth and respect,
"Your Lordship's most humble, obedient servant,
CHARLES BAGOT."
Two days later, November 26th, 1817,27 Sir Charles wrote
John Quincy Adams that the post was not captured, but aban-
doned by agreement, and "as it thus appears that no claim for
the restitution of the post can be grounded upon the 1st article
of the Treaty of Ghent, and as the territory itself was early
O. 5, Vol. 123.
27 F. O. 5, Vol. 123.
314 KATHARINE B. JUDSON
taken possession of in His Majesty's name, and has been since
considered as forming a part of His Majesty's dominions, I
have to request that you will do me the honour to furnish
me with such explanation as you may judge proper of the
object of the voyage of the Ontario, so far as it may relate
to establishments upon the territory to which I refer, in order
that I may be enabled to represent to His Majesty's govern-
ment ... a measure in which His Majesty's rights and
interests appear to be so materially involved."
On December 1st, Sir Charles wrote to Lord Castlereagh,28
as follows:
"Washington, December 1, 1817.
"Sir:
"In my private letter of the 3rd of last month, I had the
honour to acquaint your Excellency with a report which has
been in circulation here respecting the destination of the United
States sloop-of-war Ontario. I have since had an opportunity
of ascertaining that this report is well founded.
"At an interview which I had a few days ago with the
Secretary of State, I communicated to him the information
which I had received upon this subject, and I requested that
he would inform me whether orders had been given to the
Ontario, to proceed to the Columbia River, for the purpose of
making establishments in its vicinity, or of disturbing in any
way the trade of the North West Company.
"Mr. Adams stated to me in reply, that the Ontario had
certainly been directed to proceed to the North West Coast
of America, and that she had been instructed to establish a
settlement, which the United States had formerly possessed,
at the mouth of the Columbia River, and which has not been
restored since its capture in the late war, but that she has not
received any orders to disturb or interrupt the trade of the
North West Company.
"It is not necessary for me to trouble your Excellency, at
present, with any examination of the arguments which the
American government may design to urge, in support of this
?JfF. O. 5, Vol. 123.
RESTORATION OF ASTORIA 315
measure which they have thought proper to adopt, but a refer-
ence to Sir Gordon Drummond's despatches to Mr. Baker of
the 14th and 31st of August, 1815, will prove to your Excel-
lency that the settlement to which Mr. Adams adverted was
not captured during the war, consequently that its restitution
cannot be claimed under the 1st article of the Treaty of Peace.
"The enclosed copy of a note which I have addressed to
the American government, will sufficiently explain to your
Excellency the course which I have thought it my duty to take
in this business, until I can receive an answer to the despatches
which I have forwarded by this mail to His Majesty's govern-
ment.
"I have not yet received an answer to this note, nor is it
necessary for the immediate purposes of this letter, that I
should.
"Whatever may be the grounds which the American govern-
ment may assign for the step which they have taken, it appears
to me to me to be in the highest degree important, that the
Ontario should if possible, find upon her arrival at the Columbia
River, that the Territory is in the actual possession of His
Majesty's subjects. For this purpose I am anxious to submit
to your Excellency's consideration, whether it might not be
still practicable, through the means of the interior posts of the
North West Company, to convey to such of its traders, as may
happen to be upon that Coast, intelligence of the destination
and object of the Ontario, which may reach them before her
arrival.
"The Ontario sailed from New York on the 4th of October,
but as she has been directed to take out Mr. Tyler, who has
been charged with some business on the part of the American
government in Peru, she will probably be detained some time
upon the South West Coast of South America.
"I am fully aware that it will be a matter of great difficulty
to make this communication, but it will also be a matter of
great delicacy ; for it appears to me that unless Your Excel-
lency can entirely rely upon the intelligence of the North
316 KATHARINE B. JUDSON
West Company traders in that quarter, clearly to understand,
that it is only in the event of their being upon the spot pre-
viously to any attempt being made by citizens of the United
States to establish settlements, that they are to take into their
own hands the assertion of the territory, they may perhaps be
induced to dispossess by force American settlers whom they
may find there, and by so doing greatly embarrass any negotia-
tion which may hereafter take place upon the subject, if they
do not occasion yet more serious consequences.
"I have the honour to be, &c., &c.? &c.,
CHARLES BAGOT."
The next day, Sir Charles wrote again to Lord Castlereagh.29
The letter is somewhat confused. The three commissioners
he had mentioned as in the Ontario, were he said, presumably
Mr. Graham, late the chief clerk in the Department of State,
Mr. Rodney, and Walter Jones, District Attorney of the United
States in the District of Columbia. The Ontario, he said,
was originally destined to sail in the summer of 1817 [ which
explains the letter of Sir James Lucas Yeo, given above] but
was delayed for unknown reasons. So that the three com-
missioners, so far as Sir Charles could make out — and he
seemed to have difficulty in getting exact information on this
mysterious Ontario— did not sail on the Ontario, but went on
the frigate Chesapeake to South America, in a diplomatic
capacity.
On January 6th, 1818,30 Sir Charles reported to Lord Castle-
reagh that he had received no answer from Secretary Adams
to his note of November 26th regarding the sailing of the
Ontario.
On January 26th, 1818, Lord Castlereagh notified Lord
Bathurst as follows, the draft of the letter only being found
in the Records:31
29 F. O. 5, Vol. 123.
30 F. O. 5, Vol. 130.
31 F. O. 5, Vol. 139.
RESTORATION OF ASTORIA 317
"Draft "Foreign Office,
Jan. 26, 1818.
"I have this day addressed to the Lord Comnirs. of the
Admiralty, acquainting their Ldps [Lordships] that Mr. Bagot,
His Ms Minister in America, having transmitted intelligence
that the U. S. sloop of war Ontario has been sent by the
Amn Govt to reestablish a Settlement on the Columbia River,
held by that state on the breaking out of the war, it is H R H's
pleasure that in pursuance of the 1st Article of the Treaty of
Ghent (without, however, admitting the right of that Govt
to the Possession in question), due Facility should be given to
the Reoccupation of the said Settlement by the officers of the
United States, and I am to request that Your Lp will be pleased
to take such steps in furtherance of that object, as you may
judge expedient."
[Signed] CASTLEREAGH.
That same January Simon McGillivray sent to Henry Gould-
burn the letter in which he states that he had instructed Mr.
Keith, in charge of Fort George, to obey any instructions given
him with regard to giving up Fort George.32
On February 4th, 1818, Lord Castlereagh wrote to Sir
Charles Bagot as follows :33
"Foreign Offiice,
Febr. 4, 1818.
"You will observe, however, that whilst this Government is
not disposed to contest with the American gov't the point of
possession as it stood in the Columbia River at the moment
of the rupture, they are not prepared to admit the validity of
the title of the Govt of the United States to this Settlement.
In signifying therefore to Mr. Adams the full acquiesence of
your govt in the re-occupation of the limited Position which
the U. States held in that River at the breaking out of the war,
you will at the same time assert in suitable terms the Claim
of Great Britain to that Territory upon which the American
32 F. O. 5, Vol. 139. (Enclosure by Gouldburn, Feb. 2, 1818.)
33 F. O. 5, Vol. 129.
318 KATHARINE B. JUDSON
Settlement must be considered as an encroachment. You
will at the same time acquaint that Minister, that whilst your
Govt could not but view with some surprise and regret the
departure of the Ontario for the purpose of re-occupying the
Port in question, without any previous concert with yourself,
for the regular and amicable transfer of this possession, that
your Court have nevertheless lost no time, as will appear by
the enclosed instructions, in taking such steps as depended on
them, in order to obviate any unpleasant collision.
"It appears from your Despatch that Mr. Adams, in con-
versation, attempted to account for this on grounds of a former
reference to Mr. Baker, but upon turning to the correspond-
ence which then took place, it does not appear to this Govt
that anything which then passed would justify the Govt of
the U. States in taking such a step without at least some pre-
vious communication with you.
"In adverting to this point with the American Secretary of
State, which brings pointedly into view the unsettled nature
of the pretensions of the two govts in the whole extent of their
Frontier to the Westward, from the Lake of the Woods to the
Pacific Ocean, adverting also to the omission in the Treaty of
Ghent of any provision for the demarcation of Limits beyond
the point above referred to, it has appeared to the Prince
Regent's Govt insistent with the friendly Spirit of our exist-
ing relations, to take measures for settling our Boundaries
with the U. States throughout the whole of this line."
It was easier, Lord Castlereagh stated, — and this was always
the position taken by the British Government, right up to the
Treaty of 1846 — to settle the boundary before the country
was settled and while it was little known, because there were
fewer difficulties, one way and another, with settlers. A new
motive now was the treaty of America with Spain, giving the
Americans the old Spanish rights, such as they were, and
Bagot was therefore ordered to try to settle the boundary ques-
tion if he could.
The easiest way to do this, Castlereagh thought, was by a
RESTORATION OF ASTORIA 319
supplement to the Treaty of Ghent, or by additional articles,
and the United States was to be requested to give its Minister
in London power to sign such article. And he thought it
well to begin on the Coast.
Meanwhile the Ontario reached Valparaiso, then blockaded,
between January 19th and February 1st, 1818. Commander
Bowles,34 under date of February 18th, 1818, reported :
"The arrival of the Ontario at Valparaiso caused much specu-
lation. She carried out a Mr. Prevost who was said to be high
in the confidence of the present President [of the U. S.]. He
(Prevost) went immediately to Santiago, visiting General
San Martin's quarters on his way."
Prevost was to remain in Chili a month or six weeks at
least, while the Ontario was to go to the Columbia. She sailed
immediately after the Battle of Maypie; had returned in late
June.
Orders from the British Government to the North West
Company were received by Commander Bowles, at Rio Janeiro
on April 19th, 1818, enclosed from London in a letter of Janu-
ary 27th. The Blossom was to be sent to the 'Columbia. The
Blossom reached Valparaiso on 16th of May. On June 1st,
Earl Bathurst's orders were sent to Captain Sheriff, the Blos-
som to be detached immediately for service to the Columbia.
The Blossom sailed July 12th, under Captain Hickey, some
two or three weeks after the Ontario had returned to Val-
paraiso. Prevost was fully empowered to receive possession.
Meanwhile on June 2nd, Sir Charles Bagot wrote to Lord
Castlereagh as follows:35
Washington, June 2, 1818.
"My Lord :
"Upon receipt of your Lordship's despatch No. 7, of the
4th of February last, I immediately communicated to Mr.
Adams the acquiesence of His Majesty's Government in the
re-occupation, by the United States, of the position held by
them upon the Columbia River prior to the late war. I stated
34 Admiralty :, Vol. 23.
35 F. O. 5, Vol. 132.
320 KATHARINE B. JUDSON
to him that His Majesty's Government entertained no doubt
of the United States being entitled under the provisions of the
1st Article of the Treaty to resume possession of whatever was
held by them at the moment of rupture which was not subject
to the exceptions made by the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th articles;
and I acquainted him with the orders which were given to
prevent any interruption being offered to the re-establish-
ment of the Post in question. In conformity, however, to
Your Lordship's instructions, I did not disguise from him
that His Majesty's Government had seen with some regret
the irregular mode in which the United States had seen fit to
resume possession of the settlement; and I took the oppor-
tunity of laying a general claim, on the part of the British
Crown, to the territory upon which it had been made.
"Mr. Adams appeared to receive what I said in good part.
He stated that in fact the American % government put very
little value upon the post of Astoria. That the Ontario had
received her orders before he had entered upon the duties of
his office, but that he could assure me that she had been in-
structed not to commit any act of hostility or force whatever
and that with regard to her having been despatched without
previous concert with me, he could take it upon himself to
say that it was entirely owing to the belief founded upon a
statement formerly made by Mr. Baker, that there was no
person upon the spot by whom a formal surrender could be
made."
Sir Charles urged upon Secretary Adams the settlement of
the whole question of contiguous boundaries. And Secretary
Adams agreed, adding other points, such as the fisheries ques-
tion, slaves, colonial trade, etc. The letter continues :
"Mr. Adams informed me that he had been directed by the
President to assure me that the circumstances of the Ontario
having been despatched to the Columbia River without any
intimation being given to me of her destination, was entirely
incidental; that she had received her instructions whilst he
was at New York on his tour to the northern frontier, and that
RESTORATION OF ASTORIA 321
in the pressure of business there, he had omitted to direct the
proper communication to be made to me upon the subject." . . .
But if the Ontario was originally destined to sail in August,
one wonders whether this excuse was entirely truthful.
Meanwhile, in August, the Ontario arrived at the Columbia ;
and we have reason to think from other reports that it
was one of the soft summer days at the mouth of the river,
when the river flowed swift and wide and blue as it does today,
on a sunny August day, under a blue sky, though lashed to
gleaming whiteness in the crashing breakers on the bar. James
Keith tells the story, two months later, in October, and a
ludicrous yarn it is, to any one with a sense of humor ; though
Keith had no intention of being humorous.
Captain Frederick Hickey of the Blossom, sent in his formal
request to the fur trader :36
H. M. S. Ship Blossom,
Columbia River,
Oct. 4, 1818.
To James Keith, Esq.,
Fort George.
Sir: Upon the restitution of the post and settlement of
Fort George to the American Government, I request that you
will have the goodness to furnish me with an exact account
of its state and condition, and with such other information as
you may deem of importance should be communicated to His
Majesty's Ministers.
I have the honor to be, &c., &c.
FREDERICK HICKEY.
And the fur trader promptly replied, with full details, and
then gave the story of the Ontario. Part of this is published
in the U. S. Government documents, but not the Ontario
episode.37
36 F. o. 5, Vol. 147.
37 F. O. s, Vol. 147.
322 KATHARINE B. JUDSON
"Fort George, Columbia River,
7th October, 1818.
"To Captain Frederick Hickey,
H. M. Ship Blossom.
"Sir:
"In compliance with your request conveyed to me in your
communication of the 4th instant, of being furnished with an
exact account of the state and condition of this settlement on
its restitution, together with such further information as I
might deem of importance to be communicated to His Majesty's
Ministers, I shall first advert to the number of its inhabitants
who (myself excepted) were and still are, under either written
or verbal agreements, as servants of the North- West Company :
consisting of two gentlemen clerks, and one surgeon of Scotch
parents, one overseer, seventeen engagees, including mechanics,
and mostly Canadians ; twenty-six natives of Owhyhee, and
one Indian boy (native of the soil) who added to two Owhy-
hees absent, and sixteen trappers, Canadians and Iroquois
employed by the Company among the surrounding tribes to
hunt skins, form a grand total of sixty-six persons, exclusive
of women and children who may properly be said to belong
to the settlement; and with regard to the minor establish-
ments in the interior of this River, supplied from and dependent
hereon, the number of people employed, the extent of our
trade, annual produce, prospects, and mode of conducting it,
it would too far exceed my intended limits to detail, and other-
wise I presume is not altogether unknown to Government.
"As to the progressive improvements and material changes
the settlement has undergone subsequent to our purchasing
it from the American Company in October, 1813, and which
have been extended with immense labour and heavy expenses,
you will be enabled to form an imperfect idea from the extent
it occupied under that concern, the nature and properties of
buildings raised with precipitancy to protect persons and prop-
erties from the injuries of the weather, as well as the attacks
of the Natives, and the prospects which a five years quiet
RESTORATION OF ASTORIA 323
possession now open to view, and which joined to your own
observation, the minute sketch of one of your officers I trust
will sufficiently demonstrate.38
"With regard to the transfer, it ought to have been con-
sidered by the party benefited thereby, as one of those fortunate
contingencies seldom to be met with; what the said party
upwards of three months antecedent to such transfer had
otherwise fully resolved to abandon by the dissolution of their
concern, as expressed at full length in the preamble [of the
bill of sale of Astoria]. But to return to my subject; the
principal arms and ammunition we now possess consist of two
long 18-pounders mounted in the square of the buildings, six
6-pounders, and four 4-pounders. Guns ; two 6-pounder co-
horns and seven swivels stationed in the block houses and on
the platforms, besides blunderbusses, muskets, and fusils ; there
are upwards of eight hundred round and cannister shot for
the cartridge guns, principally 18 and 6-pounders, together
with a certain proportion of powder, ball, etc., part of which
is indispensable for the trade, etc., and the gross amount of
property (buildings excluded) on a rough estimate, cannot, I
conceive be over rated at about £30,000. The Natives are
very numerous and much addicted to theft, lying, and plunder,
and though with few exceptions we have hitherto kept smooth
with them without which we must long ere now have ceased
to be a trading establishment, we require to be vigilant, cir-
cumspect, and much on our guard. These I conceive consti-
tute the leading points which your communication embraces.
"One circumstance, however, I had almost omitted. I allude
to the manner of Captain Biddle's last visit. By the Levant,
a Boston vessel, freighted with part of our annual supplies,
and from on board of which were landed 80 to 90 bags of
Spanish flour belonging to the Ontario we were informed by
verbal authority, founded on conjectures, that the latter was
destined hither for the purpose of taking possession either of
the settlement, or of the country, but having entertained similar
suspicions the preceding summer and moreover conceiving it
38 Ore. Hist. Quarterly, V. XIX, pp. 276-82; V. XX, p. 30, T. C. Elliott.
324 KATHARINE B. JUDSON
a mere piece of formality which I had every reason to think
the British Government could not consistently wink at, I felt
perfectly easy and secure until the Ontario arrived off Cape
Disappointment, on the morning of the 19th of August, fol-
lowed by Captain Biddle's appearance about 3 p. m. Accom-
panied by a strong party, including officers, in three boats,
apparently well armed, only Captain Biddle and his Surgeon
landed at the settlement, the others being immediately ordered
off, conducted by one of my men to Point George, to cut spars.
"Exceedingly social and polite, but not the most distant
intimation of the object of this visit of which, as if studious of
exciting the least suspicion, he glossed over the circumstances
of the arms, etc., from his apprehensions of the Natives. With
much reluctance (from our having a superabundance) and not
till after repeated solicitation, I gave him bills on Canada for
the flour, and towards 5 p. m. accompanied by another of my
men in an Indian canoe rowed by the natives, Captain Biddle
and surgeon set off to join their party, giving to understand
they would proceed on board ; however, learning that they had
encamped where my people left them, I next morning de-
spatched the same two men with some fresh supplies, who
soon after returning with accounts of their departure, re-
ported having seen a board unusually painted and nailed upon a
tree in a rather secluded and unfrequented place on Point
George about one-half mile hence, whereon we found in-
scribed in large characters:
Taken possession of in the name and on
the behalf of the
United States
By Captain James Biddle, commanding the
United States Sloop of War, Ontario
Columbia River, August 1818
"Such mysterious and unaccountable proceedings, of which
the subsequent reports of the Natives, joined to the gloomy,
desponding conjectures of my own people rather aggravated
the unfortunate impression, excited the most anxious and pain-
ful sensations at what would probably be the next step and so
RESTORATION OF ASTORIA 325
far operated to redouble our vigilance that on your arrival with
J. B. Prevost, Esqr., every gun was shotted and small arms
ready for all hands. The agreeable contrast since experienced
it would be deemed flattery in me to dwell upon. Justice,
however, demands that I should bear testimony to the hand-
some, unassuming, yet dignified manner in which Mr. Prevost
comported himself, during the late changes and though much
disappointed in my expectations relative to the pledges of
security and publick faith, without which no commercial body
can promote their own, much less contribute to the national
prosperity, I attribute the cause solely to his circumscribed
powers and must act accordingly. There is nothing of a
public or private matter connected with the late change, of
which you have not official documents, or are perhaps ac-
quainted with, excepting my communication with Mr. Prevost
together with his replies,39 copies of which I herewith transmit
you, and as your short stay precludes the possibility of my
completing the various papers I intended forwarding for Lon-
don, as well as Canada, I request that you will be pleased to
hand the present for the perusal of Mr. Prevost to enable him
to extract such materials for the information of the Govern-
ment of the United States, as he may think proper to lay
before them.
I have the honor to be, sir, your obedt & humble servant,
JAMES KEITH.
