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Hall Jackson Kelley

Prophet of Oregon

By
FRED WILBUR POWELL

This strange, eccentric man can almost be called the prophet
of Oregon, the father of migration to Oregon, the man who
hastened the fulfillment of Oregon's dieatiny .—Harvey W. Scott

Reprinted from Oregon Historical Quarterly
VOL. XVIII. No. 1-2-3-4, 1917

Portland, Oregon

The Ivy Press

1917

HALL JACKSON KELLEY

1790 - 1874

Hall Jackson Kelley

Prophet of Oregon

By
FRED WILBUR POWELL

This strange, eccentric man can almost be called the prophet
of Oregon, the father of migration to Oregon, the man who
hastened the fulfillment of Oregon's destiny. — Harvey W. Scott

Reprinted from Oreeon Historical Quarterly
VOL. XVIII. No. 1-2-3-4. 1917

Portland. Oregon

The Ivy Press

1917

Among a people prone to extremes the character of the in-
dividual rarely receives its deserts. For this hero the laurel
wreath is made so big as to slip over one of his ears and hang
by the other ; then we laugh at him. For that hero there is no
laurel wreath at all. And it is only to the great dead that we
are steady in esteem. To spoil by a very insanity of hero-
worship ; to embitter by the most ignorant and callous neglect :
in these extremes is contained the whole critical faculty of the
cleverest, the most chivalrous, the kindest, and the most
thoughtless people in the world. — Gonverneur Morris.

If a man does not keep pace with his companions perhaps
it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to
the music that he hears, however measured or far away. —
Thoreau.

PREFACE

In this monograph is presented the Hfe story of Hall Jack-
son Kelley, a Boston school master who about 1817 became
interested in Oregon, and from 1824 to 1844 was active in
the movement for its settlement by American citizens. It
tells of his success and of his failures, and of the service
which justly entitles him to be known as the "prophet of
Oregon."

So far as possible the narrative is given in Kelley's own
words, but all available materials have been used which in
any way supplement or amend his writings. At the most our
information is fragmentary and unsatisfactory on many points ;
but as Mr. Henry Cabot Lodge has said, "We can only deal
with what we have, and from what we possess must infer the
rest, for that alone is permitted to us. The inference thus
drawn is history." Not that inferential judgments have been
formed where investigation might have disclosed the fact. The
search for facts has been pursued for ten years through a
score of libraries in all parts of the country, with the results
which appear in the pages that follow.

To those who, in common with Mr. Lodge, require that
history be "informed by imagination and presented with the
finest skill of which literature is capable." this contribution
may have little appeal. It is intended for those whose interest
lies within the field of the great westward movement in Amer-
ican history and the history of the Northwest Coast. Surely
a record of fact is desirable concerning a man who has been
mentioned so often and yet so seldom with accuracy.

F. W. P.
Glen Ridge, N. J.

CONTENTS

Chapter. Page

I. YOUTH AND EARLY MANHOOD - - - - 1

II. YEARS OF AGITATION ------ 11

III. THEAMERICANSOCIETY— Plans and Propaganda 25

IV. THEAMERICANSOCIETY— Delay and Failure - 48
V. EN ROUTE— Boston to Vera Cruz - - - - 55

VI. EN ROUTE— Across Mexico ----- 63

VII. EN ROUTE— San Bias to Fort Vancouver - - 79

VIII. IN OREGON— An Unwelcome Guest - . . 93

IX FOUR YEARS OF FUTILE EFFORT - - - 103

X. THE HERMIT OF THREE RIVERS - - - 113

XI. THE WRITINGS OF KELLEY - - - - 127

XII. THE MAN KELLEY AND HIS PLACE IN HIS-
TORY - - - - 139

Appendix. "MR. KELLEY'S MEMOIR" - - - - 161

Hall Jackson Kelly

Prophet of Oregon

CHAPTER ONE
Youth and Early Manhood

Any statement as to Kelley's early life must be pieced
together from fragments now at hand over forty years after
his death as a worn-out old man. That he was born at North-
wood, New Hampshire, February 24, 1790, is set forth by the
town records. He was a descendant of John Kelley, one of
the settlers of Newbury, Massachusetts. His grandfather was
Samuel Kelley of Salem, and his father was Benjamin Kelley,
a native of Salem and a physician who practiced in the New
Hampshire towns of Northwood, Loudon, and Gilmanton. His
mother was Mary ("Polly") Gile of Nottingham.

Kelley was a boy of ten when his family went to Gilmanton
after four years' residence in Loudon. Fie attended Gilmanton
academy, and at the age of sixteen taught school at Hallowell,
Maine. ^ In 1813 he graduated from Middlebury college, Ver-
mont, with the degree of A.B.^ From his own words it is
possible to picture the sort of boy he was.

"Blessed with intelligent and pious parents, who led me in
early youth to fear God, I came into active life serious minded;
and much inclined to consider my ways, and to seek to know
what could make me useful and happy. Before the years of
manhood, I resolved on a fearless obedience to the divine com-
mands . . .^ Pious, maternal instructions, in early youth

1 Lancaster, Hist, of Gilmanton, 229, 250, 274; Cogswell, Hist, of Nottingham,
Deerfleld and Northwood, 584; Temple, Hist, of the Tozvn of Palmer, 265.

2 The nature of his college environment is indicated by the fact that thirteen
out of twenty-nine members of his class entered the ministry.

3 Kelley, Hist, of the Settlement of Oregon, 6.

much inclined me to lead an active and useful life . . .■*
It was a mother who taught me never to take the name ot
God in vain — never to be guilty of the sin of insulting the
Almighty with the breath he gives. She impressed my mind
with a profound and pious reverence for Jehovah, and with a
high and solemn veneration for the institutions of Christianity ;
and so impressed it with the love of truth, that not a single
doubt, as to the divine authenticity of the Scriptures, ever
profaned the sanctuary of my heart. Her instructions and
examples inclined me to be diligent and persevering in busi-
ness, and faithful and patient in the discharge of duties ; to be
hospitable and merciful, — when enemies hunger and thirst, to
feed them, and give them drink; and to bless them that
persecute . . .

"Early in youth I acquired a fondness for reading. The
post came along once a week and left at my father's house the
newspaper. Besides accounts of events, accidents and remark-
able occurrences, it contained bulletins concerning the terrible
wars then raging in Europe, and thrilling accounts of Bona-
parte's invading and devastating armies. They were new to
me, and I read wth an intense desire to know about them.
. . . I read them, and was led to read books and papers of
every kind as they came to hand. They were calculated to
inspire ambition and to interest my feelings. ... I did
not then, so early in youth, understand the distinctions proper
to be made as to the conductors in those wars. But afterwards,
in riper years, reading, hearing and observations enabled me
better to comprehend the meaning of what was read, and better
to discriminate between lovers of their country and philan-
thropists, and traitors and misanthropes. Hence, was my
fondness for reading and itching ears for news. At
once I left my juvenile plays and sports, and turned
to books and papers. I read at times through the day,
and more than once through the night. When taking up a
book, treating on some subject I would wish to comprehend,

4 Kelley, Hist, of the Colonisation of Oregon, s-

it was not laid down until I understood all its pages could
inform me. 'Neil's History of the Indians of New England,'
the first ever published, and other histories of that benighted
and oppressed people were read. While preparing for college
I have more than once studied my Virgil lessons by moonlight ;
in this way, often times I overstrained the optic nerves, the
stress so often brought upon them caused near-sightedness
and to be slow of apprehension. . . .

"At the age of fourteen I first experienced a difficulty in
utterance. For one or two years I suffered an impediment in
my speech ; in the presence of superiors was unable readily to
begin utterance. About the time of entering college I dis-
covered myself to be 'slow of speech' (of apprehension). . . ,"^

Earnest, introspective, and diffident, he was also religious to
the degree of fanaticism. "In my youth the Lord Jesus re-
vealed to me in visions the lonely, laborious and eventful life
I was to live; and gave at the time of the visions, and after-
wards, unmistakable signs that the revelations were by Him."'
In practical matters, however, he showed early in life a dis-
position to get at the truth through actual experiment. Thus
he said:

"A year or two prior to my entering college, much was said
in the papers in regard to a perpetual motion. I went into a
workship determined on knowing the reality of such a motion,
spent several days in an attempt to find out the truth about it.
After several days of study and mechanical labor, I was en-
abled to demonstrate its impossibility. . . ."'^

Of his college life little is known except that he enjoyed the
respect of his fellow students as a young man who could be
relied upon to meet the problems which presented themselves.

"When 'in college,' my class was put to the study of astron-
omy. For the purpose of illustrating, I constructed an
Orrery — a machine showing the pathways of the moon round

5 Settlement of Oregon, 6, 13-4.

6 Ibid., 134.

7 Ibid., 10.

the earth, and the earth round the sun. Lead pencils fixed to
the axes of those bodies, and the machine put in motion, their
orbits were exactly delineated on paper. It was similar to a
figure on one of the plates of Ferguson's Astronomy. My
class-mates thought me to have some inventive power and
mechanical ingenuity. In my Junior year, a Senior, whose
class had been required to calculate and project a certain
eclipse of the sun, which would happen far in the future, came
to me, saying, if he could be furnished within twenty-four
hours, with an accurate projection of that eclipse, he would
give me $5.00. I promptly complied with his request, and the
money was promptly paid, and was very acceptable, being, as
I was at the time, in needy circumstances."^

Kelley sought his opportunity in Boston, where he again
became a school teacher.^ On May 4, 1815, he married Mary
Baldwin, a daughter of Rev. T. Baldwin, D.D.^^ On the
records of the school committee of Boston Kelley's name first
appears as master of the West reading school, a position to
which he was appointed on September 29, 1818, after several
weeks' service as a substitute during the last illness of his
predecessor. On June 17, 1820, Kelley was appointed master
of the Hawkins Street grammar school, and on March 20, 1821
he became reading and grammar master of the Mayhew school.
Here, it appears, he became involved in "difficulties" with the
usher, whose dismissal was recommended by the sub-com-
mittee of the Mayhew school. Further inquiry was made into
the matter by a special committee headed by the mayor, Josiah
Quincy, with the result that on July 18, 1823, the secretary
was directed to inform Kelley that the school committee would
dispense with his services, but that his salary would be con-
tinued through the quarter.

As to the results of his educational activities, he claimed, "I
improved the system of coimnon school education in my adopted

8 Ibid., 9-10.

9 Ibid., 51-2.

10 Middlebnry College, General Catalogue, 1800-1900, 46; Temple, 265.

State. The Black Board and the Monitorial Desk were first
introduced into the schools of Boston by me. The late dis-
tinguished Joseph Lancaster was the first to use them."^^ Now
that the blackboard has fallen into disfavor and the Lan-
casterian monitorial system has been long since abandoned
by educators, no one is likely to dispute the claim. He also
interested himself in the subject of industrial education, "I
attempted the founding of an institution, to be called, 'Massa-
chusetts Mechanical and Agricultural College/ The subject
was two years before the legislature. The Committee on Edu-
cation said to me, that if I would raise a fund of $10,000, the
State would give $10,000 more. A munificent individual of
Charlestown proposed to subscribe $2,000 ; myself would give
a portion of my estate in the town."^^ The project was aban-
doned; but Kelley expressed satisfaction that "his zealous ef-
forts . . . excited in others of abler talents, correspondent
intentions and labors, which resulted, in some small benefit, to
our literary institutions."^^ However active he may have been
in promoting this movement, he was not its originator; nor
does his name appear in any of the published documents relat-
ing to the matter.^^

Kelley's interest in the welfare of youth also prompted him
to take an active part in the organization of the Boston Young
Men's Education Society, of which he was the first secretary,
and in the founding of the Penitent Females' Refuge, which
was organized in 1821 and incorporated in 1823.^^ His strong

1 1 Settlement of Oregon, 8-9.

12 Ibid., 4.

13 Kelley, Geographical Sketch of Oregon, 5.

14 In 1825 the legislature received a memorial from the town of Stock-bridge
praying for the endowment of "an institution best calculated to afford instruction
to laborious classes in practical arts and sciences." A brief report was made by a
committee of the house of representatives within the year, and a joint committee
was appointed to "prepare and digest a system" for such an institution. — Mass.
Resolves, 1825, c. 88. This committee presented two reports in 1826 and a third
in 1827 and also a bill "To establish the Mass. Seminary of Arts and Sciences."
This bill provided for an appropriation of $20,000, not $10,000 as stated by
Kelley, the grant being contingent upon the raising of $10,000 by subscriptions and
donations. — Governor's Messages in Mass. Resolves, VI, 381, 579; also H. Doc. 5
and S. Doc. 23 of 2 sess. 1826-7. \\'hi!e this matter was under discussion, the
legislature was also considering the needs of the elementary schools, the result
being a revised education law, passed in 1827. It was undoubtedly this act that
Kelley had in mind when referring to the results of the labors of "others of
abler talents."

15 Settlement of Oregon, 74.

religious bent naturally led him to attempt to promote the
systematic study of the Bible. "The first Sunday School in
Boston and perhaps New England was organized by me with
the assistance of the late Rev. Daniel Chessman. In 1820, or
the year following, I prepared for the use of the Sunday
Schools in Boston, a small book called Sunday School In-
structor."^®

As a writer of elementary school books, Kelley met with
considerable favor, if we are to judge by the number and
variety of editions. First came The Instructor's First Book.^^
Diligent search has failed to bring to light a single copy of this
work, and its date of publication is unknown. It was doubtless
the same as the First Spelling Book, Or Child's Instructor, the
eighth edition of which was published in 1827. In 1825 ap-
peared The American Instructor, Second Book, which accord-
ing to the title page was "Designed for the common schools in
America ; containing the elements of the English language ;
lessons in orthography and reading, and the pronunciation of
Walker's Critical Pronouncing Dictionary ; all made easy by
the arrangement and division of words, and an improved use
of figures and letters." A second edition was published in
1826. A fifth edition, published in 1827, bore the title Kelley's
Second Spelling Book. There was a further change of title
in 1832, when The Western Spelling Book was published in
Cincinnati.

The American Instructor contains selections for reading on
geography, agriculture, architecture, mechanics, astronomy, and
prosody, with special attention to Thomson's poetry. Its frontis-
piece shows Minerva, book in hand, directing two boys to the
"temple of fame" on a nearby height ; a globe, a compass, and

i6 Kelley, Explanatory Remarks, Ms. attached to a copy of Kelley's Second
Spelling Book, presented to the Amherst college library about 1869.

"In 18 1 8 provision was made for the instruction of children from four to
seven years of age. The primary schools established for this purpose seem to have
originated in a general desire of our citizens to relieve the Sunday-schools from
the great amount of secular instruction received there, which was fast crowding
out the reli^ous training that should be the object of such institutions." — Dillaway,
Education, in Winsor, Memorial Hist, of Boston, IV, 245.

1 7 Stttiement of Oregon, 9.

several books giving to the scene a scholarly setting. "De-
lightful task to rear the tender thought ;" so runs the legend.
This, of course, was Kelley's only by adoption. It was typical
of that generation of school masters who forced our grand-
mothers, while in their 'teens, to read and appreciate such
ponderous books as Watts' Improvement of the Mind; and —
it helps us to understand Kelley.^^

According to the minutes of the meeting of the corporation
of Middlebury college held on August 16, 1820, Kelley was
"admitted to the degree of Master of Arts." This was not an
"honorary" degree, as we now understand the term, for ac-
cording to the president of the college, "as it was quite cus-
tomary at that period to confer that degree upon any graduate
of more than three years' standing who applied for it, it could
not be regarded as a distinguished honor." Within the year
Harvard also conferred the same degree ad eundem gradum}^

Kelley was twice married. His second wife was Mary Perry,
adopted daughter of T. D. Bradlee of Boston, to whom he
was married on April 17, 1822 at Boston. They had three
sons, Benjamin, John S., and Charles H. His first wife also
left a son, Thomas B.-'^

After his second marriage, and probably after his dismissal
from the Boston schools, Kelley took up his residence in
Charlestown. Many years later, he gave a description of his
property in Charlestown and Boston. There was an "estate
in Milk Row, Charlestown," and four other "estates." "One
comprised twelve acres of land ; and is situate near Craigie's
Point, Charlestown. . . . The other three consisted of
houses and lands, situate in Boston, where at this time [1854]
are the Lowell, the Eastern and the Western railroad depots.

i8 "Perhaps no spelling book while this was extant, and its author was about
in the land looking to its interest, had a wider circulation and was more popular:
and perhaps there was no book of the kind more perfect in orthography and
laethod of showing the true vowel sound and correct pronunciations. Walker's
orthography as far as it regards words ending with lick and our is now an objection
to its use — tnet of Webster now being generally adopted in the schools." — Kelley,
Explanatory Remarks, Ms.

19 Harvard University, Quinquennial Catalogue, igiS: 817.

30 Middlebury College, General Catalogue, 1800-1900: 46; Temple, 365.

. . . They had been purchased in anticipation of improve-
ments which it was supposed would much enhance their
value."-^ This is evidence that early in life Kelley possessed
a certain amount of business enterprise. His subsequent busi-
ness ventures were of quite another sort.

We do not know when Kelley took up the work of a sur-
veyor. We do know that he was interested in higher mathe-
matics, and he tells us that as early as 1815 he had conceived
what he considered an improved system of geographical and
topographical surveying. After declaring that the system in
general use was unsatisfactory in both theory and practice, he
said:

"The system which I propose scarcely admits of an error. It
points out an easy and correct mode of running the lines re-
quired in the survey. My method has many advantages over
that now in practice.

"The numerous errors of the compass are entirely avoided.
The interests of the land proprietor are better promoted, and
the wide door so much open for litigation, which often costs
him his freehold, is effectually closed. It is the only simple
method by which right lines, having a given course, can be
run with precision. It is attended with as much certainty as
the high operation of trigonometrical surveys. "^^ His nearest
approach to a definite description of his system appeared in
the Manual of the Oregon Expedition, or General Circular, in
which he set forth the manner in which divisions of lands
should be made in Oregon.

"All boundaries of towns, and lots of land, will be identified
with meridian lines, and parallels of latitude, — not by the
parallels as found on the surface of the earth, where they are
crooked, as the hills and depressions make them uneven ; but
by such, as they would be, provided the surface was smooth.
. . . It is, however, true, that the divisions of land, as they
lay south of each other, increase in quantity, in proportion to

21 Kelley, harrative of Events and Difficulties, 6.

22 Settlement of Oregon, ii.

the divergence of the meridian lines ; nevertheless their bound-
aries will be distinctly marked, and their contents exactly
known. A country thus surveyed, gives the advantage of
ascertaining, without admeasurement, the relative position or
distance of any one place from another, consequently the lati-
tude and longitude of the metropolis being determined, those of
any other place are known. "^^

Confident that the principle he advocated would be of great
public utility if generally adopted and practiced, he presented
his system to the national government in the form of a petition
to congress on April 10, 1830.-'*

It was as a surveyor that Kelley in 1828 became interested
in the affairs of the Three Rivers Manufacturing company,
which had been incorporated in 1826 to build and operate a
textile mill in the village of Three Rivers in the town of
Palmer, Massachusetts. This village, which was then but a
hamlet, lies at the point where the combined waters of the
Ware and Swift rivers join the Quaboag and form the Chic-
opee, which is one of the branches of the Connecticut. The
company had met with unexpected difficulties in digging a
canal, for its engineers were unable to make much progress
on account of the solid granite rock near the dam which they
had built. Kelley put his money as well as his efforts into the
project. He made surveys and prepared a comprehensive plan,
including the manufacturing plant, the water power, and the
village itself. One of his hobbies was straight streets and
rectangular blocks (a natural reaction in a Boston engineer),

23 Kelley, General Circular, 13.

24 "The [senate] committee [on naval affairs] to which the subject was referred,
for a good and obvious reason, gave the investigation of the subject to General
[Simon] Bernard, then at the he id of the corps of civil engineers.

"This profound mathematician carefully examined the papers and the formula
I had prepared for their illustration, reported an opinion highly creditable to his
own talent, liberally estimating the talents of the memorialist. Notwithstanding the
system was recommended as being worthy of public adoption, yet nothing was
done to bring it into practice. President Jackson promised to adopt it, whenever
a book, giving directions for its practice and a proper apparatus, should be pre-
pared. I had described minutely the apparatus and the manner of using it, and had
negun the table of deflections necessary for the book, and this was all my Oregon
enterprise afforded me time to do. The tables might require for their preparation
one or two yeirs of assiduous attention of some learned mathematician." — Settle-
ment of Oregon, lo-i; 21 cong. i sess. S. jour., 236, 275.

but the position of the rivers and the configuration of the land
fortunately limited his efforts in that direction. True to his
New England inheritance, he reserved land for a small com-
mon in the center of the village.

The company soon became bankrupt, however, and Kelley
lost heavily. At the sale of the company's property, he pur-
chased some land, having become enthusiastic about the ulti-
mate prosperity of the village ; and early in 1829 he brought his
family from Charlestown and established his home there.^'

Kelley was now in his fortieth year; yet in the record of
his life as here set forth, there is little that would seem to
bear out his early vision of a "lonely, laborious and eventful
life." It is a workaday record of a school master and a man
of small affairs. We have now to consider the man of dreams —
and his all-possessing dream of the settlement of Oregon.

25 Settlement of Oregon, 23; Temple, 262-3: Alkn, The Town of Palmer, in
Copeland, Hist, of Hampden County, II, 144. Temple is authority for the state-
ment that Kelley projected a canal from Three Rivers to the Connecticut river for
the transportation of the supplies and goods of the mill and village. This plan
was not new, however. The citizens of nrookfield, at .1 public meeting held on
May 23, 1825, had proposed the construction of a canal to Springfield, via the
Quaboag and Chicopee rivers. — Springfield Republican, June i. 1825. The canal-
fniilding spirit was at its height in Massachusetts in the twenties.

CHAPTER TWO

Years of Agitation

The Biddle version of the journals of Lewis and Clark was
published in 1814.^ On December 24, 1814, the War of 1812
between Great Britain and the United States was terminated
by the Treaty of Ghent, which provided that "All territory,
places, and possessions whatsoever, taken by either party from
the other during the war . . . shall be restored without
delay," and ratifications were exchanged early in 1815. At
the end of the war, Astoria, John Jacob Astor's trading station
and fort at the mouth of the Columbia river, was held by the
British, by whom it had been renamed "Fort George." Under
the terms of the treaty the United States announced its inten-
tion of asserting sovereignty over this fort and the region of
the Columbia, but no response came from Great Britain. Ac-
cordingly a sloop of war was dispatched in September, 1817
to take possession. This action compelled the British to declare
themselves, which they did by asserting a claim to the territory
upon the ground that it had been "early taken possession of in
his majesty's name, and had been since considered as forming
part of his majesty's dominions."

These events served to arouse great interest in the Pacific
Northwest. It was only natural, therefore, that Hall Jackson
Kelley should have sought out the Lewis and Clark journals
and read with avidity all that they had to tell of the far-off
land. Here was a young man with boundless enthusiasm and
ambition, and with energy which refused to be confined. Fate
had placed him in Boston, the home port of Captain John
Kendrick, Captain Robert Gray, and the Winships. There
were men in Boston who could tell of their voyages and of

I The History of the t.xpedition Under the Command of Captains Lewis and
Clark, to the sources of the Missouri, thence across the Rocky mountains and
down'the River Columbia to the Pacific ocean. Philadelphia, 1814. 2 v.

the nature of the disputed lands. Such an opportunity was not
to be neglected. To Kelley it meant an objective which dwarfed
all other interests and governed his thoughts and movements
throughout the rest of his long life. Of his awakening, or
"vision" as he termed it, he said :

"In the year 1817 'the word came expressly to me' to go and
labor in the fields of philanthropic enterprise and promote the
propagation of Christianity in the dark and cruel places about
the shores of the Pacific. . . ? The perusal of Lewis and
Clark's journal, personal conference with intelligent navigators
and hunters who had visited and explored the territory beyond
the Rocky mountains, and facts derived from other sources
entitled to credit . . . satisfied me that this region must,
at no remote period, become of vast importance to our Gov-
ernment, and of deep and general interest. ... I foresaw
that Oregon must, eventually, become a favorite field of mod-
ern enterprise, and the abode of civilization."^

In another place, writing in the third person, he declared :
"He then conceived the plan of its colonization, and the
founding of a new republic of civil and religious freedom, on
the shores of the Pacific Ocean . . . and without con-
ferring with flesh and blood, and in despite of entreaties of
prudent, worldly-wise friends, he resolved on the devotion of
his life in the realization of his plans, hoping to do something
worthy the sacrifice, by planting, in the genial soil of those
regions, the vine of Christianity and the germ of Civil Free-
dom."^

His plans developed slowly, however, for he needed first
to inform himself as to the nature of the Oregon country ; its
climate, its soil, its natural products, and its native inhab-
itants. The possibilities of trade with the Atlantic states,

2 Kelley, Htst. of the Settlement of Oregon, 124; see also Kelley, Petition.
1866: I. Kelley himself was uncertain as to the exact date of the conception of
his colonization idea. In pn earlier stateinent lie said it was "about the year
1818." — Kelley, Memorial, 1844, in Palmer Sentinel, December 10, 1846.

3 Kelley, Memoir, in Committee on Foreign Affairs, Territory of Oregon,
supplemental report, 47, 25 cong. 3 sess. li. rep. loi.

4 Petition, j866: 1.

with Mexico and South America, and with the Asiatic peoples
demanded investigation, and the possibihty of a practicable
route overland invited attention. No less important was the
question of title to the territory itself. Besides, there was
the immediate, personal matter of a livelihood. As we have
seen, Kelley became a master in the Boston public schools in
1818 and continued in that employment until 1823, when he
left it not at his own desire. The prudent man when he finds
himself out of one position, looks for another; not so Kelley,
who now took up the matter of Oregon to the practical exclu-
sion of lesser interests.

Meanwhile, events had been shaping themselves in such a
manner as to emphasize the need for action. In 1818 by the
joint-occupation treaty it was agreed that the disputed territory
west of the Rocky mountains should be "free and open for
the term of ten years" thereafter ; thus leaving the question of
title unsettled while putting a premium upon early occupa-
tion. By the Florida treaty, Spain in 1819 ceded to the United
States all claims to the Northwest country. Russia, -/owever,
in 1821 asserted a claim to lands in that territory as far south
as the fifty-first parallel. Within the year, by act of parliament,
the North-West company was merged with its great rival, the
Hudson's Bay company, thus strengthening and consolidating
British interests in that region. Already, December 19, 1820,
the expediency of occupying the Columbia river had been
brought to the attention of the house of representatives by John
Floyd of Virginia, and a committee had been appointed to in-
quire into the situation, but "more through courtesy to a
respected member, than with any view to business results" f
and the attitude of the succeeding congress was no more favor-
able to positive action.

We have no means of knowing as to how familiar Kelley
was with contemporaneous developments on the Columbia, or
even with the proceedings of congress, but we may safely
assume that he knew of Floyd's activity and of the disposition

5 Benton, Thirty Years' View, I, 13.

of the national government to defer official action. To assume
less would be to deny to Kelley that marked propensity for
getting information which so distinguished him in all cases
of which we have knowledge.

"In the year 1824," he tells us, "I announced to the world
my intention to settle Oregon, and to propagate in regions
beyond the Rocky mountains, Christianity."^ In the same year
Russia formally abandoned all claims to territory on the Amer-
ican continent south of 54 degrees 40 minutes, thus removing
another obstacle in the way of American occupation. Yet Kel-
ley's first memorial to congress was not introduced until Febru-
ary 11, 1828. His name was first mentioned in the deliberations
upon the Floyd bill on December 24, 1828, and then it was
obscured through the reporter's error. It is necessary, there-
fore, to consider in some detail the activities of those persons,
who like Kelley, but independently of him, sought to influence
congress to act, particularly those who signified their desire
to establish permanent settlements in the Oregon country.

Most prominent among those who interested themselves in
the Oregon question was that champion of the West, Thomas
Hart Benton of Missouri. Although a practicing lawyer, Ben-
ton edited the St. Louis Enquirer, perhaps as early as 1815,
and used its editorial columns as a means of promoting West-
ern interests and his own political advancement. Some of his
articles he reprinted in 1844 in a booklet bearing the title,
Selections of Editorial Articles from The St. Louis Enquirer
On the Subject of Oregon and Texas As Originally Published
in that Paper in the Years 1818-19 and Written by the Hon.
Thomas H. Benton. According to the preface these articles
were reprinted to arouse interest in the Oregon question at
the State Democratic convention soon to be held, and to call
attention to the "statesman-like foresight which those who now
read them, for the first time, will duly appreciate." When a
politician assumes to present historical materials tending to

6 Settlement of Oregon 20. This was also the year in which Dr. John Mc-
Loughlin was commissioned Chief factor of the Hudson's Bay company in the
territory west of the Rocky mountains.

show his "statesman-like foresight," the historian must exercise
all possible caution. When that politician is Benton, the need
for caution is imperative, for in him were combined the qual-
ities of unquestioned personal integrity and of equally unques-
tioned political agility. So this booklet with its selections bear-
ing no dates more specific than those on the title page, could
hardly be accepted in the absence of supporting evidence.

Fortunately, we have such evidence and of a conclusive char-
acter. There is nowhere a complete file of the St. Louis En-
quirer, but from the numbers available it is possible to identify
one of the selections.'^ Furthermore, if such evidence were
lacking, it would be possible to prove that as early as 1819
Benton's newspaper was giving space to the discussion of the
settlement of Oregon. In the Independent Chronicle and Bos-
ton Patriot of June 9, 1819, appeared an article "from the St.
Louis Enquirer" under the head, "The Columbia River." This
article is reproduced in part below :

"The project of some citizens of Virginia to settle on the
Columbia, revives the idea of a town or colony on that river.

"Mr. John Jacob Astor of New York, made an establishment
at its mouth just before the commencement of the last war,
which was broken up soon after by British and Indian hostility.

"The Virginians contemplate an establishment on the navig-
able waters of the Columbia, but we should think that the place
of its junction with the Multnomah would furnish the most
eligible. — These rivers unite their streams, in tide water, one
hundred and twenty miles from the Pacific Ocean, and a short
distance below the range of mountains. From thence to Asia
the navigation would be easy and direct, the distance not great,
and the sea so peacable, as its name indicates, that no more
mariners would be wanting to conduct a ship, than hands
enough to set her sails at the outset of the voyage, and take
them down at its termination. To the same point also (the

7 The editorial, "Treaty of 1818 — Columbia River" (Selections, 8-q) appeared
in the St. Louis Enquirer of March 17, 1819. The Enquirer on January 6, 1821,
reprinted an article "from the Western Spy" on "Commerce with Asia," which
declared "A series of essays on this subject was published in the St. Louis En-
quirtr."

confluence of the rivers) would come the commerce, at pres-
ent chiefly drained by the Multnomah and the Columbia; a
region embracing fourteen degrees of longitude, and sixteen
or eighteen of latitude, larger than all the Atlantic states put
together, and possessing a climate as mild as that of Europe.
An establishment formed at that place would doubtless receive
many immigrants from Asia. . . .

"Whatever may be the result of the Virginia company, the
progress of the fur trade itself, will form a town at the point
indicated. Its trade may at first be limited to furs; but in
process of time it will become the emporium of that rich East
India commerce which is destined to find its way into the valley
of the Mississippi ; by the Columbia and Missouri rivers. And
when this time arrives, a new Tyre will be seen in the west,
of which the old, and although 'queen of cities,' will have fur-
nished but a faint image of power and splendor."

While this article does not appear among the Selections, the
subject matter is the same and the style is the same. Both may
be traced to a common source in the chapter on "View of the
Country on the Columbia," in Brackenridge's Views of Louis-
iana, from which Benton quoted with credit in the Selections.*
Thus he quoted from Brackenridge the following paragraph:

"The route taken by Lewis and Clarke across the mountains,
was perhaps the very worst that could have been selected.
Mr. Henry, a member of the Missouri company, and his hunt-
ers, have discovered several passes, not only very practicable,
but even in their present state, less difficult than those of the
Allegany [sic] mountains. These are considerably south of
the source of the Jefferson river. It is the opinion of the
gentleman last mentioned, that loaded horses, or even wagons,
might in its present state, go in the course of six or eight days,
from a navigable point on the Columbia, to one on the waters

8 Henry Marie Brackenridge, Views of Louisiana ; together with a journal of a
voyage up the Missouri river in 1811. Pittsburgli, 1814; 304 pp. Thus, Benton
said: "Look to the mip. See the Arkansas, the PIntte, and the Yellow Stone, all
issuing together from the Rocky Mountains in the neighborhood of the sources of
the Buenaventura and the Multnomah [Snake], which issue from the opposite side;
the mountains between no more than gentle swells, over which loaded waggons
may easily pass." — P. 7.

of the Missouri. — Thus, rendering an intercourse with settle-
ments which may be formed on the Columbia, more easy of
access than between those on the heads of the Ohio, and the
Atlantic States."*

He quoted further from Brackenridge to emphasize that the
soil in the vicinity of the Columbia is rich, the climate more
temperate than in the same latitude in the United States, and
the natives very numerous (although he omitted a sentence
telling of the "almost continued fog, and drizzling showers
of rain, which renders it extremely disagreeable near the sea").
From this he concluded: "This seems to indicate a capacity of
supporting a dense population, practically exemplified by the
number of inhabitants who live upon its spontaneous pro-
ductions."

He then proposed the establishment of a series of posts along
the overland route from the Missouri to the Columbia, thus
opening "A channel to Asia, short, direct, safe, cheap, and
exclusively American, which invites the enterprise of American
citizens, and promises to them a splendid participation in the
commerce of the East. . . . Nothing is wanting, but a
second Daniel Boone to lead the way, and thousands of ardent
spirits would immediately flock to develop its vast means of
agriculture and commerce, and to open a direct trade between
Asia and America. . . . With the aid of the American
government, the trade upon this route would immediately
begin. That aid is not required in money, but in government
protection ; in giving to an American fur company an act of
incorporation, with leave to form a port of entry at the mouth
of the Columbia, and to establish a chain of posts and trading
stations from thence to the upper navigable waters of the
Missouri river. With these aids the enterprising citizens of
the West are now ready to commence this trade. In two years,
they would have it in operation, and would begin a revolution
in commerce which would check the drain of gold and silver
from the United States, and revive upon the banks of the

9 Pp. 1 1-2; Brackenridge, 96.

Columbia and Missouri the wonders of Tyre and Palmyra, of
Memphis and Ormus. Without that aid, and the same revolu-
tion will be eventually accomplished,"^®

While Benton was writing of the necessity of a transconti-
nental route to the Columbia river country, another man was
developing the same idea. This man (perhaps the editor, John
S. Skinner) in an anonymous article, which appeared in the
July 9, 1819 number of the American Farmer of Baltimore,
proposed "The Bactrian camel as a beast of burthen for culti-
vators, and for transportation across the continent, to the
Pacific ocean." Under this head he presented a glowing pic-
ture of the possibilities of the Northwest, its fertile soil, its
great quantities of excellent timber, its productive fisheries,
and its salubrious climate as indicated by its numerous and
robust population of Indians. He continued :

"Settlements, will, no doubt, very soon grow up, and spread
along the shores of the Columbia river with astonishing rapid-
ity ; — and the young athletic powers of our government will,
ere long, launch into its waters a fleet to move along the coasts
of the Pacific, and take under its protection the commerce,
which the enterprise of our citizens will soon create and extend
over those seas, to an incalculable amount. ... To enable
the government to wield its potent energies with effect, and
to give to the American people the means of exerting their
enterprising commercial spirit to the greatest advantage, and
to enable them to make due profit from the great resources
of their country, it has become necessary, that a short, direct,
and certain means of communication should be established into
every quarter, to the most remote point, and particularly over
the continent to the Pacific Ocean.

"Steam Boats have effected much ; our improvements and
facilities of intercourse, in that way, have justly attracted the
admiration of the civilized world; but there are physical diffi-
culties and obstacles which that masterly invention can neither
surmount nor remove, with all its skill and power. . . .

10 Pp. 12, i8, 22-3, -1- See also Brackenridge, 96-7. as to the practicability of
an overbnd route as a means of developing the trade with the East Indies.

Therefore, whatever advantage may be derived from steam boat
transportation of heavy articles, by the way of the Missouri,
into the interior, it must certainly be abandoned as. the mail
route to the coast of the Pacific, and, also, I am inclined to
believe, as the route for the transportation of any article across
the continent, farther than the Yellow Stone River. . . ."
He therefore proposed the establishment of communications by
the most direct route and the use of the Bactrian camel, whose
good qualities he proceeded to set forth at great length, and
concluded with the question, "Why not add the majestic, long
lived, placid, and valuable Bactrian Camel to the number of the
auxiliary laborers & carriers for the active citizens of the
nation?""

This question was answered by Robert Mills, in a Treatise
on Inland Navigation, published in Baltimore in 1820, in which
he proposed the application of steam as the "moving power
to carriages, upon rail roads across the mountains" between the
Yellowstone and the Columbia. In this book Mills followed
the article in the American Farmer so closely as to suggest
common authorship, were it not for his reference to a "late
writer" in connection with an extensive quotation from that
article.^^ This book went through two editions. Like the
article upon which it was based, it served to spread abroad
the idea that at our very doors lay an undeveloped territory
of great possibilities, and that means should be devised to
make it more accessible to emigrants.

When we come to inquire as to the source from which the
unknown sponsor of the Bactrian camel obtained his informa-
tion as to the Northwest, the name of Benton suggests itself.
When we inquire as to the person responsible for arousing
Floyd's interest in that country, we find that again it was
Benton.

At the opening of the second session of the sixteenth con-

11 I, 113-5. Tlie descriptive part of this article was reprinted in the New
England Palladium and Commercial Advertiser of Boston, July 14, 1820.

12 Pp. 53-9. See also Cleveland and Powell, Railroad Promotion, 259-64.

gress in December, 1820, Benton was in Washington as sen-
ator-elect from the new state of Missouri, awaiting- formal ad-
mission to his seat. There he had quarters at Brown's hotel
with Congressman Floyd, Ramsay Crooks of New York, and
Russell Farnham of Massachusetts. Crooks and Farnham
had been in the service of John Jacob Astor on the Northwest
Coast. Floyd had already become interested in Western af-
fairs during his early residence in Kentucky, and he had read
the articles which Benton had published in the St. Louis
Enquirer. These circumstances led to earnest conversations
among the four men ; and Floyd determined to bring the
question of occupation to the attention of congress. ■'^ He re-
newed his efforts in the following congress and continued his
endeavors until 1829, when he became governor of Virginia.
He died in 1837; and it does not appear that he was active in
the movement after leaving congress.

On February 22, 1823, Peter Little of Maryland presented
to the house "a. memorial from eighty enterprising farmers
and mechanics within his district, praying congress to pass
the [Floyd] bill now on the clerk's table, for the occupation of
the mouth of the Columbia river, intimating their wish to re-
move thither, for the improvement of that country, and of their
own condition."^'*

Benton's first formal action in the matter was taken on
January 10, 1825, when he reported to the senate the Floyd
bill, which had already been passed by the house. ^^

Growing interest in the Oregon question is indicated by the
proceedings of the twentieth congress. The terms of the joint-
occupation agreement had been continued indefinitely in 1827,
but made terminable upon a year's notice. On February 11,
1828, Floyd presented a "memorial of citizens of the United
States, praying for a grant of land, and the aid of Government
in forming a colony on the Northwest coast of the United

13 Benton, Thirty Years' View, I, 13; 16 cong. 2 sess. Annals of Congress,
XXXVII, 679, 945-59; H. jour., 80, 171.

14 17 cong. 2 sess., Annals of Congress, XL, 1077; H. jour., 250.

15 18 cong. 2 sess. S. jour., 74.

States." The speaker, Andrew Stevenson of Virginia, also
presented a similar memorial "from Alfred Townes of Ken-
tucky."^^ The memorial presented by Floyd declared that the
"memorialists . . . are mostly engaged in agricultural
and mechanical pursuits" and that "they for themselves, and
three thousand others who will associate in solemn covenant
with them" asked for a grant of land on the Oregon river
between the forty-sixth and forty-ninth parallels of latitude
and extending from the Pacific ocean to a longitudinal line
one hundred miles from the mouth of the river."

This memorial was the work of Kelley, as was explained by
Edward Everett of Massachusetts during the following session
on December 29, 1828. According to the record :

"His attention had been turned to the subject by the circum-
stance, that he had been called on by a constituent (at the
head of an association which wished to emigrate to the region
in question), to submit a memorial to congress, at the last
session, which, in his own necessary absence, Mr. E. stated
he had done, through the courtesy of the gentlemen from
Virginia (Mr. Floyd). . . . His thoughts had been in this
way directed to the subject and he confessed that he had formed
a very favorable impression of the general nature of the pro-
posed measure."^^

On December 10, 1828, Henry H. Gurley of Louisiana pre-
sented "a petition of James M. Bradford, and twenty-four
others, stating that they have associated together for the pur-
pose of removing to, and permanently settling on, the waters
of the Columbia or Oregon river, within the territorial limits
of the United States, as a company to hunt, trap, and trade —
praying for grants of land, and other encouragement."^®

1620 cong. I sess. H. jour., 280.

\7 Settlement on the Oregon River, 20 cong. i sess. H. doc. 139. 4 pp.

18 20 cong. 2 sess. Register of Debates, V, 132. "As early as 1826, I began
to communicate with members of Congress upon the subject of the settlement of
Oregon; that year, I think, with the Hon. Timothy Fuller, member of the House
[from Massachusetts], and with the Hon. Edward Everett in 1827." — Settlement of
Oregon, 93. As Fuller's last term expired in March, 1825, Kelley was clearly in
error; and if we are to accept his stritement, which is unquestionably true as to
Everett, we must give him credit for a year earlier than he claimed.

10 20 cong. 2 Bcss. H. jour., 44.

The matter was taken up for discussion in the committee of
the whole house on the state of the Union on December 23.

1828. Gurley proposed an amendment to the Floyd bill, pro-
viding for a grant of land forty miles square to Bradford's
New Orleans company. Everett, however, "stated that, in
that part of the country from which he came, there was an
association of three thousand individuals, respectable fanners
and artizans, who stood ready to embark in this enterprise, as
soon as the permission and protection of the Government should
be secured to them." He therefore raised the question whether
an exclusive grant of land such as was proposed would be fair
to other prospective settlers as enterprising and meritorious as
those of the New Orleans company.

The obnoxious provision was therefore stricken out on the
following day, and the amendment was further modified "by
inserting the names of Paul and J. Kelley [sic], and his asso-
ciates (a similar company from Massachusetts), and Albert
Town [sic] and his associates, (a company from Ohio), as
entitled to the permission granted by the bill."^

Of Kelley's other activities during the years from 1824 to

1829, we know little. That he engaged in little if any remuner-
ative employment is certain,^^ though his engagement as a
land surveyor by the Three Rivers Manufacturing company
would suggest that he may have served others in like capacity.
It would seem, however, that he neglected his personal affairs,
and became involved in difficulties which threatened the loss of
his property. These troubles he attributed to the efforts of
the opponents of the settlement of Oregon.

"To accomplish their designs, and to prevent mine, and to
make an end of my project, they raised an army in the city of
Boston, and afterwards in '27, enlisted troops in the cities of
New York and Washington, and in '29 raised a more bloody
troop in the village of Three Rivers, to which place I had just
moved my family. ... As early as in the year '24 . . .

20 20 cong. 2 sess. Register of Debates. V, 136. See also p. 146.

21 Kelley, Narrative of Events and Difficulties, 7.

my adversaries first devised my hurt ; and in the year '28,
taking the advantage of the pecuniary embarrassments brought
upon me by a heavy loss of property in the Three Rivers
Manufacturing company, they planned to get from me my
princely estate and comfortable home in Charlestown, Mass.,
believing that by so doing they would deprive me of the means
which they supposed necessary for the accomplishment of the
Oregon enterprise. . . .

"In the spring of '29, to be at a greater distance from adver-
saries who were coming daily to worry and impoverish me and
to delay progress in my great and benevolent enterprise, I
moved with my family to the village of Three Rivers . .
taking with me what household stuff the plunderers of my
property had left."^^

These words of a half-crazed man, written long after the
events which they suggest rather than describe, are at least
sufficient as evidence that during those years he was active
in the cause of Oregon settlement, so active in fact that he
merged his personality in it and regarded all men who came
into opposition to him as opponents not of him but of the idea
which possessed him. Despite opposition, however, men were
found who were willing to listen to him, and to lend their
names and their influence in his behalf. These men in 1829
joined him in instituting the American Society for Encourag-
ing the Settlement of the Oregon Territory. Individual agita-
tion was now to be supplanted by organized propaganda. The
"vision" was becoming more real and distinct.

32 Settlement of Oregon, 21, 23.

CHAPTER THREE

The American Society — Plans and Propaganda

In the course of the discussion of the Oregon question in
congress and elsewhere, much was said of companies — Brad-
ford's company, Kelley's company, Towne's company. Kelley,
however, had no desire to become the leader of a mere band of
adventurers, still less of a partnership for profit like Astor's.
The name of his organization was carefully chosen. It was to
be a "society" of American citizens who were interested in
promoting his plan to secure the American title to Oregon by
establishing a settlement in the valley of the Columbia.

At its organization in 1829, the American Society for En-
couraging the Settlement of the Oregon Territory elected Gen-
eral John McNeil president, Washington P. Gregg treasurer,
and Kelley general agent.^ It was incorporated by special act
of the Massachusetts legislature, approved June 22, 1831,
McNeil and John L. Blake, D.D., being named as incorpora-
tors.2 "This society was Hall J. Kelley. He was the body
and brains, the fingers and tongue of it," said H. H. Bancroft,^
and the statement is true. The others were willing to "encour-
age"; Kelley was willing to sacrifice everything. The head-
quarters of the society was in Boston, and Kelley made fre-
quent trips from Three Rivers to attend to its affairs. His
duties were those of a publicity agent. When his domestic
concerns admitted of his absence, he "traveled New England,
everywhere lecturing on Oregon," but according to his own
statement he was an indifferent public speaker, due to his
extreme diffidence.^ His lecture tours could not have been
very extensive, for his expenses on this account were but $200.*^

1 Kelley. Memorial, 184S: 6-9. McNeil later became surveyor of the port of
Boston, and' Gregg, secretary of the common council of Boston.

2 L. Mass. 1831, c. 63; XII, 132-4.

3 Bancroft, Hist, of the Northwest Coast. II, .';4S-

4 Kelley, Hist, of the Settlement of Oregon, 15, 24.

5 Kelley, Narative of Events and Difficulties, 7-

Probably the opposition which he encountered on these tours,
and of which he complained most bitterly, led him to direct
his efforts to writing and to conferences with men of affairs
and influence.

We have seen that he had convinced Edward Everett of the
practicability of his plan as early as 1827. On January 25, 1830,
upon motion of Everett, the petition of Kelley which had been
presented to the house of representatives by Floyd on Febru-
ary 11, 1828, was referred to the committee on foreign affairs.*^
On January 5, 1831, Benton presented to the senate a "mem-
orial of the American Society for Encouraging the Settlement
of the Oregon Country . . . praying that a military escort
and transports, and convenient military posts, may be estab-
lished for the encouragement and protection of emigration to
that country," which was referred to the committee on military
affairs.'^

At the opening of the next congress Everett also presented
to the house of representatives a memorial of the Society,
"praying congress to aid them in carrying out the great pur-
poses of their institution ; to grant them troops, artillery, mil-
itary arms, and munitions of war; to incorporate the society,
with power to extinguish the Indian title to lands ; and with
such other powers, rights and immunities, as may be at least
equal and concurrent to those given by Great Britain to the
Hudson's Bay Company."^

This memorial appears in the Manual of the Oregon Expedi-
tion, or General Circular. As it sets forth in brief the con-
tentions of the memorialists as to the right of sovereignty over
the territory and the national advantages to result from its
settlement, it is reproduced at length.

"They are convinced, that if that country should be settled
under the auspices of the Government of the United States of
America, from such of her worthy sons, who have drank of

6 21 cong. I sess. H. jour., 19?

7 21 cong. 2 sess. S. jour., 71.
822 cong. I sess. H. jour.. 4

the spirit of those civil and religious institutions, which con-
stitute the living fountain, and the very perennial source of her
national prosperity, great benefits must result to mankind.
They believe, that there, the skillful and persevering hand of
industry might be employed with unparalleled advantage ; that
there, Science and the Arts, the invaluable privilege of a free
and liberal government, and the refinements and ordinances of
Christianity, diflfusing each its blessing, would harmoniously
unite in meliorating the moral condition of the Indians, in
promoting the comfort and happiness of the settlers, and in
augmenting the wealth and power of the Republic.

"The uniform testimony of an intelligent multitude have
established the fact, that the country in question, is the most
valuable of all the unoccupied parts of the earth. Its peculiar
location and facilities, and physical resources for trade and com-
merce ; its contiguous markets ; its salubrity of climate ; its
fertility of soil ; its rich and abundant productions ; its extensive
forests of valuable timber ; and its great water channel diversi-
fying, by its numerous branches the whole country, and spread-
ing canals through every part of it, are sure indications that
Providence has designed this last reach of enlightened emigra-
tion to be the residence of a people, whose singular advantages
will give them unexampled power and prosperity.

"These things have excited the admiration of every observer,
and have settled in the policy of the British nation the deter-
mined purpose of possessing and enjoying them, as their own;
and have induced their Parliament to confer on the Hudson's
Bay Company, chartered privileges for occupying with their
settlements the fertile banks of the Columbia ; which settle-
ments have been made ; and are flourishing, in rapid growth,
under the culture secured by the provisions of a Colonial Gov-
ernment.

"The Society conceive it clearly deduced, from all the facts
in the case, that the right of sovereignty over the Oregon
territory is invested in the government of the United States
of America, consequently, in her is the exclusive right of

colonizing that country, and of introducing into it the various
business and benefits of civilized life.

"The expense and labor necessary to the accomplishment of
this work, planned by Providence, made easy by nature, and
urged and encouraged by the persuasive motives of philan-
thropy, are in no degree, commensurate with the national bles-
sings to be derived from it ; among which are enumerated the
following ; viz. :

"The moral condition of the Aborigines . . . will be
improved. . . . Their unjust and unequal alliances with
another nation may be broken, and their friendship secured to
this.

"By means, thus honorable, that valuable territory would be
held from possession of an unfriendly power.

"Ports of Entry, and Ship and Navy Yards, might be estab-
lished with great advantage, on the waters of Oregon, and
thereby, the trade and commerce of both the Pacific and At-
lantic Oceans would become extended and enriched. Capital-
ists and Mariners might pursue, with more profit and safety,
the whale and other fisheries in the Western Seas, and the
salmon trade in the Columbia.

"A portion of the virtuous and enterprising but not least
faithful population, whom misfortunes have thrown out of
employment, and who throng our villages and sea-ports, and
seek a better home, — might there find opportunities, under the
paternal kindness of the government, to succeed to a happier
condition, and to greater usefulness to themselves and to their
country. . . .

"These are objects so obvious, so vast and valuable, as need
not be urged . . . and seem necessarily embraced within
the scope of a wise policy. They are yet deemed practicable.
Another season — their possession will be thought expedient —
but not so easily wrested from the grasp of British power.

"The Society view with alarm the progress, which the sub-
jects of that nation have made, in the colonization of the Or-
egon Territory. Already, have they, flourishing towns, strong

fortifications, and cultivated farms. The domicile is made the
abode of domestic comforts — the social circle is enlivened by
the busy wife and the prattle and sport of children. In the
convention of 1818, England secured for her subjects, the
privileges of a free trade, that of buying" furs of the Indians ;
but, at first, they practiced trapping and hunting; now, they
practice buying and improving lands, and assiduously pursue
the business of the farmer and mechanic. Their largest town
is Vancouver, which is situated on a beautiful plain, in the
region of tide water, on the northern bank of the Columbia.
At this place, saw and grist mills are in operation. Three ves-
sels have been built, one of about 300 tons, and are employed
in the lumber trade. Numerous herds and flocks of horses,
horned cattle, and sheep, of the best European breeds, are
seen grazing in their ever verdant fields. Grain of all kinds, in
abundant crops, are the production of the soil.