"To Frederick Hickey, Esq.,
Captain H. M. S. Blossom,
Bakers Bay."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the continent. British com-
missioners and John Quincy Adams were debating a treaty
which should settle the boundary of the North- West Coast of
America. In orders to F. Robinson and Henry Gouldburn
from Lord Castlereagh, dated London, August 24th, 1818, he
gave as a fifth point to be considered in the commercial treaty
under consideration :40
39 F. O. 5, Vol. 147; also V. 2, Miscellaneous American State Papers.
40 F. O. 5, Vol. 138.
326 KATHARINE B. JUDSON
"5th. The position on the Columbia River occupied by the
Americans, and now ordered to be restored to them in pur-
suance of the first article of the Treaty of Ghent, but under a
protest as to their right to the same."
If actual douSt existed as to sovereignty, the commissioners
were to consider a species of stipulation which would serve
the rights of all states from being prejudiced by a transaction
to which the British government were then parties — so read
Castlereagh's instructions. He urged them to adopt some prin-
ciple of demarkation, such as a parallel, to save delay and
expense of survey. The question was to be settled if possible
by amicable discussion, or referred for adjudication similar to
the 4th, 5th and 6th articles of the Treaty of Ghent.
During the discussion on the North- West Coast of America,
incident to the joint-occupancy treaty, three subjects: the
Columbia River, the North- West boundary, and the problem
of captured negroes, the United States refused to submit to
arbitration, because (1), of the difficulty of an impartial arbi-
tration, and (2), because the United States preferred to keep
its own affairs to itself. So wrote Henry Gouldburn to Lord
Castlereagh, August 29th, 1818.41
A month later, September 26th, 1818, Gouldburn wrote to
Lord Castlereagh with regard to the American claims on the
North-West Coast of America, and one can fairly feel the gasp
of amazement in his letter. The words in italics were under-
scored by him. He wrote :41a
The "article for settling the boundary to the westward of
the Rocky Mountains, claimed on the part of the United States,
an extent of territory beyond what had ever been contemplated
as belonging to them.
"They stated it generally to rest on the right of prior dis-
covery and occupation, but in the statements which they sub-
sequently made, they appeared rather to address agreements
in support of their claim to the mouth of the Columbia River,
than to the whole of the interior territory which the terms of
their article conveyed to them."
41 F O. s, Vol. 138.
41 a F. O. 5, Vol. 138.
RESTORATION OF ASTORIA 327
The Treaty of 1818, with one paragraph making the Oregon
country a joint-occupancy country was the result. But the
restoration of Astoria, as a post, had been secured — a private
fur company's post, claimed after its sale, by the American
government, as a national possession.
Under the circumstances one is hardly surprised at what
happened a few years later.
Something of the British view again, is shown in a letter
from Lord Castlereagh to Stratford Canning, then British
Minister at Washington, under date of August 7th, 1820, in
response to a worried letter from Canning. It was marked
"Confidential" :42
"The tendency of the American government is rather to
contentious discussion. The ancient relations of the British
and American nations, and the jealousies as yet imperfectly
allayed, incline the Govt of the United States to maintain their
pretensions in discussions with us, perhaps in deference to
those prejudices, in a tone of greater harshness than towards
any other Government whatever. The American people are
more easily excited against us, and more disposed to strengthen
the hands of their Ministers against this than against any other
state. Time has done a good deal to soften these dispositions,
and the more we can permit them to subside by avoiding angry
discussions, the less will the American Govt be capable of
contesting unreasonably those various points which the recipro-
cal interests of the two countries may from time to time be
expected to present themselves for adjustment."
Castlereagh continued that he looked for an "abatement of
that most unbecoming acrimony which has generally been
prevalent between these two nations since the period of their
separation."
Six months later came an example of this. On January 28th,
1821, Stratford Canning wrote an eighteen-page letter, on
heavy plate paper, in "fair round hand," to Lord Castlereagh :
but it was the letter of a startled statesman.43 Having heard
42 F. O. 5, Vol. 150.
43 F. O. 5, Vol. 157.
328 KATHARINE B. JUDSON
much about the occupation of the Columbia — Floyd's annual
bills had been appearing regularly — he went to Mr. Adams
about it. The reduction of the army was under debate
in Congress, when a member asked if this was prudent when
the United States were planning a settlement on the Columbia.
The bill to occupy the Columbia had been read twice. The
bill began that "The President of the United States be, and
he is hereby authorized and required to occupy that portion
of territory of the United States on the waters of the Columbia
River . . . " It gave lands to settlers and prescribed a gov-
ernment. It was H. R. 222, of January 25th, 1821. It was read
twice and was to come before the Committee of the Whole
the day after Canning's letter, that is, January 29th. He
enclosed a copy, with a newspaper letter from Mr. Robinson,
author of a book on Mexico.
Canning therefore called upon Mr. Adams, though knowing
the "peculiarities of Mr. Adams' character," but with con-
fidence, since their relations had been "satisfactory and con-
fidential heretofore."
"Mr. Adams replied in the most determined and acrimonious
tones, that the United States did probably mean to make a
new settlement on the Columbia, and that they had a perfect
right to do so, the territory being their own."
Being asked if this answer could be said to come from the
Government, "he replied, with increased asperity, in the af-
firmative. He seemed determined to consider my interfer-
ence respecting the Columbia as offensive and unwarranted."
In the course of further conversation, he expressed "an em-
phatic repetition of the right — the undisputed, indisputable
right — of the United States to the territory of the Columbia
and an utter denial of any right on my part, as British Minister,
to interfere with their eventual arrangements on that head."
Canning quoted Lord Castlereagh's remark, in a letter of
February 4th, 1818, to his predecessor, Sir Charles Bagot, that
"It is always more easy to come to an arrangement on such
subjects where the territory in discussion is little known, or
little cultivated, than where enterprise and industry have led
RESTORATION OF ASTORIA 329
to settlements which cannot be abandoned without loss, and
cannot be ceded without the alienation of subjects owing al-
legiance to one or another state."
Mr. Adams promptly replied regarding Great Britain's posi-
tion in 1818,
"That he considered the claim then put forward as a mere
chicaine of the moment. What more, he exclaimed, would
England grasp at ? Could it be worth while to make a serious
question of an object so trifling as the possession of the
Columbia? What would be thought in England if Mr. Rush
were to address the Secretary of State on the occasion of a
regiment being destined for New South Wales, or the Shet-
land Islands? The United States had an undoubted right to
settle wherever they pleased on the shores of the Pacific with-
out being molested by the English Government and he really
thought they were at least to be left unmolested on their own
continent of North America."
Those eighteen pages are rather interesting reading.
But Lord Castlereagh, determined to keep peaceful rela-
tions between the two countries, wrote to Canning, on April
1st, 1821, 44 directing him not to renew the discussion of the
Oregon question without special instructions from the king.
He reminded him that by article 3 of the treaty of 1818, "The
rights of both parties were saved for subsequent adjustment,
but no attempt was made either to determine those rights, to
define what might be regarded as the existing state of occupa-
tion, or to preclude either party from forming new settlements
within the disputed territory during the period, viz., ten years
. . . together with the reservation of any right which the
formation of such settlement might either appear to impeach
or establish. Whatever therefore may be the . pretensions of
Great Britain upon the Columbia River, they must be urged
on antecedent grounds of right. . . . But it is not His
Majesty's intention under present circumstances to provoke
any discussion with the American Govt on the final adjustment
of these claims."
44 F. O. 5, Vol. 156.
330 KATHARINE B. JUDSON
On April 27th, 1821, Minister Canning reported to Lord
Castlereagh, after another interview with Adams.45
"Mr. Adams went on to say that he hoped nothing would
occur for a long time to weaken those mutual dispositions"
to good will between the two nations.
A little aside from the above, and yet in close connection
with it, is a letter from Sir Charles Bagot to Lord Castle-
reigh, dated Washington, March 6th, 1819 :46
"... A small expedition is preparing by the Government,
under the command of Major Biddle of the United States
army, for the purpose of ascending to the source of the Mis-
souri River. This expedition, which is entirely unconnected
with that of the Yellowstone River, is to be performed by means
of a steam boat which is to draw eighteen inches of water only.
Upon reaching the source of the Missouri, Major Biddle hopes
to be able to carry the steam machinery of the boat to the other
side of the Rocky Mountains, where he proposes to build
another vessel, in which he will descend the Columbia River
to its mouth, where he may expect to meet with the Ontario,
sloop-of-war, commanded by his brother. Major Biddle ap-
pears to be of the opinion that this expedition will occupy
about two years. There can, I think, be little doubt that it
is connected with some proposed establishment at the mouth
of the Columbia which has for its object the double purpose
of securing the fur trade, and promoting the American whale
fishery in the South Seas."
THE END.
47F. O. 5, Vol. 158.
46 F. O. 5, Vol. 142.
THE NORTHWEST BOUNDARIES
(Some Hudson's Bay Company Correspondence)
By T. C. ELLIOTT.
The documents presented herewith are supplemental to that
printed at pages 27-34 of this volume of the quarterly and are
taken from the same source and very little need be said by
way of introductory comment. These are of special interest
as showing the intimate connection of the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany with the British cabinet in 1825-26; Messrs. Henry Ad-
dington and William Huskisson being the two commissioners
appointed by Secretary George Canning to discuss with repre-
sentatives of the United States the question of the Northwest
Boundaries. These are also of interest when compared with
our own congressional reports and speeches during the period
of 1821-27, showing that the British were then concerned only
in the trade in this Columbia River Country while the atten-
tion of Americans was already being directed toward occupa-
tion and settlements. It was in 1825 that Senator Thomas H.
Benton first uttered his oft-quoted declaration that the ridge
of the Rocky Mountains should forever remain as the western
terminus of the government of the United States ; an opinion
which he later directly reversed.
At the time of reorganization following the coalition of the
North- West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company in 1821
Mr. George Simpson was placed in charge of all the properties,
men and business of the last named company in North America,
and hence came to be known as the "governor of Rupert's
Land" ; Mr. J. H. Pelly of London was governor of the Hud-
son's Bay Company. Two years, 1822 and 1823, were necessary
to reconcile differences and reorganize the business East of the
Rocky Mountains, but after the regular summer council meeting
in 1824 Governor Simpson started from York Factory on Hud-
son's Bay for his first personal visit to the Columbia District,
Dr. John McLoughlin accompanying him to assume the duties
332 T. C. ELLIOTT
of manager of the district. The winter of 1824-25 was spent at
Fort George (Astoria) and in selecting the location for the new
trading post to be called Fort Vancouver and Governor Simpson
returned to the East side of the mountains in the spring of 1825,
having personally visited all the trading posts in the district
except those at Thompson River, the Kootenay river and
among the Flatheads. His knowledge of the Columbia River
basin in 1825 cannot be said to have been complete but was
not superficial. His replies to 'Messrs. Addington and Huskis-
son were therefore partizan rather than ignorant.
These documents should be read in connection with that in
this Quarterly for March, 1919, already cited, and also in con-
nection with the valuable contribution upon The Federal
Relations of Oregon (L. B. Shippee) in this Quarterly for
September, 1918.
(DOCUMENTS)
Journal 721, p. 261)
Mr. Henry Addington presents his compliments to Mr.
Simpson, and having received Mr. Secretary Canning's direc-
tions to communicate with Mr. Simpson on the subject of the
Columbia River and North-West Boundaries with a view to the
final adjustment of those important questions with the Govern-
ment of the United States he is desirous of arranging an inter-
view with Mr. Simpson and in so doing wishes to consult Mr.
Simpson's convenience equally with his own.
He therefore requests that Mr. Simpson will have the good-
ness to let him know at what hour and day, and where it would
be most convenient to him to favour Mr. Addington with an
interview. ; , > ! ; ' > If f]
191 Regents Street, 28th Decemb: 1825.
Mr. Simpson presents respectful compliments to Mr. Adding-
ton will have much pleasure in communicating with and giving
him all the information he possesses in regard to the Columbia
River and North- West Boundary; for which purpose Mr.
Simpson will do himself the honour of waiting on Mr. Adding-
ton when and where he may be pleased to appoint, Mr. Simp-
son's time being quite at Mr. Addington's disposal.
THE NORTHWEST BOUNDARIES 333
Hudson's Bay House, 29th Deer. 1825.
Mr. Addington presents his compliments to Mr. Simpson,
and requests the favor of a visit from him agreeably to his
proposal at one o'clock p. m. to-morrow, if perfectly convenient
to Mr. Simpson.
Thursday 29th December 1825.
191 Regent Street,
30th December, 1825.
Sir: I inclose herewith the set of queries on which I wish
for more particular information.
The answers to them may be as concise as is consistent with
perfect perspicuity. The more matter of fact they are, the
better. That to query IX, I wish to be as strictly conformable
to fact and history as possible. I am, Sir,
Your very obedt. humb ; servt.,
H. W. ADDINGTON.
P. S. — Be so good as to send your answer whenever it may
be ready addressed to me at the Foreign Office.
Mr. Henry Addington requests that Mr. Simpson will have
the goodness to send in the answers to Mr. A's queries (when-
ever they shall have been finished at Mr. Simpson's entire
leisure) addressed to him at his own lodging which he has
changed, instead of to the Foreign Office, 194 Regent Street,
Jany 4th, 1826.
Mr. Simpson presents respectful Compliments to Mr. Ad-
dington, begs to hand him answers to his list of Queries like-
wise a corrected chart of the Country on both sides of the
Rocky Mountains; should Mr. Addington require further in-
formation on this important subject Mr. Simpson will do him-
self the honour to wait upon him at any time he may appoint.
Hudson's Bay House, 5th Janry, 1826.
Q. 1. What is the nature of the soil, its capability of pro-
duction, and general character in the vicinity of the Columbia
and Lewis's1 Rivers ? What the climate ?
A. The banks of the Columbia on both sides the River from
Capes Disappointment and Adams to the Cascade Portage a
distance of from 150 to 180 miles are covered with a great
variety of fine large timber consisting of Pine of different
kinds, of Cedar, Hemlock, Oak, Ash, Alder, Maple and Poplar
i Snake River.
334 T. C. ELLIOTT
with many other kinds unknown to me. The soil of the low
grounds is alluvial and found very productive, that of the
high grounds a rich black mould, chiefly composed of decayed
vegetables. Some of the points formed by the windings of the
river are extensive and beautiful with sufficient timber for
use and ornament, and where the plough may be used imme-
diately and the point on which the Company's Establishments
of Fort Vancouver is situated is from its extent and from the
fertility of its soil capable of producing large quantities of grain
of every kind of pasturing numerous herds of cattle and nutri-
tious roots are so abundant that almost any number of Hogs
may be reared.
The climate delightfully temperate from the month of April
until the month of October, and from November until March
rainy with little or no Frost or Snow.
From the Cascade Portage to the entrance of Lewis's River,
the banks are sterile, the Soil very Sandy producing Stinted
Grass and willows and little or no timber. The Country in
the vicinity of Lewis's River I understand is level and generally
fertile but I cannot speak with certainty on this point not
having had an opportunity of visiting it personally except at its
junction with the River Columbia.
Q. 2. Are the natives on the Northern bank of the Colum-
bia warlike or pacific, inclined or averse to intercourse with the
whites ? Is the Country between the Rocky Mountains and the
Columbia densely or thinly inhabited ?
A. The different Tribes on the banks of the Columbia are
generally bold and warlike as regards each other and extremely
jealous of any encroachments on each others Territory or priv-
ileges, but peaceable and well disposed towards the whites with
whom they are very anxious to maintain a friendly intercourse.
Occasional differences I understand took place when we first
entered the Country in which some lives were lost on both
sides but at present the best understanding exists between us
and them. The Country is densely inhabited, on account of
the great abundance of its resources in the way of living.
Q. 3. Is there good hunting ground immediately on the
northern bank of the Columbia ?
A. The hunting grounds immediately on the Northern
banks of the Columbia are nearly exhausted in respect to fur-
bearing animals, but the back country is still productive and
Beaver are found in all the small Rivers and Lakes.
Q. 4. What, on a rough calculation are the annual profits
of Trade in the district of Columbia and do they arise from
THE NORTHWEST BOUNDARIES 335
the Northern or Southern portion of that district principally?
A. The Trade of the Columbia district is yet in its infancy
and the countries to the Northward and Southward produce
about an equal quantity of Furs amounting together in value
to between 30 and £40,000 pr. annum.
Q. 5. Have the Americans any Post or trapping parties on
the Columbia or to the West of the Rocky Mountains in that
direction ?
A. The Americans have not had a Post on the West side of
the Rocky Mountains since the year 1813, and I am not aware
that they ever had any Trapping parties on the West side of
the Mountains until last year when the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany's Snake Country Expedition fell in with five Americans
who had straggled across the sources of the Missouri.2
Q. 6. Is the Country Northward of the Columbia favour-
able for Land and Water communication?
A. The Country to the Northward of the Columbia is not
favourable for water communication with the Coast on account
of the impetuosity of the current at particular Seasons in the
different rivers and frequent chains of rapids and dangerous
falls, and the Communication with the Coast by Land is quite
impracticable on account of the mountainous character of the
Country which is covered with almost impenetrable forests.
Q. 7. For what extent of Country does the Columbia
River furnish an outlet for Trade? Specify this exactly and
according to the latest and most accurate accounts?
A. The Columbia is the only navigable river to the interior
from the Coast we are acquainted with, it is therefore the only
certain outlet for the Company's Trade west of the Mountains
comprehending that of thirteen Establishments now occupied :3
1. Ft. Vancouver. 7. Kilmany.
2. Nez Perce. 8. Eraser's Lake.
3. Okanagan. 9. Ft. St. James.
4. Colville House 10. McLeod's Fort.
5. Flat Head 11. Chilcotin Fort.
6. Kootenais. 12. Thompson's Fort.
13. Alexandria Fort
Q. 8. What time is required for communication between
Hudson's Bay (York Fort) and Fort Vancouver?
A. I was last year occupied 84 days traveling from York
a These were Jedediah Smith and others. See Or. Hist. Quar., Vol. 14, page
385. Also see The Ashley-Smith Explorations (Dale), page 97.
3 See Note 17 at page 33, Vol. 20, Or. Hist. Quar.
336 T. C. ELLIOTT
Fort, Hudson's Bay to the mouth of the Columbia, but I
think the journey can be performed in the height of the season :
in a light canoe, unincumbered with baggage for the water
communication and with good horses for the journey by Land
which may be about 1/6 of the whole distance, in 2 months or
65 days by a different route4 to that which I took.
Q. Upon what foundation does the assertion rest that
"British subjects had been trading on the Coast in the vicinity
of the Columbia, prior to Gray's voyage thither in 1788?
N. B. — Consult every authority within reach on this point
and state the fact if anywhere positively ascertained, accom-
panied by date, and specification of the point which such per-
sons opened an intercourse with the Natives.
A. Both Meares' and Vancouver's Voyages confirm the as-
sertion that "British subjects had been trading on the coast in
the vicinity of the Columbia prior to Gray's voyage thither in
1788 Vizt. In Meares' observations on the probable existence of
a North- West passage page 55 it is stated "that the Imperial
Eagle Captn. Barclay sailed from Europe beginning 1787 and
not only arrived at Nootka Sound in August but explored the
Coast from Nootka to Wacananesh and so on to a Sound to
which he gave his own name. The boat's crew was dispatched
and discovered the extraordinary Straits of John de Fuce, and
also the coast as far as "Queenhythe" within 30 to 40 miles
of the Columbia River "when after the fatal catastrophe which
happened to some of them, the ship quitted the Coast and pro-
ceeded to China having performed the whole voyage in twelve
months." The following note appears in Meares' Journal page
124: "The Imperial Eagle was a Ship employed to collect Furs
on the Coast of America, in 1787, in the course of its business
the Captain dispatched his long boat from King George's Sound
on a trading expedition as far as 47 degrees North. She then
anchored abreast of a river, the shallowness at whose entrance
prevented the long boat from getting into it." A small boat
however, which was attached to the other was sent up the River
with Mr. Millar an officer of the Imperial Eagle, another young
Gentleman and four seamen. They continued rowing till they
came to a village where they were supposed to have been seized
and murdered by the Natives, as their clothes were found after-
wards stained with blood."5
By Meares' Journal pages 163 to 168 it appears that on the
4 In 1841 Gov. Simpson followed this different route and journeyed from
Fort Garry on Red River to Fort Vancouver in less than sixty days.
fThis incident occurred at the mouth of Hoh River in the State of Washing-
ully 100 miles north of the mouth of the Columbia River.