"Everything, either in the organization of the government,
or in the busy and various operations of the settlements, at this
place, at V/alla Walla, at Fort Colville, and at DeFuca, in-
dicate the intentions of the English to colonize the country.
Now, therefore, your memorialists, in behalf of a large number
of citizens of the United States, would respectfully ask Con-
gress to aid them in carrying into operation the great purposes
of their institution — to grant them troops, artillery, mihtary
arms, and munitions of war, for the defense of the contemplated
settlement — to incorporate their Society with power to ex-
tinguish the Indian title, to such tracts and extent of territory,
at the mouth of the Columbia, and at the junction of the Mult-
nomah with the Columbia, as may be adequate to the laudable
objects and pursuits of the settlers ; and with such other powers,
rights and immunities, as may be, at least, equal and concur-
rent to those given by Parliament to the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany ; and such as are not repugnant to the stipulations of the
Convention, made between Great Britain and the United States,
wherein it was agreed, that any country on the Northwest
Coast of America, to the westward of the Rocky Mountains,

should be free and open to the citizens and subjects of the
two powers, for a term of years ; and to grant them such other
rights and privileges, as may contribute to the means of estab-
lishing a respectable and prosperous community."^

Everett was not prepared to give his unqualified endorse-
ment to the memorial, and he took care to get into the record
the following statement as to his attitude :

"Lest his opinions on the matter involved should be mistaken
from the fact of his having presented the petition, he con-
sidered it a duty to state that he could not urge the granting
of the prayer of the petition at this time; because it would
be impossible to grant it, without violating the stipulations of
the treaty on the subject with Great Britain. There was, how-
ever, one view of the subject in which it required the considera-
tion of the House. It is stated in the raemorial that flourishing
settlements of British subjects existed in the Oregon terri-
tory. If this were so, it was in violation of a stipulation agreed
to between Great Britain and the United States, that, during
the convention, no settlement should be authorized to be made
on the debatable lands, by the citizens of either country. This
was a matter that required to be looked to, and was an appro-
priate subject of inquiry for the Committee on Foreign
Relations."io

It was as a writer that Kelley was most effective in spread-
ing broadcast information as to the Oregon country and arous-
ing interest in its immediate settlement by Americans. In
1830 he published A Geographical Sketch Of That Part Of
North America Called Oregon.^^ In the preface he ascribed
to Jefferson the honor of having been the first to suggest the

9 Kelley, General Circular, 8-11.

1022 cong. I sess. Register of Debates, VIII, 1433; A^tV^^' Register, XLI, 285;
Settlement of Oregon, 93-6.

II Kelley, A Geographical Sketch of That Part of North America Called Oregon:
containing an account of the Indian title; the nature of a riglit of sovereignty; the
first discoveries; climate and seasons; face of the country and mountains, natural
divisions, physical appearance and soil of each; forests and vegetable productions;
rivers, bays, &c. ; islands, &c.; animals; the disposition of the Indians, and the
number and station of their tribes; together with an essay on the advantages result-
ing from a settlement of the territory. To which is attached a new map of the
country. Boston, 1830. 80 pp.

M;ip of Oregon. J8::(). Cii\iy frimi Cico.yraiiliicil SUctc

colonization of the Oregon country. The time had arrived,
he beheved, for the carrying out of that suggestion, notwith-
standing the opposition which had already attended his ef-
forts. He boasted that he had "a mind invulnerable to the
attacks of calumny," and declared "It is needful, that the
friends of the Colony should possess a little of the active and
vital principle of enthusiasm, that shields against disappoint-
ments, and against the presumptive opinions and insults of
others;" but it is evident from these very words that despite
his enthusiasm, he was not the man to receive abuse without
wincing, or to meet opposition or doubt without questioning
the motives or the intelligence of those who would not be con-
vinced.

The nature of the contents of this pamphlet is sufficiently
indicated by its sub-title. The geographical detail need not
concern us, but there are two points which merit attention.
As to the question of title, Kelley asserted "The rights,, which
England set up to this country, are predicated on idle and
arrogant pretentions ; nor is the claim made by America, to
a right of soil founded on better tenure." With the exception
of the land bought in 1791 by Captain John Kendrick, the title
to all lands was in the hands of the Indians, whose rights to
own lands were the same as those of the whites. Therefore,
adequate compensation must be tendered before the Indian title
could be extinguished.^- The advantages to result from set-
tlement were presented under seven heads.

"First. The occupancy of it, by three thousand of the active
sons of American freedom, would secure it from the posses-
sion of another nation, and from augmenting the power and
physical resources of an enemy. . . .

"It is not a doubtful hypothesis, that unless our legitimate
rights on the waters and in the territory of Oregon, are pro-
tected by planting a colony in it, or by other means no less
effectual; they will in a few years more, become entirely lost
to our merchants, or to the benefits of our country.

12 Pp. 7-9.

"England is desirous of possessing the whole country, with
all its invaluable privileges. She has evinced this, by that bold
and lawless spirit of enterprise, by which she has acquired
so great a monopoly in the Indian trade ; by which, in the year
1812, she took from American citizens, the town of Astoria
(now called Fort George), and still retains it. . . . In
this presumptuous way ; in defiance to treaties and obligations,
to the paramount claims of this country, and by alliances with
the Indians, she hopes to secure a hold upon it, which the phy-
sical power of the American Republic, exerted in the plenitude
of its energies, cannot break. . . .

"Second. A free and exclusive trade with the Indians, and
with a colony in Oregon, would very considerably increase
the resources, and promote the commercial and manufacturing
interests of our country.

"The fur trade has been and still is found vastly lucrative
to those who pursue it. The contemplated colony would find
it productive of great pecuniary advantage, and a fruitful
source of their prosperity. . . . English traders, at the
present time possess the country. The zvill of the Hudson Bay
Company, is the supreme law of the land. The natives are
subservient to it, and American traders dare not resist it.
Hence, the inland trade is fast on the wane, and has become
disastrous, if not in most cases, ruinous. While it is so con-
stantly exposed to the rapacity of treacherous Indians, and to
the avarice of the English, it must remain utterly valueless.
It might, however, be reclaimed, and forever protected by a
colony occupying the shores of the Columbia. . . .

"Third. The fisheries might be more extensively and profit-
ably pursued. . . .

"Fourth. A port of entry, and a naval station at the mouth
of the Columbia, or in DeFuca straits, would be of immense
importance to a protection of the whale and other fisheries, and
of the fur trade ; and to a general control over the Pacific
ocean, where millions of our property, are constantly
afloat. . . .

"Fifth. It is an object, worthy the attention of government,
to secure the friendship of the Indians, and prevent alHances
between them and other nations. , .

"Sixth. The settlement of the Oregon country, would con-
duce to a freer intercourse, and a more extensive and remuner-
ative trade with the East Indies. . . . Such an extension
and enjoyment of the East India Trade, would provoke the
spirit of American enterprise, to open communications from the
Mississippi valley, and from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific
ocean, and thus open nezv channels, through which the products
of America and the Eastern world, will pass in mutual ex-
change, saving in every voyage, a distance of ten thousand
miles; nezv channels, which opening across the bosom of a
widespread ocean; and intersecting islands, where health fills
the breeze and comforts spread the shores, would conduct the
full tide of a golden traffic into the reservoir of our national
finance.

"Seventh. Many of our seaports would be considerably

benefitted by taking emigrants from their redundant population.
It is said, and truly so, that business of all kinds is overdone;

that the whole population cannot derive a comfortable support
from it ; hence the times are called hard ; which generally press

the hardest upon those, who pursue the useful occupations of

laborious industry. . . .

"The learned profession might spare some of their wise and

erudite votaries who, in Oregon, could find meeds of immortal

honours. Many of industrious habits and honest lives, whose

reputations have been blasted by the foul breath of calumny;

these, with the unfortunate and oppressed, but virtuous of all

orders, could there find an asylum, and succeed to a better

condition.

"These hastily written observations must be concluded by

the remark, that all nations, who have planted colonies, have

been enriched by them."^^

The first date set for the starting of an expedition to the

1.1 Pp. 7S-80.

Oregon country does not appear in any of Kelley's writings that
have been preserved. For a long time his plans were con-
tingent upon the action of congress. Had success followed the
presentation of his memorial to congress in 1828, it is likely
that he would have lost no time in declaring himself. This
much is certain; two land expeditions were originally con-
templated, one of men only and a later one to be made up
of families. The time of departure of the first expedition was
finally set for January 1, 1832.^^

Kelley's plans were formally presented in the Manual Of The
Oregon Expedition, or General Circular,^^ which begins with
the announcement "OREGON SETTLEMENT, to be com-
menced in the Spring of 1832, on the delightful and fertile
banks of the Columbia River." In this pamphlet he again con-
sidered the Indian title, and declared that since the British
claim to jurisdiction over the territory south of the forty-ninth
parallel was without foundation, and in view of the failure of
congress to take positive action, there was no justly constituted
jurisdiction in that country. Therefore, he argued, the emi-
grants would violate no law or right of the United States by
settling there. He laid particular emphasis upon the economic
superiority of the Columbia valley over the Middle West.

"The natural advantages of the country, for trade and com-
merce, foreign, internal and coastwise, are paramount to those
found in other parts of America. The confluence of the many
navigable rivers, opening into, and beautifying every section
of the country, forms the grand river Columbia, whose waters
may be traversed by large vessels, two hundred miles from the
sea ; whose either bank affords inlets safe and commodious for
harbors. Nature furnishes many clear indications that the
mouth of this far spreading and noble river is soon to become
the commercial port of that hemisphere, the great business

14 Young, Correspondence and Journals of Nathaniel J. Wyeth, 43; McMaster,
United States, VI, iio, citing Boston Patriot, May 28, 1831, and United States
Gazette, Octuber 22, i8ji.

15 Kelley, Manual of the Oregon Expedition. A general circular to all persons
of good character, who wish to etiigrate to the Oregon territory, embracing some
account of the character and advant -.ges of the country; the right and the means
and operations by which it is to be settled, and ali necessary directions for becoming
an emigrant. Charlestown, 1831. 28 pp.

place of nations, interchanging the commodities and produc-
tions of western America and the East Indies.

"Much of the country within tw^o hundred miles of the Ocean,
is favorable to cultivation. The valley of the Multnomah is
particularly so, being extremely fertile. The advantages, gen-
erally, for acquiring property are paramount to those on the
prairies of the West, or in any other part of the world. . . .
The Oregon is covered with heavy forests of timber. . . .
The production of vegetables, grain, and cattle will require
comparatively but little labor; these articles, together with the
spontaneous growth of the soil, and the fruits of laborious
industry, in general, will find a market, at home, and thereby
comfort and enrich the settlers. Surplus staple articles may
be shipped from their doors to distant ports, and return a
vast profit in trade. Lumber, ship timber, &c. may be sent
to the western coast of South America, the islands in the
Pacific ; bread stuffs, furs, salmon, and many other articles
of domestic manufactures, to the East Indies.

"It is the circumstance of a good home market, that gives
any country its greatest value, and must give the Oregon coun-
try immense advantages for settlement; advantages unknown
in the Western States, whose markets are as remote as the
shores of the Atlantic. . . .

"The want of value to the farmer's surplus produce, is his
poverty ; and has made shipwreck of the fortunes of thousands,
who have settled in Ohio, Indiana, &c."^®

Having thus described the resources of the country, he pro-
ceeded to unfold his plans more in detail, taking up in order
the survey and division of lands, the civil government, and
provisions for the organization of churches and schools. Then
came the direct appeal to emigrants and the terms on which
they might be enrolled, the route to be taken, the expedition
itself, and finally the question of funds. The order of presenta-
tion is significant ; first a general picture of the economic ad-
vantages, then a more detailed description designed to appeal
to those who would shrink from the idea of "roughing it,"

16 Pp. 6-7.

next an appeal to the Puritan type of emigrants, and finally
the practical questions of emigration and funds. Those who
are interested in the psychology of prospectus literature will
find the pamphlet worth reading.

Two towns were contemplated ; a seaport town on Gray's
Bay, eleven miles north of the mouth of the Columbia, and a
trading town on the peninsula at the confluence of the Columbia
and the Willamette. A five-mile square of territory was to be
laid out as a site for the seaport town, according to the follow-
ing plan :

"Of the streets, one, 200 feet wide, will run from the water,
in a N. W. direction, bisecting at the distance of six squares,
an area of ten acres of parade or pleasure ground, which area
is forever to remain open and unoccupied with buildings. The
centre of this street, for the width of 100 feet, will be devoted
to the purposes of a market. Streets crossing this, at right
angles, are intended to be 100 feet wide; those parallel to it,
50 feet. The squares are to be 400 feet on a side, each includ-
ing 18 [16] lots, 50 by 100 feet each. From the 100 ft. streets
and the public lands, no plant or tree is to be removed or
destroyed without consent of the municipal authority."^"^

Similarly, the trading town was to be two miles square. A
tract of land near this town was to be divided into parcels
40 by 160 rods or forty acres each, and the number of lots was
to equal the number of emigrants over fourteen years of age,
not including married women. Next to these lots would be
others of 160 acres, making up the complement of two hundred
acres to each emigrant.^^

17 p. 12.

i8 p. 13. "Possibly our real estate men, who are now so vigorously adver-
tizing 'peninsula' additions, will take note of the fnct that Kelley was ahead of
them with a map and plat and advertizement of that same ground by sixty-one years."
— Harvey W. Scott, Address, Oregon Pioneer Association, Transactions, 1890: 34.

"One is reminded of Kelley's instrumentality in the settlement of Oregon bv
the improvements at present being made on 'the peninsula,' where stands the mill
town of Saint Tohn, tlie terminus of the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Com-
pany's road, and the Portland (Catholic) University, as well as by the long line of
warehouses between Saint John and East Portland proper. Kelley particularly
honored the peninsula by adding to his writings a line plan of the town which
he designed for that point. As a site for a city it has some excellent features, one
of which is space to grow. IJltimately it will become a part of Greater Portland,
but before it becomes absorbed in Portland, it would be a gracious suggestion to
let it come in under the mme of its intending colonizer. Hall J. Kelley." — Frances
F. Victor, Hall J. Kelley, One of the fathers of Oregon, Oregon Historical Society,
Quarterly, II, 398 (tgoi).

SCALE.

400 rods, to 1 inch

LOTS OF LAND.

40 Acres, -10 bv lO^rods.
160 Acres, 80 bV 320 rods

Plan of Trading Town.

In discussing the question of civil g-overnment Kelley knew
that he was on uncertain ground. As the Oregon country
lay beyond the jurisdiction of the United States, the relation
which the settlers would bear to that government involved
perplexing questions. The form of government was also rec-
ognized as a matter worthy of serious thought. He looked to
congress for action which would solve these problems, but in
default of such action he was prepared to set up a provisional
government. On this point he said :

"Whatever may be the frame of government, it should be
built upon the most finished improvements of others. Whether
the settlers are to be considered children of mature age, made
free, and setting up for themselves, constituting in some de-
gree, an independent Province, the friend and ally of the
mother country ; sharing in her generous and maternal solici-
tude; or whether they are to be a Colony, planted, cherished,
and protected by her, depends entirely on Congress. That the
latter should be the case, is the prayer of a memorial, at the
present time, before that august assemblage of talents, virtue
and wisdom.

"Should the emigrants fail of that Charter, which reason and
justice dictate, and humanity calls for, they will attempt to
make for themselves, just and equal laws, under the provisions
of a form of government, so far made a free democratic rep-
resentative, as will be consistent with an unequivocal recogni-
tion of the sovereignty of the American Republic, It will be
in most respects, a transcript of the government of the Michi-
gan Territory. The Governor, Secretary, Treasurer, and Board
of Land Commissioners, being the Appointments of the So-
ciety. It will continue two years, unless Congress, before the
expiration of this time prescribes a substitute. . . ."^^

Religious himself, he took care to emphasize the religious
aspects of his plan. "The settlers will lose none of their re-
ligious privileges and comforts," he promised. "Churches of
different denominations will be organized before emigration."

19 P. 14.

He also sought to encourage "pious and well educated young
men ... to engage in the great work of imparting moral
and religious instruction to the Indians." Upon the subject
of education Kelley's plans were broad in scope but limited as
to details. "Some efficient and appropriate system" was to be
adopted, and in it would be included "whatever will best civil-
ize the manners, reform the morals, enlighten, and free it from
the grasp of superstition ;" certainly an ambitious program.
Schools of every grade were to be opened. "Agricultural and
classical institutions, and colleges succeeding common and pri-
mary schools . . . will be established; and in them, red
as well as white children taught the rudiments of learning."
A special appeal was made to persons of good education to
emigrate in order that there might be properly qualified can-
didates for positions in the schools and in the offices of gov-
ernment.^^

As emigrants Kelley wanted only "men of steady habits,"
and it was provided that all who proposed to emigrate should
be required to give satisfactory evidence as to their "good
moral character and industrious habits." He wanted particu-
larly "properly educated persons, to fill the civil, military and
literary roles," clergymen and physicians, men "possessing a
scientific knowledge of the different branches of mathematics
and natural philosophy, to constitute corps on engineering,
surveying, astronomy, geology and botany," farmers, and me-
chanics. His appeal was also directed to capitalists who would
take with them vessels suitable for the lumber trade and the
whale and salmon fisheries, and the iron parts of grist mills,
saw mills, and nail-making machinery, and establish a paper
mill, a printing press, a window-glass factory, and an iron
foundry.

To such men his inducement was "most of the expenses of
emigration and a landed estate, valued from $2,000 to 10,000,
situated, where the healthfulness of climate, the good market
for every product of the earth or of labor, and the enjoyment

20 Pp. 1 5-6.

of a free and liberal government will conspire to make life
easy." More concretely, "each emigrant, over fourteen years
of age, not including married women ; and each child that is
an orphan, or without parent in that country, will receive a lot
of seaport land ... or two farming lots in the valley."
Poor children and children in charitable institutions were
eligible.

On the other hand the requirements were not burdensome.
Each prospective emigrant was to pay twenty dollars as a
pledge of faithful performance of obligations to be stipulated
by covenant between him and the Society ; namely, to give oath
to obey the laws of the Society and to be a peaceable and
worthy member, and to agree that all common property should
be liable for debts on account of the settlement ; the Society
in turn to agree to defray all expenses of the first expedition
from St. Louis except for clothing, guns, and knapsacks, to
give each settler a parcel of seaport land or two hundred acres
of farm land chosen by lot, title to pass after two years' occu-
pation, and to guarantee religious and civil freedom.^^

At this point Kelley interpolated answers to objections which
had been made to his project, reaffirming the healthfulness of
the Oregon country, and declaring that there was no ground
for fear of violence from the Indians. "The Agent of the
Society has given these subjects many years of patient investi-
gation," said he, "and does not hesitate to avow a greater con-
fidence in the faith and friendship of those 7'ed men, than of the
white savages who infest our communities ;" confidence which
subsequent events in the Northwest showed to have been un-
warranted. Nor did he anticipate trouble with the Indians
along the proposed route, which was from St. Louis up the
Platte, through the South Pass and down the Willamette.
That the South Pass was feasible he affirmed upon the author-
ity of Major Joshua Pilcher, Indian agent of the war depart-
ment.^^

21 pp. t6-9.

22 Pp. 19-22. It is significant that he made no reference to the statements
of Brackenridge and Benton on this point.

Kelley looked to congress to pay a part or the whole of the
expenses of the expedition in view of the national benefits to
accrue from the settlement ; but he declared "it will not concern
the settlers, whence comes protection, or the means of accom-
plishing the objects of the enterprise, whether from congress
or private munificence." As to the detailed preparations for
the expedition, he said:

"Emigrants are required to defray their own expenses to St.
Louis ; and after that, to provide with all necessary arms,
knapsacks, blankets, and private carriages. Females and chil-
dren must be provided, at the time of starting, with covered
horse wagons, containing each a bed and two or more blankets.
From St. Louis they will be subject to no other expense than
the above named, and in Oregon will receive gratuitously, a
landed estate of great value.

"Orders will be given in due time for assembling in Port-
land, Me. ; Portsmouth, and Concord, N. H. ; Boston, Worces-
ter, and Springfield, Mass. ; Bennington, Vt. ; Albany, Bufifalo,
Detroit [ !] and New York, N. Y. ; Philadelphia, Pa.; Balti-
more, Md. ; Washington City, &c. ... At these, and other
places, companies will be formed ; Captains being appointed
to the command of every fifty male adult persons, the emigra-
tion will then commence, by the most practicable route to the
aforesaid place of general rendezvous. . . . The cost, from
Boston . . . will, probably, not exceed fifteen dollars."

Captains and other officers were to be chosen by elections
to be held after general orders had been given for assembling.
Shareholders of merit and of good education only were to be
eligible to offices of rank. At St. Louis a drove of cattle was
to be purchased, and fly tents each large enough to cover six
wagons were to be provided. No private property other than
wearing apparel, military equipment, and provisions was to
be taken in the public baggage wagons. All merchandise,
machinery, and other property was to go by sea. From St.
Louis the expedition was to be under a military form of gov-
ernment.23

23 Pp. 22-4. The sea expedition was also "for persons who might be unwilling
or unable to sustain the fatigue of the land." — Colonisation of Oregon, 20.

As to the financial arrangements, the Circular set forth that:
the funds of the Society should be made up of $200,000 of
stock and certificate money and all such donations as benevc'-
lent and public spirited individuals might make. It presented
an extract from the report of a committee charged with devia-
ing a plan of financing the enterprise, which contained the fol-
lowing suggestions :

"Let a portion of the funds of the society constitute a capita*
stock of Two Hundred Thousand Dollars, to be divided into
shares of $100 each, and to be raised by loans. Each share
entitling the owner thereof to 160 acres of land, as set forth
in the certificate of stock, — the lots are to be numbered and
determined according to the rules and plan of division ex-
pressed by the By-Laws of the Society. This stock shall be
secured on the pledge of all the public and common property
and revenues of the settlement — the emigrants covenanting
with the Society before embarkation, that all debts incurred
directly or indirectly, for the benefit of the settlement, to the
full amount of said stock, shall be paid in the manner aforesaid.

"Your Committee would also suggest the propriety of rais-
ing funds by donations and subscriptions, to meet more specific
purposes in the Oregon Country. Let one be called the Edu-
cation or Indian Fund; and another called the Religious
Fund. .

"[The] par value [of the stock] cannot be depreciated by the
contingency of ill success of the enterprise ; for, in that possible
event, every dollar of the stock will be refunded, the same
being on hand either in money, or in public property. . . ."^*

The details of the financial plan were also presented in an-
other pamphlet which was also issued in 1831. This was a
stock book which bore the legend "This book of stock, sub-
scriptions, &c., in which shall be enrolled, the names of all
persons contributing to the success of founding a settlement
in Oregon, either by subscriptions, donations or investments in
the Society's stock, shall be preserved, in perpetuum, by the

24 Pp. 25-6.

settlement ; and a true copy of the same shall be deposited in
the archives of the government of the United States of Amer-
ica." In the four pages of this pamphlet there is nothing of
interest that was not included in the General Circular except
a facsimile of a share of "Oregon Settlement Stock." This
"stock" was really a short term bond, secured by a pledge of
the common property of the Society. It was to bear interest
at the rate of six per cent after May 1, 1832, and the principal
was to be payable in either five or ten years, at the option of
the holder. The right to 160 acres of farming land on the
Columbia was to be given to the holder of each "share," or
bond, as a bonus.

Kelley took care that his pamphlets should be put into the
hands of men of influence at Washington. He sent copies of
both the Geographical Sketch and the General Circular to the
heads of departments and to members of congress. A second
edition of the Geographical Sketch appeared in 1831, with the
General Circular as an appendix. Scattered about the country
were agents of the Society, thirty-seven in number, whose
duty it was to distribute literature, give information, and
enroll members. Some of these agents were booksellers, how-
ever, who obviously had only a qualified interest in the pro-
posed expedition. Two names are significant. One is James
M. Bradford of St. Francisville, Louisiana, leader of the pro-
posed New Orleans company of 1828 ; the other is Nathaniel
Jarvis Wyeth of Cambridge, Massachusetts, of whom more
will be said in the chapters that follow.^^

25 Settlement of Oregon, 77-8.

CHAPTER FOUR
The American Society — Delay and Failure

As stated on the first page of the General Circular, the
expedition was to start in the spring of 1832, or three months
after the time originally set. Furthermore it appears that
Kelley's original plans had undergone a change,^ for he now
proposed to take women and children on the first land expedi-
tion. There is no evidence in the General Circular that more
than a single expedition had ever been contemplated.

Kelley spent the winters of 1830 and 1831 in Washington
attempting to influence congress to take positive action,^ and
his necessary absence from his headquarters at Boston and the
tendency of congress to delay easily accounts for the postpone-
ment of the date set for departure.

The number of persons enrolled upon the books of the
Society is nowhere stated except in general terms. It is cer-
tain, however, that the statement of Kelley in his first memorial
to congress in 1828 that three thousand men stood willing to
emigrate was based largely on anticipations. His highest
claim was to the effect that he had "enlisted four or five hun-
dred emigrants" by 1832.^ Speaking of the prospective emi-
grants he said :

"Many were those in all parts of the Union, and in some
parts of Europe, who would engage in it. Companies were
formed, in dififerent parts of the States, and many men of dis-
tinction and of high standing in society, all desiring their names
to be enrolled in the expedition. The Hon, Samuel Houston,
in conversation said: *I have almost made up my mind to
go with you to Oregon, and engage in the East India trade,'
A company in Paris was formed, and another, a more numer-

: Young, Correspondence and Journals of Nathaniel J. Wyeth. 2-3, 8-g.

2 Kelley, Petition, 1866: 3.

3 Kelley, Hist, of the Settlement of Oregon, 80.

ous one, in Germany. The former corresponded with me
through Mr. Everett ; the latter through a German gentleman
in the government service at Washington."'*

From the point of view of results, Nathaniel J. Wyeth was
the most important person who came under Kelley's influence.
Of him Kelley said : "Some time in the year 1829, he came to
me for the loan of my books, and documents concerning the
far west, and the programme of the expedition in which he
would enlist, and he enrolled his name among the names of
several hundred others in the emigrants' book."" Wyeth, who
was engaged in the ice business on Fresh Pond near Charles-
town, was "surrounded with apparent advantages, and even
enviable circumstances." according to the statement of his
cousin ; yet "Mr. Hall J. Kelly's writings operated like a match
applied to the combustible matter accumulated in the mind of
the energetic Nathaniel J. Wyeth, which reflected and multi-
phed the flattering glass held up to view by the ingenious and
well-disposed school master. Mr. Nathaniel J. Wyeth had
listened with peculiar delight to all the flattering accounts from
the Western regions."^ But while Kelley was actuated by
motives of patriotism and philanthropy, the practical-minded
Wyeth was moved by considerations of personal gain. Ac-
cording to his own statement, he "had no view farther than
trade at any time.""^ To his mind the settlement of the Oregon
country was a matter that could be left to follow its natural
course.

From contemporary accounts we may learn something as

4 Ibid., 11J-3. "Nathaniel Wyeth, of Cambridge, and Captain Bonneville, of
the U. S. Army, were both, I believe, enrolled in the emigration books, and were
both to have command in the expedition." — Affidavit of Washington P. Gregg
(■1843) in Ibid., ii6. Thornton (Oregon and California, II, i6.) also declared that
Captain Bonneville was among those enrolled. Lyman (Hist, of Oregon, III, 73)
said that Bonneville's expedition was "perhaps but remotely connected with
Kelley's effort"; but it does not appear that Kelley made any such claim. He
did claim that Thomas Shaw, supercargo on the ship Lagoda of Boston, met Cap*
tain John A. Suiter in San Francisco and told him of his exploration of the
interior of California and of his plan to extend his colonizing activities into that
region, and that it was upon Shaw's advice that Sutter se<^*'ed -» Sacramento. —
Settlement of Oregon, 53, 60; Petition, j866: 7.

5 Settlement of Oregon, 64.

6 John B. Wyeth, Oregon, 4-5.

7 Young, 90.

to the effect of Kelley's writings upon the popular mind. John
B. Wyeth said that "there were circles of people, chiefly among
young farmers and journeymen mechanics, who were so thor-
oughly imbued with these extravagant notions of making a
fortune by only going over land to the other side of the globe,
to the Pacific Ocean, that a person who expressed a doubt of
it was in danger of being either affronted, or, at least, accused
of being moved by envious feelings. After a score of people
had been enlisted in this Oregon expedition, they met together
to feed and to magnify each other's hopes and visionary no-
tions, which were brought up to a high degree of extravagance,
so that it was hardly safe to advise or give an opinion adverse
to the scheme."^ And Mr. John Bach McMaster tells us that
in the debate in the Massachusetts legislature in 1830 on the
question of building a railroad from Boston to Albany, "a
member declared that the road ought to be constructed in order
to keep the people from going to Oregon ; that an association
of active, enterprising men had been formed to colonize that
country, and that four thousand [ !] families had engaged to
go."^ Nevertheless, he expresses the belief that "the circulars
and notices of Kelley and the overland journey of Wyeth
aroused but little public interest in the Oregon country."^''

As already stated, Kelley's plans, as set forth in the General
Circular, included provisions for schools to which Indian chil-
dren would be admitted, and for an "education or Indian fund"
and a "religious fund." In 1831 he pubUshed in Zion's Her-
ald, "a series of letters addressed to a member of congress,"
presenting his plans for the settlement of Oregon. These were
followed by other articles in 1832 calling for missionaries to
accompany the expedition. The New England Conference of
the Methodist Episcopal church thereupon appointed "two
pious men," Spalding and Wilson, as missionaries to the

8 Wyeth. 58.

9 McMaster, United States, VI, 109.

10 Ibid., 112. See Niles' Register, XL, 407 (1831), quoting from the St. Louis
Republican as to the proposed expedition.

Indians of Oregon.^^ It is possible, however, that Lyman was
right when he said of Kelley:

"He expressed himself in a manner not easily understood
by the religious people of America. His colony schemes and
bills for appropriations of land, and numerous secular arrange-
ments ; and his incessant political agitations struck the churches
as the main object held in his view, and that his call upon the
churches was rather a second thought. The religion of that
period was intensely unworldly and sought a most conven-
tional, or traditional, expression. Reformation, with demands
for which the country was being belabored, was not recognized
as of a religious nature."^^

To Kelley there was little difference between honest doubt
and active opposition, and the stupendous nature of his plans
and his earnest manner of presenting them alike put obstacles
in his way. The very nature of the man aroused antagonism
on the part of the indifferent, and led those who would have
listened to a less vehement prophet to withhold their confidence.
Platform presentation by a man of convincing manner is an
effective sort of propaganda. But Kelley was not the man
for such a task, for he was temperamentally incapable of de-
scribing his plans without vigorous and general denunciation
of all who disagreed with him. At times his manner became
hysterical, and in after years he admitted that his mental con-
dition had been a "near approximation to insanity. "^^ Of his ex-
periences while on lecture tour, he said : "My adversaries
were everywhere on the alert. They watched every move-
ment of mine, pursuing me from city to city, laying every
plan to vex and worry me, to alienate friends and turn them
from and against me, and to discourage those who had enlisted
for Oregon . . . and to turn them from their purpose.""

Why was the enterprise opposed, and who opposed it?

11 Affidavit of William C. Brown, former editor of Zion's Herald (.1843), in
Kelley, Memorial, 1848: 8; Settlement of Oregon, 63-4.

12 Lyman, III, 132.

13 Settlement of Oregon, 15.

14 Ibid., 24.

Kelley supplied the answer, which to his mind at least was
convincing. "Its interest conflicted with those of certain fur
companies, British and American, and of persons concerned in
the commerce of the N. Pacific."^^ Then there was "the hire-
ling press."

"It was represented in the leading newspapers and periodi-
cals that Kelley was deceiving the people — his plans were
chimerical — was an idle schemer — a mad man ; that hardship
and privations would attend at every step the expedition ;
and that perpetual suffering would be the lot of young and
old through the first generation. By such falsehoods and
calumnies as these, I was made the object of scorn and con-
tempt of persons of every age and rank — the derision of youth
whose fathers I would have 'disdained to have sit with the
dogs of my flocks.' "^*

This abuse was not confined to the ephemeral newspapers.
It extended even to the dignified New England Magazine,
which in February and April, 1832, published two articles^"^
from the pen of a writer who chose to hide behind the initials
"W. J. S." To find the equal of this writer in bitter denuncia-
tion coupled with smug confidence in his own point of view,
we must go back to Jeffrey and the Edinburgh Review. In
one particular, however, the caustic Scot differed from his
Yankee contemporary ; he had vision. To the mind of our
new-world tory, civilization had arrived at its apogee about
1832. It remained for all comfortable New Englanders to be
content with their lot, and for all others to rest assured that
whatever they might lack at home among their own people,
they were unlikely to find elsewhere. There have been such

1$ Petition, iS66: 2. "The literary bureau of the Hudson's Biy Company,
moreover, took especial pains to collect and republish everytliing derogatory to
Oregon which was said on either side of the Atlantic, but particularly on the
American side. From 1800 to 1846 it pursued the same policy in Oregon which
it hid practiced in Csnada for two centuries. I'or the protection of the beaver
it used all its power to keep settlers out." — Harvey, On the Road to Oregon,
Atlantic Monthly, C V, 634.

16 Kelley, Hist, of the Colonization of Oregon, 20; Wyeth, 12.

17 Kelley also referred to an article published in February, 1831. — Settlement
of Ore.gon, 24. But the first number of the magazine was not issued until July,
1831.

preachers since the beginning of time, and yet man has con-
tinued to migrate and to benefit thereby.

In the first of these articles, it was questioned whether the
Oregon emigrants would ever get as far as St. Louis ; for
they must first pass through a much finer country than Ore-
gon, where they could buy two hundred acres of fertile land
and establish themselves among a kindred people for less than
the further expenses of their journey. From St. Louis to the
Columbia the proposed route was traced in detail, and if any-
thing was omitted from the list of horrible contingencies, it
has escaped notice. Starvation, torrential rivers, hostile In-
dians, wild animals, and winter in the mountains were to con-
tribute to the hazards and hardships of the expedition. Doubt
was expressed as to the existence of the South Pass as stated
upon the authority of Major Pilcher. Should any of the emi-
grants finally reach their destination, how were they to dis-
possess the Indians, how would they be governed, how would
they sustain themselves until the harvest of their first crop?
Should they succeed in raising a surplus of grain, where would
they find a market? In Japan? "J^P^^- quotha." Did they
not know that there was only one Japanese port open, and
that to the Dutch? In India? No; in India the lower classes
lived on about a penny a day, and the soil was unexcelled. As
to the market for lumber in the Spanish-American countries,
was there not lumber in Peru and Chili? On the other hand
there was New England. Said the oracle :

"We had thought that in New England, especially, sickness
and unavoidable accidents were the only causes for fear. Here
education is more encouraged than anywhere else. The help-
less poor, even those whom vice has rendered so, are not suf-
fered to starve. All this is well ; very well ; but it seems we
can do better. At least, so say, and perhaps think, the pro-
jectors of the intended expedition to the mouth of the Columbia
river.

"A gentleman, for whose talents and ambition his native
land does not afford sufficient scope, has been employing his

leisure in devising schemes to better the condition of his fellow
countrymen. His studies have not been in vain ; if his plans
should prove practicable, nations yet to be will bless him as
their father and benefactor, . . .

"We can see no advantage in Oregon which the emigrant
may not secure in the state of Maine. The sea washes the
shore of both. The soil is good in both. There are fisheries
pertaining to both. If the climate of Oregon is milder, it is
not proved that it is better. There is waste land in both. There
is plenty of timber in both. Maine has these advantages. Her
inhabitants are under the protection of the laws. They are
numerous enough to protect each other. They have free com-
munication with every part of the world. There is no art or
science of which she does not possess at least the rudiments.
All that can be done in Oregon, within a hundred years, is
already done in Maine. . , }^ We do not know that the
prime mover of this folly is actuated by any evil motive ; we
do not believe it. We look upon him as an unfortunate man,
who, deluded himself, is deluding others, and conceive it our
duty to warn those who are about to follow him on the road
to ruin."

Nor was logic the only means adopted to convince the pros-
pective emigrant of his folly. There was the appeal to au-
thority, so convincing to those who are already convinced.
"The project of a settlement on the Columbia river has been
repeatedly before Congress, and has been pronounced visionary
by the wisdom of the nation. At this present session, such an
opinion has been expressed by one of the best and greatest
men in the country. "^^

In the second article the critic devoted his attention to the
Geographical Sketch and the General Circular, which it would

i8 — Twelve years after this was written, two New Englanders, one from
Boston and the other from Portland, Maine, established themselves on the west
bank of the Willamette. Each wanted to name the new town after his old
home, and the dispute was settled by flipping a coin. One can only wonder if
"W. J. S." lived long enough to learn of this fact.

TO W. T. S., Oregon Territory, New England Magasine, 123-32; Settlement of
Oregon. 103-6.

seem he had not read before writing the first one. There is a
running comment on the text, with sweeping denials of state-
ments of fact and sarcastic flings at Kelley as one whose
hallucination was "so strong as totally to obnubiate his facul-
ties."

"Mr. Kelley assures us that he is not mad, as has generally
been supposed, and that he speaks what he believes to be the
truth. Our opinion is hereby improved in two particulars,
though we can only reconcile them by two suppositions, — that
a man may repeat a tale of his own invention till he believes it
to be true, — and that what is not truth to one man, may be
truth to another. . . .

"We suppose that Mr. Kelley is to be governor of the new
territory, or one of the head chiefs and beloved men, or at
least, that he will be allowed to pocket as much of the before-
mentioned stock as will remunerate him for his disinterested
efforts in favor of the good people of New England, and natives
of Oregon. . . . 'Falsehood flies half round the globe,
while Truth is putting on her sandals.' The fallacies of Mr.
Kelley have been received as truth, by the whole country, and
there is reason to fear that interference may come too late."^

The interference not only did not come too late; it was not
even necessary, for Kelley 's project never had in it the germ of
life. The date of departure was again postponed ; this time
to June 1, for congress still deferred action. Hostile criticism
in the press continued and increased in bitterness.

"Such vile sayings as these, and the reports of my wicked
adversaries in high places, whose influence in the way of
whisper spread like contagion over the length and breadth of
the land, panic-struck my followers and turned them back,
every one of them, and turned the few who had promised

20 VV. J. S., Geographical Sketch of Oregon, Neiv England Magazine, II, 320-6.
Cf. memoirs of Wyeth and Kelley and the report of Slacum, all based upon per-
sonal observition, in Committee on Foreign Affairs, supplemental report, 6-22, 29-61.
25 cong. 3 sess. H. rep. loi.

contributions to my funds, from their benevolent purpose ; but
not the projector of the Oregon enterprise from his."^^

The underlying cause for the failure has been well stated
by Mr. Frederic G. Young, who says "Kelley . . . wished
to transplant a Massachusetts town to Oregon and make it the
nucleus of a new state. He hoped to repeat with appropriate
variations the history of the Puritan colony of Massachusetts
Bay. The New Englander of the nineteenth century, however,
was not so ready to sacrifice himself for an idea as had been
his progenitors of the seventeenth. Unless Kelley could or-
ganize conditions so that success seemed certain, he could not
expect the enthusiasm of his followers to bear them on. Such
conditions he could not organize."^^

As early as November 12, 1831, Wyeth began to doubt the
success of the expedition, for in a letter to his brother he said,
"In case the contemplated colonization project should fail it is
still our intention to go to the new country, in which case we
shall form ourselves into a Trading Company in furs."^^ Again
on December 5, 1831, he declared that the plan to join the two
expeditions was ill-advised, for with women and children in
the party, progress would be slower, and winter would come
on before the mountains could be crossed. He accordingly
decided to cut loose from Kelley and with a party of fifty men
leave St. Ixiuis in the spring. By December 19, he had en-
rolled thirty-one men for his expedition. In a ietter of Feb-
ruary 10, 1832, to John Ball, he declared, "I see no probability
that Mr. Kelley's party will move at present. They have made
no preparation as yet, nor do I believe they can ever make
provision for moving such a mass as they propose."-^ In the
meantime Kelley, under date of February 7, had written telling

21 Settlement of Oregon, 106. "The benevolent purposes of the munificent
were changed. The p-ersons enlisted and most of my friends and patrons were
panic-struck, and deserted the cause." — Colonisation of Oregon, 20. Kelley had al-
ready invested $300 in the brig John Q. Adams in connection with the sea expedi-
tion, an amount which he never recovered. — Ibid., 21; Narrative of Events and
Difficulties, 7; Petition, 1866: 3.

22 Young, xvii-xviii.

23 Ibid. s.

24 Ibid., 8-9, 13, 36.

him of his hopes of congressional action. Wyeth's reply, dated
February 13, was:

"However well aflfairs are going- at Washington matters
little to me. Anything they can do will come too late for my
purposes. My arrangements are made to leave here 1st March
and I shall not alter them, neither can I delay on my route.

"I wish you well in your undertaking but regret that you
could not have moved at the time and in the manner first
proposed. When you adopted the plan of taking across the
continent in the 1st expedition women and children I gave up
all hope that you would go at all and all intention of going
with you if you did. The delays inseparable from a convoy
of this kind are so great that you could not keep the mass
together and if you could the delay would ruin my projects."^^

To this Kelley responded on February 24, and Wyeth replied
under date of March 3 :

"I am perfectly well aware of the importance of cooperation
of all the Americans who may go to that country but I am
well convinced that this thing has been delayed too long already
and that further delay will defeat my enterprise besides not
being in the habit of setting two times to do one thing. I am
quite willing to join your emigration but will not delay here
or at St. Louis. You very much mistake if you think I wish
to desert your party, but you must recollect that last 1st Jany
was set at first as the time of starting. "2«

Here was a man of decision and force of character; one
who had the qualities of leadership which Kelley lacked. Had
Kelley possessed flexibility enough and judgment enough to
put Wyeth at the head of his expedition and to follow his
advice, the result would not have been different as far as the
settlement of Oregon was concerned, but it would have been
far different as to Kelley's acknowledged place in that move-
ment. On March 29 Kelley wrote to ask Wyeth to take with

2$ Ibid., 39.
26 Ibid., 43.

him some of the men enrolled on the books of the Society. To
this Wyeth answered on April 8:

"I will in conformity with my first assurance given in my
letter of the 23rd ulto. take charge of ten of your emigrants.
Any further arrangement must be with the persons who are
disposed to go out. My reason for this is that I am bound
by my engagements to my Company and must consult them
in regard to any arrangements on the subject but you need
not by this understand me positively to refuse it as I do not
know how the Co. will be disposed to act.

"I shall at all times be disposed to further an emigration to
the Columbia as far as I deem, in actual knowledge of the
country, that it will be for the advantage of the emigrants,
but before I am better acquainted with the facts I will not
lend my aid in inducing ignorant persons to render their situ-
ation worse rather than better."^'^

Wyeth set out for Oregon in the spring of 1832. With him
went his brother Dr. Jacob Wyeth, of Howell Furnace, New
Jersey; John Ball, a native of New Hampshire and a practic-
ing lawyer of New York ; Calvin Tibbetts, a native of Maine
and a stone-cutter, and J. Sinclair, of New York, all of whom
had planned to go with Kelley. Sinclair left the party at Inde-
pendence, Missouri, and Dr. Wyeth turned back at Pierre's
Hole.^® Wyeth returned late in 1833, and led a second ex-
pedition to Oregon in 1834. With him went a party of mis-
sionaries led by Rev. Jason Lee and his nephew, Rev. Daniel
Lee, who had been induced by the principal of Wesleyan
academy, at Wilbraham, Massachusetts, to respond to the call
made by the Methodists for missionaries to the Indians in

27 Ibid., 51. It would seem that Kelley did not acknowledge failure until the
very last; for while this correspondence was going on, he continued to advertise.
As late as March 19 he announced in the National Intelligencer: "Those persons
desirous of emigrating to Oregon in the first expedition, are notified that the com-
mittee appointed for the purpose of making arrangements, have determined upon
leaving on Monday, 2nd of April, for St. Louis. The expedition will leave St.
Louis on the loth of May."

28 Wyeth, 51, 57; Settlement of Oregon, 64-5; Colonization of Oregon, 6-7.
Upon their arrival at Fort Vancouver, Ball opened the iirst school in that country.
Later he and Tibbetts engaged in farming on a tract above the falls of the Wil-
lamette, but gave up the attempt after the first year. Ball then returned to the
East, but Tibbetts remained and taught school in the Canadian settlement.

Oregon.^^ This was the whole measurable result of Kelley's
efforts through the American Society for Encouraging a Set-
tlement of the Oregon Territory.

29 Thornton, II, 21-2. The immediate cause of this call was the report, widely
circulated in the religious press, of the Nez Perce and Flathead Indians who
visited St. Louis in 1831, ostensibly to learn of the white men's religion. — McMaster,
VI, 1 12-3. Kelley's version of this incident was: "The late Major Pilcher, an
Indian a^ent in the Platte country, gave, while at Washington, in 1839, the follow-
ing version of the story of the .\ez Perce Indian delegation. Four thoughtless and
sottish Indians, accompanied Capt. Sublette's party of hunters to his ( Pilcher's)
agency. They seemed to have no particular object in traveling. Sublette refused
to let them proceed further in his company unless they would there obtiin a
passport, showing a good reason for a 7'isit into the States. Such a passport would
be of prev.-.i'ing advr.ntage to him. Mr. Pilcher, wishing to favor the Captain's
interest, furnished the Indians with a reason and excuse for their visit to St. Louis."
— Settlement of Oregon, 63; Narrative of Events and Difficulties, sup. appx. A.
P>ut wlietlier true or false, this story had in it the element of dramatic appeal th-".t
was necessary to make effective the movement started by Kelley for the betterment
and Christianizing of the Indians of the Northwest. The two missionaries who had
been chosen to accompany Kelley went instead to Liberia. — Settlement of Oregon,
112. See also Marshall, Acquisition of Oregon, II, 8-io.

CHAPTER FIVE
En Route — Boston to Vera Cruz

Failure only seemed to strengthen Kelley's determination
to effect his purpose. "I planned anew, enlisting a small party,
chiefly with a view of having travelling companions. I now
lay my route through Mexico, via Acapulco and the Sandwich
Islands."^

"That circuitous route, instead of a direct one across the
Rocky Mountains, was wholly induced by a desire of effecting
some arrangements with officers of the Mexican government
and distinguished individuals in that country, relative to the
lumber and fish trade between the Columbia River and the
Mexican western ports, and for extending, in proper time, my
colonising operations into High California; and, also, by a
desire of turning the attention of the people in the cities of
Mexico to some better system of education than had ever been
adopted by them ; and generally, to such internal improvements,
moral and physical, as w^ould most likely lay a better founda-
tion for freedom, and multiply in their land the conveniences
and comforts of life."^

His troubles continued, and there were further delays. This
part of the narrative can be best stated in his own words :

"Late in the spring [of 1832] I left [Washington] for N.
E. to complete arrangements for my final departure for the
other side of the continent.

"On my arrival at Palmer, and within sight of home, where
my loved family dwelt, I was arrested by an officer, who
served upon me a precept which had no foundation in justice,

1 Kelley, Hist, of the Colonieation of Oregon, 20-1.

2 Kelley, Narrative of Events and Difficulties, 69-70. Hist, of the Settlement
of Oregon, 42. As early as February 12, 1832, however, Kelley, wrote to Edward
Livingston, secretary of state, setting forth the impracticability of conducting an
expedition including women and children overland via St. Louis later than the
rnonth of June, and inquiring as to a feasible route across Mexico.

and was only designed to detain my person and plunder my
property. I was manacled, and taken to the village, to the
door next to my liome, where my companion and children
came to greet me ; yet did they grieve at my afflictions, and
their hearts were sorrowful at what was being done unto me.
This attack was from an unscrupulous hireling, in the shape
of a lawyer, living in a dark alley in the city of Boston. . . .
Unwilling to tarry, to contend in law, and delay the enterprise,
I ansv/ered the demand, unjust as it was, and so freed myself
from the clutches of my cruel pursuers.

"A few days later I was threatened with another suit, which
had the same design.

"To avoid the delays and vexations which these proceedings
would necessarily cause me, I left the place for Boston, from
whence I sent for my family and effects. Before the latter
could be removed, they were plundered to the amount of sev-
eral hundred dollars.

"These brutal acts were not instigated by my townsmen, but
by brutish men from Boston whose object was to prevent
progress in my undertaking. In view of a contemplated long
absence, I did not forget to provide sufficiently for the support
of the dear ones of my household, making arrangements with
friends who had this 'world's goods' in abundance, and who
were accustomed to show kindness and to give good cheer.

"The time for my departure drawing near, I went to Brad-
ford, where my family resided, to take the painful leave. The
moment of parting arrived. My companion looked sober ; and
probably felt sad, though her affectionate regards had been
somewhat alienated by deceiving monsters, who had ill advised
her. My children, young, unconscious of the nature of the
parting, were cheerful about the room. My heart was bur-
dened, and I could scarcely speak a sorrowing good-by. Tak-
ing my valise, I left ; and, when beyond hearing, grief
burst forth, and I wept aloud.^ I proceeded to Boston.

3 According to Temple (Hist, of the Town of Palmer, 266), Mrs. Kelley went
to Gilmanton with her children to live with Dr. Kelley.

"The journey was a lonely one, and tiresome. My days
now were all eventful, and every moment seemed to bring
increased cares and anxieties. Just before my final departure
for Oregon, I took a few days to go about Boston, and solicit
from the munificent contributions to my funds, which I feared
would be inadequate for my purposes, since my enemies, by
their cunning and cruelty, had made so frequent drafts upon
them. I called upon a wealthy merchant in Beacon street.
It was in the afternoon of Thanksgiving day, when I hoped to
find him in good spirits, and disposed to make me a donation.
But I was disappointed. He replied to me as follows : T am
interested in the commerce of the Pacific, being part owner
in two ships now on tliat ocean. The merchants have had a
meeting, and are determined to prevent your breaking up their
trade about the Pacific'

"Left Boston for Oregon the first of November, 1832.
Having provided a vessel for the party and the transportation
of my effects to New York, I joined the party in that city ;^
there tarried two or three weeks, occupying what was called
the parsonage house, in Stuyvesant street, with the party.
After a few days a band of desperadoes at midnight, beset the
house, and attempted to force an entrance ; first, at the win-
dows, and then at the door, but not succeeding, they soon
hastened away.

"A short time after, two men came to my quarters, one call-
ing his name Foster, the other giving his as Lovett. They
said they wished to emigrate to Oregon; and would like to
accompany me thither; that they were printers by trade, and
had money which could be immediately collected to procure
outfits, and to meet expenses ; and, with a view of giving me
proof of their sincerity, took me to a printing office, which
they represented as their place of business. They were well
dressed, and of insinuating manners. But the sequel showed
them to be accomplished and adroit villains, ready to perform

4 Having gone by land in order that he might "secure some household effects,"
which he had left at Three Rivers. — Colonization of Oregon, 21.

B7-

any act affecting my person, plans, or property, however
atrocious or hazardous. . . .

"Learning that a vessel was about to sail for the Sandwich
Islands, I applied to the benevolent owner for a passage thither,
for a son of mine belonging to the party. A free passage was
at once generously offered him. As he was of tender years,
and fearing that he would not well endure the fatigues of the
land route, I was glad of the chance to provide for him a sea
voyage. He was to wait at the Islands, until my arrival with
the party from Acapulco.

"The party with my effects embarked for New Orleans.
Myself proceeded to Washington."'^

While in New York he obtained on credit money for ex-
penses and presents for the Indians. Religious societies gave
him Bibles and books and tracts ; and individuals also contrib-
uted.*' Upon his arrival at Washington he communicated with
the state department, asking for authority to explore Oregon
and setting forth the plans of his expedition,'^ although he had
already been informed by the secretary of war that the decision
in the matter lay with congress and not with the executive.^
From William S. Archer of Virginia, chairman of the house
committee on foreign affairs, he received assurance that public
protection would be given to any settlement which he might
make in the Oregon territory. From the house committee on

5 Settlement of Oregon, 24-7; also Colonisation of Oregon, 21-2; IMcMaster,
United States, VI, 112, citing United States Gazette, January 4 and February 8,
1833. Kelley says nothing further about his son.

6 Settlement of Oregon, 113.

7 Letter to Secretary Livingston, February 23, 1833. In this letter Kelley
said: "The prevailing motive I have for settling on the Columbia river is to aid
in carrying the principles of civilisation into that uncultivated part of the earth.
For this object. I have shipped many enterprising persons, and my own effects —
I have sent before me my own son of inexperienced and tender years. For this
object 1 have left to the care of friends an affectionate wife and three small chil-
dren. I have denyed myself, for a season all social and domestic enjoyments", and
am the subject of suffering privitions and great hardships; and, finally, for this
object. I now live, or if its accomplishment requires the sacrifice, I am ready to give
myself a martyr."

Under date of February 27, he transmitted a copy of the "emigrants' cove-
nant" to Livingston.

8 "The executive can give no aid to individuals in their efforts to establish a
colony upon the Oregon river. Our laws make no provision for the occupition
of the country, nor for any negotiations with the Indians for that purpose. Con-
gress alone can authorize the measure proposed." — Letter of Lewis Cass to Kelley.
fJiles' Register, XLII, 388 (1832) from the Boston Courier.

library he obtained a set of United States statutes. Edward
Everett was a member of both committees, and his cooperation
was probably the cause of these favors.

Kelley also made formal application to the Mexican govern-
ment through Jose M. Montoya, charge d'affaires at Wash-
ington, for permission to enter the port of Vera Cruz with a
vessel free from port charges, to land his effects, and to trans-
port them across the country to Acapulco without liability of
any kind to the revenue laws. Montoya agreed to forward the
letter, and he also countersigned the passport which Kelley
obtained from the state department. Thus equipped Kelley
left Washington for New Orleans on March i, 1833, proceed-
ing by the Cumberland road and the Ohio and Mississippi
rivers under a grant of free passage from the post office
department.^ To continue from his narrative :

"At New Orleans I again met the party provided with good
quarters at my expense. . . .

"Two of the party, who a few days before leaving New
York were known to be destitute of money, and poorly clad,
whose passage I had paid, were now found dressed in new and
costly apparel, and had plenty of money. Without the remotest
cause of action, they brought, one after another, suits at law
against me, until I was harrassed with five such cases. The
Foster and Lovett who joined the party in New York, resorted
to acts of felony, forging several papers ; one, a draft of fifteen
hundred dollars in my favor on J. Ogden, a wealthy merchant
of New Orleans, purporting to have been drawn by a friend
of mine in Wall street. New York. . . .