THE NORTHWEST BOUNDARIES 337
5th July 1788 he traded with Natives of Cape Shoalwater in
about Lat. 46, 47 N. and on the 6th he named "Cape Disap-
pointment" calling the mouth of the Columbia Deception Bay,
making it by an indifferent observation in Lat. 46.10 Lon:
235.34. In page 219 same Journal (17th Septr. 1788) it is
stated that Mr. Gray in the Washington joined him at Nootka
Sound, that vessel had sailed in company with the Columbia
from Boston in August 1787, they separated in a gale of wind
in Lat. 59 South and had not seen each other up to that time.
Mr. Gray informed Meares that he had put into a Harbour on
the Coast of New Albion where he got on shore, and was in
danger of being lost on the Bar, was attacked by the Natives
and had one man killed and one of his officers wounded. The
harbour could not admit vessels of a very small size and must
lie somewhere near Cape Lookout ; Meares in page 220 further
says that he (the Master of the Washington) "appeared to be
very sanguine in the superior advantages which his Country
Men from New England might reap from this track of Trade,
and was big with mighty Projects in which we understand he
was protected by the American Congress." It, therefore, ap-
pears evident that up to this period, Gray knew nothing of the
Columbia and that the Americans were total strangers to the
Country and Trade of the North- West Coast altogether.
Vancouver's Voyages Volume 2 page 53 April 1792 states
that the River Mr. Gray mentioned should from the situation
he assigned to it, have existed in the Bay, South of Cape Dis-
appointment. Mr. Gray stated that he had been several days
attempting to enter it and at length he was unable to effect
it in consequence of a strong outset.
Page 388 same Work October 1792 Vancouver prepares to
examine the Coast of New Albion and particularly a River
and Harbour discovered by Mr. Gray in the (Ship) Columbia
between the 46th and 47th degrees of North latitude of which
Senr. Quadra had given him a Sketch.
Vol : 3 page 124 Decbr. 1792 "The Discovery of this River
we are given to understand is claimed by the Spaniards who
call it Entrada de Ceta after the Commander of the Vessel
who is said to be its first discoverer, but who never entered it,
he places it in 46 degrees North Latitude ; it is the same opening
that Mr. Gray stated to us in the Spring (1792) he had been
nine days off the former year (1791) but could not get in in
consequence of the out setting current. That in the course of
the late Summer (1792) he had however entered the River or
338 T. C. ELLIOTT
rather the Sound and had named it after the Ship, he then
commanded (Columbia).
The extent, Mr. Gray became acquainted with on that occa-
sion, is no further than I have called Gray's Bay (15 miles
from the mouth of the River) not more than 15 miles from
Cape Disappointment, though according to Gray's sketch it
measures 36 miles. By his calculation its entrance lies in Lat.
46 degrees 10, Lon : 237 degrees 18 differing materially in these
respects from our observations." From these extracts it will
appear that Lieut. Meares of the R. N. was the first who dis-
covered the entrance of the Columbia in July 1787 naming the
head Land of the Northern entrance of the River Cape Dis-
appointment which it still bears, and that Captn. Barclay of
the Imperial Eagle had previously traded in the vicinity of the
River and at about half a degree to the Northward lost a boat's
crew in the year 1787.
Gray's Bay is situated on the North side of the Sound about
half way between Cape Disappointment and the mouth of the
River which he appears never to have entered as Vancouver's
Voyages Vol 3 page 109 says "Previously to his departure how-
ever he formally took possession of the River and the Country
in its vicinity in His Britannic Majesty's name having every
reason to believe that the subjects of no other civilized Nation
or State had ever entered this River before ; in this opinion he
was confirmed by Mr. Gray's sketch in which it does not appear
that Mr. Gray either saw or was within five leagues of its
entrance."6
These extracts and remarks will I trust satisfactory answer
query 9.
Q. What comparison does Eraser's River bear in magnitude
and capacity for the purposes of Trade with the Columbia?
Is the Native population on its banks dense or not-well-dis-
posed or not- warlike or pacific?
A. Eraser's River is not so large as the Columbia and not
to be compared with it for the purposes of Trade, the depth
of water found at its entrance was about 3 fathoms ; and banks
are generally high and steep, covered with Timber and such
places as are sufficiently low and clear for the site of an estab-
lishment bear marks of having been over flown in the Seasons
of high water.
About 70 miles from its entrance the navigation is interrupted
by Rapids and Falls so as to render it nearly impossible, and
according to the best information I have been able to collect, the
6 See Note 3 at page 28 of Vol. 20, Or. Hist. Quar.
THE NORTHWEST BOUNDARIES 339
banks of the river about 150 miles up form precipices where
the towing line cannot be used, and the Current so impetuous
at certain Seasons as to render it impossible to use either the
setting Pole or Paddle, Canoes being the only craft that can
attempt to stem the current at any Season.
The Natives treated our party7 with civility and seemed
anxious that we should settle among them. They assembled
from the back Country to the banks of the River in great
numbers during the fishing season (from April until October)
when the population is very great, and at all Seasons the
Country may be said to be densely peopled, and their character
much the same as that of those inhabiting the banks of the
Columbia. I should not however consider it safe to form an
Establishment there, with a smaller force than 60 to 70 men
and officers, until we are better acquainted with them.
Q. Could the Fur produce to the North of Eraser's River
and West of the Rocky Mountains be conveniently transported
by means of this river for shipment to other Countries?
A. From all the information I have been able to collect
respecting Fraser's River, it is not my opinion that it affords
a communication by which the interior Country can be supplied
from the Coast or that it can be depended on as an outlet for
the returns of the interior. I will further altho' unasked take
the liberty of giving it as my opinion, that if the navigation
of the Columbia is not free to the Hudson's Bay Company, and
that the territory to the Northward is not secured to them,
they must abandon and curtail their Trade in some parts and
probably be constrained to relinquish it on the West side of the
Rocky Mountains altogether.
(Signed) GEO. SIMPSON.
London, 31st December, 1825.
Journal 722, p. 3
Hudson's Bay House,
London, 25th July, 1826.
To the Right Honourable, Wm. Huskisson.
Dear Sir : I have annexed to your queries such answers as
the records to which I refer afford: I think that there is suf-
ficient proof that the Traders of the N. W. Company had
established Posts on the Columbia long before the establish-
7 See the Wash. Historical Quarterly, Vol. 3, page 198 et seq., for the journal
of this expedition.
340 T. C. ELLIOTT
ment at Astoria in 1811. Harmon distinctly states that they
were established in 1806, the American Fur Company was only
formed in 1810 and were erecting their Fort in August 1811
when Thomson went there from one of the North-West Com-
pany's posts in the Interior.
Lewis and Clarke had been down the Columbia in 1805 and
returned in 1806 the natives on their route had many European
articles but McKenzie had crossed the mountains and pro-
ceeded to the sea in 1793 and Thompson further south in 1802
at which time he was I understand on one of the tributary
streams of the Columbia. From Meares' Memorial it appears
that certain merchants under the immediate protection of the
East India Company fitted out ships in the year 1786, and
and traded with the natives between the Lat. of 60 and 45.30,
and obtained from the Chief of the District surrounding Port
Cox and Port Effingham in Lat. 45 and 49, promise of free and
exclusive trade with leave to build on the land, and purchased
from another a tract of land.
I likewise inclose for your information copy of a statement
relative to the Columbia River and Territories connected
therewith drawn up in 1815 at the request of Sir Gordon Drum-
mond. It was sent me in 1822 by Mr. Simon McGillivray ; if
there is any other information that you require I shall be happy
to furnish it as far as I am able and shall feel obliged if you
will allow me an audience any morning either this or the fol-
lowing week except Thursday.
I am, Dear Sir, Your faithful & obedt. servt.
(Signed) J. H. PELLY.
Q. State the date (the year if possible) when any party or
individuals belonging to the Northern or Hudson's Bay Com-
pany first had a station in or near to the Columbia or to any
of its Tributary Streams and the proof on which such state-
ment rests :
A. The first year that any party belonging to the North-
West Company had a station on or near to the Columbia was
in 1806. Harmon, an American by birth who was a clerk
in the North- West Company's service and afterwards a partner
published a Journal of Voyages and travels commencing April
1800 and ending August 1819 says in page 282 "That the
country West of the Rocky Mountains with which I am ac-
quainted has ever since the North-west Company first made
an Establishment there, which was in 1806 gone by the name of
New Caledonia" and in page 220 he states "Monday April 6th.
THE NORTHWEST BOUNDARIES 341
Six Indians have arrived from Eraser's Lake who delivered
to me a letter written by Mr. David Thompson which is dated
August 28th 1811 at Yek-koy-ope Falls8 on the Columbia River.
It informs me that this Gentleman accompanied by seven
Canadians descended the Columbia River to the place where it
entered the Pacific Ocean where they arrived on the 16th day
of July. There they found a number of people employed in
building a Fort for a company of Americans who denominated
themselves as the Pacific Fur Company; he also writes that
Mr. Alexander McKay and others have proceed Northward in
the vessel that brought them there on a coasting trade. Mr.
Thompson after having remained seven days with the American
people set out on his return to his establishments which are
near the source of the Columbia River." From this it would
appear that Mr. Thompson hearing at his Establishment higher
up the Columbia of the unexpected arrival of the Americans
at the mouth of the River went down to reconnoitre their pro-
ceedings, was with them when they were erecting their Fort
and then returned to his own Posts which had been established
after his first visit to the Country from the East of the Moun-
tains in 1803, herewith is sent a copy of Harmon's work and
in pages 194, 196, 218, 224, 228, 237, 239, 240, 242, 245, 246,
will be found remarks relating to the establishments.9
Note: Mr. Alexander McKay has been in the service of
the North-West Company for several years, was a British
subject and was engaged by the Pacific Fur Company from
the knowledge which he had acquired of the trade while in
the service of the North-West Company. There were also
Duncan McDougall, Donald McKenzie, David Stuart and sev-
eral other British subjects who had all been previously in the
service of the North-West Company attached to the crew and
party sent out in the Tonquin and who built the American
Fort on the South bank of the Columbia River.
Q. When was the Name of McGillivray given to the River
now bearing that name? Was its course or any considerable
part of it explored by any person of that name being a subject
of His Majesty in the service of the Company and was there
any settlement or station formed by him or others acting with
him on that River and about what time?
A. In 1803 when Mr. Duncan McGillivray who died in 1807
set out on an Expedition with David Thompson from the North-
8 Ilth-koy-ape, or Kettle Falls, in the State of Washington; see "David Thomp-
son's Narrative ' (Tyrrell) for verification of this.
9 Daniel Harmon was located at Lake Stuart in, British Columbia, many miles
from the Columbia River.
342 T. C. ELLIOTT
West Go's post in Saskatchewan River to cross the Rocky
Mountains to explore the country and with a view to establish
Trading posts, Mr. McGillivray was taken ill and obliged to
remain behind. Mr. Thompson proceeded with the Expedition
crossed the upper part of the Columbia and called the first
River he reached McGillivray the next after himself. Mc-
Gillivray and Thompson were both partners in the North- West
Company. They traded with the Natives but formed no Estab-
lishment at that time.10 x
Q. Did McKenzie explore and what parts of the Columbia
or its Tributary Branches: in what year and was he then in
the service of the Company ?
A. Sir Alexander McKenzie did not explore any part of
the Columbia or its tributary branches he proceed from the
Athapescow district by Peace river crossed the Mountains and
travelled to the Pacific far to the Northward both of the
Columbia and Thompson Rivers, this was in the year 1793 at
which time he was a partner in the North-West Company.
Q. In what year was the first English ship sent to the
Columbia for the purpose of collecting Furs and carrying sup-
plies to the Company's Agent sand trading with the natives on
the Columbia River? Has a ship been sent every year since
the first?
A. The Isaac Todd which sailed from England in 1813
and arrived at the Columbia River in April 1814; was the
first ship that took any Produce of the North-West Company's
trade collected on the West side of the Rocky Mountains and
carried it to China from whence she brought a cargo of tea
to England for account of the East India Company; all that
had been collected in former years having been sent by the
Interior to Canada but as early as 1786 the East India Compy
had vessels on the Coast and purchased Land of the Natives
as related by Meares in his Memorial see States papers annual
Register 1790 page 287. The Isaac Todd took at the same
time all that had ever been collected by the American Fur
Company at the Establishment of Astoria. The Americans
arrived in the Columbia as before observed Summer 1811, the
Furs that were collected the following Winter, they were not
able to send away the ship that was to have conveyed them
10 These statements as to the movements of David Thompson are incorrect.
He was on the waters of Peace River nearly all that year. In the year 1800,
in company with Duncan McGillivray, he made a trip from Rocky Mountain House
on the Saskatchewani westward into the Rocky Mountains, but neither of them
reached the summit, as their survey notes clearly show. See "David Thompson's
Narrative" (Tyrrell), page 8t.
THE NORTHWEST BOUNDARIES 343
having been destroyed by the Natives on the coast and the
whole of the Crew massacred. No ship arrived in 1812 and
in the fall of 1813 it was that the North- West Company pur-
chased of the American Traders all they had collected the pre-
ceeding two years therefore no American ship ever took away,
or have the Americans ever taken any produce of their Trade
from the Country and when they established themselves in 1811
on the South side of the River, they had no establishment on
the North side, and from the terms of the Treaty for the pur-
chase it appears that they had one subsequently on Thompson
River but abandoned it when they left the Country and they
have never been there since.
In 1814 the schooner Columbia was sent out which arrived
at Fort George in the spring of 1815 and having delivered her
supplies proceeded with skins to Canton from whence she
returned to the Sandwich Islands and to the Columbia River in
order to carry the skins of the following season to Canton.
The supplies sent from England in 1815 and which reached
Fort George in the Spring of 1816 were sent in the Brig
Colonel Allen which vessel returned from the Columbia to
England.
All these were British vessels belonging to and fitted out
by the Agents of the North- West Company with supplies for
their Traders at the Columbia River.
The outfits of these vessels having been found expensive and
unproductive in consequence of the restriction of British sub-
jects from trading in China except under License from the
East India Company which Company refused to permit the
Agents of the North-West Company to carry away tea in
return for the skins sold by them at Canton whilst American
ships and Traders not being under similar restrictions had
the benefit of freight for the whole voyage to China and back.
Under these circumstances in the year 1815 an arrangement
was made with a house at Boston under which the supplies
of British manufactures required for the establishments at the
Columbia were sent from England to Boston from whence a
ship was dispatched to convey them to the Columbia to take
the skins from the Columbia to Canton and to carry the pro-
ceeds of their sale in Teas and other produce of China from
Canton to Boston where the American house retained a certain
proportion of the net proceeds as a compensation for the
freight.
In this manner annual supplies were sent to the Columbia
River in each year from 1816 to 1820 and in 1821 the Estab-
344 T. C. ELLIOTT
lishments were transferred to the Hudson's Bay Company since
which time the proceeds have been brought by British ships
to England.
Q. House many posts and settlements has the Company
now on or near the Banks of the Columbia or its Tributary
Branches ; when as nearly as can be ascertained were they first
formed and how many are North and how many are South
of the Rivers or of its Branches?
A. The Company have now six settlements on the Columbia
and its Tributary Branches exclusive of Fort George and
thirteen settlements in the whole on the North side of the
River in New Caledonia. The Company have none on the
south side but parties have been fitted out from Fort George
to hunt the Country on that side.
Q. When the Company was formed on which Mr. Astor
was the head, of how many partners did it consist, how many
of that Company were citizens of Great Britain and how many
citizens of the United States?
A. Formed in 1810 after Lewis and Clarke's return, do
not know their number but several of them were British sub-
jects and had been in the service of the North- West Company.
Q. Had the Company any charter of incorporation or other
instrument of special recognition from the State of New York
or any other authority in the United States ?
A. Cannot say if they had a charter of incorporation, but
believe they were recognized by the State of New York.
THE FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON— VII
By LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE, Pu.D,
CHAPTER XIII
THE TERRITORY OF OREGON
In Chapter IV there was noted the establishment of the
Provisional Government in Oregon, with its dependence on
voluntary contributions and its tripartite executive, a gov-
ernment over some six hundred souls of European descent who
then found themselves within the limits of the territory. If
the American contingent was doubled in 1842, 1843 brought
nearly twice as many whites as Oregon had previously had,
for the migration of that year numbered close to a thousand
persons who came over the Oregon Trail with their wagons
and herds, from Missouri and the surrounding States. At
this point a word in relation to Dr. Marcus Whitman's relation
to the migration of that year may not be out of place. While
Whitman did go to Washington in the winter of 1842-3, and
while he talked with President Tyler, Webster and others,
there seems to be no warrant for the "Whitman Legend" which
would have it that it was his work that -saved Oregon for the
United States.1 Oregon was becoming well known, the more
so because the Wilkes Expedition and the later exploring
expedition led by Lieutenant Fremont had resulted in ac-
counts which were spread abroad in pamphlets, books and in
newspaper reprints.
In 1844 still greater numbers sought the Coast, most of the
emigrants settling in the Willamette Valley, although the
efforts of the Hudson's Bay Company, acting through the
chief factor. Dr. McLoughlin, to prevent their entrance into
i The investigations of Professor E. G. Bourne (see Legend of Marcus
Whitman, Am. Hist. Rev., VI, 276-300) and Principal William I. Marshall (his
Acquisition of Oregon, 2 volumes, contains the bulk of his findings) have pretty
thoroughly exploded the theory that Whitman's journey east in the winter of
1842-3 was due to the fear that the Unied Sates was going to abandon Oregon. In
like manner these historians have demonstrated that the migrations of those years
had nothing to do with the activities of Whitman, despite the assertions in such
works as Barrows' Oregon. See also Letters and Times of the Tylers, II, 438.
346 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPER
the fertile regions north of the Columbia and about Puget
Sound, served to goad a few families to find homes in that
country. The stream of migration, started in 1842, continued
unabated until the news of gold in California turned the
greater flood in that direction in 1849 and the years following.
Such was the volume of emigrants that in the debates in
Congress as early as 1845-6 ten thousand was freely stated
as a conservative figure for the population in Oregon. A
memorial in 1848 said that there were 12,000 American citizens
in the territory, and Governor Lane's census of 1849 showed
a population of 8,785 Americans, and at that time the exodus
to California had started. The first actual enumeration, in
1850, showed a total non-Indian population of 13,294, hence
it is probable that the estimate of the Provisional Government
in 1848 was not more than twenty per cent, above the actual
figure.
The great increase in population obliged the people of Oregon
to modify their organic laws. The Utopian scheme of a gov-
ernment supported by voluntary contributions, however well
it would have continued to operate with the original parties
to the compact, proved inadequate as soon as the new comers,
unfamiliar with the situation, were on the ground. In 1844
the Legislative Committee levied a tax of one-eighth of one
per cent, on certain improvements and on some commodities;
all who refused to pay were to have none of the benefit of
the laws of Oregon and were not,-io vote.2 In the revision
of the organic laws in 1845 the legislative body was specifically
given power to "pass laws for raising a revenue, either by the
levying and collecting of taxes, or the imposing licenses on
merchandise, ferries or other objects."