"Getting access to my property in storage, they stole over
a thousand dollars of it, and started with it for Texas. For-
tunately, they were on the same day overtaken, brought back,
examined before Judge Perval, and with the crime of larceny
labeled to their character, were committed to prison, where,
doubtless, it was the divine purpose they should realize a por-
tion of the reward of evil doers. After a day and a night

9 Narrative of Events and Difficulties, 70; Colonisation of Oregon, 23; Petition,
1866:3; Settlement of Oregon, 113.

imprisonment, they sent for me. My ears ever being- open to
the cries of distress, whether of the human or the brute race,
I hastened to the window looking into the place of their 'tor-
ment.' They besought me with tears to intercede in their
behalf, and obtain their release. I did so, importuning the
public authority which had committed them, and they were
released . . . . I . . . required from them a written con-
fession of their guilt. They gave it, though reluctantly, sol-
emnly pledging never again to trouble me, then left, but not
to keep their pledge. Straightway, using the freedom which
humanity had just given them, they proceeded to carry out new
plans and plots of treachery and revenge.

"By anonymous letter and other ways I was threatened with
assassination, did I not hasten from New Orleans.^^

"Those two blood-thirsty pursuers finding a vessel ready to
sail for Vera Cruz, in conformity, doubtless, to the counsel
of others in connivance, embarked for that port ; there to lie
in wait, and destroy me if they could. Before sailing, having
had permission to enter the store house where my effects were
deposited, and receive a chest belonging to one of them, not-
withstanding their solemn pledge to cease from troubling, they
managed to abstract from my packages a chest similar to theirs,
packed with articles designed for Indian presents, of the value
of over $200, leaving their own, which contained nothing of
value, in its stead. I was present, but being near-sighted, and
my mind filled with anxieties, I did not. at the hurried moment,
notice the difference between them.

"I was surprised, but not frightened at this threatening
aspect of the enemy's power. Finding a spirit to vex and to
destroy me infected most of the party, T gladly dismissed them

10 "New Orleans, March, 27th, iS.^.i.

"Dear Sir:— I accidentaly overheard yesterday, some of your Orison company
forming a conspiricy against you, and are determined to take your life either by
some means or other, others thought it would be most too rash an act and had
better take you up for swindling, and that they considered a very easy matter
according to the lawyers account.

"I am realy afraid that your life is very much at stake, and now take my
advise, and leave the country as soon as possible if you wint to come off with a
sound head. "I remain,

"A frnd."
—p. 39.

all, and, having adjusted my business as best I could, I secured
a passage to Vera Cruz in the schooner Gen. Lafayette, Capt.
Hoyt. . . .

"The Capt. had suddenly changed the day for putting to
sea, having determined to sail earlier than the time appointed
for that purpose. Although my goods were brought to the
levee, agreeable to a previous understanding, and the freight
had already been paid, he refused to receive them. I was not
to be foiled in that way. Being cramped for time, a few half
dollars from my pocket, brought aid from the bystanders, and
my effects were rushed on board, with the exception of about
two hundred dollars' worth, including the body and hind
wheels of a wagon, which were left and lost.

"As the vessel was leaving her moorings, seizing the last
opportunity, I leaped on deck, there to endure still greater
indignities and sufferings than had been experienced on shore.

"I will not stop to mention all that I suffered on that passage.
During most of the voyage the sea was boisterous, and the
heavens were darkened with clouds and storms. Although
I had purchased as good accommodations as the schooner
afforded, yet was I denied a retreat to any place not open to
the angry heavens. No reasoning, no appeals to justice or
mercy could abate the rigor of this brutal treatment. Four-
teen days and nights I lay on the quarterdeck, terribly sea-
sick, and exposed to the worst of weather, sometimes drenched
in salt water, and again in fresh. A portion of my freight
remained on deck by the side of the bulwarks, exposed to the
breach-making sea. This much was greatly injured, so that
a part having lost its value was thrown overboard, and a part
less injured was given to the poor at Vera Cruz. The lan-
guage of the Capt. was uniformly abusive, and his whole con-
duct unfeeling towards me. . . .

"Something more should be said of the captain. He was
illiterate, ill-bred, ill-tempered, and intemperate, also. .

"An occurrence happening on the 2d of May nearly proved
fatal to the vessel and the lives of all on board. At early dawn

•1

a Spanish gentleman coming on deck, cried out, 'Land! land!'
Our frail bark was fast nearing the rocky shore, which was
not more than 50 or 75 rods distant. Fortunately, the fog,
which had enveloped it, was now rising. The helmsman had
just time to wear ship, and save being dashed upon the rocks.
A similar occurrence happened on the loth. In the eveninj^,
returning from a trip to or near the bay of Campeche, while
the captain was in one of his stupefactions, we heard the
breakers roar and could see their foaming crests. They were
close by on the lee bow. The mate wears about and goes to
sea. The captain, who was in his berth, being informed, raised
himself partly up and said, T can't help it.'

"On the 11th [of May] the schooner entered the bay of

Vera Cruz, and anchored under the guns of Fort St. Juan de

Ulloa. I now left the captain, but he was not quite ready to

leave me, nor to leave the object of wasting my property.

"11

11 Settlement of Oregon, 27-3>; Colonisation of Oreson, 23-6.

CHAPTER SIX
En Route — Across Mexico

Even to-day a trip across Mexico is attended with delays and
difficulties. The foreigner is met with suspicion, and, if he be
an American, with positive dislike. Nothing but a fanatical
belief in his mission could have led Kelley to disregard or at
least underestimate the obstacles to be encountered in passing
through that country before the day of railroads, in the midst
of pestilence, brigands, and civil war. Yet this is what he
undertook to do in 1833, alone, encumbered with baggage, and
ignorant of the language of the people. His account of his
experiences in Mexico is especially complete, and it will be
given here in his own words as far as possible.

''Landing at the port of Vera Cruz, Lovett, the treacerous
actor at New Orleans, called on me to offer his greetings, and
to tender his services in repacking my effects, and preparing
for my early departure from that place of pestilence and death.
. . . His cunning and insinuating manner drew to him some
friends, and there were some about him, friends to nobody.
To have suggested to others my bad opinion of him would have
exposed myself at that time to the assassin's power. Indeed,
being privately reminded of ingratitude at the time of embark-
ation at New Orleans, his jealousy was aroused, and he told
me with great emphasis, if I named any circumstance exposing
his character in that place, I must do all my repenting at Vera
Cruz, and be prepared for the worst results. However, not
intimidated, I gave him wholesome advice, forbade his taking
a step with me into the interior, or traveling the same road
the same day. ... In view of this threatening aspect of
things, I was not wanting in circumspection and civilities, both
in regard to this villain, the captain, and their accompHces.

"Soon after my arrival, a snare was laid by him, which he
and a colored man, his associate, were unable to spring upon

me ; artfully attempting to draw me into a dark hole in the
city, unquestionably with the design of taking my life. . . .

"The following transactions seemed to indicate that the cap-
tain and the officers of the customs were each to share in the
plunder of my property. Some days after the cargo of the
vessel was discharged, one of the sailors informed me that a
package of my stuff was found concealed under old rigging in
the hold. It consisted of such pieces and remnants of cotton
and woolen fabrics as would be useful to me in Oregon, and
was worth from $ioo to $150. My anxiety was to know how
to get possession of the goods without prejudice to my char-
acter. I had no disposition to smuggle, or to do a dishonorable
act. To bring it publicly on shore, it was said, would endanger
the vessel ; or to bring it clandestinely, would afford a plausible
reason for supposing it merchandise for that market, which
was far from being the fact. I was told that, for a reward, a
custom house officer would bring the package to me. An en-
gagement was made. The property was brought between two
suns, and left at the place appointed, and twenty silver dollars
were paid for doing the business. It appeared like a fair and
legal transaction, but, with the officer, it was smuggling, under
revenue laws made and provided for that purpose. . . .

'^On landing, having engaged boarding quarters, and got my
passports endorsed by proper authorities, I turned my thoughts
to my baggage, which was of much value, a portion of it
needful for present use. Some of it was in loose packages.
Most of it was placed in the custom house for safe keeping,
until my departure thence, agreeable to the advice of the Amer-
ican consul. In view of my ill health, lonely condition and the
distracted state of public affairs in that country, he thought
it would be unsafe at the hotel. Unskilled at that time in the
Spanish language, I had no direct communication with the
revenue officers, but it was understood on my part, and also,
I supposed, on the part of the consul, that it would be readily
and freely given up when called for. . . . With the hope of
obtaining some indemnity from the captain for my losses,

which he had carelessly or wantonly caused me, I delayed my
departure over two weeks. . . .

"I hastened arrangements for resuming the journey, and
called for the property deposited in the custom house. To my
surprise, it was refused, on the ground of a requisition of cus-
tom house duties. I had never, at home or abroad, declined
to render 'unto Caesar tlie things that were Caesar's,' but to
pay a tax in Mexico on property not dutiable, I unhesitatingly
declined to do. A bond would have been given, if requested,
guarding against the sale of so much as a single article in that
country. ...

"After several days of entreaty, through the consul, explain-
ing the object of my journey, giving my reasons for taking
that circuitous route to Oregon, and presenting the passport
from the State Department of the United States, the cupidity
of the revenue officers relaxed a little, and I was permitted
to select four packages from the eight. The amount of duties
demanded was nearly the invoice value of the property. By
what rule of calculation, or principle of right they had fixed
upon any specific amount of tax, or had taxed at all, I could
not understand. . . .

"In the proper construction of the passport furnished me
by the State Department of the U. S. A., protection should
have been given both to my person and property. But pro-
tection was given to neither."^

On May 27, 1833, Kelley left Vera Cruz by stage and arrived
the following day at Jalapa,^ where he remaine 1 eighteen days,
familiarizing himself with the country round about. From'
Jalapa he wrote to Anthony Butler, the American charge
d'affaires at the city of Mexico, complaining of the detention of
his property at Vera Cruz. He proceeded on foot to Puebia,
and after three days left by stage for the City of Mexico.

Almost the first man he met upon his arrival was Foster,

I Kelley, Hist, of the Settlement of Oregon, 31-6.

.- Lovett, the "pollster villain." remained at Vera Cruz, where he soon died
of yellow fever.— Ibid., Z2.

-.vho was boarding- at his expense, having some of his papers
upon which an arrangement to that effect had been made with
the proprietor of the stage house. This charge was paid upon
threat of seizure of baggage ; but Kelley refused to pay for
Foster's passage from Vera Cruz or for his lodgings. His
baggage was attached, and the irrepressible Foster laid claim
to some of it, but the magistrate decided the matter in Kelley 's
favor.

Kelley then transferred his quarters from the stage house
to the Washington hotel, which was the only other public
house open to foreigners. The proprietor was an American,
and "among the guests there were Col. Austin, the founder
of the first settlement of the Americans in Texas, Col. Hodg-
kiss and Gen. Mason from Virginia, and several other distin-
guished Americans. Their purpose in that country was to
bring about the annexation of Texas to the United States."
Upon invitation of the American consul, James S. Wilcox,
Kelley spent several weeks as his guest at his residence on
Lake Chalco, a short distance from the city.^

At the American legation Kelley renewed his appeal for the
release of his goods, but was told that there was little likelihood
of favorable action by the Mexican government, a prediction
which was in accord with the fact.'*

Unlike most zealots, Kelley seems to have been incapable of
giving his whole attention to his main project. When he left
New England the enthusiasm for railroads was at its height.

3 Settlement of Oregon, 36-9.

4 Letter of Anthony Butler to Carlos Garcia, secretary of state, July ii, 1833,
and reply of Garcia, September 17, 1833, in 25 cong. 2 sess. H. ex. doc. 351:481-2,
487. Butler decl .red that the action of the customs officers was not only in vio-
lation of the laws and usages of nations, but also in contravention of positive treaty
stipulations. "I use the e.Kpression of being contrary to treaty stipulations, be-
cause, even ad-^iitting that t'^e articles detained were intended for commercial
purposes, insterd of being designed solely for the personal use of the individuals
forming the expedition, yet. in such event, the object being merely to land the
goods at one port, and, passing through the country, to trans-ship them at another,
the treaty provides that such merch-andise would be entitled to drawback: that is
to say, that the bond given for duties, if the goods were sold within the republic,
shall be cancelled- and delivered up to the owner, upon the reshipment of the
merch .ndise. If, however, the articles landed by Mr. Kelly be examined, they
will he found to consist of implements of agriculture, tools for different branches
of the mechanical profession, and rennants of coarse goods, such as are indis-
pensably necessary for persons forming a new settlement in a wilderness entirely
removed beyond the limits of civilization." According to Kelley. his loss at Vera
Cruz amounted to $1150. — Kelley, Narrative of Events and Difficulties, 7.

If railroads were good for New England, why not for Mexico
also?

"While exploring the country between Vera Cruz and the
City of Mexico, I became satisfied of the feasibility of a rail-
road route between one and the other of those places. Desir-
ous of seeing Mexico benefited with the same kind of institu-
tions and improvements as those effecting such great things
for my native New England, I planned and advised that im-
provement—especially would I have internal improvements
commenced without the least possible delay, in a country,
where the common people were but little in advance of the
heathen; where most of the roads were in a state of nature,
and the earth bore but few marks and evidence of civilization
dwelling there.

"The improvement suggested by me was a topic of frequent
conversation with Wilcox . . . and with other enterprising
foreigners. It was one of the subjects of a communication
to President Santa Anna, describing, according to my appre-
hension, what would be the utility of railroads."^

In the midst of all his troubles, this strangest of mortals
was open-eyed and active in studying the natural phenomena
about him. The plants, animals and minerals received his
careful attention, and his curiosity as to the heights of moun-
tains must be served. He also interested himself in the welfare
of the natives, and vaccinated some of them. "I lost no time,
neglected no opportunity, relaxed no effort to do the good
I had proposed to do in that country." He even indulged in
recreational activities, a fact for which he half apologized.

"I engaged in no idle amusements, expended not so much
as a dollar 'for that v^hich is naught,' yet occasionally I took
a game at checkers with my distinguished fellow-boarders at
the hotel, and once did I attend the theatre to witness a bull-
fight, and learn concerning that ancient, barbarous custom.

S Kelley, Narrative of Events and Difficulties, 74-5, 89-92. "Shortly after mv
return to Massachusetts [in 1836], I had the satisfaction to learn, that the road
had been_ commenced. It does not follow, as a thing in course, that the under-
taking origin -.ted from anything I had said; but, there is a possibility yes a orob-
abiluy, and some strong indications of such being the fact." — Ibid.,' 76. '

Neither the games nor the visit to the theatre were without
some benefit to me."®

His more important business, however, was not forgotten.
With singular lack of understanding of the attitude of the
Mexican government toward the intrusion of Americans upon
its domain, "While in the City of Mexico he made arrange-
ments to become an empresarias for settling the interior of
Alta California with emigrants from his own and other civil-
ized lands, intending to commence the work, when the tide
of emigration to those western shores should set high, and it
should be practicable to take that position."^ These arrange-
ments, he admitted, were made only "in part," and while they
were made with "public authority," we are not told as to the
officer who was approached or his reply.* His health having
become impaired, he made no attempt to enter into any arrange-
ment with the Mexican government to encourage trading rela-
tions with the settlers on the Columbia.^

His observations on the instability of the government and
needs of the people are quite as applicable to the conditions of
to-day. In a letter written on August 24, 1833, to J. B. Thorn-
ton, he said, "The civil outbreaks and com.motions constantly
occurring in Mexico are not likely to result in any beneficial
effects to the people. The fundamental principles of govern-
ment must be different, more in harmony with the principles
of Christianity. The policy of the governing power must be
changed. Under present circumstances, while the whole nation
is living in sottish ignorance, without schools for the youth,
and without a heaven-taught ministry, unenlightened and inex-
perienced, as to practical freedom and the blessings of Chris-
tian civilization, that policy should be more arbitrary, and the
government less republican. . . .

"Mexico should have more light, and the sympathy of
neighbors. Other nations should help her. It would be right,

6 Settlement of Oregon, 36, 39, 41.

7 Kelley, Petition, 1854:3; Narrative of Events and Difficulties, Appx. A, 8(5-93.

8 Settlement of Oregon, 66; Petition, 1866:4.

9 Narrative of Events and Difficulties, 70.

that her elder sister repubhc, the powerful and opulent United
States, should help her, and make her a loan of a few millions
of money, to be applied exclusively in laying the foundations
of freedom just described. Unless such a foundation is laid,
and the monsters, ignorance and superstition, are driven from
the land, political delusions, clandestine disorders, war and
bloodshed and human sufferings will continue. "^^

Unforeseen delays having made it impossible for him to be
at Acapulco at the appointed time, he now decided to go instead
to San Bias via Gaudalajara.

"Just before leaving the city, and proceeding onward. Col.
Hodgkiss, a countryman distinguished in the war of 1812,
presented me with an elegant sword, a testimonial of his respect
for me ; and perhaps partly in view of the perilous journey to
be pursued along the roads at that time known to be infested
with banditti. . . . The consul presented me with two noble
mules, and a theodolite. . . .

"My personal arms were a light gun, a brace of pistols, and
the sword just presented me. In the baggage were three guns
and other weapons such as are usually used in human slaugh-
ter. Thus was I accoutred in complete Cossack panoply. . . .

"Just before resuming the journey, two strangers, a French
gentleman and a countryman from Philadelphia, Giredot and
Keyser, came and proposed to accompany me to Gaudalajara.
Their company was very acceptable, and proved to be of much
benefit to me. I was now ready to go forward.

"Just as I was leaving, when outside the gate, Foster intro-
duced to me a savage looking man whom he called Frederick,
and who was going, he said, to San Bias, and desired to travel
with me ; said he would assist in driving the burthened ani-
mals, I consented, believing a refusal would be of no avail ;
that Foster had picked him up for an accomplice in carrying
out his bloody purpose. I learned afterwards by the French
gentleman that he was a foot-pad, and associate with the high-
waymen in that portion of the country.

10 Settlement of Oregon, *o-i.

«9

"My servant engaged in the city to take charge of the mules,
and to serve as a guide, at the end of two days refused to go
farther. I settled with him, paid him his price, and for a
further compensation he plundered my baggage of some small
articles, not, however, of much value. After four days, Gire-
dot and Keyser, finding it too tiresome to travel in a slow walk,
and impatient to go forward, left me. They had travelled with
me two or three hours in the morning, and then hastened to
their night quarters. Foster and Frederick were now my only
servants and guide. At eight o'clock in the evening, after a
hard day's journey, having missed the road, I stopped, pitched
my tent by the side of the path and unburdened the mules.
Early the next morning I started in search of some populated
place for food and provender for the beasts, and also for infor-
mation as to the right road. After traveling nearly a league
I entered a village, went from house to house, but the doors
were kept closed ; none cared to give me answer — not so much
as a cup of water. Returning to the encampment, I ordered
the animals to be got ready to leave. While in the tent mak-
ing ready the baggage, Foster, outside, called out, 'Robbers
are coming.' Looking out, I saw ten or fifteen men, variously
armed, near approaching. To show non-resistance, I grounded
my gun at the tent door. The supposed robbers came up in
front, their captain advanced, and with trembling hands
stooped down and picked up the gun. Then, full of courage,
called out Batnos, bamos. On my coming out, he demanded
my side-arms. They were now silent for a while, as though
waiting for a reinforcement. Soon I saw, under a cloud of
dust, a crowd of women and children. They came and seated
themselves in a line on the ground. All fears of their having
bad intentions were now dispelled. They were silent. Four
men, on horseback arrived ; one was the Elcelde of the village
where I had just been so unsuccessful in finding friends. He
addressed to me a few words, all of which I did not under-
stand. I then exhibited the traveling passport given me by the
chief executive of the United States, and a letter from a dis-

ting-uished countryman, stating the objects of my sojourn in
Mexico. These papers were translated into his own language.
He read them and bowed. I bowed also, and we shook hands.
Among the women was a fair and thoughtful looking okl lady,
who had come prepared with tortillis and fruit to relieve our
hunger. She uncovered a basket, and, looking kindly at me,
said, 'Senora, toma.' We partook of her bounty ; though I
had fasted twenty-four hours, was not hungry, but Foster ate
much, and ate like a dog on the point of starvation. This lady
I supposed to be the mother of the Elcelde. ... I thought
I could see an excellent spirit in her. . . . After opening a
package of Indian presents, I addressed her, 'Senora. toma
(take),' and gave her in return, lace and ribbons, with which
she seemed pleased, ten times the value of what had been
received. The Elcelde and his suite having conducted me to
the right road, bade me good-by, and returned to their village,
and I proceeded on my route.

"After two days reached Yula, where I found my two fellow
travelers awaiting my arrival. Here I passed two or three
days in exploring the region about the city, most of the time
in the market place, studying human nature, observing the
manners and customs of the people, and seeking knov/ledge,
and picking up memorials of antiquity. History informs us
that the Annuhac tribe, the earliest aborigines of Mexico, in
their migration southward from the place of their landing on
the American shores, made Yula their first stopping place.
After two or three days, with my companions in company, I
again moved forward. . . .

"In Curetero I delayed one day, bought a horse, and there
were stolen from my effects articles of six or eight dollars
value. The baser sort of the natives are much given to thiev-
ing, and practice with wonderful skill the sleight of hand, and
can steal before the eyes of another without his knowledge.
Though I kept a constant watch over my property, yet I was
constantly losing. My fellow travelers have again left me and
gone ahead to hunt rabbits, I passed through Salais, and put up

for the night in a puebia, three leagues beyond that place. The
hunters were with me, and we made a good supper on rabbits.
"About the middle of the next day reached Salamanca. Out-
side of the town a man on horseback met me and said he would
conduct me to a mason [meson] and to the Custom House. At
the latter place my passports and papers were examined. The
custom house officer said I was unlawfully carrying four guns.
I replied that the passports gave me a right to carry them. He
said, however, I might sell one of them to his son, then stand-
ing at the door, and proceed on with the three. Accordingly,
one was offered to the lad at half its value. But this was not
the thing; the gun he wanted without price. I took back the
passport and walked out, returned to the inn and ordered the
servant to make ready to leave. The marshal now brought
forward a large horse, which he offered to exchange for a gun.
The animal, on examination, was discovered to be blind in one
eye and to be badly foundered. It was more than two hours
before I could get rid of these insolent officers of the govern-
ment. I finally got out of the city, but had not proceeded half
a league when a man came in great speed, offering to sell his
horse for a gun. I assured him I had no wish to buy, and
desired him to leave. At length, with much difficulty, 1
induced him to wheel about and leave me. He hastened back
to report, no doubt, to the officer of the customs. I began to
think I had now escaped the heathen city ; but alas ! in less
than an hour afterwards, whom should I see following but
him who was a few hours before so courteous and attentive
to me in the city. He comes to renew his attempt to rob me
of the gun. He first said he must have the gun and $4.00 for
the horse offered me. He demanded it — demanded me to stop
and turn back ; seized hold of my bridle, flourished his sword
and discharged his pistol, crossing the path ahead of my horse,
and again, the third time, discharged the pistol.
' "To get rid of his troubling, I proposed to submit the matter
to the Elcelde of the next village. It was nearly dark before
we reached one. Providentially, I met there my two friends.

Giredot, conversant in the Spanish language, and serving me
as an interpreter, stated the case to the magistrate, and the
robber was ordered to turn back and pursue me no further.
In the morning the Padre, whom I beheved to be an honest
man and disposed to deal justly with me, proposed to buy the
gun, offering me for it a large and powerful looking horse,
apparentlv without a blemish. His price was fifty dollars;
mine the same. An exchange was at once made, and I pro-
ceeded on my way.

"The new steed proved to be but partly domesticated— wild
and difficult to manage. About noon, meeting three armed
men on horseback, whom I supposed to be robbers, I dis-
mounted, holding my gun in the right hand and the bridle
reins in the left. They passed on the off side, and pricked the
animal with a sword, causing him to jump; and he escaped,
leaving me with a dislocated little finger. Making a circuit
of a few rods, he set his head towards the place of his former
master, taking along with him a valise mailed back of the
saddle, containing a small amount of money, some jewelry and
valuable papers. I was now in trouble, and feared I should
not easily get out of it. I was alone— my two friends had gone
ahead, and neither Foster nor Frederick, having charge of the
mules, and unacquainted with the roads, were suitable persons
to hunt for the horse. looking about, I saw at no great dis-
tance an Indian standing in front of his habitation. I called
to him and offered him a dollar (three or four were in my
pocket) to find and bring back the runaway animal. He was
at once upon the track, and in two hours returned with the
horse, but without the valuables. He reported that the valise
was hanging on one side of the animal with one end cut open,
emptied ^of its contents. I proceeded on several leagues to a
large town, where I stopped for a day to give rest to the lame
and wearied animals. My friends, G. and K., were overtaken
at this place, and rode in company with me, as they had pre-
viously done, one or two hours in the morning, and then took
their final leave of me. I again, however, met them on my

arrival at Gaudalajara. Foster and Frederick, while ascend-
ing a hill, cut each of them a stick and hastened forward with
one of the mules and a horse, laden with my tent, a gun and
some other light articles, leaving me to drive the other, which
was lame, and traveled slow. Having passed the summit of
the hill, and out of sight, they also took their final leave. They
probably believed they had already betrayed me into the merci-
less hands of robbers in the mountains just ahead, who would
make an end of me. Frederick doulitless had so planned, being
acquainted, as I had been given to understand, with the banditti
infesting that portion of the country, and having had in the
cities through which we passed communication vv^ith some of
the highwaymen, looking after such wayfaring travelers as
they would like to make their victims. I was now alone, unac-
quainted with the road, and it seemed almost impossible for
me to go forward. I proceeded on a m.ile or more, hoping to
find some habitation. Leaving the packed animals, I rode to
the summit of a swell of land. I saw in the distance a cabin,
and approached near it. A man came out, seized a stone and
advanced towards me. I made enquiries of him concerning the
way to Gaudalajara and for some person to guide me thither.
He pointed out the right road, but thought it unsafe for me to
travel. It led over a mountain, the same in which I had been
told were a band of robbers. I left him, and on my way to the
mules, another man was seen coming from the direction of the
mountain. He rode up to me, and inquired as to my condition,
spoke kindly, as though he v/ould have me believe him a friend ;
had a crucifix in his bosom as though a Christian man. I
asked him if he would conduct me to Gaudalajara ; said he
would for two dollars a day. I consented to give it. Taking
charge of the mules, he led on the way. . . . On the summit,
at the distance of a few rods, were seen five armed men on
horses, looking steadfastly at me. The guide said, 'Lahombres
malos.' Among their weapons was the lasso, the most effectual
one used in their line of business. I raised my gun as though
about to make demonstration. Thev seemed as motionless as

though they had no power of action. A gun in the hands of a
foreigner appears terrible to IMexican robbers, and they may
have been intimidated by mine, and have thought it a less risk
of life to capture me in some other place. I was not much
frightened, but, thinking myself in an unsafe place, hastened to
get out of it. I soon reached the foot of the mountain and a
cluster of cabins (three I recollect), and there saw the five
identical men whom I had just passed, still on their horses. I
was ordered to dismount. The animals were stripped of their
burdens and led to some place where I supposed they were
supplied with provender. There were four women, but no
children or young persons. With a good deal of presence of
mind I made my conversation agreeable to them, spoke of my
lonely travels, of robberies and of the loss of my money ; and
made them presents, hair combs and scissors, which they
seemed to think of great value. In return they gave me food —
a bountiful supply of tortilles. Early in the evening they con-
ducted me to the place of my lodging. ... I was comfort-
able, and slept quietly and safely through the night. The
women had doubtless induced the men to change their pro-
gramme of proceedings from a merciless to a more humane
one — to go on with me, and on the way, at some place of
ambush, take possession of the mules and their cargoes, and let
me go. In the morning I saw the men again on their horses
leave the place. Soon after, the treacherous guide brought for-
ward and made ready the animals and left with me. At the
end of three or four leagues, in a lonely place, the conductor,
who had appeared so honest and so much a friend, stopped the
largest of the mules, the leading one of them, the one laden
with the most valuable and bulky portion of the property,
under pretense of adjusting the fastenings of the load, and said
to me, 'Go on.' I did so, driving the other mule, then before
me. After proceeding a few rods, and looking back, lo, both
the mule and driver were missing. They had gone back behind
some clumps of bushes near the roadside. Moving on some
hundred or more rods, and leaving the mule near a lonely

house, I turned about with the determination to rescue the
captured mule, even at the peril of life, if so it needs be.
On the way I met the same five men in whose hands and power
I had been the previous day and night. When opposite the
homes where the mule driven forward was left, they discharged
a pistol, which was a signal for the conductor to bring forward
the mule and again join me. In a few minutes he was on the
road hastening towards me, and now, with both mules, we
proceeded on the way, and at the distance of a league, reaching
a fording place at the head waters of the Rio Grande, empty-
ing into the ocean near San Bias. It was a dark and solitary
place, and near nightfall ; the path was narrow, flanked with
thick bushes leading oblique to the river, and the men propos-
ing to take my life lay concealed among them. No one could
be seen crossing until quite on the hither bank of the stream.
When the mules had come to the water's edge, the conductor,
back of them, wheeled about and said, with an air of triumph,
and, to me, a ghastly smile, 'I am going no further; are you
going on ?' Instantly two men were seen on horseback, close
at hand. One of them said, 'Turn, and go with us,' and com-
manded the conductor (speaking with authority) to drive along
the animals. They had been apprised of the m.ovements of
the robbers, and had come to my help. . . . They belonged
to the village called Argua Cahente, situate near the house
where the mule had been left. It was not seen by me at the
time of passing, owing to a swell of land which intervened,
or I should there have stopped and freed myself from the
company of my bloody pursuers. One of them was the Elcelde
of the village. On the way I spoke of my enterprise — the rea-
son of the sojourn in that country and the cause of my lone-
hness. I tarried in that village two days, at the house of the
Elcelde, by whom I was made the participant of the most gen-
erous hospitality. I have not time to speak of the respect there
paid me, or of the dance (Fandango) given in honor to the
stranger so providentially in the village. Leaving the mules,
fatigued and worn down by hardships, to rest, I proceeded on

to Gaudalajara, accompanied by one of the sons of my hos-
pitable friend, where, after giving myself and horse a few
days' rest, returned for them.

"The first thing after my arrival at Gaudalajara was to find
my two runaway companions, and make search for the two
villains who had robbed me of the horse and his valuable bur-
den. Among the foreigners residing and doing business in
that city were Terry and Sullivan, two of my countrymen. My
first call was upon them. . . . Mr. Terry . . . said that
a foreigner but a few days in the place had sold him a gun.
He brought it forward, and it was the identical gun stolen.
'We will go,' said he, 'and see the man ; I know where he quar-
ters.' Foster, at the first sight of me, seemed agitated and
turned pale. Terry demanded of him the return of the twenty
dollars paid for the gun. Foster replied, 'It is mostly gone to
meet expenses.' He was told if he did not return it, he should
be put where the dogs would not bite him. He handed Terry
twelve dollars, saying, 'This is all I have.' I then said to Fos-
ter, 'You must immediately leave the place, and leave me for-
ever, or I will commit you to the hands of the public authority
as being a felon, a robber and the chief of rascals.' 'I will
leave,' replied he, 'for San Bias, and there go on board the
first vessel for the Sandwich Islands.' And he did leave, and
so also did Frederick, but not until he had taken the tongue
from the mouth of my best mule and ruined that noble and
valuable animal. The gun and tent were restored to me ; but
a cane, a present by Mr. Jewett, a countryman and friend
residing at Jalapa, was lost." From Gaudalajara Kelley went
to San Bias on the Pacific coast.^^

Before leaving Gaudalajara, however, he called upon Rich-
ard M. Jones, a son-in-law of Joseph Lancaster, who was
principal of the state institute in which the instruction was
conducted according to the Lancasterian method. Having ob-
served the workings of this system in Philadelphia, Kelley

1 1 Settlement of Oregon, 42-50. Foster went on to the Sandwich Islands and
thence to Monterey, where be was drowned. "Here was an end of another of my
mad pursuers," observed Kelley. — Ibid., 52-3.

Keiley's "Yula" was Tula; his "Curetaro," Quer€taro; and his "Salais,"
Celaya.

urged upon Jones the adoption of the Philadelphia plan. He
had already communicated with President Santa Anna upon
the subject while at the capital. But while we are told that
Jones promised to exert his influence in favor of the plan in
operation at the Manual Labor Academy of Pennsylvania, and
while we know that the Lancasterian system was receive 1 with
considerable favor in Mexico, there is no evidence that Kelley's
influence counted for anything more than encouragement.^^

12 Narrative of Events and Difficulties, 75, Appx. A. 87-9; Petition, i8';6:4;
Settlement of Oregon, 52. The system was established by law in the Philadelphia
public schools in 1818 but abandoned in 1836.

CHAPTER SEVEN
En Route — San Blas to Fort Vancouver.

From San Bias Kelley continued his journey by water to La
Paz on the gulf coast of Lower California and thence to Loreto.
His course then lay northward by land to San Diego, where
he arrived with a single guide on April 14, 1834.^ Of his
experiences on this part of the journey, much of it through a
country that to-day is wild and forbidding, there is unfor-
tunately little in the writings of Kelley to inform us.^ That
he collected "specimens of some of the precious metals of
Lower California, which he put into the hands of that eminent
geologist. Dr. [Charles T.] Jackson, of Boston," he declared
in one of his petitions to congress.^

While at La Paz he shipped his theodolite and some of his
baggage to the Sandwich Islands. He also seems to have lost
his "elegant sword." While in the wilderness of Lower Cali-
fornia, he devised "an instrument for making astronomical
observations," notwithstanding the imperative need of direct-
ing his attention to matters terrestrial in a country whose thiev-
ing natives almost aroused his admiration. "About the same
time," he continued, "the breech of my gun was broken short
off near the lock, and stolen by an Indian for its silver orna-
ments. A new one was soon provided, by substituting, in part,
a section of a wild bull's horn. It is a curious repair, and an
obvious improvement in the gun stock — it has better shape and
is more convenient for use."^

At Pueblo, near San Diego, Kelley met the man whose name
Vi'as to be associated with his own in the history of the settle-

1 Kelley, Hist, of the Settlement of Oregon, 53-4.

2 "That portion of the narrative from the time of leaving Gaudlaxara to that
of arriving at San Diego, owing either to mistake or inadvertence, or loss of
manuscript ... is vifanting." — Ibid., xi n.

3 Kelley, Petition, 1866:4. "I found gold, silver and copper and other of
the precious metals, in Lower California." — Settlement of Oregon, 118.

4 Kellev, Memorial. 1848:14. This gun he presented to the Amherst college
museum a few years before his death.

ment of Oregon. This was Ewing Young, "a native of Ten-
nessee, a man remarkable for sagacity, enterprise, and courage,"
according to Kelley. Young "had been twelve years a hunter
about the wilds of Oregon, California and New Mexico ; and
had lost, perhaps, some of the refinements of manners once
possessed ; and had missed some of those moral improvements
peculiar to Christian civilization." With him was a small party
of hunters. "This was the man to accompany me; because,
like myself, he had an iron constitution, and was inured to
hardships. He was almost persuaded."^'

From San Diego Kelley took passage to San Pedro on the
ship Lagoda out of Boston, and continued by land to Monte-
rey, the seat of government.^ His chief aim was to get some-
one to accompany him. "The country between the 38th and
44th parallels appeared dark and threatening, no civilized men
save hunters, as I could learn, had roamed there. To penetrate
that trackless region alone seemed too hazardous. In hopes,
thiCrefore, of collecting a party of emigrants to travel with me,
in whatever place countrymen could be found for hearers, I
preached Oregon." His appeal was soon to be answered, for
Young was then on his way to join him. "The last of June,
1834, he arrived at my encampment on the prairie, five miles
eastward of Monterey, and consented to go and settle in Ore-
gon, with, however, this express understanding — that if I had
deceived him, woe be to me."^

There was much to be done, however, before the journey
could be resumed. The matter of trading relations demanded
attention, and arrangements had to be made for supplies both
for the long trip northward and for the settlers after their
arrival on the Columbia. It was also necessary to obtain all
available information as to the country yet to be traversed.
As was his custom, Kelley sought out the leading men and
laid his plans before them. "The Catholic priests in California

5 Memorial, 1848: 13; Hist, of the Colonisation of Oregon, 7; Settlement of
Oregon, 56-9.

6 Settlement of Oregon, 54.

7 Memorial, 1848:13; Settlement of Oregon, 59.

were a learned and hospitable class of men. I received from
them not only facilities for traveling, but much valuable infor-
mation concerning- that country and its aboriginal inhabitants.
I held a correspondence with the Rev. Fr. Felipe Ayroyo de
la Cuesta of St. Miguel ; and Don Matias Montaner of Ogedo ;
and with Gen. Jose Figueroa, the political governor."^ Both
by letter and in person he sought to obtain Figueroa's patron-
age and cooperation. He informed him of his ultimate pur-
pose of founding a colony in the northern part of California,
and asked that he might explore that country and prepare a
map for the guidance of those who would wish to settle there.
But the governor, while professing to be favorable to the pro-
posal, declared that he was without authority to grant a license
to prepare a map or funds for the proposed undertaking, and
offered to send Kelley's letter with his endorsement to the
Mexican government.-' There had been delays enough already,
however, and Kelley determined to push on.

"With a party of nine men, I set off on the 8th of July for
the land of my hopes. Young had fifty horses, each of his
men had one or more, and myself had six, with a mule. My
personal arms were a light gun, which was always in my hands,
and always ready for action ; a brace of pistols, and a Spanish
dirk. . . Included in the mules' cargo were articles for

Indian presents, such as cotton cloth, scarlet velvet sashes,
beads, etc., stationery, my journals and papers, a Nautical
Almanac, thermometer, a compass, and an instrument . . .
for making astronomical observations. . . .^^ In a trunk
made of a wild bull's hide were deeds, charts, historical
accounts and other papers, showing myself to be in possession
of a good title, which certain Americans, myself among them,
had to the largest and fairest portions of Quadra's [Vancouver]
Island, and also showing myself to be the attorney and advo-
cate of the claimants.""

8 Memorial, 1848: 13.

9 Petition, 1866: 4-5; Settlement of Oregon, 67-8.

10 Memorial, 1848:13-4.

11 Seitltmtnt of Oregon, 30.

The number of men in the party is variously stated in the
different accounts of this part of the journey. The same is
true of the number of horses. This is not at all strange, for
the numbers varied at different stages. It would seem also
that the word "party" as used by Kelley included both himself
and Young, while Young used it to define those who were
subordinate to him. Young's account, as quoted by Kelley,
follows :

"We set out from Monterey with seven men and forty or
fifty horses, and on our way through the settlements^^ bought
some more. When we arrived at the last settlement, St.
Joseph, we encamped there five days to get some supplies
of provisions. I left the camp and went to the bay of San
Francisco, to receive some horses that I had bought before
leaving Monterey. . . . When we set out from the last set-
tlement, I had seventy-seven horses and mules. Kelley and
the other five men had twenty-one, which made ninety-eight
animals which I knew were fairly bought. The last nine men
that joined the party had fifty-six horses. Whether they
bought them, or stole them, I do not know."'-"*

On the second day out from San Jose, a small band of men
overtook the party. These were the men referred to in Young's
statement. They were unwelcome, but there was no way to
get rid of thm. Kelley declared, "I neither gave consent or
dissent to their traveling with the party ; for I could not pre-
vent it; and Capt. Young did not object." Both Kelley and
Young gave the number of newcomers as nine, but four evi-
dently dropped out. for Kelley's later references to them give
the number as five. These men Kelley characterized as ''ma-
rauders," and the term was aptly chosen, as is evident from his
account of what followed.

"After a few days, those men, finding that I was not dis-

12 Santa Cruz was one of the settlements visited. — Kelley, Memoir, Committee
on Foreign .\ffairs, Territory of Oregon, supplementary report, so, 25 conR. 3 sess.

H. rep. 1 01

\i Settlement of Oregon, 567; also Bancroft, Hist, of the Northwest Coast, II,
548 n. The latter is probably based upon Kelley's account. Kelley said that
there were "120 valuable horses and mules which mostly belonged to Young. —
Colonisation of Oregon, 7. But he failed to say when they had that number.

•8

posed to connive at their villainy, sought an opportunity to
destroy me. One of them discharged his rifle at me, and very
nearly hit the mark; and at a subsequent time the rifle was
again leveled at me, but at the moment a word from Young
staid the death-charged bullet. . . . ^^

"Two of them had belonged to the party of twenty-five,
under [Joseph] Walker [of the American Fur company], of
whom Capt. Bonneville speaks in his 'Adventures Beyond
the Rocky Mountains.' Walker's chief object had been, for
more than a year, to hunt and destroy Indians. Those two
persons themselves informed me about it, and spoke often of
the black flag, and the rifle, and the arsenic. The other three
were runaway sailors — may have been pirates ; they were now
marauders and Indian assassins. I will illustrate. Some days
after, crossing the [San] J[o]aquin river towards evening,
we passed an Indian village ; three of the monster men, find-
ing the males absent, entered their dwellings, ravished the
women, and took away some of their most valuable effects, and
overtook the party at the place of encampment. I saw in their
possession some of the articles of their plunder. The next
day, after proceeding two or three miles over the prairie, one
of the party cried out, 'Indians are coming,' and there were
fifty or more Indians advancing towards us. I turned and
advanced towards them ; the men in the rear of the animals
were with me. The Indians halted and I halted, at the distance
of perhaps two rods from the chief. He was tall, good-looking,
stood firm and seemed undaunted before us. A red card was
pendant from his plumed cap, he held in the right hand his
bow, and in the left a quiver. He addressed me as though he
would explain what brought him and his men to that place.
He spoke in the language of nature, and I thought I under-
stood what he said. I addressed him, also, in the language of
nature, by gestures and significant motions ; tried to induce
a retreat, and save the lives of his young warriors ; pointed to
our rifles and to their bows, and to the ground ; and I tried to

14 Sfiti»m0n$ of Ortgon, if.

8«

have him understand that I was his friend and the friend of
his people ; and that my men had given him occasion to pursue
us, and provocation for revenge. My party seemed fierce for
fight ; but were persuaded to let the pursuers retreat unharmed.
The chief gave a word of command, and they turned about and
hastened from us ; and he himself stood awhile, looking toward
us as though he feared not death. Turning slowly upon his
heel, he walked away. Two of the party started to follow,
I begged they would not ; they persisted, saying they would
do him no harm. In fifteen or twenty minutes after this, 1
heard the reports of their rifles. On their return I inquired
if they had shot the chief. The reply was, 'No, we fired a
salute' ; but, alas ! I saw among their effects the identical card,
the bow, and the quiver, and I wept. After a few days I saw,
on the opposite side of the Sacramento, ten or a dozen Indians.
Young said 'they were hostile Indians.' They were the same
Indians that had just escaped the bloody hands of the party,
and were pursuing us to avenge the wrongs done them. Some
days after this we crossed the river called American, and
encamped on its banks, and the animals put to feed near by.
"Nearly opposite the encampment was an Indian village,
and till late in the evening was heard a doleful noise, and beat-
ing on hollow logs In the morning it was found that seven
of our animals had been killed, doubtless by those provoked to
pursue us. When the party were about to leave, seven Indians
crossed the river twenty or thirty rods from us. Five of them
ventured to come up to the camp ; the other two stood upon the
bank, as though they were afraid to come. They were as
naked as when born, and bore with them presents — a bag of
pinions, and salmon, just caught and nicely dressed. Standing
in a semi-circle not more than ten feet distant from me, their
orator began to speak and explain as to their innocence ; and
probably as to those who had killed the animals. Immediately
one of the party (of the five marauders) said, 'These are the
damned villains, and they ought to be shot.' 'Yes,' said Young.
No sooner said than they seized their rifles and shot down those

five innocent, and to all appearances, upright and manly men,
and perforated their bodies with balls, while weltering in their
blood. I heard but a single groan. Two or three of the party,
mounting their horses, hastened to murder in like manner the
other two, and they were shot while fording the stream.

"Now my conductor, looking sharply at me, said, 'Mr. Kel-
ley, what do you think of this?' I felt it my duty to give an
evasive answer : 'We must protect ourselves in the wilderness
among hostile Indians.' Doubtless, if my answer had not been
that way, I should have been also shot."^''

Although Kelley had failed to obtain official permission to
survey the country through which he passed, he made as
thorough an examination as possible and recorded the results
of his observations. Upon the basis of these notes and of the
information subsequently obtained in Oregon, he prepared a
"Map of Upper California and Oregon," which in 1839 he put
into the hands of Caleb Cushing of Massachusetts, chairman
of the house committee on foreign affairs. According to his
statement, this map "was examined by Col. Fremont, who
explored the same country in 1837 or '40 [1843-4], and was
pronounced remarkably correct. It was the first ever made by
an American of the valley of the Sacramento."^® From the
confusion of dates and from the fact that Fremont did not
refer to this map in any of his reports, it may be inferred that
the examination of the map was made after Fremont's return
and not before.

This map, together with a reproduction on a smaller scale,
is now in the bureau of indexes and archives of the department
of state, having been recovered by Kelley and transmitted to
Joel R. Poinsett, secretary of war, under date of June 12, 1839.
It is a rough draft, but as Kelley said in his letter. "It is the
knozviedge imparted by the map that gives it value, and not
the mere mechanical execution of it." Upon it a dotted line
indicates Kelley's route through California and Oregon.

In California as in Mexico, the possibilities of development

15 Ibid., 108-10; see also Clarke, Pioneer Days of Oregon, I, 296-7.

16 Settlement of Oregon, 78.

through the construction of railroads engaged Kelley's atten-
tion, if we are to credit a statement first made eighteen or
twenty years afterwards :

"While in California, in 1834, exploring the valley of the
Sacramento, where, at that time, none, but wild men dwelt;
and none but savage hunters roamed ; cogitating upon internal
improvements, I planned a branch to extend from some point
in the route, after the transit of the Rocky Mountains, to the
Bay of San Francisco.""

Meanwhile the "iron constitution" of Kelley, which had sus-
tained him through pestilence-ridden Mexico and borne up
under innumerable hardships, had become weakened, and he
fell a victim to malaria.

"When exploring the low and pestilential tracts in the
Southern region of the Sacramento valley,'^ I contracted the
fever and ague. It rapidly increased and soon became terrible.
Just after . . . entering Oregon . . . my party was
providentially made to halt at the very moment when the ende-
mic was having its worst effects upon me, and when I could
no longer be borne on horseback. My strength had rapidly
wasted, and at times I fainted and fell from the saddle.

"While in a thickly wooded mountain, it suddenly came on
dark, and we were obliged to stop for the night in the midst
of woods and thick darkness. Lowering partly down from the
animal, I fell, the stones and leaves on which I fell composed
my bed. In the morning it was found that some of the horses
and pack mules had strayed away. We, however, proceeded on
two or three miles, and encamped on an open stretch of ground.
Capt. Young, my conductor, and the men who had been of his
hunting party, returned to the mountains to search after the
lost animals. This caused a delay. The five marauders, who
had attached themselves to my party, two days after leaving

17 Narrative of Events and Difficulties, 71-2; Settlement of Oregon, 8. "This,"
he continued, "coincides with the views of the Hon. T. H. Benton, expressed in a
speech made by him in Congress, upon the subject of a railroad to the Pacific."

18 "I crossed the rapids of the Sacramento at what was said to be its lowest
ford, in latitude 39 deg. 35 min. Several of our horses were borne away by the
torrent." — Memoir, 51. Kelley's map would seem to indicate that this river was the
Feather, not the Sacramento.

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H jr? ,?:

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the Bay of San Francisco, remained in camp, and were jocose
and profane about the fire. I was now shaking- like an aspen
leaf, prostrate and helpless in my tent.

"The place of this encampment was upon the high land near
the sources of the principal rivers watering the two countries,
to settle which I had spent my best days, my fortune, and all
my earthly comforts. Death appeared inevitable ; earth seemed
at an end, and the portal of glory to be opening. Conversation
in the camp paused. . . . Then, suddenly, another voice was
heard. A stranger coming into the camp inquired, 'Where is
Capt. Kelley?' He came to my tent and said he was Capt.
La Flambois [Michel La Framboise], from the Columbia
River; and had been with his trappers to the Bay of San
Francisco, where he had heard of me ; and that he had hastened
to overtake my party, having had nothing more for his guide
than the traces of our encampments. He kindly took charge
of my effects, and removed me to his camp. This good Sa-
maritan first administered a dish of venison broth ; and then,
in proper time, a portion [sic] of quinine. The third portion,
taken on the second day, dismissed the endemic monster. After
two days at that place I was able to stand upon my legs, but
unable to walk. Before leaving . . . the Captain engaged
an Indian chief to take me in a canoe forty or fifty miles down
the Umpqua. At first the chief declined, saying, that the upper
part of the river was not navigable. Finally, in view of a
bountiful reward, he consented to try. In the morning I was
placed on my mule, and borne six miles to the place of embark-
ation. The chief at one end, his son at the other, and myself
sitting upright in the centre of the boat, we floated swiftly
along the current. The hoary-headed chief, with wonderful
skill, descended the rapids. Often was he in the foaming
stream, holding on to the bow to save the boat from pitching
or sinking into the angry flood. The voyage was made in a
day and a half, and there was much, in that time, to cheer my
spirits, and give me strength. The heavens were serene, the
air salubrious, and the country on both sides was charming.

At the landing, the faithful Indian received of my property a
fine horse, saddle and bridle, a salmon knife and a scarlet
velvet sash, and was satisfied.^^ Rondeau, whom the Captain
had appointed to be my attendant and guide, was ready at the
bank to conduct me, a few miles distant, to the camp of my new
party. I mounted with a little help, and rode off, feeling like
a new man.

"My journeying in that wilderness was full of interesting
incidents and things terrible."^'*

"On the 27th of October, I reached the end of a perilous
journey of over 6000 miles — most of the distance without trav-
eling companions ; and more than half, in wilderness or savage
countries. Hardships had almost worn me out. Landed in
front of Fort Vancouver. Capt. La Framboise assisted me out
of the boat. With the help of his arm, I walked slowly and
feebly to the fort, and entered a room at one end of the man-
sion-house, opening from the court. After a few minutes, the
chief factor, Mr. McLaughlin, came in — made a few inquiries
about my health and business, and, ordering some refreshments,
retired. None of his household, none of his American guests
called, nor had any of them been seen at the river, or on the
way to the fort. No countryman, though many were in the
house, came to sympathize in my afflictions or to greet my
coming.

"After I had taken an hour of repose on a bed which was
in the room, the Captain entered with compliments of Mr.
McLaughlin, saying it would be inconvenient to accommodate
with a room inside the fort, as they were all occupied, but T
could have a room outside, and a man to attend upon me.
Again, sustained by the arm of my friend, I was led to the
place assigned me outside the stockade ; and so was cast out
from the fort, as though unworthy to breathe the same air,
or to tread the same ground with its proud and cowardly in-
mates. The house had one room, with a shed adjoining. The

19 "Which shows that he did not know how to trade with the Indians." — -Ran-
cioft. Northwest Coast, II, 549 n.

20 Settlement of Oregon, 17-9; Memorial, 1848:14-5.

latter having been long occupied for dressing fish and wild
game, was extremely filthy. The black mud about the door
was abundantly mixed with animal putrescence. It was not a
place that would conduce much to the recovery of health. It
was, however, the habitation of a Canadian, a respectable and
intelligent man, a tinner by trade. "^

The immediate reason for this inhospitable reception at the
fort where all comers had been made welcome, at least osten-
sibly, may be best stated in the words of Dr. McLoughlin :

"As Gen. Fiqueroa [sic], Governor of Cahfornia, had writ-
ten me that Ewing Young and Kelley had stolen horses from
the settlers of that place. I would have no dealings with them,
and told them my reasons. Young maintained he stole no
horses, but admitted the others had. I told him that might
be the case, but as the charge was made I could have no deal-
ings with him till he cleared it up. But he maintained to his
countrymen, and they believed it, that as he was a leader among
them, I acted as I did from a desire to oppose American inter-
ests. I treated all of the party in the same manner as Young,
except Kelley, who was very sick. Out of humanity I placed
him in a house, attended on him and had his victuals sent him
at every meal."^'^

Figueroa's letter had been brought from Monterey on the
company's schooner Cadboro. which had made better time
than Kelley's party, and so enabled McLoughlin to take the
necessary steps to protect the interests of his company and of
those dependent upon it. Warning notices were posted, and
the Canadians were forbidden to trade with the members of
the party .^^ But Kelley declared that the accusing letter did
not implicate him with the unwelcome marauders, and he main-
tained that McLoughlin's action was based wholly upon the

^i Memorial, 1848:15-6. '"I arrived at Vancouver unwell, and was hospitably
welcomed by Mr. McLaughlin, the chief factor. Medical aid was rendered me; a
house in the village was furnished for my use, and all my physical wants were
supplied; but I was forbidden to enter the fort!" — Memoir, 60.

22 McLoughlin. Defence, addressed to parties in London, Oregon Historical
Society Quarterly, I, 195; also Bancroft, Northwest Coast, II, 550.