The revision of the organic law in 1845 also brought about
a change which gave practically a constitution on the lines of
the State constitutions of the time, including the customary bill
of rights.3 Instead of a Legislative Committee there was to
be a House of Representatives composed of not less than
2 Act given in White's Ten Years in Oregon, 347-9.
3 Ibid., 358-67.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 347
thirteen nor more than sixty-one members. The powers of this
body were those "necessary for a legislature of a temporary
government, not in contravention with the restrictions imposed
in (the) organic law/' Specifically power was given to im-
peach officials, constitute districts and apportion representa-
tives, enact revenue laws, open roads and canals, regulate inter-
course with the Indians,4 establish a postal system, declare war
and suppress insurrection, provide fdr ia militia, regulate
the importation, manufacture and sale of ardent spirits,5 regu-
late the "currency and internal policy of the country," create
inferior tribunals and offices, and "generally, to pass such laws
to promote the general welfare of the people of Oregon, not
contrary to the spirit of this instrument; and all powers not
hereby expressly delegated to remain with the people/' A
judicious admixture of liberal and strict construction was thus
placed in the fundamental law, presumably to meet the oppos-
ing political doctrines of those who came from different por-
tions of the United States. For the peace of mind of the
courts it was no doubt fortunate that the Territory of Oregon
was erected by Congressional act before there came any per-
plexing problems over the interpretation of "all powers neces-
sary for a legislature of a temporary government, not in con-
travention with the restrictions imposed in this organic law"
and the "general welfare" clause, in the light of the restriction
in "all powers not nearby expressly delegated to remain with
the people."
The Executive Committee was thrown over and executive
power was vested in "one person, elected by the qualified
voters at the annual election." The judiciary was to be com-
posed of a supreme court with one judge and inferior tribu-
nals. That questions of constitutional import might be decided
"the supreme court shall have power to decide upon and annul
any laws contrary to the provisions of these articles of compact ;
and whenever called upon by the house of representatives, the
4 In the bill it was stated that "the utmost good faith (should), always be
observed towards the Indians," whose lands were not to be taken without their
consent, or rights invaded "unless in just and lawful wars, authorized by the
representatives of the people." .
5 In 1844 the Legis. Com. had prohibited sale and importation of spirits.
348 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPER
supreme judge shall give his opinion touching the validity of
any pending measure." In the land law, which constituted
one of the articles of the new compact, there was an important
modification of the original act, for the proviso which allowed
religious missions to pre-empt a square mile was omitted.
As before, an individual might take 640 acres, although part-
nerships might take up tracts of 640 acres per member pro-
vided no member had a claim in his own name.
There was no thought that all these provisions would be
other than temporary in nature; they were merely to fill in
until the United States should have extended over the territory
its protection and its laws. While there was some talk of an
independent establishment, caused by the delay in settling the
boundary and then by the failure of Congress to provide ter-
ritorial government, few thought seriously of that possibility.
The temporary nature of the organization had been referred
to in the memorial which was presented to Congress in 1848,6
as well as in the letter from Governor Abernethy which formed
the basis of Thornton's memorial.
The advent, then, in Oregon of the newly appointed Federal
officers was hailed with joy as well as relief in March, 1849.
At the head of the list was General Joseph Lane, of Indiana,
who had been appointed by Polk after the first choice, General
James Shields of Illinois, had declined the nomination.7 The
other territorial officials were Knitzing Pritchett of Pennsyl-
vania, secretary; William P. Bryant of Indiana, chief justice,
and James Turney of Illinois and Peter H. Burnett of Oregon
(one of the promoters of organization in 1843 and 1844),
associate justices; Joseph L. Meek, who had brought the dis-
patches from the legislature, marshal ; Isaac W. R. Bromley
of New York, district attorney, and John Adair of Kentucky,
collector of the port. Burnett and Bromley declined the posi-
tions offered them and these were filled by William Strong
and Amory Holbrook, both of Ohio. It is to be noticed that
the names of only two Oregonians appear in this list and that
6 See Chapter XII.
7 Polk, Diary, IV, 91-3.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 349
neither of these is that of J. Quinn Thornton, who brought
Governor Abernethy's letter.8 The memorial from the Legis-
lature, the majority of which represented onie Oregonian
clique, had practically requested the President to give the more
important positions to persons who were not residents of the
territory in order to prevent the appointment of Abernethy,
who headed another faction, as governor.
While the new officers were on their way to Oregon the
President received another appeal from Governor Abernethy
for aid against the Indians.9 The conflict which had broken
out, known as the Cayuse War, was the immediate result of
the Whitman massacre which occurred in the fall of 1847.
Up to this outbreak there had been comparatively little serious
trouble with the Indians in the Oregon Territory ; the Hudson's
Bay Company's influence over the native tribes had long con-
tributed to prevent hostilities and some little good seems to
have been accomplished by Elijah White, the sub-Indian agent
appointed by President Tyler, although he had been inclined
to make promises which he neither was able nor attempted to
fulfil. White had resigned his position in 1846, when Con-
gress refused his petition for the extra salary which he con-
sidered due him,10 and Charles E. Pickett had been appointed
in his place. After White left Oregon, however, the relations
between the settlers and the Indians had been taken over by
the Provisional Government acting through the Governor.
When the warlike activities of the Indians were reported to
Pickett, then in California, he had applied to Governor Mason
for forces with which to go to the assistance of the Oregonians.
The Governor refused his request and Pickett remained in
California believing that his mere presence would count for
little. No assistance was received from Washington either,
for Congress had not' acted on the measures reported in both
8 This factional situation is hinted at in Polk, Diary, IV, 81-3, in the account
of Thornton's attempt, finally successful, to secure payment of his expenses in
going to Washington. The inner features of the episode are not indicated by
Thornton, History of Oregon and California, II, 249-50. For the whole affair see
Bancroft, History of Oregon, I, 773, note, where the account is based on MSS. in the
Bancroft collection.
9 Polk, Diary, IV, 144, 10 Oct., 1848.
10 White had gone to Washington with the 1845 memorial and did not return
to Oregon until 1850.
350 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
houses for the defense of the whites and the regiment of rifle-
men, released from service in the Mexican War, had to be
recruited to full strength before it could be sent to Oregon.
The situation, however, had been on the President's mind, for
just before receiving the second communication from Aber-
nethy he had, after consultation with his Cabinet, decided to
unite the military districts of Oregon and California and put
them under the command of General Persifer F. Smith. Gen-
eral Smith, who was then in Washington (October) had
already been ordered to Oregon with the mounted riflemen as
soon as they should be ready to leave.11 Abernethy's plea,
then, could receive no other direct response, although the
Secretary of the Navy was directed to order the commander of
the Pacific squadron to proceed at once with a part of his force
to Oregon and to furnish the inhabitants with arms and am-
munition and such of his men as he could spare.12 Polk once
more took occasion to confide to his diary what he believed to
be the cause of the misery of the Oregonians; "the neglect
and inattention of Congress" which had failed to act in accord
with his recommendations, because it had been "more occupied
at the last session in President-making than in attending to
public business."
Oregon, therefore, was forced to defend herself. A volun-
teer force was raised and this, together with the efforts of
the Hudson's Bay Company and of the Catholic priests from
the missions, succeeded in making the allied tribes seek peace.
Incidentally the massacre which had opened the strife was
made the excuse of declaring forfeit the lands of the Cayuses
about Walla Walla, thus throwing them open to settlement.
The expenses incurred by the Provisional Government in the
war became the cause of a long-standing claim against the
Federal Government.
In his last Annual Message13 Polk did not hesitate to speak
plainly on the Oregon situation and emphasized his remarks
by sending to Congress the latest letter he had received from
1 1 Polk, Diary, IV, 149.
1 2 Ibid., 155-6.
13 Globe, XIX, 7.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 351
Governor Abernethy. It had always been the policy of the
United States to cultivate the good will of the aborigines, and
"that this could have been done with the tribes in Oregon,
had that Territory been brought under the government of
our laws at an earlier period, and had suitable measures been
adopted by Congress . . . cannot be doubted. Indeed,
the immediate and only cause for the existing hostility of the
Indians of Oregon is represented to have been the long delay
of the United States in making them some trifling compensa-
tion, in such articles as they wanted, for the country now
occupied by our immigrants."
This compensation had been promised by the Provisional
Government but the fulfilment had been postponed for two
years while awaiting Congressional action. Accordingly Polk
repeated his recommendation for laws to regulate intercourse
with the Indians. ' No further recommendations did he make
with regard to Oregon, although he reiterated his reasons,
given in the message accompanying the signed territorial bill,
for approving the act. He announced that steps had been
taken to carry into effect the act for mail service between
Panama and Oregon, and in this connection mentioned a
proposal for establishing a line of steamships to New Orleans
and Vera Cruz as potentially beneficial to the commerce of
both Oregon and California.
But the Thirtieth Congress had spent enough time on Ore-
gon affairs. The whole question of California and New
Mexico, with relation to slavery extension, had been left over
from the first session, and, as this was the short session, there
was little time to attend to other than the most pressing and
routine business. Consequently all the action taken to deal
with Oregon was the passage of a resolution allowing the Sec-
retary of War to furnish emigrants to Oregon, California and
New Mexico with arms and ammunition.14 The greater ques-
tion of removing the most important source of trouble between
the settlers and the natives, that of land titles, was not touched,
neither did Congress take any steps to remove certain diffi-
T^Globe, XIX, 535, 560, 616.
3S2 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
culties in the land situation which had arisen from the Terri-
torial Act.
The first section of the organic act of 1848 had confirmed
the title of lands occupied as missionary stations to an amount
not exceeding 640 acres each, and the fourteenth section had
declared null and void the laws of the Provisional Govern-
ment making grants to settlers. The result was that of all
the people living in Oregon only the missionaries, and they
only for their religious organizations, and persons whose "pos-
sessory rights" had been guaranteed under the Treaty of 1846,
had any valid claims under the law.15 The title to all land, no
matter what improvements might have been made or how long
it had been occupied, was in the United States there to remain
until Congress saw fit to pass an act relieving the situation.
Those already in Oregon and those about to emigrate thither
petitioned Congress to act ; but though several bills were intro-
duced nothing was done and it was left to the Thirty-first
Congress, under a new Administration to deal with the re-
maining problems which Oregon presented to the attention of
the Federal Government.
This new administration appeared to Polk to have at its
head a man with the most astounding ideas. When President
Taylor and ex-President Polk were riding back from the
inaugural exercises the former said, in reference to a chance
remark, that in his opinion both Oregon and California were
too far distant to become members of the Union and it would
be better for them to set up independent establishments. Well
might the man who had made the acquisition of California
the paramount purpose of his Administration note that these
were alarming sentiments to be heard spoken by a President of
the United States.16
15 See letter of the Secretary of the Treasury transmitting the annual report
of the Commissioner of the Land Office, Ex. Doc. (House) No. 12, pp. 14-15,
30th Cong., ad Ses.
16 Diary, IV, 375-6. He had discussed this possibility with his cabinet in the
previous December and had stated that he thought the leading Whigs would be
glad to give up California in order to get rid of the Wilmot Proviso; consequently
Taylor's remark must have seemed significant. If California went, thought Polk,
Oregon would join her.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 353
"I have entertained serious apprehensions and have expressed
them in this diary, that if no Gov(ern)ment was provided for
California at the late session of Congress there was danger
that that fine territory would be lost to the Union by the estab-
lishment of an Independent Government, Gen'l Taylor's
opinions as expressed, I hope, have not been well considered.
Gen'l Taylor is, I have no doubt, a well meaning old man. He
is, however, uneducated, exceedingly ignorant of public affairs,
and, I should judge of very ordinary capacity. He will be in
the hands of others, and must rely wholly upon his cabinet to
administer his Government."
Circumstances changed, however, and even if President
Taylor did seriously entertain the opinion he expressed to
Polk, by the end of 1849 he would have found few in the
United States to agree with him; the gold fields, if nothing
else, prevented giving up California, slavery agitation or no
slavery agitation. Nothing in the Annual Message which
Taylor sent to Congress in December, 1849, indicated that he
retained his pessimistic views on the desirability of keeping the
Coast territories.17 Railroads and canals across the Isthmus,
and railroads across the continent, came in for considerable
attention; for, read the Message, the mineral wealth of both
California and Oregon made it certain that a large population
in both of those regions would demand speedier means of
transportation than those actually existing. For Oregon spe-
cifically he called attention to the land title situation.
Congress took up and disposed of most of the issues con-
nected with the land question, although minor questions con-
tinued to arise for many years. The Indian title was extin-
guished and provision was made for surveys and for disposing
of the public domain, and questions of special grants as well
as the status of the holdings of the Hudson's Bay Company
were brought up. Samuel R. Thurston, the Delegate from
Oregon, was sufficiently active in keeping the needs of his
constituents before the House. He it was who took the first
steps with most of the measures dealing with Oregon. His
resolution for looking into the matter of extinguishing the
e, XXII, Pt. i, 70-1.
354 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
Indian title to the land west of the Cascades was referred to
the Committee on Indian Affairs, although a bill of the cus-
tomary type for this purpose was introduced in the Senate,
passed by that body and adopted by the House.
Disposing of the public domain, however, gave rise to great
interest. After the introduction of a resolution requiring the
Committee on Public Lands to look into the expediency of
creating a land office and providing for the survey of lands
in Oregon, Thurston, in February, moved a set of eight reso-
lutions. The Committee on Territories was to be directed
to inquire as to the relative numbers of Americans and for-
eigners in Oregon, and what proportion of the latter had de-
clared an .intention to become citizens of the United States ;
the expense and time it took to reach Oregon; how long the
people there had managed for themselves without assistance
from the Federal Government.18 The purpose of the resolu-
tions was, of course, to point out the duty of Congress to pro-
vide liberally for those who had undertaken the sacrifice nec-
essary to go to Oregon. In April a bill was introduced in
each house, and in May the House of Representatives took up
the one on its calendar. Two questions arose. As reported
the bill would make grants of land to settlers, but Bowlin
wished to amend the provisions by inserting the word "white"
thus provoking a little anti-slavery skirmish led by Giddings,
who always took every opportunity to deliver a blow at any-
thing connected with slavery. The obnoxious word remained
in the bill as passed by the House, for Thurston told the Con-
gressmen that the people of Oregon were so in dread of the
introduction of free negroes that they had passed a law pro-
hibiting their coming to the territory. The second question
was on the new policy of giving away the public lands, which
some opposed.
A long delay ensued and Thurston began to get uneasy ; he
feared that the session would end before his land bill became
law and so, at the end of July, he tried to introduce a resolu-
iSGlobe, XXII, 413.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 355
tion in which he showed the flourishing condition of Oregon
under the Provisional Government and the chaos which had
resulted from the territorial organization which had nullified
all land titles. While there was objection to the reception of
this resolution, it had been read and its work accomplished,
for a few days later the land bill was brought up, and after a
few minor changes passed. In the Senate some little question
was raised as to whether a clause should be inserted so that
lands designated by the President for public purposes should
be excepted from the provisions of the bill. Douglas said
that such a provision might result in taking arbitrarily the
improved land of settlers, that he learned from the Delegate
from Oregon that exactly that had happened at Astoria.
Jefferson Davis, who had moved the amendment, looked up
the point and found that no injury had been done; he insisted
upon his amendment, therefore, and the Senate adopted it.
In this way was defeated a rather shrewd attempt to make the
government of the United States pay for many of the sites
which might be desired for military posts and the like.
The law as it was passed at the very end of the session
allowed every white man or Indiam half-breed, citizen of the
United States or having declared his intention to become
such, to take a half-section of land ; married men might double
this quantity.19 This very liberal gift was made only to those
who were in Oregon and should take advantage of it before
the first of December, 1851. Those who came after this date
and until the first of December, 1853, could receive a donation
half as large. No one could claim under the act and the
treaty. Special provisions granted two townships for the
endowment of a university and the so-called Oregon City
claim, at the falls of the Willamette, was given the territory
to be disposed of by the Legislature also for the benefit of the
university. In this gift two exceptions were made ; the island
in the river was confirmed to the Willamette Milling and
Trading Company, and the title to all city lots sold by Dr.
19 Globe, XII, 1846, 1953. St. at L., IX, 496-500.
356 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
McLoughlin before the fourth of March, 1849, was confirmed
to the purchaser.
Not only was there a departure from precedent in the dis-
posal of lands by donation rather than by sale but no provision
whatever for sale of parts of the public lands was made. The
British claimants under the treaty presented problems for the
Land Office to solve, but local officials were instructed20 to
avoid sectional or other minute subdivisional lines in confirm-
ing the claims presented. In 1853 Congress amended the land
act by extending the donation privileges two years, and by
allowing the settler, after an occupation of two years, to com-
mute the remainder of the residence requirement by a payment
of $1.25 per acre. Joseph Lane, then Delegate to Congress,
attempted to have included in the amendment a provision
whereby bounty lands (which were allowed to those who had
participated in Indian wars anywhere since 1790) might be
located in unsurveyed as well as in surveyed regions. This
was opposed as a possible opening for speculation in lands.
Said one objector, Oregon had already been treated with more
than ordinary liberality, what with land donations, bounty
lands, $100,000 for the Cayuse War, university lands and
double school lands, and there was no reason for allowing
great tracts to come under the control of small groups of
persons. The House was inclined to this view and Lane could
not secure his amendment. He did, however, have added to
the general appropriation bill a sum of money for extinguish-
ing the Indian title north of the Columbia where emigrants
were going in constantly increasing numbers.21
The year following these changes Lane came back to Con-
gress with further requests. Especially did he desire the law
amended so that a sale might be made of a part of a claim ;
many persons, he said, had taken claims for one to three years
before the original law had been enacted so that while the
law had been complied with no sale could take place because,
20 Report of Commissioner of Land Office, 26 Nov., 1851; Sen. Ex. Doc.
No. i, 32d Cong., ist Ses.
21 Globe, XXV, Pt. i, 627, 1445; 890, 1852.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 357
in many instances, the survey had not been made and no
patent could be issued. A 640 acre claim, with no privilege
of sale, made population sparse and schooling dear; many
young men had gone to Oregon and they should be allowed to
sell a portion of their land in order to be able to return to the
States for wives. Although the restriction was removed there
was some opposition; Letcher (Virginia) saw in it another
evidence of the intention of the North to force population into
the northern territories thus further destroying the balance
which had been disturbed by letting California in on the prin-
ciple of squatter sovereignty. He urged men of the South
to oppose all these attempts to propagate northern sentiment
and to multiply northern representatives in both house of
Congress.22
Lancaster, the Delegate from the newly-created territory
of Washington, who was in favor of Lane's amendment as a
benefit to his own constituents, threw into the discussion a
reference to one factor which had proved troublesome in the
territory ever since 1845 and which had persisted in coming
up. in Congress whenever the land question was mooted. He
charged Thurston with having secured the original restriction
on account of fear that the Hudson's Bay Company and the
Puget's Sound Agricultural Company would get control of
large tracts, and that Dr. McLoughlin would "reap some bene-
fits from the labor and money he bestowed in promoting the
interests of American citizens."
The relation of McLoughlin to the land question brings up
one of the least pleasant incidents of early Oregon history.
While it was the almost universal testimony that the venerable
chief factor had treated with the utmost consideration and
liberality the early settlers in Oregon, and had united with
them in all proper activities for promoting mutual interests, he
had incurred the enmity of some persons, notably of those
with whom he came in contact on account of the claims at
22 Globe, XXIX, Pt. 2, 1075 seq. A provision prohibiting the establishment
of donation claims on townsites and places selected for the purposes of business
and not of agriculture was adopted without opposition. The law also extended to
Oregon and Washington the provisions of the Preemption Act of 1841.
358 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
Oregon City, a site valuable for manufacturing and com-
merce. The place was, according to 'McLoughlin's idea,
"destined by nature to be the most important place in the
country," hence he had, in 1829, taken a claim there in the
name of the Company, thinking to use a part of it for him-
self when he should have retired from active service. He
knew that it would be on American soil, but he intended to
become an American citizen when he no longer was employed
by the Hudson's Bay Company. Furthermore he considered
it a good business venture for the Company to have a station
at the Falls. . People connected with the Methodist mission,
also, saw the value of this site ; as McLoughlin at a later date
said:23
. . . . "The Methodist Mission wanted to possess them-
selves of the place, of which I was informed in 1840. But I
could not believe that persons calling themselves Ministers of
the Gospel would do what their countrymen in the most humble
station in life having the least regard for right, would con-
demn."
In view of the animosity toward the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany, fostered in some degree by the Mission, he had made
improvements at the Falls in his own name. Sir George
Simpson, however, was not in favor of this project, since it
would eventually be located upon territory of the United
States, consequently McLoughlin could get no authorization
from the Company to act either for himself or for it. When,
thereafter, attempts were made to encroach upon his claim he
could but protest and point to the fact that he had established
his claim many years before. A rival mill was built on the
island and, as the emigrants of 1842 began to arrive, many
people sought lots at this desirable location.
". . . . I went so far in my zeal as to risk my private
means to carry on the works at Wallamette Falls so as to
secure it from persons who wanted to get it in order to use
23 See letter from McLoughlin to Governor, etc., of the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany, 20 Nov., 1845, his last official communication and the one in which he
announced his resignation. In Am. Hist. Review, XXI, 110-34. Incidentally this
letter disposes of the oft repeated charge that it was the purpose of the Company
to drive Americans out of Oregon.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 359
the influence that place would give to the prejudice of the
Hudson's Bay Company, to which I was also induced on ac-
count of the hostile feeling the immigrants had to the Com-
pany, as I was afraid if I did (not) give them employment,
that animated with this feeling and urged by their wants, they
might make an attack on the property at this place which
might be destroyed, and for which the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany would never get any indemnification, and the Com-
pany's business in this department would be ruined. In
doing which, by Sir George Simpson's not writing me in
1843, to take the place in my own name, I had to give five acres
of the best ground for building lots, and five hundred dollars
to Rev. Mr. Waller, and by the Hudson's Bay Company not
giving me sanction to take it in my own name in time (which
they could readily have done) I had to pay three thousand
four hundred and twenty dollars for improvements not worth
one half the money and one thousand nine hundred and eighty
dollars for lots to which they had no claim."24
Dr. McLoughlin resigned his position as chief factor in 1845
owing to disagreement with Sir George Simpson on the gen-
eral policy of the Company in the Columbia district. He took
up his residence at Oregon City where he spent the remainder
of his days, expecting when the boundary question was set-
tled that there would be little difficulty in straightening the
tangle over the title, for the Provisional Government had
made no effort to adjudicate between him and his rivals, chief
among whom was Alvan F. Waller, one of the Methodist
missionaries. When the treaty was concluded the inhabitants
of Oregon found that it contained a clause which stated that
"the possessory rights of the Hudson's Bay Company and of
all British subjects who may be already in the occupation of
land or other property lawfully acquired within said territory,
shall be respected." This apparently gave to Dr. McLoughlin
a specific basis for his claim for, in the absence of laws recog-
nized by the respective countries, priority of claim would give
title, especially since the convention of 1818 and 1827 placed
American citizens and British subjects in exactly the same
24 Ibid., p. 133. For a discussion of the McLoughlin affairs, see Holman,
Dr. John McLoughlin; also Bancroft, History of Oregon, I, 203 seq.; II, 113 seq.
360 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
footing in Oregon. Nevertheless there were many who had
hoped that the treaty would not only place the boundary at
54° 40' but also oust both British companies as well; these
were much disappointed that they could not immediately pos-
sess themselves of the improved lands held by those organiza-
tions. Some of the disaffected took revenge by squatting upon
portions of McLoughlin's Oregon City, whereupon he brought
suit for trespass in the court of Clakamas county. Claim-
jumping, however, did not meet with widespread approval for
once it received sanction there would be no security for any
claim in the territory.
Two years passed by and then the territorial act produced
even greater dissatisfaction for it annulled the land laws of
the Provisional Government and put none in their place. The
only persons who enjoyed legal title to their land claims were
the missions, in the name of the religious bodies controlling
them, and those who held under the treaty. One of the most
important things, then, for a territorial Delegate to secure
from Congress was a land law? and Samuel Thurston took
advantage of the hostility to the British Company and
everybody connected with them to win popularity and an elec-
tion. He began his campaign in the House of Representa-
tives on February sixth, 1850, by introducing a series of
resolutions.25 In the form of an inquiry addressed to the Com-
mittee on Judiciary the resolutions raised the question of the
meaning of "possessory rights"; could the United States, by
making payment, dispose of the lands occupied by the British
Companies and British subjects; had any British subject "law-
fully acquired" land at the time the treaty was made; how
much land could be claimed by the Puget's Sound Agricultural
Company ; and could the Hudson's Bay Company import goods
free of duty through the port of Astoria?26
While on the surface Thurston did not appear to be taking an
25 Globe, XXII, 295. This was his second attempt to bring them before the
House.
26 The Company's right to navigate the Columbia was under the same
restrictions applying to American citizens, hence duty would have to be paid on
imported goods, a fact which had been overlooked by the British when the treaty
was made.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 361
active part in framing the details and pushing the land bill, ex-
cept to urge its consideration, he had placed in it certain appar-
ently innocuous clauses which would practically have prevented
every British subject in Oregon from obtaining a donation
grant as well as have deprived Dr. McLoughlin of his claim.
To accomplish the first purpose the bill contained the words
"all white American citizens" to designate those eligible to
secure land ; the Committee on Public Lands had considered
this a little too strong and had changed it to "all male citizens
of the United States, or persons emigrating from the United
States, and who shall have made a declaration of intention to
become citizens." This amendment the House adopted, but
it meant that every British subject in Oregon, including those
who had long since established their homesteads along the
Willamette, would have to go into some one of the United
States and "emigrate" from there in order to qualify for a
donation claim. The Senate struck this out, leaving it neces-
sary only that aliens should make a declaration of intention.
Aliens still would have to wait until the process of naturaliza-
tion should have been completed before a patent for their lands
would be issued.
Dr. McLoughlin, however, was dealt with in a section by
itself. This was the more easily done since Thurston had
played upon the ignorance of the members of Congress; he
had described McLoughlin as the enemy of Americans in
Oregon and as a menace to American interests still. The
Oregon City claim, except for the lots sold or given away by
the Doctor before the fourth of March, 1849, was to become
the property of the territory. Abernethy's Island in the
Willamette, on which the mills had been erected, was granted
to the Willamette Milling and Trading Company which had
bought up the claims of the Methodists. No provision was
made to reserve to McLoughlin any of his original claim, and,
as he had declared formally his intention to become a citizen
of the United States, he had lost his standing under the treaty.
When the text of the proposed act was received in Oregon
362 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
there was much dissatisfaction; some felt that McLoughlin
had been treated unfairly; others to whom he had sold lots
after the fourth of March were angry because they had not
been protected, and many of them demanded back their pur-
chase money. The latter class was later appeased by an act
of the territorial Legislature which confirmed their titles,
although certain members protested that there was no power
given to rob the university in this way. Before Thurston
returned to Oregon some of the dissatisfied persons met and
drew up a memorial to Congress. They protested against any
discrimination among purchasers of the Oregon City lots and
prayed Congress not to pass the bill in the proposed form since
it would work a hardship upon them as well as do an injustice
to the county to which Dr. McLoughlin had recently donated
some two hundred lots for educational, religious and charitable
purposes. At the following session of Congress this memorial
raised a storm for Thurston had represented that his bill
would meet the approval of most of the, people, and all the
Americans, in Oregon. Thurston defended his course in a
violent speech against McLoughlin whom he charged with
having made advances to him, Thurston, for his influence
respecting the claim.27
The land law was made the main issue in the campaign to
elect a successor to Thurston, and it is significant that the sit-
ting Delegate was supported for re-election, although his death
in April, 1851, put an end to his career. The Legislature did
not act immediately to accept the gift for the university
although eventually it did so, ( 1856-57). 28 In 1862, five
years after the death of McLoughlin, the Legislature allowed
his heirs to purchase Abernethy Island for the nominal sum
of one thousand dollars.29
27 Globe, XXIII, 120. In a similar manner Thurston has attacked McLoughlin
when his bill had been up in the previous session ; he had asserted that McLoughlin
would not become an American citizen, and that he had always worked against
American interests. Most of his statements were unfounded, but a letter from
Judge Bryant, one of the assignees of the Willamette Milling and Trading Company,
affirmed their truth. Globe, XXII, 1079.
28 In Feb., 1856, the Oregon Legislature memorialized Congress to release the
claim to McLoughlin, except the island, and grant two townships instead. Nothing
was done. H. Misc. Doc. No. 97, 34th Cong., ist Ses.
29 See document, found among McLoughlin's papers, expressing the deep
disappointment of his old age. In Ore. Pioneer Ass'n Transactions, 1880; also in
Marshall, Acquisition of Oregon, I, 430-40.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 363
Although Thurston had been successful in ousting Dr. Mc-
Loughlin from his claim, the attempts against the Hudson's
Bay Company and the P'uget Sound Agricultural Company
were less successful. According to the terms of the treaty
the United States might purchase from the latter company
its property if "the situation of these farms and lands should
be considered by the United States to be of public and political
importance." It was the expectation both of the settlers and
the Hudson's Bay Company officials that steps would be taken
immediately to act in accordance with this permission, and
the Company was the more willing to sell because of the in-
definite character of its rights as reserved under the treaty.
Its desire to sell was further increased after the passage of
the donation land act and the discovery of gold in California
had made it increasingly difficult to retain its servants on the
old terms.
In July, 1848, the first offer of sale was made through
George N. Sanders, who proposed that the United States pay
a million dollars for all the property and rights of both com-
panies, everything, in fact, claimed south of 49°. 30 The Presi-
dent refused the offer immediately on the ground that the
United States would be purchasing something the value of
which it did not know ; furthermore he suspected that Sanders,
whom he had characterized as unscrupulous and unprin-
cipled, was acting for speculators.31 When Congress con-
vened Sanders again made his appearance and secured the
interest of some Senators, Hannegan and Breese in the num-
ber. They asked Polk if he would enter into negotiations for
the purchase of the possessory rights of the Hudson's Bay
Company and the privilege of navigating the Columbia if the
Senate, in Executive Session, should pass a resolution re-
questing him to do so. The President replied that he was
opposed to buying anything or entering into negotiations for
the purpose until more specific information had been received.
30 The correspondence covering the period down to Oct., 1850, is in Sen.
E.v. Doc. No. 20, 3ist Cong., zd Ses. Polk had submitted to the Senate, replying
to a resolution, the first offer of the Company; Richardson, Messages, IV, 603.
31 Polk, Diary, IV, 301-?,
364 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
The unsatisfactory situation of the Hudson's Bay Company
was emphasized when in 1850 a vessel, the Albion, was seized
and condemned by the revenue officers of the United States
on the^ charge of violating the revenue laws. Although the
Federal Government restored the seized property such a thing
was likely to happen at any time, as Sir John Pelly pointed
out to Secretary of State Webster, when he called attention
to an offer the Company had made the year before.32 At that
time Sir John had offered to sell all the rights of the Hudson's
Bay Company for $700,000 and all the farms and property for
$150,000 more. The Company had been more impressed
with the lessened value of its rights since free navigation of
the Columbia was accompanied by the necessity of paying
duty upon all goods brought in for trading purposes ; this
added cost cut further into the profits which had already begun
to decrease by the time of the treaty.
Nevertheless Congress was unwilling to take the matter
seriously, although the lands claimed by the British Com-
panies were constantly being "squatted" upon by Americans
who refused to recognize any prior rights. In December, 1855,
President Pierce called attention to the situation and recom-
mended a "cession of the rights of both companies" as the
"readiest means of terminating all questions," a cession which
he believed could be obtained upon reasonable terms.33 It
was not, however, until 1863 that a treaty34 was concluded by
which a commission with an umpire was to investigate all
claims and fix the purchase price. In 1869 the commissioners
awarded to the Hudson's Bay Company $450,000 and to the
Puget's Sound Agricultural Company, $200,000, and thus
ended the long controversy.
If securing large appropriations from the Federal treasury
forms the basis of a successful career as a representative of
a State or territory, then the first Delegate from Oregon
deserves to be ranked high in the regard of that State. Not
32 See Note 30 above.
33 Richardson, Messages, V, 333. The same recommendation was made the
following year.
34 Treaties and Conventions, 1871, 402-4.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 365
only did he secure the donation land act, the essential idea
of which. had been in Dr. Linn's bill many years before, and a
bounty land law, but appropriations for paying the expenses
of the Cayuse War, for extra customs houses, for govern-
ment buildings and a penitentiary (most of which was wasted
so that later $67,000 more was appropriated), for light houses,
for surveying, and for the expenses of an extra session of the
Legislature. Well might he move that a bill for building roads
and bridges at an expense of $100,000 be laid aside because
he did not wish to draw too heavily upon the treasury or upon
the good nature of Congress "who have treated me with such
magnanimity."
Thurston's acquisitive example was followed by the second
Delegate, Joseph Lane, who had lost his position of terri-
torial governor when the Whig administration came in.35
Lane succeeded in obtaining additional money to settle the
expenses of the Cayuse War and also an act to pay the ex-
pense incurred in the Rogue River War, in which he had
taken an active part when governor. Military roads added
$40,000 to be expended in the territory, although some ques-
tion was raised as to whether such an appropriation could
constitutionally be made.
Military roads, however, were felt to be a necessity in deal-
ing with the Indian outbreaks which took place with especial
ferocity in the summer of 1855 and had not wholly ended
until 1857. The most serious of the Indian wars in Oregon
started in the Rogue River country in Southern Oregon and
involved most of the tribes of that region. Its story forms a
part of the local history of Oregon but it had a side which
particularly brought in the United States,36 Like most of the
Indian wars it represented on one side the Indian's determina-
tion to keep the white man from overrunning his hunting
grounds; on the other was the white man's desire to clear
35 Globe, XXIII, 67; Lane was called by Ewing of Ohio (Whig) one of the
electioneering office holders who had so abused Taylor in the presidential cam-
paign, when the question of his removal from, office had been brought up in the
House.
36 See Bancroft, History of Oregon, II, chapters 12, 15, 16. Sen. Ex. Doc.
No. 66, 34th Cong., ist Ses.
366 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
the land of Indians. It did not take long for the struggle to
become one of extermination on both sides. The Federal offi-
cials, in attempting to protect the innocent Indians, aroused
the ire of some of the settlers, and further animosity was pro-
duced by the lack of harmony between the United States
officer in command of the Federal troops, General John E.
Wool, and the territorial officials of Oregon and Washington.
The territorial governments raised volunteer forces to fight
the Indians and issued script to pay them.
The whole affair came before Congress in the form of
requests for appropriations to cover these expenses. The dis-
cussion brought out the lack of cooperation between the local
and Federal authorities, and Congress was inclined to allow
some weight to the statements of General Wool that the whole
thing was nothing less than a crusade on the part of the
whites to rid the country of the Indians: "Oregonians," he
wrote, in one dispatch, "say that war is a God-send to the
country."37 Congress did, however, pass a measure authoriz-
ing a commission to investigate the whole affair. At the next
session (1856-7) the Committee on Military Affairs of the
House asked to be discharged from further consideration of
the bill which was framed to pay the award of the commis-
sion. In spite of the efforts of Lane the sum recommended
by the commission was cut down materially. Two years later,
after the report of a special commissioner who had been sent
to Oregon, the claim was allowed, and Oregon claimants re-
ceived $424,000 while those in Washington got $229,000.38
This amount was not considered by Oregonians as sufficient
and the desire to secure an additional appropriation was one
of the factors which made them work for statehood.
The great distance between the Mississippi valley and the
Pacific Coast and the dangers attending the journey to Oregon
continued to come up in Congress in one form or another.
The regiment of mounted riflemen, which had been authorized
37 Globe, XXXIII, 1135.
38 H. Ex. Doc. No. 37, 34th Cong., 36! Ses. Part of the troubles had been
due to ,a failure of the Senate to ratify the treaties negotiated by the Indian
Superintendent. See Fillmore's message, 6 Dec., 1852, Richardson, Messages,
V, 178,
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON
and then diverted to service in the Mexican War, was one
tangible evidence that Congress recognized some of the dan-
gers. The regiment, however, had been of little service to
Oregon. In 1852 Lane brought in a resolution calling upon
the President to inform the House what steps had been taken
for the protection of emigrants, and in case nothing had been
done to request him to order the regiment placed on duty
within the Territory of Oregon. The resolution, as was in-
tended, did nothing more than call attention to the fact that
the regiment had been withdrawn from Oregon, much de-
pleted, in 1851.
At the same session (July, 1852,) the Senate had before
it a definite and elaborate measure for the protection of emi-
grants. Douglas had brought in a bill which would provide
three ten-company regiments, with one hundred men to the
company, to guard and protect emigrants on their way to
Oregon and California. The bill also proposed to allow H.
O'Reilly the privilege of erecting at his own expense a tele-
graph line along each of the routes, to be protected, of course,
by the troopers.39 In spite of the numerous petitions and
memorials which were coming to Congress the bill found
support only from one Senator besides Douglas; opponents
like Senator Butler looked upon it as little more than a bounty
of $4,000,000 per year granted to emigrants who were lured
away by the promise of free lands on the Pacific Coast. Others
opposed it on the ground of excessive cost, and still more
because such a measure would tend to defeat any provision
for a railroad.
The project of a railroad to the Pacific had long been in
the air. It had come up in connection with the bills intro-
duced by Dr. Linn. At the time of the territorial bill agitation
there were numerous petitions for rail communication.40 The
scheme most favorably mentioned in such appeals was that
which Eli Whitney had long had before Congress. Whitney
39 Globe, XXV, 1683-6; 1758-60. As early as 1848 Douglas had presented
O'Reilly's petition for telegraphic communication between the Mississippi Valley
and the Pacific Coast.
40 There were memorials and petitions from the legislatures of Rhode Island,
New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.
368 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
had succeeded in arousing interest in his plan both in and
out of Congress, to such an extent that even in the crowded
session when the Territorial Act was passed there was found
time to give it brief consideration. Senator Benton had been
skeptical and was astonished that any Senator would take
the time of the Senate to suggest its consideration; he had
studied the history of Oregon and California before Niles
(who had moved to take up the bill) had ever thought of it;
he would never vote a million acres to any man. It would not
be surprising, thought Benton, if Whitney brought in a bill
of damages to reimburse him for going to the legislatures of
all the States in the Union for recommendations. Neverthe-
less the notion that there was something in the scheme was
gaining ground, for twenty-one out of the forty-eight Senators
would have been willing to consider the bill.
At the next session not only did Whitney's bill reappear, but
there were requests from Timothy Carver and his associates
for a grant to construct a railroad over the same route, and
one requesting government aid in building a railroad across
the Isthmus of Panama. The last request was from W. H.
Aspinwall and others who had secured a long-term contract
to carry the mails for New Granada. Benton favored this
idea and brought in a bill to assist the project but the Senate
was not interested. Another plan which Benton brought up
at this session, and again in the next, was for a National Cen-
tral Highway ; he opposed the grants of land to railroads, but
he would set apart a strip of territory a mile wide from the
Missouri frontier to San Francisco, with a 1000-foot branch
to the Columbia, whereon all kinds of roads might be con-
structed : — railroads, plank roads, macadamized roads, and even
one with "magnetic power, according to the idea started by
Professor Henry," when that should have ripened into prac-
ticability. Here everyone might travel without payment in the
way he preferred.41
By 1850 the railroad notion had progressed to the point
where the House Committee on Roads and Canals brought in
41 Globe, XIX, 470-4.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 369
a report on the Whitney project and a bill in furtherance of
it. The House would not print the report and the matter
rested so far as the Pacific railroad was concerned, although
this was the year in which Congress began making land grants
in aid of railroad construction. The Senate had before it a
bill for a preliminary survey of a route to some point on the
Pacific Coast. This bill showed the effect of agitation for a
southern route, as opposed to Whitney's Northern Pacific
route, and also inaugurated the struggle over the location of
the eastern terminus of the proposed road, a struggle which
did not end until during the Civil War.