23 Bancroft, Northwest Coast, II, 552; Hist, of Oregon, I, 91-2. Young
demanded and received a retraction from Figueroa. — Walker, Sketch of Ewing
Young, Oregon Pioneer Association, Transactions. 1880:57.

desire to prevent the settlement of Americans on the Columbia.
He claimed that Captain Dominis of the brig Owyhee of Bos-
ton, who was in the Columbia in 1829, had communicated to
McLoughlin information as to Kelley's purpose to colonize
Oregon, and that the chief factor at once prepared to protect
the monopoly of his company by discouraging trade with
Americans and by preempting the most desirable sites.^^

Again it is necessary to record the defeat of Kelley; but
again it must be said that while the result of his efforts was
personal failure, the actual result was success. Through the
American Society he had started the movement which led to
the coming of Wyeth and demonstrated the practicability of
the overland route ; he had aroused the churches to the oppor-
tunity for work among the Indians, which led to the coming
of the Lees and other missionaries. Now he had brought into
the Oregon country nine men, most of them American citi-
zens, who with Calvin Tibbetts were to remain as settlers, thus
establishing American occupation and ultimate domination in
that territory .^'^ All this was not apparent at the time ; least of
all to Kelley. To those at Fort Vancouver he appeared as a
strange, almost pathetic figure ; the wreck of a man in his
prime, whose race was about run. In his Recollections of the
Hudson's Bay Company, George B. Roberts said : 'T remember
the visit of Mr. Hall J. Kelley — he was penniless and ill clad —
and considered rather too rough for close companionship and
not invited to mess — he may have thought this hard — our

2\ Settlement of Oregon, 86-7; Colonization of Oregon, 6. He also said that
Dominis gave McLoughlin a copy of the General Circular; but that pamphlet was
not issued until 1831. We may well believe, however, that the Hudson's Bay
authorities were informed of the movement for Oregon settlement in congress in
1828, for they were men of sagacity, and it is unlikely that they failed to keep
in touch with the British legation at Washington. It is possible also that Dr.
McLoughlin may have learned of the movement for emigration from the American
trapper and fur trader, Jedediah Smith, who was at Fort Vancouver from August,
1828 to Marcli 1829. — Elliott, Dr. John McLoughlin and his guests, Washington
Historical Society, Quarterly, III, 67-8.

25 The members of the party, in addition to Kelley and Young, were: Brandy-
wine, Lawrence Carmichael, Elisha Ezekiel, Joseph Gale, Webley John Hawkhurst,
lohn Howard, Kilborn, John McCarty, and George Winslow. Ezekiel was a
wheelright: Hawkhurst, a native of Long Island, was a carpenter; Gale was a
native of the District of Columbia; Winslow was colored. The names are given
iu Bancroft, Oregon. I, 76-7n, upon the authority of Gray, Oregon, 191, supple-
mented by Lee and Frost, Ten Years in Oregon, 129. Gray made no mention of
Kelley.

people didn't know or care for the equality he had perhaps been
accustomed to — It should be borne in mind that discipline in
those days was rather severe and a general commingling would
not do." Again, "Hall J. Kelly was about 5 feet 9 inches,
wore a white slouched hat Blanket Capot, Leather pants
with a red stripe down the seam — rather outre for even
Vancouver. We little understood such chaps as he and his.
and our notions of equality were different — for Kelly to have
been treated otherwise than he was would have been detrimental
to the discipline of the plan by admitting him as an equal —
dignity had to be preserved in those days — how much depended
on it. The doctor could not afford it as we say to get down to
Kelley's standing. "^^ To such straits had our dreamer come!
But his "vision" had at last become a reality, and the lordly
chief factor himself was soon to face it and to be overcome by
it.-"^ Somewhere it is written. "Sometimes we are inclined to
class those who are once-and-a-half witted with the half-witted,
because we appreciate only a third part of their wit."

26 Roberts, Recollections, Ms. 12, 3o (1878).

27 "I early foresaw that the march of civilization and progress of peopling the
.\merican Territories, was westward and onward, and that but a few years would
pass away before the whole valuable country between the Rocky Mountains and
the Pacific, then used as hunting and trapping grounds, and as the resting place
of native tribes, must become the abode of another race — American. This could
neither be successfully resisted, nor did I deem it politic or desirable to attempt
it. In this spirit I prepared myself to encourage, hasten, and further what I
thought would be not only attended with good, but inevitable ....

"From 1824 to the present hour, I have spared neither time nor means, but
liberally used both, to facilitate the settling of Oregon by whites; and that it
has been my good fortune to do much in years gone by to relieve distress and
promote the comfort and happiness of immigrants, I may fearlessly assert, and for
proof need only to refer to the candid and just Americans who first came to the
country." — McLoughlin, letter to Oregon Statesman. June 8. i8f;2, OreRon His-
torical Society, Quarterly, VIII. 295-9.

CHAPTER EIGHT
In Oregon — An Unwelcome Guest

It is difficult to account for Kelley's surprise at finding him-
self unwelcome at Fort Vancouver. For ten years he had lost
no opportunity to assail the Hudson's Bay company, and he
had every reason to believe that Dr. McLoughlin was fully
informed as to his past activities and his plans for the future.
The success of those plans would work irreparable loss to the
company and the nation for which it exercised civil jurisdic-
tion over the Northwest Coast. Yet he seems to have expected
the chief factor to treat all differences between them in a lofty
and impersonal manner, and to accord to him all the courtesies
due to an accredited diplomatic agent. Indeed he was not
without credentials of a kind. In his baggage were papers
showing him to be the attorney of the claimants to the lands
on Vancouver Island Ixjught of the Indians by Captain John
Kendrick in 1791, but his immediate plan was to form a set-
tlement on the Columbia. These papers were not presented to
Dr. McLoughlin, but Kelley believed that they were examined
and the rest of his baggage overhauled during his illness.' At
the worst he fared better than any of the others of his party,
for while he was given food and shelter, such as it was, his
follovvers received no favors whatever.

His resentment at the attitude of his countrymen is more
easily understood. At the time of his arrival, there were at
Fort Vancouver seven men who had accompanied Wyeth on
his second expedition, and their presence in that country was
the result, direct or indirect, of his efforts. These men were
the Lees and their three lay associates, Thomas Xuttall, the
celebrated botanist who had served as lecturer and curator at
Harvard, and John K. Townsend, a young naturalist. Jason
Lee was born in Canada of American parentage, and Nuttall

1 Kelley. Hist, of the Settlement of Orezon, ao; Petition. i866:6; Bulfinch,
Uefturrial, i>-ii, 26 cong. i *e«s H. doc. 43.

was an Englishman, but their associations had been with Amer-
ican interests. Like Kelley, Nuttall held the degree of A. M.
from Harvard. Of these men Kelley said, "There were some
of my countrymen at that time at Vancouver, the recipients
of the generous hospitality and favors of Mr. McLaughlin.
Though for several months within five or six minutes of my
sick room, yet none of them had the humanity to visit me."^
The first person who visited him was Young, but "his call
was not so much to sympathize as to speak of the personal
abuse just received from Dr. McLaughlin." To Kelley the
absence of active sympathy in Young was the result of the
misrepresentations of slanderous tongues, but Young may have
had in mind the difference between the real Oregon and the
place so glowingly pictured to him by Kelley at Pueblo and
Monterey.^ That the man was not taken at his own rating is
undoubtedly true, for who could understand him, least of all
those who were his adversaries? "Before I had been long in
the country," he declared, "I learned that the factor and his
agents were preparing in every artful way to render my abode
there uncomfortable and unsafe. The most preposterous cal-
umnies and slanders were set on foot in regard to my character,
conduct and designs.^ . . . Seeing that falsehood was mak-
ing such sad work with my character, and that calumny and
mockery were the order of the day, I addressed to John Mc-
Laughlin, Esq., a manifesto, prepared, of course, with a feeble
hand, declaring myself not to be a public agent acting by
authority from the United States, as represented at Vancouver ;
but to be a private and humble citizen of a great nation-
moved by a spirit of freedom, and animated with the hope of
being useful among my fellow men." Just how this communi-
cation was calculated to effect a reconciliation does not appear.
That it did not soften the heart of the chief factor is certain ;
for when in the latter part of November Kelley requested a

2 Kelley, Memorial, 1848:16.

3 Settlement of Oregon, 58-9.

4 Kelley, Memoir, Committee on Foreign Affaiis, supplemental report.
tory of Oregon, 60, 2<i <-ing. 3 sess. H. rep. loi.

Ter

passage to the Sandwich Islands in one of the company's ves-
sels, he met with a refusal, although he was willing to pay
whatever might be reasonably required. Nor would Dr. Mc-
Loughlin have any business transactions with him. When a
silver dollar was sent to the company storehouse for certain
necessary articles desired by Kelley, the articles were not forth-
coming under the pretense that the money was not genuine.
"The dollar was current, and the metal pure," naively remarked
Kelley.5

When he was able to get about, some of his party visited
him and asked him to plat out the land on the site which he
had chosen for a settlement. "A day for that service, two or
three weeks off, was appointed ; but, prior to its coming, other
visits were made of an unfriendly nature. . . . Also two let-
ters were received from the party, threatening my life, if seen
on the Wallamet. All things considered, I thought it prudent
to keep from that quarter."® One of these letters was from
Yoimg.'^

Yet there were those whose attitude was not unfriendly.
"Those who treated me with respect were the Indians and the
common people. The Rev. Jason Lee privily called, at times,
and talked freely of obligations of himself and the public to
me, always expressing his haste. Mr. Stuart, now in the
British ParHament, whose mind differed from other minds at
Vancouver, something as light differs from darkness, honored
me with his society and expressions of his kind regards — not
fearing the displeasure of Mr. McLaughlin."^

About the first of February, his health being improved, Kel-
ley began to make exploring excursions about the Columbia
and to collect all available information as to the geography
and economic characteristics of the country, with particular
reference to the activities of the Hudson's Bay company and
to the possibilities of blocking those efforts through an influx

5 Kelley, Narrative of Events and Difficulties, S7-8.

6 Ibid., s6.

7 Settlement of Oregon, s8.

8 Memorial 1848:16.

of American settlers and traders. He later made a survey of
the Columbia river from Fort Vancouver to its mouth and
recorded the results upon his map of Upper California and
Oregon, to which reference has been made in the preceding
chapter.^ This was not an instrumental survey, however, for
his theodolite was then at the Sandwich Islands. The results
of his observations were later presented to congress in a me-
moir, which will receive attention in later chapters. ^"^

Dr. McLoughlin naturally kept himself informed as to all of
Kelley's movements, for here was a man who openly chal-
lenged his authority. Said Kelley : "All my movements were
watched. . . . Had I been wilHng to place myself under the
control and direction of the Company, all would have been
peace; but sq long as I was disposed to act independently, as
an American on American soil, seeking authentic information,
for general diffusion, and pursuing the avowed purpose of
opening the trade of the territory to general competition, and
the wealth of the country to general participation and enjoy-
ment, so long was I an object of dread and dislike to the grasp-
ing monoix)lists of the Hudson's Bay Company. My abode
in Oregon was thus rendered very disagreeable."^^

It is interesting at this point to note the interpretation of
Dr. McLoughlin's attitude as given by Mrs. Frances Fuller
Victor :

"It was not altogether Kelley's Mexican costume that
excluded Kelley from Vancouver society. Other travelers who
had arrived in unpresentable apparel had been made present-
able by the loan of articles from the wardrobes of the factors
and partisans resident there at the time. It could not be said
either that Kelley was uninteresting or uneducated. Quite
the contrary, indeed. What he had to tell of his adventures in
Mexico and California must have been just the sort of tales to
while away winter evenings in Bachelors' Hall.

"I fancv the situation was about this: McLoughlin was pre-

9 Memoir, 55; Memorial. 1848:16; Petition. 1866:

10 See Appendix.

1 1 Memoir, 60.

pared to dislike Kelley even without Governor Figueroa's con-
demnation, on account of his published denunciation of the
Hudson's Bay Company. He was under no obligation to admit
him to the society of the fort, although he would not have
him suffer sickness and hunger under the shadow of its walls.
The fact that he was an American while giving him a patriotic
excuse, if not motive, for ignoring claims on his compassion,
also, on the other hand, furnished a politic motive for indulg-
ing his natural humanity. For at that time there were several
Americans being entertained at Vancouver. . . . The treaty
rights of Wyeth were not disputed, nor were the scientific
observations of the scholars opposed. It was Kelley, as colon-
izer and defamer of the company, who was unwelcome, even
after it was evident that there was no stain upon his character.

"This was perfectly understood by Kelley, and it was not
McLoughlin's disapproval of him which wounded his sensitive
pride. It was the conduct of his own countrymen. . . .
Nuttall, who was a Cambridge man, was well acquainted with
Kelley's writings, owing to them, Kelley believed, his idea of
studying the botany of Oregon. But Nuttall, as well as the
Lees, thought too highly of his privileges at Vancouver to risk
them by acknowledging this fact. And Wyeth, who was not
like himself, an educated man, never having learned to spell
correctly, or to introduce in his writings capitals and punctua-
tion points where they belonged, and who had led as far as
Vancouver as many free Americans as had Young and himself
— Wyeth, who when in Massachusetts was one of his prospec-
tive colonists — was on the Columbia River utterly indifferent
to him.

"This treatment of Kelley by his countrymen must have
been construed at Vancouver as condemnatory, although its
shrewd and magnanimous chief may have guessed a little at its
meaning and sought to make amends by unremitting care of
the sick and neglected man.'^^

This statement may be somewhat unfair as to Nuttall, whose

12 V'ictor, Hall J. Kelley, one of the fathers of Oregon, Oregon Historical
Society, Quarterly, II,, 393-6.

interest in his surroundings were wholly scientific, and whose
shyness was proverbial. As to the Lees, Daniel, the younger,
seems to have occupied a secondary position, while the abler
Jason was wrapt up in plans of a singularly material nature
for one whose sole errand in that country was the Christian-
izing of the natives. Certainly he does not appear to have
had that disinterestedness which should distinguish those
who would assume to lead others to a higher spiritual level.
As far as the available records show, Wyeth, who had first
arrived at Fort Vancouver on September 23, 1834, did not
come into contact with Kelley until several months later. The
circumstances of their meeting are thus set forth by Kelley :

"About the middle of February, I went into the fort to in-
quire after an acquaintance who had just come from the upper
parts of the Columbia; and was met by McLaughlin himself,
and told that the person whom I wished to see was engaged.
The door was then insultingly closed upon me. The next
day, the acquaintance with a countenance sadly changed from
former days, came into my cabin and strode across the floor.
Sternly looking towards me, he uttered these words, viz.,
'Well, Kelley, how did you get here?' After making some
abusive remarks, he walked out. His only object seemed to
be to afflict, and to fill my soul with sorrow.^^

Social ostracism, embargo, and espionage at length turned
Kelley's thoughts toward departure, and when he had remained
long enough to collect sufficient information he decided to
return home. "The loss of my property on the route had
obliged me to vary my original plans, and limit my enterprise
to such an examination of the country as would enable me
to enlighten the American public on my return to the United
States. I remained, therefore, in Oregon no longer than was

13 Narrative of Events and Difficulties, 58. "One man, however, called to
abuse me — to say that he was against me — I should find no friends in that country,
and I had bette'r hasten out of it." — Memorial. 1848:16. Wycth's sole reference
to Kelley, in his journal, reads under date of February 12, 1835: "12th. In the
morning made to Vancouver and found there a polite reception and to my great
astonishment Mr. Ilall J. Kelly. He came in co. with Mr. Young from Monte
El Rey and it is said stole between them a bunch of horses. Kelly is not received
at the Fort on this account as a gentleman a house is given him and food sent
him from the Gov. tabl but he is not suiTered to mess here." — Young, Correspond-
ence and Journals of Nathaniel J. Wyeth. 250.

needful to satisfy myself on the desired points of inquiry ; and
so long as I did remain, I was treated very much like a pris-
oner of war, although not subject to actual confinement. . . .
I ought, in justice to myself, to state that it was not disap-
pointment, in regard to the natural advantages of Oregon,
which prevented my forming a permanent connexion with
that region; but I was impelled by a determination to do all
in my power, by constant effort in the United States, to lead
our Government to extend over Oregon that paternal care
which alone is needed to render it the very nucleus of emigra-
tion, and the most attractive portion of our national domain.

"14

"While yet in Oregon, about the time of embarkation for
home, I planned to return to that country, and form a settle-
ment at New Dergeness [Dungeness] ... on the south
side of De Fuca's Sea, and on the westerly side of Port Dis-
covery."^*

Arrangements were finally made, how is nowhere stated,
that Kelley should be given a passage on the Hudson's Bay
brig Dryade, Captain Keplin, to the Sandwich Islands. This
was not the only favor that was received. "The chief factor
of the company presented me with a draft of seven pounds
sterling, payable at the Sandwich Islands. A part, however
was paid at Vancouver, in articles of comfort." Thus the
embargo had been removed. "This was kind, and I felt grate-
ful for it."i«

Fortunately it is possible to reproduce here a fragment from
Kelley's journal, in which he recorded in characteristic fashion
his experiences at the outset of the voyage :

"March 15, went on board the Dryade, about to sail for
the Sandwich Islands, was promised a berth in the cabin, but
received one in the steerage — thankful to receive one any-
where.

"The cabin boy informed me that breakfast was ready in the

14 Memoir, 60-1.

I $ Settlement of Oregon, 124-

16 Narrative of Events and Difficulties. 59; also Memoir, 6«.

steerage. I went down. Oiie of the sailors filled a tea kettle
with boiling water, into which he put some tea, and offered
me the use of a tin pot which was really too dirty for any
animal but a pig to eat from. The tea being sweetened with
molasses, was too unpalatable for my drinking. Some coarse
ship bread, and cold boiled beef served in a small wooden tub,
was all I saw, and more than I tasted of.

''Dinner — the cold beef and coarse bread returned, and a
pudding composed of flour and mashed potatoes, half baked,
clammy and heavy, without plate, knife or fork. . . . Had
a wakeful night — suffered much — attributable to the miser-
able accommodations and grub.

"Breakfast — Tea sweetened with molasses, and cold salt
beef without vegetables.

"Went on shore, built a fire, and sat down by it — reflected
on past adventures and present ills of life. I do not despair.
The rectitude of my conduct, and an ever approving conscience
sustains the heart and keeps the courage up. How disagree-
able it is to be made the companions of ignorant and sordid-
minded men ! To me it is misery indeed ; but I must suffer
their insolence, and accommodate myself to circumstances."^^

In one of his petitions to congress, additional details were
given :

"Head wind retarded, for several days, the descent of the
vessel to the ocean ; which circumstances gave him an oppor-
tunity to make particular examinations of the river, and col-
lect materials for a correct map of the same. He had pre-
viously made examinations. . . . He was terribly seasick
through the voyage. The food furnished him was scant, and
unsavory. The sailors at times spat upon his bed and wearing
apparel, and in diverse ways injured, or destroyed, the exposed
articles of his effects. To render his situation in the highest
degree distressing, after having retired to rest, the sailors in
the steerage were in the practice of filling the place with
tobacco smoke, raising high the wicks of the lamps, bringing

17 Memorial, 1848:16-7.

100

down the scuttle door, and keeping the room close. It was
a suffocating time. The condition of him, who had never
used a particle of tobacco, and was reduced to great physical
debility, is hardly conceivable to any but himself. .
Inquiries were often made of the captain. Why all this abuse?
The uniform reply was, T must obey orders'. "^^

Of his experiences at the Sandwich Islands, we know but
little. That he was at Towaihai, Hawaii, on June 26, 1835,
is evident from an affidavit relating to Kendrick's land pur-
chases which he obtained from John Young, an old resident,
and upon which his name appears as one of the witnesses.^"
Kelley's own account is confined to the following:

"At the Islands he was favored, by his noble-hearted coun-
trymen resident there, with every facility for examining that
group, and making historical and philosophical inquiries. In
the month of October, he embarked on board the whale ship
Canton Packet for his native land."^^

Little is told of the homeward voyage, but that little is
enough to show that Kelley was ever alert to gain information.
"During the sea voyage of six months on board the ship Can-
ton Packet every fair day and moonlight night, my attention
was turned to explorations of the starry heavens, and the
abtruse regions of science ; and all the while continued to
study the book of nature, and that interesting little book ever
in my hand, open and read with intense desire to know God
and his handiworks."^'

18 Petition. 1866:5-6; Memorial. 1848:17- We are told by competent medical
authority that "there is a physical as well as intellectual memory."

19 Bulfinch, Memorial, 7-8.

20 Petition, 1866:6. "I, also, cursorily, explored some of the Sandwich Islands,
particularly Owyhee, of which I constructed a map." — Settlement of Oregon, 119.

31 Settlement of Oregon, 119.

101

CHAPTER NINE
Four Years of Futile Effort

Kelley was a changed man when he arrived at Boston in
1836 after his long voyage from the Sandwich Islands. Only
three years before "his physical nature was iron-like, posses-
sing great power of endurance," but exposure and hardships
had enfeebled his body and shattered his nervous system. Yet
this gaunt shadow of a man had no thought of giving up his
long cherished idea of awakening his countrymen to the great
advantages, national and individual, which must inevitably fol-
low the settlement of the Northwest Coast under the patronage
and protection of the American government. He had already
done much to spread broadcast information which he had
obtained at second hand ; now he could speak with authority,
having seen the promised land and found it good

But there were personal matters which required his imme-
diate attention. His family "every soul of them turned against
me," had to be reconciled to him. He went to Gilmanton and
spent some time with his father and his wife and children, but
his efforts to reestabHsh his household resulted in failure.^

His expenses had been heavy, and most of his property had
been lost or taken from him, so that now he was a poor man.
worried by his debts. It was not so much the amount of his
indebtedness that concerned him ; it was the fact that it was
a debt of honor, and that he was unable to pay the small sum
of three hundred dollars on account of outstanding obligations
of the American Society which he had issued as general agent.
These were two shares of stock, each of one hundred dollars,
and five twenty-dollar certificates. Concerning them he ex-
plained, "Immediately after the Oregon expedition was broken
up, the amount received for stock and certificates was re-

I Temple, Hisl. of the Town of Palmer, 266.

103

funded, ail but the above, which circumstances rendered incon-
venient and improper then to restore."^

In an attempt to raise money, therefore, he again worked
as a surveyor. "In the year 1837, I surveyed three railroad
routes in the State of Maine, each, however, of short extent,
having the assistance, only, of two or three men unacquainted
with engineering, and employed on the outdoor work. I
planned, figured, drafted, and performed the office-work ; be-
sides, the entire labor with the field instruments.""'' The report
of one of these surveys was published ;■* but whether the project
was carried out is not stated.

In September, 1837, William A. Slacum, purser in the United
States navy, went to Boston and conferred with Charles Bul-
finch, who had long been interested in trading ventures on the
Northwest Coast. He asked for a meeting with Kelley, and
Kelley visited him at the Tremont House, where the matter of
Oregon and its settlement was discussed.

Slacum had recently returned from Oregon, having been
commissioned by the secretary of state, under date of Novem-
ber 11, 1835, "to stop at the different settlements of whites
on the coast of the United States, and on the banks of the
[Columbia] river, and also at the various Indian villages on
the banks, or in the immediate neighborhood of that river ;
ascertain, as nearly as possible, the population of each ; the
relative number of whites (distinguishing the nation to which
they belong) and aborigines; the jurisdiction the whites ac-
knowledge; the sentiments entertained by all in respect to
the United States, and to the two European powers having
possessions in that region ; and, generally, to obtain all such
information, political, physical, statistical, and geographical, as
may prove useful or interesting to this Government."

This mission had been undertaken at the suggestion of Presi-
dent Jackson, who may have been prompted by Kelley 's activ-
ities during several winters at Washington, and by the knowl-

2 Kelley, Narrative of Events and Difficulties, 7n.

3 Ibid., 72-3.

4 Kelley, Hist, of the Settlement of Oregon, 8.

104

edge that Kelley had proceeded to Oregon with the purpose
of establishing a settlement on the Columbia. The immediate
suggestion, however, was due to no word or act of Kelley, who
was then on the high seas en route for Boston, but to the fact
that Slacum was "about to visit the Pacific ocean," thus pre-
senting to the president an opportunity to obtain specific and
authentic information upon a matter concerning which the
government must soon take a definite stand. ^

In the course of an investigation which extended from De-
cember 22, 1836, to February 10, 1837, Slacum conferred with
Dr. McLoughlin, Jason Lee, Ewing Young, and others, and
collected much information which he submitted upon his re-
turn. Some of this information appears in a memorial praymg
compensation for his services, which he presented to congress
on December 18, 1837.^

In this memorial there is no mention of Kelley, though the
names of several of the members of his party are given. The
reason for this omission is unknown. Kelley believed that it
was due to the desire of Robert Greenhow, librarian of the de-
partment of state, to deprive him of the credit for having
induced the first American settlers to locate in Oregon. Ac-
cording to his statement Slacum declared that he had seen a
copy of Kelley's General Circular in the hands of one of the
settlers, and he "seemed satisfied" that Kelley was the founder
of the first American settlement, and said that he would so
report. He had brought from that settlement the copy of the
General Circular and also a statement of Ewing Young declar-

5 "The investigations or Dr. J. R. Wilson led him to look upon this effort
•jf President Jackson to get light on the situation in Oregon ss bound up with
his larger scheme of 'acquisition of territory in the southwest, stretching from
Texas to and including the harbor of San Francisco. Doctor Wilson came to this
conclusion because Jackson's interest in this direction had in the first instance
been aroused bv letters from Slacum. The scope and character of the report
suggest that the author had a pretty clear and full appreciation of all the vital
.•\merican interests in the Oregon situation in the thirties." — Young, Introductory
note to re-^rint ot Slacum's report. Oregon Historical Society. Quarterly,
-XIII, 1-5.

6 Slacum. Memorial Praying Compensation for His Services in Obtaining
Information in Relation to the Settlements on the Oregon River. 2$ cong. 2
sess. S. doc. 24. The material accompanying this memorial was reprinted as
appendix "N" in Committee on Foreign Affairs, supplemental report. Territory of
Oregon, 29-47. 25 cong. 3 sess. H, rep. 10:.

itMi

ing that it was duo to Kelley that he had settled in that ter-
ritory.

While in Washington in 1838 Kelley examined the manu-
script of Slaciun's report, which was on file in the department
of state. There he found Young's statement, which had been
omitted from the printeil copy. "The paper marked E in the
report is tiiat identical statement ; and it was evidently, at first,
intended to be printed, with the matters included in the report :
but it was not printed, nor to be seen by members of Congress ;
nor was any allusion made to the petitioner [Kelley], or to any
of his meritorious acts in Oregon." The facts in the case can-
not be determined, and the report in question cannot now be
found in the archives. It does not appear, however, how
Greenhow could have had anything to do with the papers which
Slacum chose to append to his memorial.