In 1852 the House Committee on Public Lands condemned
the Whitney plan as presenting obstacles, both as regards the
route and the method of financing, which could not be over-
come.42 In the Senate in the next session Senator Gwin of
California brought in a bill which substituted San Francisco
for some point on the Columbia as the western terminal, and
which would carry the route from Memphis, via Fulton, to the
Coast. There was still one voice, however, raised for Oregon.
Salmon P. Chase of Ohio proposed that the road start at some
point between Independence, Missouri, and Kanesville, Iowa,
on the Missouri River.
"We have," he said, "a population in Oregon. The day is
not remote when we shall have a State in Oregon. We have
already a great .... State south of Oregon. It is to
connect Oregon and California with the Eastern States, that
we want this road . . . Point out to me the shortest route,
the cheapest route, and the route which will accommodate the
greatest number of people, and that route shall have my sup-
port, my earnest and persevering support." Such a route, he
maintained, would be northwest through South Pass, that is,
over the Oregon Trail, then one branch would go to California
and another north to Oregon.
Although continued agitation, mostly over an eastern
terminus, kept the Pacific railroad project before Congress
42 Globe, XXV, 1274.
43/btd., XXVII, 127, 280-7; 3I4-43; 469 seq.
370 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
until, during the Civil War, a land grant was finally made, it
was no longer the road to Oregon but the road to California.
Eventually, after the War, a line was extended north to the
Columbia and Puget Sound, but it was many years before
the first direct route, Whitney's route, was threaded with
rails. Railroad or no railroad, however, Oregon's population
continued to increase although not with the rapidity with
which California's grew. The Oregonians were beginning to
think not only that it was time to shufflq off the territorial
shell for the dignity of a State, but that a State would receive
much more consideration from Congress; ills would be rem-
edied and rights acknowledged with greater readiness if a real
Representative sat in one house of Congress and two Senators
in the other.
CHAPTER XIV
THE STATE OF OREGON
The old Oregon Territory is divided into four roughly equal
parts by the Cascade Mountains and the Columbia River; the
mountain range forms the upright of a cross while the river
is the transverse. Today Oregon and Washington are very
distinctly divided into Eastern and Western parts; the "East
Side" and the "West Side" are understood by all, just as "Up
State" is in New York. In the Fifties it was all "West Side."
The Columbia, however, was a sufficiently well defined bound-
ary line between the two sections into which the bulk of the
migration had poured — the Willamette valley, and the Puget
Sound Country where later emigrants had sought the fertile
valleys marked at one time by the Hudson's Bay Company as
its legitimate field of activity. Squatters had encamped upon
the farms and claims of the Puget's Sound Agricultural Com-
pany ; some pioneers, either more scrupulous or later in arriv-
ing, had gone to other portions of the land west of the Cas-
cades about the indentations of the Sound, some even going
to the islands which dot its waters. From 1845, when the first
American took up his abode in what is now Western Wash-
ington, to 1853, the stream of immigration grew in volume,
excepting only in 1849 when the gold rush to California
temporarily checked its flood.1
When the distances and lack of roads are considered it is
not necessary to search farther for reasons why people of
the region north of the Columbia soon began to cast about
for means by which they could bring the machinery of govern-
ment nearer to them. If one also takes into consideration the
universal desire of Americans to have a finger in governmental
affairs, and to lift a voice which may be heard, then the agita-
tion for separate organization is wholly explained. South of
the Columbia the population was increasing more rapidly than
i See Bancroft, Washington, Idaho and Montana, Ch. i.
372 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
north, to say nothing of the fact that a goodly population was
found there before even a handful lived north of the river.
This meant that to the disadvantage of distant location was
added the fatal defect of comparative paucity of representation.
Consequently at a Fourth of July celebration in 1851, after
the set program of the day, the first step was taken to secure
a separate organization for the "Territory of Columbia." A
committee selected there called a meeting of representatives
from the counties north of the Columbia, to be held in August
on the Cowlitz. Here twenty-six delegates, all from Lewis
County, met, discussed the situation, and drew up a memorial
to be presented to Congress by the Oregon Delegate. This
document represented the necessity for a division of the terri-
tory of Oregon, prayed Congress to extend the provisions of
the donation land act to the northern district, and asked ap-
propriations for divers objects. Another meeting was set for
the following May, when, if Congress should not have acted in
accordance with the memorial, steps were to be taken for
State organization, and immediate admission to the Union
would be sought.
The congressional session of 1851-2 ended with no attention
to the requests of the would-be territory of Columbia. Neither
was the new State organized in May. But in September, 1852,
there was held at Monticello a convention to consider the sub-
ject. During the past year a little newspaper, the Columbian,
had been established at Olympia in order to agitate for sep-
aration. So successful had its campaign been, in connection
with the other motives urging separation, that the Monticello
convention drew delegates even from the region bordering
the Columbia River where it had been feared there would be
opposition to the movement, since those people were not so
seriously inconvenienced in their relations with the govern-
ment on the Willamette as were the inhabitants of the Sound
district. A committee drew up a memorial which Lane pre-
sented to the House of Representatives when the bill for terri-
torial organization was brought up in Committee of the Whole.
The memorial represented that Oregon Territory was too
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 373
large for a single government; that the region north of the
Columbia was large enough for another territory since it con-
tained some 32,000 square miles; that the northern region
was at a disadvantage on account of its distance from the seat
of government and the preponderance of population in the
Willamette valley ; and that the local nature of the laws enacted
by the Territorial Legislature was against the interests north
of the Columbia.
While the question was raised in the House as to whether
there was sufficient population north of the Columbia to
warrant the creation of a new unit, no real opposition ap-
peared. With "Columbia" changed to "Washington" the
House passed the bill.2 In the Senate there was even less
discussion than in the House. "It is one of the old-fashioned
territorial bills," said some one, and the measure was passed
without further comment.3
Oregon territory was thus bisected by a line which followed
the middle of the Columbia River to a point, near Walla
Walla, where the forty-sixth parallel cuts the stream; this
parallel formed the line to the summit of the Rocky Moun-
tains. Washington territory comprised what is now the State
of Washington together with northern Idaho and the strip of
Montana which lies between the main ridge of the Rockies and
the Bitter Root Mountains.
With the division of Oregon came the question of Statehood.
While desultory discussion had raised the question from time
to time, it was not until after Washington had been set off
that the issue was seriously debated. During the latter part
of 1853 and in 1854 interest grew. Answering this agitation,
which was fostered by the Democratic party in Oregon, Lane
introduced in the House a bill for an enabling act in April of
1854, at a time when the Kansas-Nebraska controversy was
uppermost. When the measure came up in Committee of the
Whole it was not seriously considered; the population of
Oregon had been less than 15,000 at the time of the 1850 census
2 The memorial is in the Globe, XXVI, 541. Passage of the bill, 555.
3 Ibid., 1020.
374 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
and it was thought impossible for it to have increased suffi-
ciently in four years to warrant statehood. Lane, however,
was sure that the population was at least 60,000, certainly
20,000 greater than Illinois' when that State had been ad-
mitted, and people were pouring into the territory at the rate
of five thousand a year. Besides, he said, the people of Ore-
gon were tired of being dependent.
A remark from Millson of Virginia showed the relation of
all question of state admission to the slavery issue; he said it
might be inferred, from the quarter whence proceeded all op-
position to the measure (it had been only southerners who
had raised the population question), that it was due "to the
peculiar relations existing between certain members of the
Confederacy." As for himself he should view the question
on its merits, and if Oregon should be found entitled to ad-
mission, his vote was for it ; nevertheless, he could not disguise
the alarm with which he looked upon the multiplication of
Free States, and he was mortified at the apathy with which
the House was allowing this measure to proceed without any
sufficient knowledge upon which to base action. Seward of
New York gave notice that he would move an additional sec-
tion whereby all restriction as to slavery should be removed,
leaving the question to be decided by the people in the ter-
ritory. Before any conclusion had been reached the com-
mittee rose and the measure did not come up again that ses-
sion. In the1 following session it was taken up, amended in
some details, although Seward's proposal was not adopted,
reported by the Committee of the Whole and passed by the
House.4
The Senate Committee on Territories, when asking consid-
eration of the House bill, called attention to the amendment
which it had added; namely, that Oregon should not be ad-
mitted until it had a population of at least 60,000. Owing to
the raising of objection to its immediate consideration the bill
lay over until the third of March. At that time only Douglas
?, XXVIII, 936, i it 7 seq.; XXX, 455.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 375
and Seward would take an active part favoring the bill.
Seward pointed out that already there were indications that if
the bill did not become law Oregon would come in as Cali-
fornia had, uninvited. But the Senate showed little disposi-
tion to act, and even Douglas would move to table the meas-
ure, although1 he said he was willing to sit it out as long as
there was any hope (it was then eleven o'clock on the morning
of Sunday, March 4th). Douglas said there was evidently
a combination of Senators of the extreme North and the South
to defeat the bill. The vote to table, (27 to 11) however, did
not reveal any ground for sustaining this accusation.5 Of the
eleven who voted against tabling, five were from New Eng-
land, two from Ohio, and one each from New York, Texas,
Michigan and California.
Thus the Thirty-third Congress came to an end with Oregon
still in its territorial swaddling clothes. In spite of occasional
echoes of the slavery contest over Kansas, that issue did not
appear in any degree worthy of note in the Oregon discus-
sion. Many Senators were inclined to wait until it was
affirmatively shown that the territory had a population equal
to the ratio for one congressman; they were suspicious that
the assurances of Joseph Lane were tempered by his hopes.
This was, indeed, the case. Even in 1859, when the State was
admitted, the population fell short by many thousands of the
number Lane confidently stated in 1854.
The Thirty-fourth Congress found Oregon before it with a
new bill for statehood.6 Late in the first session (June, 1856)
the measure came up in the House and again met with opposi-
tion on the population question. In all the preliminary dis-
cussion of the bill there were references to the pending legis-
lation on Kansas. Galusha Grow of Pennsylvania, a Repub-
lican, said very bluntly, when controverting the proposition
that it depended on Congress whether or not the people of
Oregon should form a constitution, that there was no power
to prevent the people of a territory, although that organization
. .: .IB.' %:',Vd ol^
6 Globe, XXXII, 1443. The debate occurred 23 and 24 June.; Ibid., 1443-58.
376 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
was a creature of Congress, from framing a constitution when-
ever they wished. Later he said, after several other Repre-
sentatives had discussed the population topic, "This debate
seems to have been anticipating that which will take place on
the Kansas bill. Let us dispose of this bill today." Those
who desired to see Kansas a slave state, however, were trying
to establish a point on the population issue in the Oregon bill.
Smith of Virginia said that the Ordinance of 1787, "to which
some gentlemen look as an impersonation of inspired wisdom,"
required 60,000 as the population before the territory could be
made a State, consequently by what right could Oregon ask to
be represented in the House with less than the legal ratio for a
Congressman. Giddings took issue with that and said the
right depended on the ability to support a State government;
all this objection about the population ratio was a new one
and not based upon the Constitution. The rule of propriety
alone, he maintained, should determine admission, and it was
proper to admit Oregon. When pressed to state definitely
whether he would vote to admit Oregon with or without slavery
Giddings practically announced that he would only favor ad-
mission as a free State, for he said he would not vote to trans-
gress the laws of God and of nature.
Proposed amendments, confining the proposed State to the
territory west of the Cascades, extending the suffrage to non-
citizens (the territorial bill ha'd given the franchise to those
who had declared intention to become citizens), restricting the
right to vote for delegates to the constitutional convention to
free white males over twenty-one years of age, were all re-
jected. Bowie of Maryland discovered a possible opening for
woman suffrage, and moved to insert the word "male" in the
clause where the vote was given to "the people of Oregon,
being citizens of the United States." All the discussion and
modification, however, did not get Oregon into the sisterhood
of States. Congress adjourned with the bill still in Commit-
tee of the Whole, and Mr. Lane was obliged to return to Ore-
gon disappointed both as to statehood and the money for the
Indian war expenses which his constituents had trusted him to
secure.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 377
In the following January the matter was up again. An
enabling act for the territory of Minnesota had passed the
House (31 January, 1857), and Grow, chairman of the Com-
mittee on Territories, said, "The Committee .... have
agreed upon a bill similar to this, authorizing the people of
Oregon to form a State constitution and State Government;
but as gentlemen seem to be so much averse to giving this
authority, which is a mere form, (as the people of the Territory
can meet in their Assemblies and form a Constitution, and
send it here, as well without this authority as with it), I will
not therefore press this bill now."7 The bill was, however,
called up later in the day, agreed to by the Committee of the
Whole and reported to the House. Like its predecessor this
bill had not confined the right of voting to citizens of the
United States only, and an attempt to insert that restriction
was narrowly defeated (61 to 60) after Lane spoke against
it. Lane, indeed, did not wish any change in the bill, unless
it should be in the part fixing the eastern boundary line at
120° W. Long., whereas, according to the Oregon Delegate,
it should have been at 118° W. Long. Two amendments were
adopted; one restricted to citizens of the United States the
privilege of voting for delegates to the constitution conven-
tion ; the other eliminated a clause by which delegates to the
convention were to have voted on the question whether the
people of the territory desired to form a State government
before proceeding with their constitution making. An amend-
ment to require the population to equal the ratio for one repre-
sentative (93,420) was rejected, and also one to strike out the
provision which allowed the proposed State to have ten sec-
tions of public land for public buildings. Letcher (Virginia)
pointed out that Congress had been appropriating money for
Oregon public buildings for years, but his protest fell on
unheeding ears. In its modified form, the bill was passed by
the House.7
The senate was more accommodating in the matter of a
7 Globe, XXXVI, 519-23.
378 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPER
boundary line, for the Committee on Territories amended that
clause to accord with the desires of Lane, and fixed the line
as it exists today for the State of Oregon. Another amend-
ment by the Committee put the region south of 46° N. Lat.
and east of the Oregon line under the territorial jurisdiction
of Washington. The Senate, however, went no farther, and
the Thirty-fourth Congress, like its predecessor, came to an
end with Oregon still a territory.8
Dissatisfaction over the delay of Congress resulted in inde-
pendent action by the Oregohians.9 Since 1854 the statehood
sentiment had been growing although it had been opposed at
the beginning by the Whigs who pointed out the additional
expense which would result. But the Whigs were few in
number and not politically influential so their opposition had
little significance. The dominant party had, by legislative
resolutions, directed Lane to work for the enabling act, and
at the same time had made provision (1856-7) for taking the
sense of the people as to whether a convention should be held
and for electing delegates to it. Meanwhile a little of the
white-hot conflict over slavery extension had crossed over the
mountains so that anti- and pro-slavery movements had gained
enough headway to make this question the dominant one
before the people during the months preceding the election of
delegates to the convention. A large majority of the people
were descendants of those who had lived in slave States;
many of them had themselves been slave-owners. Their four-
times elected Delegate to Congress, Joseph Lane, was not op-
posed to slavery as he demonstrated, in 1860, by accepting
the nomination as candidate for vice-president from the
Breckinridge wing of the Democratic party. Newspapers and
public men took up the question and advanced arguments as to
why Oregon would benefit or receive injury from the pres-
ence of slaves. The anti-slavery agitation found a rallying
point in a little group of men who organized as Free-State
Republicans, and who gained sufficient strength to have rep-
8 Ibid., 821, 878.
9 Bancroft, History of Oregon, II, chapter 17.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 379
resentation, although little weight, in the Legislature in
1856-7. The Democrats were divided over the issue, especially
after a convention, in the spring of 1857 to nominate a candi-
date for Delegate to Congress, had proclaimed that "We deny
the right of any state to interfere with such domestic institu-
tions of other states as are recognized by the constitution."
The disruptive tendencies of this declaration were added to by
an attempt of the dominant faction to gag all independent
action within the party.
In August, 1859, the constitutional convention was held.
From the first it was decided that there should be no discus-
sion of the slavery issue in the convention, but that the question
should be submitted to the people with the constitution which
should be framed. Accordingly two propositions went before
the electorate in addition to the constitution : Should there be
slavery in Oregon ? Should free negroes be permitted to live in
Oregon? The constitution itself provided that no negro, mulatto,
or Chinaman should be allowed to vote, neither could Chinese,
immigrating to Oregon after the adoption of the constitution,
hold land or mining claims, or work the latter, and the Leg-
islature was to enact suitable laws to enforce these prohibi-
tions. The constitution fixed the boundaries of the State as
the Senate Committee on Territories had, except that for the
46th parallel eastward from the Columbia the line was placed
farther north in order to bring the Walla Walla valley within
the limits of Oregon. A qualifying clause allowed the line to
be moved back to 46° if Congress should so will; and Con-
gress did. In its general features the constitution was not
materially different from most State constitutions framed in
that period ; one provision, however, is worthy of note, for it
forbade making the property and pecuniary rights of women
liable for the debts or contracts of their husbands. Half of
each donation claim taken by a married man, then, was the
absolute property of the wife.
In November the people voted on the propositions and the
constitution. In a poll of slightly over 10,000, slavery was
rejected by a majority of 5,082; free negroes were debarred
380 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
by a majority of 7,559; and the constitution itself was adopted
by a majority of 4,000.
In February, 1858, Lane presented an official copy of the
constitution to the House of Representatives and it was ordered
printed and referred to the Committee on Territories. Mr.
Lane, however, did not press for action. Moreover, when
Senator Gwin of California asked Douglas why the Oregon
bill could not be made an amendment of the Minnesota bill
then before Jthe Senate, the latter replied that he had no offi-
cial information of the facts of the case ; Lane had told him it
would be better to let the matter rest until after the contest
over Minnesota and Kansas had been ended. Thus prodded,
Mr. Lane transmitted to Senator Douglas a copy of the con-
stitution, and the Senator, when he presented it to the Senate,
remarked that he did not desire to have the impression go
forth that Mr. Lane had failed in his duty.
With the constitution in its possession the Senate was in a
position to proceed with the Oregon bill, and in May, when
the slavery controversy was in one of its quiescent stages,
the debate was resumed. The Dred Scott decision of the
previous year had been a score for those who desired the
extension of slavery; Kansas' attitude on the Lecompton con-
stitution had caused Congress to act. While the manner in
which the constitution had been referred back to the people of
Kansas had not been just that desired by the majority, it had
been such that Kansas must become a State where slavery
was legal or remain inj the status of a territory. In either
case the Southern wing of the Democratic party had scored
at least a technical point. There had never been any real ques-
tion about the admission of Minnesota because it was in the old
Northwest Territory, in part. Congress could, then, proceed
with Oregon. Such, at any rate, was the opinion of those
who advocated the doctrine of popular sovereignty, for Ore-
gon had, in the adoption of the constitution, exemplified that
doctrine, untrammelled by such chicanery as had characterized
the Kansas situation.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 381
Nevertheless the Senate still found objections to the Oregon
bill.10 Some of the Republicans thought that debarring free
negroes nearly nullified the rejection of slavery, although
Douglas pointed out that if the clause should be stricken out
Oregon could insert it again the day after her admission. Some
felt that the same spirit which debarred negroes caused the
prohibition of land owning by negroes, mulattoes and Chinese.
Moreover, according to Wade, an Ohio Republican, the
Chinese feature brought out a new question and might cause
international complications by placing the Chinaman on a level
with the negro. Some Republicans and many Southern Dem-
ocrats opposed admission on the old ground of too small pop-
ulation. Brown of Mississippi very frankly said that he should
vote against the bill for if the Republicans wished to exclude
a free State it was not for him to interest himself particularly
in getting it in. If the admission, said he, would be put on
the ground that Kansas had come in as a slave State (the
constitution had not yet been rejected under the terms of the
congressional act of 1858) and a balancing free State was de-
sired, then he would vote "for it ; as for the talk about debar-
ring free negroes, it appeared to him that Massachusetts, New
York and other Northern States desired to see an increase in
free negroes but wanted to send them all to Oregon.
On the nineteenth day of May a test vote was taken on a
motion to postpone the bill until the following December. The
motion was lost and the passage of the bill followed, by a vote
of 35 to 17. An analysis of the vote shows the following
results :
For Admission Against Admission
Democrats 22 8
Republicans 12 6
Native Americans 1 3
Free State 21 6
Slave State 14 11
~ XXXVI, 2203-9.
382 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
Neither party nor sectional lines offer any adequate ex-
planation so far as the Senate is concerned. The explanation
of the opposition so far as the Republican vote is concerned,
however, may be derived from the action of the House at
this and the following session. There were two grounds;
the less important was that of population, the more important
was connected with the all-powerful slavery issue in its
relation to party politics. By allowing the Lecompton consti-
tution bill to go before the people of Kansas again the Repub-
licans had deviated somewhat from a consistent course, — a
course they probably would not have taken had they not be-
lieved the free State population was strong enough to defeat
the slavery provisions of the constitution. In the case of Ore-
gon, even though slavery was not to be allowed, the free-
negro clause was in conflict with their constitutional views
on the power of any State to exclude citizens of the United
States. Besides all this, and most potent of all, was the belief
that Oregon was overwhelmingly Democratic, and her admis-
sion would mean a Democratic delegation in both houses.
While one Democratic Representative in the lower house would
not make much difference, two Democrats added to the small
number of the Senate would be maintaining too well the pre-
ponderance of Democracy in the upper house. Consequently
the Thirty- fifth Congress adjourned its first session without
final action on Oregon.
The people of Oregon felt sure that the next session would
see the fulfillment of their hopes, hence, since the con-
stitutional convention had provided for an election of State and
National officers in July of 1858, they proceeded to make
ready their governmental machinery against the day of suc-
cess. The Republicans of the United States could see in the
result of the elections what they had feared, for three Demo-
crats were to represent Oregon in Congress. La Fayette
Grover was elected Representative, and the Democratic Legis-
lature elected Joseph Lane and Delazon Smith to the Senate.
Lane, therefore, went to Washington as a Delegate of the ter-
ritory and as a Senator from the prospective State. It was
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 383
perhaps fortunate for him that it was the Legislature to which
he presented himself as a candidate rather than to the elector-,
ate, for his inactivity in the last session of Congress had
stirred up much feeling; some said that he purposely put off
acting in order that he might draw the mileage of both Dele-
gate and Senator at the next session. It appears that few
people in Oregon realized the bitterness of the contest which
was being waged over Kansas, or recognized the bearing of
that contest upon their own interests.
Kansas had, however, voluntarily deferred the time of her
admission to the Union by rejecting the Lecompton constitution
and had to wait until her population should be numerous
enough to equal the number required as a ratio for one rep-
resentative. Commenting on this Buchanan, in his Annual
Message, said, "Of course it would be unjust to give this rule
a retrospective application and exclude a State, which, acting
upon the past practice of the Government, had already formed
its constitution, elected its legislature and other officers and is
now prepared to enter the Union. "n
The President's opinion, obviously prompted if not dictated
by party considerations, found a response in the House where
the Senate bill was waiting. Alexander Stephens, chairman
of the Committee on Territories, stated (7 January) in answer
to inquiries both in and out of Congress, that he was prepared
to report the Oregon bill whenever his committee was called.
A month later (9 February) he announced that the Committee
on Territories had been reached, saying that he gave notice in
order that there might be a full attendance on the next day.
The bill was reported (10 February)12 with a recommendation
for passage from the majority of the committee. There had
been no census since 1855, when the population was 43,474,
but there was $18,000,000 worth of personal property to tax,
which, allowing for a legitimate increase, and using the ratio
in Ohio, would indicate a population of 250,000. Either Oregon
11 Richardson, Messages, V, 502.
12 Globe, 1858-9, Pt. i,
on February 10, u, 12, an
12 Globe, 1858-9, Pt. i, 943 seq. Crow's report, page 946. The debate occurred
d the bill was passed February 12.
384 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
was very wealthy or the population had increased very rapidly ;
at any rate there was no question that it was at least some
90,000 or the ratio for a Representative. It was the solemn
obligation of Congress to admit the State since the territorial
act of 1848 had included the guarantees of the Ordinance of
1787, among which was the provision for admission whenever
a population of 60,000 should have been attained.
This appeal to the Ordinance of 1787 brought Grow to his
feet with a protest that a rule had been laid down in the case
of Kansas requiring it to double its population before it could
be a State ; furthermore, the Ordinance had imposed no obliga-
tion to admit a State, no matter what its population. He then
presented a report from a minority of the Committee, signed
by himself, Amos P. Granger of New York and Chancey L.
Knapp of Massachusetts, all Republicans. Up to that time,
ran the report, Congress had followed no uniform rule for
the admission of States, but Kansas, with a population large
enough to be a slave State, must wait until it had 93,420 people
before it could come in as a free State. The President had
declared in his Message that any attempt on the part of that
territory to form a constitution before it had secured that
population would be a distinct violation of the law, and should
it be attempted he would use Federal power to prevent it. In
1855 the population of Oregon was 43,473, and the largest
vote ever cast there was 10,121, while Kansas had polled
13,089 in rejecting the Lecompton constitution. The minority
were unable to perceive any fairness in one rule for Kansas
and another for Oregon; both were alike in having no en-
abling act, and the only real difference was that Oregon had
a territorial government which was disliked, while Kansas had
an organization in which political power was wielded by
usurpers and despots. Therefore without expressing an
opinion as to the propriety of a numerical ratio, the minority
recommended a repeal of that portion of the act for the ad-
mission of Kansas which provides "Whenever, and not before,
it is ascertained by a census duly and legally taken, that the
population of said territory exceeds or equals the ratio of rep-
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 385
resentation required for a member of the House of Representa-
tives . . . ."
Felix K. Zollikoffer of Tennessee, one of the small number
of Know-Nothings in the House, presented a second minority
report, reflecting the tenets of his political organization. This
report solemnly protested against the provision in the Oregon
constitution which allowed others than citizens of the United
States to vote; such a provision was unconstitutional accord-
ing to the interpretation of the courts and the testimony of
the framers of the United States Constitution. The report
also protested against the admission of Oregon with its small
population.
Practically all the opposition on the floor of the House
came from Republicans, although Millson opposed the bill as
he had done before, on the population question. Hughes, an
Indiana Democrat, definitely charged that there was a Repub-
lican plot to keep Oregon out, for, in addition to their stated
reasons, there was the stronger one that there must be no new
Democratic State before the presidential election in 1860.
Turning to the Republican side of the House he said :
"Go, then, f reedom-shrieker ! Vote against Oregon. But re-
member, you vote against the compact of the ordinance of
1787, expressly extended to that Territory by act of Con-
gress. You vote against 'popular sovereignty,' and deny to
the people of Oregon the 'right to regulate their, domestic in-
stitutions in their own way/ You vote for negro equality,
and plant yourself in opposition to the Constitution of your
country, which you have sworn to support. You vote to deny
to the white foreigner what your enlarged philanthropy claims
for the negro who happens to be born in the United States.
You vote to keep a free State out of this Union — a State which
comes on our own invitation, and comes in the most orderly,
regular, and appropriate way. There are some of you that will
not do this thing and some that dare not. Upon those who do
I invoke the condemnation of an intelligent and patriotic
people."
The charge brought by Mr. Hughes was essentially sup-
ported by the facts of the case. The Republicans had deter-
386 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
mined to use Oregon as a lever to bring Kansas in ; if Kansas
was kept out, Oregon must stay out. All the strength of the
Republican organization was to be used to prevent the passage
of the Oregon bill; Thurlow Weed and Horace Greeley went
to Washington to use their influence to prevent any Repub-
lican from getting out of line.13 It was, nevertheless, a Repub-
lican who was responsible for the passage of the bill. Eli
Thayer, who had been a member of the New England Emi-
grant Aid Company and who was chiefly responsible for the
Kansas Crusade, took the stand that it was unfair to make
Oregon suffer for the sins of others. As Mr. Thayer, writing
many years later,14 says :
"I protested against this policy (of the Republican caucus),
saying that Oregon had been a territory for ten years, that
the House had passed an enabling act with which she had
complied, and that the Senate had voted to admit her with
the aid of Republican votes ; that she now asks admission into
the Union as a State, presenting for our acceptance a free-
State Constitution. That I would not be bound by the deci-
sion of the caucus ; that I was strongly in favor of the admis-
sion of the new State, and that I should work for it, and induce
other members of the party to vote for it, but that I should
vote in favor of it even if no other Republican could be
found to do so.
"As soon as the caucus was over I went to Mr. Stephens
and told him that I would work night and day in favor of his
report . . . .
"I began at once to urge upon Republicans the duty and
good policy of admitting Oregon. By persistent effort I se-
cured sixteen who promised to vote for admission, and should
have had others, but Greeley and Weed frightened some of
these away and weakened my support. But on the day of the
vote we retained fifteen who, with the Democrats, were able
to admit the State by a majority of eleven.15
"On the day of the passage of the bill I gave my reasons
13 See "Eli Thayer and the Admission of Oregon," by Franklin P. Rice,
in Proceedings of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Admission of the State of
Oregon Into the Union (Salem, 1909), from the Worcester Magazine of Feb. and
Mar., 1906.
14 In a letter to Rice.
15 Either Mr. Thayer's memory was treacherous or he counted as Republicans
some who were not so considered, for the roll call of the vote shows but thirteen
Republican votes and one Whig vote for the bill.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 387
very fully for the course I had pursued. It was well known at
that time that it was due to my work that Oregon became a
State, and for a few days I was roundly abused by some of the
inferior Republican journals and the Tribune. Soon, how-
ever, under the lead of the New York Evening Post and the
National Era, nearly all the Republican papers defended my
position.
"Among those whose confidence in their own judgment
Greeley had seriously impaired was Schuyler Colfax, who re-
mained undecided to the day of voting. That morning I
walked to the Capitol with him. On the way he said : 'I was
never in such perplexity about my duty as I am in this Oregon
matter.' We were just then passing the office of the National
Era, and I suggested that he get Dr. Bailey's opinion. Ac-
cordingly we went in, and he said: 'Dr. Bailey, I do not
know what to do about Oregon. Thayer wants me to vote
for admission, while Greeley is just as earnest the other way.
Now I have come to you for a decision. I shall vote upon this
question as you advise.' Bailey at once replied: 'Vote with
Thayer, for he is right.' We proceeded to the Capitol, and Mr.
Colfax cast his vote in favor of the bill.
•"I had felt sure of John Sherman's vote, but he did not
appear in the House at all that day . . . ."
Whether intentional or not, it proved fortunate for the Re-
publicans that Oregon was admitted for otherwise her vote
would have been lost in the Chicago Convention of 1860, and
the Senate in the Thirty-seventh Congress would have had less
Republican strength. Contrary to Republican fears in 1859,
Oregon did not remain in the Democratic ranks.
The bill was fought to the very last ditch; a roll-call was
demanded upon all amendments which were offered (the chief
of which were to require a larger population and to prevent
non-citizen suffrage), and upon motions to table. There were
six divisions by roll-call and one by tellers. On its passage
the bill secured 114 affirmative votes and 103 were cast against
it. Thirteen Republicans and one Whig saved the day for
Oregon. In the Democratic ranks there was no such unanim-
ity as among the Republicans, nor did the division within the
party follow sectional lines. Seven of the ten Virginia votes
(one was paired), four of the eight from North Carolina (one
388 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
Native American voted against the bill), five of the seven
from Georgia, and all from Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennes-
see, Missouri, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Florida, were cast
for the measure. Two of the three Texas votes were for it.
The South Carolina and Alabama vote was solid against the
bill. Practically the whole of the northern Democracy was for
the bill, although two from New York and one each from
Pennsylvania and Illinois were against it. Party succeeded
in overcoming western zeal for a new western State in most
cases, for seven of Ohio's ten Republicans, one of the five
from Indiana, all four from Illinois, two of Wisconsin's three,
four from Michigan, and one from Missouri were against ad-
mission. The Republicans who saved the day were scattered ;
five were from New England, four from Indiana, three from
Ohio, and one from Wisconsin. The solitary Whig who
flocked with the majority on this occasion was J. C. Kunkell
of Pennsylvania, who both for the Thirty- fourth and Thirty-
fifth Congresses ran as a Whig and defeated the Democratic
candidate in his district.
The feeling of Greeley at the passage of the bill was indi-
cated by an editorial in the Tribune, in February, I860:16
"We hold that the great body of Republicans voted just
right on this question, and of the course of the fifteen who
separated from, opposed and defeated them, did a grievous
wrong .... If Oregon in 1860, unbalanced by Kansas,
shall elect a pro-slavery President, then woe to those Repub-
licans whose votes shall have enabled her to do so. It is said
that Oregon is a free State, but it would vote for pro-slavery
interests. By the express terms of the Constitution, any of
Mr. Eli Thayer's constituents and supporters guilty of having
African blood in his veins who should visit Oregon with intent
to settle therein, is guilty of a grave offense against the
majesty of that State, and will be treated like an outlaw and a
felon .... That border ruffian Democrats should
sanction and give effect to such cruel injustice is but natural;
that a few Republicans should be induced, no matter on what
specious grounds, to aid them, is deplorable."
1 6 Quoted by Rice. Only thirteen Republicans and one Whig are recorded
oting for the bill. See Poore, Political Register; Note 15 above.
as voting
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 389
The fight for admission was over and Oregon's Senators
and Representatives immediately entered upon their duties in
Congress. Lane drew for the class the term of which expired
in 1861, while Smith found himself in the class which would
end his term in a few days, on the third of March, 1859.
Before the close of the session there was one further echo
of the Kansas-Oregon population controversy. Hale (New
Hampshire), in moving as an amendment to the appropria-
tion bill a clause removing the restrictive proviso from the
Kansas act called upon the Senators from Oregon to state
whether they would do unto others as they had been done by ;
according to the argument which had been much used in
urging the passage of the Oregon bill the public faith was
pledged to admit a territory when the population reached
60,000. Would they vote to let Kansas in ? Both Lane and
Smith refused to commit themselves, showing that they could
work in harmony with their Democratic brethren of the Sen-
ate, and both asserted that . Oregon's population far exceeded
that of Kansas ; in fact, Smith declared it was a third greater,
despite the misleading statements of the Republican party.
Oregon was in the Union, and all questions of population were
relegated to the realm of theoretical speculation. Nevertheless
the returns of the census of 1860 are interesting, for it appeared
that Oregon had a population of 52,465 while that of Kansas
was 107,206.
With statehood Oregon felt herself in a position to remedy
some of the evils which had beset her ; no longer was it nec-
essary to tolerate a governor and other administrative officers
who were not elected by Oregonians ; the long-standing griev-
ance against the Federal Government over Indian war ex-
penses might stand a chance of redress. There were hopes
that the postal service, against the inadequacy of which they
had complained long and bitterly, would be improved. They
felt that such public lands as fell to the State could be much
more satisfactorily managed than had been the case before. In
short the people of Oregon felt that their time of tutelage had
lasted long enough, yes, far too long, and recognition of their
390 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
ability to manage their own affairs was no more than their
just due.
Of international problems connected with Oregon, besides
that arising from the possessory rights of the British Com-
panies, there still remained in 1859 the matter of marking
the boundary. Although President Polk had refrained from
pressing this matter, events soon demonstrated that it would
have been a wise act on the part of Congress to have imme-
diately made appropriations and given authority whereby a
commission for the United States could act with a similar
body for Great Britain to settle definitively the line indicated
by the treaty. In his first Annual Message (December, 1851)
President Fillmore called to the attention of Congress the
desire of the British Government to take this step, and he
recommended an appropriation.17 Nothing was done, how-
ever; and subsequent reminders proved as fruitless.
President Pierce, in his second Annual Message,18 said,
"There is a difference of opinion between the United States
and Great Britain as to the boundary line of the Territory of
Washington adjoining the British possessions on the Pacific,
which has already led to difficulties on the part of the citizens
and local authorities of the two governments." This difficulty
arose over the question of the San Juan Islands; the British
government contended that the main channel of the Strait of
Juan de Fuca was east of the islands, while the United States
insisted that it was west. Local disturbances took place both
over possession and jurisdiction.19 No action was taken to
end the controversy, which was allowed to become more acute
until it required, in 1871-2, a court of arbitration to decide
that the disputed land was American and not British. Had
the line been run before 1850 it is probable that no contest
would have arisen and great expense as well as considerable
international friction would have been avoided.
1 7 Richardson, Messages, V, 119.
i q See report of Secretary of the Interior, Sen. Ex. Doc. No. i, 33d Cong.,
2d (1854); Sen. Rep. No. 251 34th ist; H. Ex. Doc. No. 77, 36th ist. The whole
matter is discussed in all its phases in the papers presented to the Emperor William,
1872, H. Ex. Doc. No. i, 4«d 3d.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 391
A study of the Federal relations of Oregon reveals the fact
that, while the Oregon Question in one form or another, occu-
pied the attention of the authorities of the United States for
nearly half a century, there was no episode connected with it
which stood alone as a paramount issue. Such a fact is the
more interesting when one takes account of the high degree
of excitement which accompanied each episode. Three periods
stand out as the most spectacular and probably the most
important; the division of the Oregon Country with Great
Britain, the formation of the territory, and the admission of the
State. In each of these the Oregon Question was linked with
some other national issue which lent a fictitious importance.
In the boundary controversy Oregon was really subordinated
to Texas which was a national issue in and of itself. Texas,
with all the agitation attending its entrance into the Union,
was a vital factor in the history of the development of the
nation ; Texas figured as a decisive issue in the great struggle
which centered about the question of the nature of the Federal
Government. One is forced to believe with the legislators
who, after 1818, were willing to let the Oregon Question rest
and allow time to determine the outcome that all the furor of
1845 and 1846 did not vitally affect the outcome. To be sure,
Great Britain has always been willing to accept additions to
her Empire and has not been averse from making the most of
favoring circumstances, so there may have been something
in Richard Rush's belief that the commotion of 1846 brought
England to a desire to end the controversy and to yield some-
thing more than had been her previous intention. Neverthe-
less, down to the time the hue and cry of 54-40 was raised,
and that as a campaign issue and a blind, both the United
States and Great Britain agreed that the other had rights in
the Oregon Country, and each had shown a disposition to
make an adjustment on equitable lines.
The struggle over territorial organization came at a time
when territories in general and their actual and potential
meaning for the issues between North and South were upper-
most. The heatedly argued points which were brought out
392 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
in connection with Oregon were not primarily about Oregon;
any other territory, as the discussions of 1848 and 1850 demon-
strated, would have and did serve the purpose as well; but
Oregon was held up on account of the effect action would
have on other questions. So it was in the statehood question.
Oregon interested most legislators on account of its bearing
on the rapidly approaching crisis over the disputed nature of
the Union; for the Democrats as a whole its admission
seemed to mean political strength and they worked for its
admission on that ground. For those who thought that "pop-
ular sovereignty" was the solution not only of the controversy
about Federal and States' Rights but of its by-product and
its cause — slavery and its extension — Oregon was an illustra-
tion of the way the doctrine worked. Those who were fight-
ing the extension of slavery saw in the admission of Oregon
an obstacle in the path they meant to follow.
Even in the West where Oregon found from the beginning
its champions, it must be confessed that Oregon's significance
for the West as such played a greater part than did Oregon
as an entity. The westerners, those of the Mississippi valley,
saw in the action of their brothers on the Atlantic seaboard a
disposition to subordinate to their own interests the functions
of the government. Each additional territory, then, was a
potential State, and each State meant votes in both houses of
Congress.
Obviously this conclusion that the Oregon Question was for
the most part a subordinate phase of some other national issue
does not in any way affect one's opinions of the territory itself,
its history and its development. As a matter of fact Oregon
gained immensely by being thus brought into prominence; no
territory had been so liberally advertised for so long a period;
no territory was more bountifully treated in the disposal of the
public domain, so that emigration thereto was vastly stimulated
and the disadvantage of its distance from the old settled por-
tions of the Union to a large degree overcome. And in the
end Oregon became a State much more easily than had been
the case with most territories.
FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 393
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Benton, T. H., Thirty years' view; or, a history of the working
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Clay, H., Works of Henry Clay. (Ed. Colton.) (Henry Clay Pub.
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secretary to Albert Gallatin, 1813-1827. (Scribners, 1914.)
Garrison, G. P., Texan Diplomatic Correspondence. (Annual re-
port of the American Historical Association, 1908; Vol. II,
parts 1-3.)
394 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE
Colder, F. A., Russian Expansion on the Pacific, 1641-1850. (A.
C. Clarke, 1914.)
Greenhow, R., Memoir, historical and political, on the northwest
coast of North America. (U. S. 1840.)
Greenhow, R., The history of Oregon and California, 4th ed.
(Freeman and Bolles, 1847.)
Hansard, Parliamentary Debates.
Hertslet, Map of Europe by treaty.
Holman, F. V., Dr. John McLoughlin. (Clark, 1907.)
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(Putnam, 1904-5.)
Jenkins, J. S., James Knox Polk and a history of his administration.
(1851.)
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west and Alaska. (State of Washington, 1913.)
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ning, viscount de Redcliffe. (Longman, 1888.)
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(Appleton, 1857.)
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Manning, W. R., The Nookta Sound Controversy. (Report of the
American Historical Association, 1904.)
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evidence about Marcus Whitman. (Lowman & Hanford,
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3d Session.)
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(Houorhton, Osgood, 1878.)
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as minister, diplomatist, and statesman. (Ed. Francis.)
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presidents. 1789-1887. (Washington, 1896-99.)
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January, 1819. (Bentley, 1819.> 1st Ed.
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FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 395
Thornton, J. Q., Oregon and California in 1848. (Harpers, 1849.)
Transactions of the Oregon Pioneer Association.
Treaties and Conventions. (U. S. 1871.)
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Shepperson, 1884-96.)
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United States, Congressional Documents.
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principally by the New Hampshire historical society. (Ed.
Van Tyne.) (McClure, Phillips, 1902.)
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1845.)
DOCUMENT
Letter, Jesse Applegate to W . H. Rees, Secretary Oregon
Pioneer Association.
Yoncalla, Oregon, Dec. 25th, 1874.
W. H. Rees, Esq.,
Sec. O. P. A.
Dear Sir:
Your letter informing me that I had been named as a speaker
to your association at the fair ground on the 15th June next
has been received. I will not be present.
Did my circumstances permit, it would afford me great
pleasure to meet my old friends and neighbors on that happy
occasion.
Many of them crossed the plains when I did, and we have
shared the toils and dangers of the journey, and the privations
and hardships of settling a new country together. May they
long enjoy in honor the just fruits of their enterprise.
It would be a great enjoyment once more to meet them and
present them with an address. There are many pleasant and
flattering things I could truthfully say to them, and some
scraps of history in which some of the early settlers of Oregon
deserve honorable mention yet untold, which I should like to
see go on the record.
The pioneers of the U. S. are of illustrious descent. Their
forefathers were that band of heroes who shed their blood for
the rights of conscience in Europe three centuries ago. And
rightly appreciating the blessings of civil and religious liberty,
they ran all risks and endured all hardships to plant these
precious seeds in a virgin soil. They have taken deep root,
and, watered with the blood of patriotism, they have borne
abundant fruit.
From Plymouth Rock to Cape Disappointment, from Mexico
to the Pole, all is sacred to liberty. Multitudes of men of all
398 LETTER OF JESSE APPLEGATE
races, colors and languages live together in peace and unity,
each seeking happiness in his own manner, all free and equal —
each worshipping God as seemeth best to himself.
It seems to the purpose of the Deity that the human race
should increase in knowledge, virtue and happiness, and men,
as the physical forces of nature, are but the instruments in His
hands to effect His purposes. When the world is ready for
a physical advance, the agent is found to carry it into effect.
So in moral reform, the nation, race or individual is always
found prepared to meet the crisis; and though the physical
forces have existed through all time precisely as they exist
today, they remain hidden in the womb of nature until a knowl-
edge of them is a necessity. So of moral progress — the occa-
sion calls forth the man.
In this view of the case there is little honor due the human
more than the physical agent ; he executes the purpose assigned
him and passes off the stage of action, just as the old machine is
superseded by a superior or later invention.
So it is with the race of pioneers. We were in our day
precisely adapted mentally and physically to perform the part
assigned us in the march of civilization, and no matter what
our individual motives as individuals, as a class we have well
executed the purposes of our creation. But like the scythe,
the sickle and the shovel plow, the best of tools among the
roots and stumps of a new land, we will be thrown aside and
forgotten now our work is done.
Descended from the old Puritans of England, the love of
liberty is as natural to us as the color of our skins. A life of
many generations on the border between the civilized and the
savage has not only trained us to such a life of hardship and
adventure, but fits us for its enjoyment. The pioneer does
not settle down to stay, he only halts — he can no more bear to
be crowded into cities than his half-brother, the savage; while
the range is good, firewood convenient and game plenty he
may remain until the near approach of the pursuing multitude.
When these arrive, with the din of machinery and the snort of
LETTER OF JESSE APPLEGATE 399
the engine, the pioneer follows the beaver to a more quiet
land.
True, there are some among us who differ from the rest,
who came to preach the gospel to the heathen. They are enti-
tled to honor for their motive, however small their success.
But for myself and those of my class I claim no higher
motive for coming here than the inherent restlessness of our
nature, and if we have done any praiseworthy thing it has only
been incidental to aims purely selfish, and so far from being
proud of the years I have been in this country, I am ashamed
to confess the insufficient motives upon which I acted.
Most of us were well-to-do farmers or, rather, graziers, in
the valley of the Mississippi, had young and growing families
and the means to educate them up to the requirements of civ-
ilization, which must overtake us in the end. We fled these
advantages to a land almost unknown, and to be reached only
by a journey so long and exhaustive that there was no more
retrieving it than to return from the grave.
Yet we started with slow moving ox teams, encumbered with
our wives and children and all our worldly wealth, to cross
a continent intersected by great rivers and high mountain
ranges and the way beset by fierce and treacherous enemies.
Those who came to Oregon in 1843 can never forget the
toils, the dangers, the sufferings of that journey, nor the years
of want and struggle that followed after !
True, our coming incidentally established or at least has-
tened the establishment of the Republic on the shores of the
Pacific. But is even this much of honor our due? Is it not
rather the due of Senator Benton, whose far-seeing statesman-
ship comprehended at that early day the great value of our
Pacific possessions, and whose sagacity directed him to the
choice of the proper instruments to secure them?
Decree a statue to the Hon. Thos. H. Benton, if you choose,
but let his humble and almost blind instruments slip away to
their unknown graves. Very respectfully,
JESSE APPLEGATE.
NAMING AND RESERVATION OF THE OREGON CAVES.
From the Report of the Oregon Conservation Commission,
"OREGON CAVES"
"In 1909 Mr. C. B. Watson, one of the members of the Com-
mission, called the attention of the Commission to the beauty
and grandeur of the Josephine County caves and asked that
steps be taken to preserve and keep them in their original
beauty as a national monument. The Commission took up
the matter with Mr. Gifford Pinchot, then Forester of the
United States, and on July 12, 1909, the caves were by procla-
mation of President Taft duly set apart as a national monu-
ment under an act approved June 8, 1906, under the name
'Oregon Caves/ These caves are under the immediate care
of the Forest Service, being in a national forest. They are of
great beauty and will be preserved as a public monument
forever."
INDEX
INDEX TO VOLUME XX
Airplane and Stage Coach, 224.
Applegate, Jesse, views the race of pio-
neers as but instrumentalities for
Deity in His purpose to increase
knowledge, virtue and happiness of
human race, 397-9.
ASTORIA FORT, THE BRITISH SIDE OF THE
RESTORATION OF, 243-260; 305-330;
new documentary sources prepare for
a true verdict on the procedures of
the participants in the restoration of
Astoria, 243; opportunities given
writer by British Foreign Office for
research on this problem, 243-4;
characteristic aggressiveness common
to British and Americans cause of
much of the difficulty in their rela-
tions, 244-5; parallel plans of North
West Company and John Jacob
Astor, 245-6; sources of confusion
as to relative priorities of explora-
tions of British and Americans as
bases of their respective claims, 246-7;
the English point of view and William
Pitt's plan for colonization of this re-
gion based on it, 247-9; the conflict-
ing views of the Americans and their
different projects based on them, 250;
correspondence through which the
movement and procedure for restora-
tion develops, 250-60; uncertainty of
the Nor'westers as to the protection
that the British government would af-
ford them in trade ventures in the
Oregon Country, 305-7; the course of
events touching the foreign relations
of the U. S. from 1815-17 of which
the dispatching of the Ontario was a
part, 307-9; the report that the On-
tario was proceeding to the Columbia
River "to seize and destroy the es-
tablishment and trade of the North
West Company on that coast" caused
Simon McGillivray of that concern to
institute inquiries, 309-11; this de-
velops a line of correspondence which
provides that the British government
shall not contest the point of pos-
session of the Columbia River at the
outbreak of the war but does not
admit the validity of the title of the
U. S. government to the settlement
atad in which its irregular mode of
procedure to secure restoration is
deprecated, 311-20; report on the es-
tablishment constituting Fort George,
and the proceedings of restoration,
320-5; British commissioners negoti-
ating treaty of 1818 express amaze-
ment at claim of priority of discovery
and occupation by U. S., 325-6;
Adams' response to their views re-
garded as contentious, 326-30.
B
Battleship Oregon, The, 224.
Blue Bucket Mine, where was it? 219-20.
BOUNDARY OF OREGON, THE NORTHERN,
25-34; the more or less consistent
positions of the United States and
Great Britain in their conflicting
claims to the Oregon Country, 25;
course of events that led to the dis-
closure of the document containing
the request that the Hudson's Bay
Company remove its principal trading
post to the north side of the Columbia,
25-6; George Canning's attention di-
rected to the British interests in Ore-
gon, 26; primacy of economic motive
in impelling to interest in Oregon, 26;
current error as to who initiated
movement to select site of Fort Van-
couver, 27; Governor J. H. Pelly out-
lines basis for British claim to Oregon
Country, 27-33.
BOUNDARIES, THE NORTHWEST, 331-44;
Sir George Simpson answers Henry
Addington's queries relating to re-
sources and history of the Pacnic
Northwest, 333-95 J- H. Pelly answers
queries of William Huskisson relating
to resources and history of the Pacific
Northwest, 339-44.
Canning, George, political service of, 26.
CHRISTIANITY, BEGINNINGS OF, IN ORE-
GON, 159-72; religious influence of
early trappers and traders, 160; Iro-
quois deserters from the Hunt party
start movement culminating in dele-
gation going to St. Louis on religious
mission, 160-1; Dr. McLoughlin con-
ducts services at Fort Vancouver, 162;
planting of Roman Catholic work in
Oregon, 162; knowledge of Indian
trip to St. Louis rouses Dr. Wilbur
Fisk and the Jason Lee party is or-
ganized, 163; first sermon preached in
the Willamette Valley, 163; the great
reinforcement, 1840, 166; first pro-
testant church, 167; American Board
commissions Dr. Parker, who selects
Dr. Marcus Whitman as companion,
1 68; the Whitman, Spalding, • Gray
[403]
INDEX
party and mission establishments, 168-
9; Reverend Harvey Clark and John
S. Griffin begin activities on Tualatin
plain, 169; Dr. George H. Atkinson
represents Congregationalism, 1 70 ;
Baptists, Presbyterians and Episco-
palians lay foundations, 170-2.
Corvallis in 1855, 107.
Earthquakes, the frequency of slight,
222.
F
FISHER, REVEREND EZRA, CORRESPOND-
ENCE OF, 95-137; strength of different
denominations in Salem in 1854, 97;
beginning of organized activity of
Baptist church in Portland, 99; size
and prospects of Portland in 1854, 99.
Gaston, Joseph, participates in promo-
tion of Dayton-Sheridan railroad, 145.
Gold diggings excitement near Fort Col-
ville, 121-123.
H
Hembree, Captain, monument for, 224.
Indian war terror, 127-8.
Indian fighters, encampment of, 223.
J
K
L
M
Miscellany notes, 225-8.
N
Nachess Trail, examination of, 225.
Oregon Caves, the naming and reserva-
tion of, 400.
OREGON, THE FEDERAL RELATIONS OF,
35-93J 173-218; 261-295; 345-3955 Sir
George Simpson gives British govern-
ment information as to situation in
Oregon, 35-6; emphasizes attitude of
H. B. Co. as to British interests ^n
the Oregon Country, 36-7; British
government presses overture American
delays acceptance, 37-9; the tripartite
project including California, Texas
and Oregon, 39-41 ; progress with the
Oregon issue in hands of Pakenham
and his rejection of the American
offer, 41-50; British attempt to re-
open negotiations, 51-4; the Oregon
question uppermost in Congress on
the phase of giving notice of termina-
tion of joint occupation, 55-82; Ore-
gon legislative measures before Con-
gress, 83-93 ! opening of negotiations
that consummated treaty of 1846, 173-
4; arbitration of issues proposed but
not accepted, 17.4-8; proposition for
renewal of negotiations and Folk's at-
titude towards it, 178; progress
towards agreement on terms of treaty,
178-86; Secretary Buchanan refuses to
draft message submitting it to Sen-
ate, 186-7; Senate advises Polk to
accept and ratifies but not without
strenuous opposition, 187-91; who was
the "instrument preserving the peace
of the world?" 191-2; consideration of
possible explanations of Folk's course
on the Oregon issue, 193-218; steps
to provide territorial organization and
other legislative needs for Oregon
balked in Congress through injection
of slavery issue, 261-9; the Ben ton
letter to the people of Oregon, 269-71 ;
Folk's attitude on the issue called
out, 269-71; Oregon issue swal-
lowed up in greater issue of
slavery and its extension, 272-4;
Oregon issues with slavery exten-
sion uppermost in the Senate, 274-
84; compromise committee provided
and its bill passed, 384-8; House
promptly defeats Senate measure and
passes bill of its own, 288-90; Oregon
territorial organization act passed and
signed by President, 290-95; increas-
ing annual migrations to Oregon, 340-
6; gradual modifications of its organic
law, 346-8; advent of territorial offi-
cials in Oregon, 348-9; failure of fed-
eral aid in Cayuse war, 349-51;
astounding ideas of President Taylor
as to advisable policy towards Oregon
and California, 352-3; land legislation
for Oregon, 3S3-*7: relation of Dr.
McLoughlin to land question, 357-60;
Thurston's manipulations to deprive
Dr. McLoughlin of his rights, 360-3; ad-
justment of Hudson's Bay Company's
claims, 363-4; Indian war claims, 364-
6; protection of emigrants, 367; pro-
jects for transcontinental railway,
367-70; growth of population and ex-
tension of settlements and carving of
hew territories out of old Oregon ter-
ritory, 370-3; pressure for admission
as a state, 373-9; issues in constitu-
tional convention, 379-80; the Oregon
constitution and question of admission
of Oregon before Congress becomes
involved with issue of slavery exten-
sion and general party politics, 380-9;
marking of the boundary, 390; a
summary of varying fortunes of the
Oregon question, 391-2; bibliography,
393-5-
Oregon pioneers, annual meeting of, 222.
Oregon Spectator, tablet marking site
of its first issue, 297-300.
[404]
INDEX
Pacific Railway dates, 221.
Pelly, Governor J. H., outlines to
George Canning basis of British claim
to Oregon Country, 27-33.
PIONEER, THE, 231-3; letter to Board of
Regents of University of Oregon re-
questing designation of spot for erec-
tion of monument as memorial to
Oregon pioneers, 231-2; expression of
admiration of genius of Sculptor A.
Phimister Proctor, 232-3.
Pioneer, The, Mr. Teal's, 224.
Pioneers, Oregon, death lists of, 139,
229, 303-4-
PIONEERS, QUALITIES OF THE OREGON,
235-242; experience and training of
type of people who became founders
of Oregon, 235-8; occasions on which
their qualities have been demonstrated,
238-41; the statue as symbolizing and
immortalizing these qualities, 241-2.
POLK AND OREGON — WITH A PAKENHAM
LETTER, 301-2; expression of the views
of the "49 men" and of "54°-4o'
men" and the relative strength of
these in Congress, 301-2.
Portland and prospects in 1854, 99.
RAILROAD, HISTORY OF THE NARROW
GAUGE, IN THE WILLAMETTE VALLEY,
141-58; transportation situation in the
Willamette Valley in the latter 705,
141 ; plans for the extensions of the
system, 142; its transportation effects,
fate under Villard and the final dis-
position of it, 142; its initial financ-
ing, bankruptcy, reorganization and
later finances, 143; conditions leading
to promotion of the Dayton-Sheridan
line, 144; details of its early finances,
145; becomes property of Scotch buy-
ers organized as Willamette Valley
Railroad Company, 145; equipment of
the road, 146; a progressive period of
railroad construction in the Pacific
Northwest, 146; extensions of narrow
gauge mileage on east and west sides
in early '8os, 148; lines of traffic
operated, 149; great scheme of junc-
tion at Winnemucca with Central Pa-
cific line, 149-50; Villard wins con-
trol to protect the Oregon and Cali-
fornia from competition, 150-1; insti-
tutes policy to make leased lines feed-
ers to Oregon and California railroad,
151; ruined road finally taken over by
Southern Pacific Railroad, 151-2; law
suits over repudiated lease, 152;
restoration of road and Dundee and
Portland extension, 153-4; gravitation
to Southern Pacific, 154; Ray's Land-
ing bridge project, 155; public levee
of Portland seized for terminal, 155;
Huntington's large projects in the
early '905, 156-7; financial transac-
tions involved in the acquisition of the
narrow gauge system by him, 157.
Rainier, the name of Mount, 221.
Reid, William, heads company of
Scotch buyers of "Yamhill" railroad,
145; large financial and promotion
activities of, in Oregon, 147.
s
School enterprises in Oregon in 1855,
109.
SNAKE RIVER IN HISTORY, THE, 1-23;
portrayal of conditions incident to its
discovery by Meriwether Lewis, 1-2;
William Clark names it Lewis River,
3; the name "Snake," that of the
Indians inhabiting its basin, supplants
the name Lewis, 3; versions as to why
the tribe was so named, 3; Jefferson's
statement of loss suffered in Lewis'
death, 4; the prehistoric roads of the
region, 4-5; David Thompson erects
first building in what is now the state
of Idaho, 6; Andrew Henry estab-
lished Fort Henry on the Snake, 6-7;
adventures of three hunters in Henry's
company, Edward Robinson, John Ho-
back and Jacob Rizner, 7-8; they lead
the Wilson Price Hunt party through
to Fort Henry, 8-9; Donald McKenzie
sent out to establish post among Nez
Perces, 9; John Reed returns to
cache at Caldron Linn, 10; Reed's
second visit to Snake River country
and first Indian masacre in the
Snake River valley, 10-11; scenes of
tragedy on the Oregon trail along the
Snake, 11-14; complications from dif-
fering marriage customs of white and
red race, 14-15; history of Fort Boise,
15-16; the massacre of the Vanorman
train, 16-17; the acquisition of the
horse, the recession of the buffalo and
the Oregon trail, 17; pioneers and
gold seekers as state makers, 18; the
new factor making history in the
Snake River valley, 19-23.
The Cascades, 102, 104, 127.
The Dalles, 1854, 103; mines on the
upper Columbia cause importance of,
124.
u
University, Territorial, removed from
Corvallis to Jacksonville, 107.
Villard, Henry, large activity of, in
railway construction and operation in
the Pacific Northwest, 146.
Yreka as large as Portland in 1855,
112-3.
[405]
f*?
F Oregon historical quarterly
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