Kelley took advantage of his opportunity to copy Young's
statement, in which he acknowledged his indebtedness to
Kelley, but referred to him in terms which indicated that he
had "mistaken views" about Kelley and "unfriendly feelings"
toward him. "There never was, I affirm it, the least personal
misunderstanding between me and Capt. Young," Kelley de-
clared. "His inimical feelings were wholly owing to the lying
spirit going out from Fort Vancouver, and going about to
deceive those who were most likely to be friends and to stand
by me."'^

As has been said in the preceding chapter Kelley left the
Northwest Coast with the idea of returning to establish a
settlement at New Dungeness on the strait of Juan de Fuca.
west of Port Discovery, but he was unable to arouse interest
in the project. Of this movement he said:

"Soon after my return to New England, I announced to the
public through the medium of the newspapers, my purpose
and programme ; and many enterprising and intelligent men
of New England, some with families, a sufficient number for a
settlement, enlisted for the expedition. But the war of perse-

7 Settlenictit of Oregon, 55-S, 80; Sarrativc cf Events and Difficuttic.'!. 62-8.

106

cution continuing to rage, and the troops about me making
daily attacks, and the hireling press again being turned against
me, I was forced to abandon that enterprise. It was my in-
tention to take my family to the place of settlement, and to
be myself a settler, believing that should my abode be on tha'
side of the continent, far away from persecuting enemies on
this side, I could better, I supposed, promote the extension of
the Redeemer's Kingdom. But I am now [1868] satisfied that
it was ordered in Divine Providence, and for my good that
that settlement should not be made by me ; that, although the
ideal 'Puget's Sound Agricultural Association' could do noth-
ing, yet the Hudson Bay Company could do much to break up
the establishment, and drive me and my friends from the
coast ....

"To bring me into the lowest possible disrepute, and under
universal contempt, and to break up that expedition, also, the
following abusive notice was taken of me and my enterprise
by the publishers of the Old American Comic Almanac of 1837.
On one of its queer cuts was a geographical caricature of a
portion of Oregon. On the banks of the Columbia was written
'Rowed up Salt River' ; and in the country north, between the
Cowlitz and the ocean, 'Kelley's Folly.' Twenty thousand
copies were said to have been sold. To apprise my cruel
enemies that I was yet alive, and had yet some power left to
defend my bleeding character, I published the following in
the Boston Post : . . ."^

The reader will be spared this communication, which was
entitled "Unprovoked Cruelty." By his ill-advised outburst
Kelley naturally brought a harmless bit of foolery to the at-
tention of many who would have never known of it, and so
added to his reputation as a man whose mind was singularly
out of tune with his fellows. Nor did he ever fail to mention
the insult when setting forth the long list of his tribulations."

In 1837 he again took to writing on Oregon, but instead of

8 Settlement of Oregon, 125-8.

9 Kelley, Hist, of the Colonisation of Oregon, appx. G; Narrative of Events
and Difficulties, appx. I.

107

presenting the results of his observations he chose to waste
his efforts on the question of the American title, concerning
which he had little if any information that was not already
available to the authorities at Washington. Thus, in the year
mentioned, he published a series of articles in the Bunker Hill
Aurora, giving an account of the discoveries and examinations
made on the Northwest Coast by the early Spanish, American,
and British navigators. These articles, together with docu-
ments relating to the claims of Bulfinch and other Americans to
the land on Vancouver Island purchased by Captain Kendrick,
he presented in 1838 to Lewis F. Linn, senator from Missouri.
Linn was chairman of a "select committee to which was re-
ferred a bill to authorize the President of the United States to
occupy the Oregon Territory." In his report he quoted at
length from Slacum's memorial, and used some of Kelley's
data on the discovery and occupation of the Columbia, but he
does not appear to have set a high value upon this material,
for he failed to mention Kelley's name.^^

During 1838 and 1839 Kelley contributed another series of
articles to the American Traveller of Boston, dealing with the
question of title. In 1839 came an opportunity for service of
a more practical nature. Caleb Cushing, chairman of the house
committee on foreign affairs, asked him to contribute a memoir
on Oregon and California, based on personal observations. To
this request he gladly responded. The result appears in the
appendix to Cushing's supplemental report on the "Territory
of Oregon.""

In 1839 also, Kelley presented through John Davis, senator
from Massachusetts, a memorial to congress "praying a grant
of land in the Oregon Territory for the purpose of establishing
a colony thereon," which was referred to a select committee.
In this document, he made a clear statement of his efforts to
promote the settlement of Oregon, and declared that since
"many of the individuals whose attention had been directed
by his exertions towards Oregon, and who originally enlisted

:o 25 cong. 2 sess. S. doc. 470; Settlem-ent of Oregon, 77.
II 25 cong. 3 sess. H. rep. loi: 47-61. See appendix.

}0S

In his scheme of emigration, have subsequently settled in that
Territory . . . your petitioner has thus been the author of
the first permanent American settlements west of the Rocky
Mountains." He also called attention to his services after his
return in communicating the results of his journey to the
public. Upon these grounds he based his claim,^' which he
summarized in the following terms :

"Having thus sacrificed his time, property, and health, being
now reduced to poverty, and yet remaining desirous of carry-
ing the institutions of his country to the Oregon, he most
earnestly and respectfully prays of this honorable body, the
grant of so much land in that Territory as may enable him at
once to establish a prosperous colony, and regain some portion
of the property which he expended as before described."^^

That this memorial was based on little more than a forlorn
hope is probable ; for Kelley had already turned his attention
to the opening of a direct means of communication with the
Pacific Coast. For information as to his activities in this
direction we are compelled to rely upon the unsupported state-
ments in his own writings, which are themselves contradictory
and in some particulars clearly erroneous. In after years he
declared that after the failure of his second attempt to found
a settlement, and after a physical breakdown following his
surveying work in Maine,

"I, therefore, determined to continue in some field of useful
enterprise; and turned to a project then on foot, from another
quarter ; that of a canal or railroad across the Isthmus of
Panama. That choice was made, partly to prepare for memori-

12 "While in the prosecution of the enterprise, it did not so much as
enter mv mind ever to apply to Congress for relief, or a reward for any services
or sacrifices which I might render the country; but, after its achievement, and
mv return home, in 1836, — finding my health greatly impaired, my pronerty,
and the very means of acquiring property, gone; and considering the nature of
the circumstances which prevented the selection and occupancy of a lot of
land in tlie Valley of the Wallamet, and also the circumstances which deprived
me of a participation in the abundant harvest of the fields I had sown, I thought
it my duty to apply for help; and accordingly in 1839, did apply." — Narrative
of Events and Difficulties, postscript.

13 26 cong. I sess. S. doc. 20; S. jour. 45, 76. According to Kelley a
petition in support of his memorial was presented to congress by a number
of citizens of Boston, among whom was the historian, George Bancroft, but no
reference to such a document has been found in the official records. — Kelley,
Memorial, 1848: 11; Colonisation of Oregon, appx. F; Narrative of Events and
Difficulties, appx. F. ; Settlement of Oregon, 118.

109

alizing Congress on the subjects of the railroad, and the civil-
ization of the Indians in the United States' territories. It was
thought, that working in the conspicuous position of a chief
engineer, two or three years, in a southern climate, would lim-
ber the limbs for operations in a northern ; and the work itself
would render honorable testimony to my capabilities; and be
commendatory letters to men in the council of our nation.

"Accordingly I went to Washington, in the close of 1838,
hoping, under the government auspices, to make myself useful,
in opening to the world a railroad thoroughfare between the
two great oceans. I conferred with Mr. [Charles F.] Mercer
[of Virginia], Chairman of the Committee of the Senate [house
of representatives] on Roads and Canals, who said, a report
would be made favorable to the enterprise. Such a report was
submitted and accepted ; but no appropriation was made, and
nothing further done by Congress upon the subject."^*

The matter of a transcontinental railroad also engaged his
attention.

"Reference to that project is made in my Geographical
Sketch of Oregon, printed [written] in 1829;^^ and in the
Memoir to Congress, in 1839, relative to the statistics and
topography of that territory. ^^ It has often been mentioned to

14 Narrative of Events and Difficulties, 74; Settlement of Oregon, 8. No
record of such a report has been found. As to Kelley's ciualifications as an
engineer, we have the following testimonial of George B. Emerson of Boston,
who?e judgment was endorsed by Rdward Everett: "Erom natural taste and
adaptation; from the most extraordinary experience of the work, in every
form and variety; from practical skill and acquaintance of all kinds of ground
and all modes of operation, Mr. Kelley is singularly well qualified to under-
stand, superintend, and execute the work of a survey for any railroad or other
improvement, public or private." — Ibid., 75. See also Kelley, "Beloved Brehren,
Jan. 14, 1870. }kls.

15 "The settlement of the Oregon country, would conduce to a freer inter-
course, and a more extensive and remunerative trade with the East Indies.

Such an extension and enjoyment of the East India trade, would provoke the
spirit of American enterprise, to open communications from the Mississippi v.-jllev,
and from the gulf of Atexico to the Pacific ocean, and thus open new channels.
through wliich the products of America and the Eastern world, will pass in
mutual exchange, saving in every voyage, a distance of ten tliousand miles:
neiv clwnncis, which opening across the bosorn of a wide spread ocean: and
intersecting islands, where health fills the breeze and comforts spread the shores
would conduct tlie full tide of a golden traffic, into the reservoir of our
national finance." — Pp. 79-80. In "Beloved Brethren," Dec. 4, 1869, Kelley said
that he projected such a railroad in 183T, and that in 1836 he and P. P. F. Degrand
were associated in the movement.

16 "These were the objects to whose accomplishment f looked forward, and
from which 1 confidently anticipated many benefits: . . .a certain and
speedy line of communication overland from the Mississippi to the Oregon, by
means of which the Eastern and Western worlds should be united, and their
wealth interchanged and increased."— P. 48.

110

scientific and enterprising men, and described in my journals
and papers ....

"'The route begins on the bank- of the Missouri near the
mouth of the Kansas, crosses the back-bone of the continent
through a depression near the 43d parallel, lays along the
valley of the Snake River, and crosses the Columbia at Walla-
walla ; and, again, it makes a mountainous transit on the west-
erly side of the valley of Clark's River, where, intelligent
hunters suppose no formidable difficulties exist to be encoun-
tered ; and terminates in a delightful and fertile tract of coun-
try near the southern extermity of Puget's Sound, there to
connect with the interminable tracks of the ships of the great
deep. The eligibility of that place, for a terminus, and for an
entreport and depot, can be fully conceived of, only by those
who understand the natural advantages of that portion of
Oregon for commerce and agriculture ; and know the chart
and all about De Fuca's Straits ....

"My plans differ in some respects, from those by Mr. Whit-
ney, now before the public. His, I think, are well devised and
matured. His ideas, as, in 1848 I understood them from the
projector himself, in regard to the routes, to the execution of
the work, and to the benefits to accrue to the world, especially,
to our nation, seem consistent and sound ; in my apprehension,
there can be none better.

"He would have one-half of a strip of territory sixty miles
in breadth. The United States to retain the other half, —
every alternate section. Mine propose just half of that breadth ;
and looking to a portion of the lands for a possession, and ap-
propriate a portion for their Christianization, and for improve-
ments in their aflfairs and fortune."^'^

The evidence presented by Kelley is not sufficient to give
him a distinguished rank among the many men whose activities
brought about the construction of a transcontinental railroad.
In neither of the passages to which he referred is there any
specific mention of a railroad, and we know that in the ten

17 Narrative of Events and Difficulties, 70-1; Settlement of Oregon, 123.

years from 1829 to 1839 the railroad was a subject of great
f)opular interest and general discussion. Moreover, it was
Kelley's habit to be specific in his prophecies ; it was only in the
matter of practical detail that he made use of general phrases.
Asa Whitney's agitation began in 1844, and his first petition
was presented to congress in 1845. At the earliest, Kelley's
claim was not advanced until 1852, the year in which Whitney's
plan was definitely abandoned by congress. By that time the
movement for a railroad to the Pacific had become national,
and Kelley's suggestion as to possible route and method of
financing was only one of many, and contributed little if any-
thing to the final result.^^

i8 Cleveland and Powell, Railroad Promotion, 2i(j-7'S.

112

CHAPTER TEN
The Hermit of Three Rivers

In 1839 Kelley reestablished himself at Three Rivers. He
had acted for many years as agent for Octavius Pickering of
Boston, who owned land in the village and also the unoccupied
mill privilege which had once been the property of the Three
Rivers Manufacturing company.^ He was not yet fifty years
old, but his active life was already done; and broken in body
and in spirit, he passed the remaining thirty-five years of his
life in poverty and isolation.

His house was at the edge of a grove on the side of a hill
overlooking the village which he had come to regard with
singular affection. The site was well chosen, but the house
was hardly a fit abode for a man whose ideas were all in the
superlative. It was a composite structure of a story and a
half, built of odds and ends of lumber with regard rather to
the limitations of the material than to any architectural design.
The rooms were of unequal height, and the stairs approached
the vertical. In the upper story there were three floor levels,
two in a single room. There were half a dozen sizes of win-
dows. By the door stood a clump of lilacs, and a large wild
cherry tree shaded the yard. Below the house was a small
orchard of apple trees, many of which defy identification. Pro-
truding glacial boulders and tangled poison ivy gave evidence
that the occupant of the place was concerned with other matters
than appearances.

Here his wife and children visited him occasionally down
to 1843, but he was never able to effect a complete reconcilia-
tion. Of his domestic troubles he said "My bosom friend with
whom I never had a moment of misunderstanding was enticed
from me; and my beloved sons were carried away captive by

I Kelley, Hist, of the Settlement of Oregon, 21-2. Pickering was reporter
of the Massachvisetts supreme judicial court, 1822-40. He was a son of the
famous Colonel Timothy Pickering of Salem, who was quartermaster-general
in the Revolution, postmaster-general, secretary of war, and secretary of state
under Washington, and senator from Massachusetts.

118

the enemy." The enemy, it appears, was Mrs. Bradlee, Mrs.
Kelley's aunt and foster mother. "That woman," said Kelley,
"exerted, terribly against me, the influence which a kindred
relation to an adopted daughter, and an annual income of
$12,000, gave her." He attempted, however, to win his wife
back to him through correspondence which he published in
1851 under the title Letters From An Afflicted Husband To An
Astranged Wife.^

One of the matters which engaged his attention was his
claim against the Mexican government for indemnity for the
seizure of his property at Vera Cruz in 1833. "My claim for
indemnity was preferred against Mexico in 1840; and a more
just claim could not be. I think it probable, the minds of the
American and Mexican commissioners were so darkened by
my enemies, about them, as to see no merits in the claimant,
and not to care to open his case."^ This statement he made in
obvious disregard of the strained relations then existing between
the two nations over the matter of Texas.

His interest in the Kendrick lands continued ; and he pre-
pared for Charles Bulfinch and other claimants, a "memorial
praying that their title to certain lands in the Territory of
Oregon may be confirmed." This memorial which was pre-
sented in 1840 by Abbott Lawrence, congressman from Massa-
chusetts, was referred to the committee on foreign affairs.^ It
was followed in 1843 by a similar memorial which was presented
by Robert C. Winthrop, congressman from Massachusetts, in
the name of Kelley as agent of Charles Bulfinch and others,
"praying that their purchases of Indian lands in Oregon Terri-
tory be recognized." This also was referred to the committee
on foreign affairs.^

He also made a serious effort to put into shape for publica-
tion his narrative on Oregon and the Sandwich Islands and

2 Kelley, Narrative of Events and Difficulties, 2, 14; Temple, Hist, of the
Town of Palmer, 266, 260. An appendix appeared the same year under the title
•'Hard Usage in Three Rivers." Both pamphlets are said to have been printed in
Palmer. — Narrative of Events and Difficulties, 76.

3 Narrative of Events and Difficulties, 73.

4 26 cong. I sess. H, doc. 43; H. jour., 202; Settlement of Oregon, 79.

5 27 cong. 3 sess. H. jour., 350.

on the Indians. In 1840 he issued a prospectus of a book, then
"in near readiness for the press" to be called "Travels And
Voyages Through Many Of The Indian And Unexplored
Countries of North America; And Over The Atlantic And
Pacific Oceans Made In The Years 1832, '33, '34 and '35."
The book was never published, however ; for "a. nervous affec-
tion in the head deranged the thoughts and enfeebling the pen,
disenabled him for the task." What became of this unfinished
manuscript is unknown. But his literary efforts were not at
an end. "He planned, however, for a less difficult work; a
book which would be a printed record of his manner of life ;
of the part he had acted in making Oregon and one of the
Californias the possession of the United States; of the facts
relative to his claim on Mexico for indemnification on account
of the plunder of his property while passing through that coun-
try ; and relative to a claim of certain of his countrymen to lands
on Quadra's [Vancouver] Island, in which he was so largely
interested, and which has been so very obnoxious to the power-
ful men of the Hudson's Bay Company ; and of the interesting
things concerning the ancients, and the geography and sta-
tistics of the countries examined by him."^ This, too, he
abandoned.

In 1843 he made another attempt to obtain action of congress
in favor of his colonization project. Having failed to receive
a grant of land as requested in 1839, he now presented through
Rufus Choate, senator from Massachusetts, a "petition praying
permission to purchase from the Indians in the Oregon Terri-
tory a tract of land for the purpose of forming a permanent
settlement thereon." This petition was referred to the com-
mittee on private land claims.''' It was followed in 1844 by a
petition "praying for a grant of land in the Territory of Ore-
gon," which was presented through Robert C. Winthrop and
referred to the committee on foreign affairs.^

The grant sought in 1844 was desired not as an aid to settle-

6 Setttement of Oregon, iv n; Narrative of Events and Difficulties, preface.

7 27 cong. 3 sess. S. jour., 192; Cong. Globe, XI, 311.

8 28 cong. I sess. H. jour., 237-8. This memorial appeared in the Palmer
StntingI of December 10, 1846.

116

ment, but as compensation for services. The year in which
Kelley finally abandoned his colonization scheme, therefore, can
be stated definitely as 1844. With but unimportant exceptions,
his published writings thereafter were confined to memorials
and petitions to congress and pamphlets designed to support
his claim for compensation or reward for his services in bring-
ing about the settlement of Oregon by American citizens, thus
preparing the way for the assertion of jurisdiction over that
territory by the national government.^

After an interval of four years he presented through John
A. Dix, senator from New York, a memorial "praying a grant
of land in the Territory of Oregon, in consideration of import-
ant services rendered by him in exploring and developing the
resources of that country," which was referred to the com-
mittee on public lands.^^ This memorial was privately printed
as an eighteen-page pamphlet entitled Memorial Of Hall J.
Kelley ; Praying For A Donation Of Land, And Testimonials
Concerning The Colonization Of The Oregon Territory. The
memorial itself occupied but four pages, and six pages were
given over to notes from Kelley 's journal covering that part
of his journey from Monterey to the Columbia. Some of the
testimonials were written in 1843 to accompany the memorial
of 1844 ; the others were obtained in 1847. Among those who
contributed testimonials were: John P. Bigelow, secretary of
the commonwealth of Massachusetts, who was soon to become
mayor of Boston ; William Wheildon, friend of Edward Everett
and editor of the Bunker Hill Aurora, whose name had ap-
peared on the list of agents of the American Society for En-
couraging the Settlement of the Oregon Territory ; Wash-
ington P. Gregg, secretary of the common council of Boston
and former treasurer of the American Society; William G.
Brown, former editor of Zion's Herald ; John McNeil, surveyor
of the port of Boston and former president of the American
Society ; Isaac O. Barnes, United States marshal at Boston ;

9 In 1846 and 1847 lie published two series of articles in the Palmer
Sentinel, one on "Oregon; the other on "Colonization Of The Oregon Territory."

10 30 cong, I sess. S. jour., 245; Cong. Globe, XVIII, 567.

116

p. p. F. Degrand, well known for his public activities, partic-
ularly in connection with the movement for a transcontinental
railroad ; and David F. Green, secretary of the American Board
of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.^^

A similar memorial was presented the following year, 1849,
through Senator John Davis of Massachusetts, "praying to be
allowed a grant of land in the Territory of Oregon, in con-
sideration of his services and sacrifices in aiding in the explora-
tion and settlement of that country." This also was referred
to the committee on public lands.^^ The report of this com-
mittee, as submitted on February 5, 1850 by Alpheus Felch of
Michigan, was as follows :

"The petitioner asks a grant of land from the government,
in consideration of his services and sacrifices in the exploration
of the Oregon Territory. That Mr. Kelley is one among the
many enterprising citizens who, within the last thirty years,
have directed their attention to the exploration and eflforts to
settle our possessions on the Pacific, and has, in common with
others, suffered loss from the failure of his efforts, the com-
mittee have no doubt. They are, however, of opinion, from
an examination of the whole case, that the prayer of the peti-
tioner cannot, under just and safe principles, be granted. The
case does not, in their opinion, present those distinctive features
which ought to single it out from others, and make it the
subject of special legislative action.

"They therefore recommend the adoption of the following
resolution :

"Resolved, That the prayer of the petitioner be not granted. "^^

With the adoption of this report by the senate on February
21, Kelley's claim was formally disallowed.^^ It would seem

11 This memorial in abridged form appears in the Hist, of the Settlement of
Oregon, 91-2. The testimonials were also reprinted in that pamphlet.

12 31 cong. I sess. S. jour., 38, 51; Cong. Globe, XXI. 92, 99; This
memorial, most of it from the forms used in printing that of 1848, was reprinted
in the Hist, of the Colonisation of Oregon, i-8 [9-16], 17-18.

13 31 cong. I sess. S. rep. 42; S. jour., i3i; Cong. Globe, XXI, 292-3. It
is perhaps significant that only one of the members of this committee wa«
from New England.

14 31 cong. I sess. S. rep. 42; S. jour., 172-3; Cong. Globe. XXI, pt.
I, 411.

It?

that Senator Davis had been neghgent, for under date of July
25, 1850, he wrote to Kelley :

"I now enclose the report which you ask for. It had some-
how escaped my attention that such a report had been made.
It can however do you little harm. I had conferred with Judge
Underwood, who formerly had charge of the business, and he
promised me to give every attention to it ; but it seems without
my knowledge, Gov. Felch took charge of it."

The failure to obtain either recognition or reward was a
crushing blow to Kelley, who said : "That report went to con-
firm the false perceptions of me of not a few public men, and
to strengthen the prejudices of friends and to give general
currency to the vile reports of adversaries : that he is 'stupid
and crazy,' and to the sayings every where rife, 'that he came
to this country without mind or means to do anything and
went away' .... It was a strange report ; though it did
me monstrous injustice and tends to deepen and perpetuate my
sorrows, and though all the gold ever taken from the mines of
California could not sufficiently make amends for the injustice
done me and my near kindred ; yet I impute no wrong motive
to them that made it. It denies me the merit of having taken
any part as a pioneer in the colonization of Oregon, or in
bringing about the events which led to the government acquisi-
tion of Alta California. It was a great mistake — I cannot
account for it."^^

To Kelley defeat was only an incentive to further effort. In
1854, therefore, he presented another petition, this time through
Charles Sumner, senator from Massachusetts, "praying a dona-
tion of land, or gratuity in money, for his services and sacri-
fices in attempts to colonize and explore the Oregon territory,
and for the public benefits that resulted from his efforts." After
this petition had been referred to the committee on territories,
the senate upon Sumner's motion ordered that Kelley have
leave to withdraw it.^^

15 Settlement of Oregon, 89-go.

j6 33 cong. I sess. S. jour., 196, 346, 391; Cong. Globe. XXVIII, 447. 989-
1 186. This "petition asking for a grant of land or pecuniary relief" appears
as an appendix to the Narrative of Events and Difficulties, having been bound
in that pamphlet two years after its original publication. I1 differs but little
from th* memorials of 1848 and 1840.

118

Again in 1866 the appeal was renewed. In that year Henry
L. Dawes, representative from Massachusetts, presented a peti-
tion "relative to a land grant," which was referred to the com-
mittee on private land claims. This also sought pecuniary re-
lief as an alternative, as is evident from the title of the reprint,
which reads Petition Of Hall J. Kelley, Praying For A Grant
Of Land, Or A Donation Of Money.^'^ The result was another
failure.

With the double purpose of creating a favorable public senti-
ment and of supplementing his applications for congressional
bounty, Kelley published several pamphlets. The first was
History Of The Colonization Of The Oregon Territory, which
was published in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1849. The
edition must have been small, for but a single copy is known
to be in existence. On the title page, appears Kelley's name as
"the pioneer and chief projector." The "prefatory remarks"
thus set forth the purpose of the pamphlet :

"The writer claims to have been the chief pioneer to plan and
execute the work of colonizing the Oregon Territory ; and has
prepared the following pages to show the identity of his name
with the history of that magnificent and meritorious achieve-
ment; and also to explain the causes and events which gave
direction and impetus to public enterprise, and led to the ac-
quisition and settlement of California."

Another pamphlet with the same title was published in Wor-
cester in 1850. In 1852 appeared A Narrative Of Events And
Difficulties In The Colonization Of Oregon And The Settle-
ment of California ; and also a history of the claim of American
citizens to lands on Quadra's Island ; together with an account
of the troubles and tribulations endured between the years 1824
and 1852 by the writer. This was published in Boston, and
we are told in the appendix that "but few copies of this book
have been printed." A half dozen copies only have been lo-
cated. While the preface declares that "The present book aims

17 ;j8 cong. j sess. H. jour., 93; Cong. Globe, XLVII, 181. The reprint
appearea as a seven-page pamphlet, which was also incorporated in the Hist,
of the Settlement of Oregon. It was a revised and enlarged version of the
earlier memorials and petitions.

119

to correct the falsities in the various histories of Oregon hither-
to in vogue ;" liberal space is given to the "troubles and tribu-
lations" of the writer.

Kelley's final^® word was published in 1868 in Springfield,
Massachusetts, under the title, A History Of The Settlement
Of Oregon And The Interior Of Upper California ; and of
persecutions and afflictions of forty years' continuance endured
by the author. This is a pamphlet of 128 pages. In the preface
Kelley thus set forth its purpose :

"This Book is an appeal to the justice and humanity of tht-
Christian public for help to put an end to persecutions endured
for more than forty years, as terrible as were ever known ; and
to bring back to my bleeding bosom by beloved household, which
more than fifteen years ago, were torn from it and carried
away from me, by the merciless hands of bloody men ; and to
bring back kindred and friends long ago turned from and
against me.

"It has in view other objects : — to verify and illustrate the
statements of the Petition now before Congress ; to correct the
belied histories of the American and British domains beyond
the Rocky Mountains — countries, which, until after the public
announcement of my Oregon enterprise, were marked on maps,
unknoivn; and to remove unreasonable prejudices, and the false
perception which frierTds everywhere have of me, and the
obstacles which enemies in all places have thrown in the path-
way of my usefulness."

Over two years were spent in the preparation of this pam-
phlet. The delay is easily accounted for when we consider
that it was not written but dictated by a half-crazed man oi
nearly eighty, who was almost blind and suffering from malaria
and the infirmities incident to age as well as hardship and priva-
tion, and suffering too from his obsession that all his troubles
and all the pranks of mischievous boys in the neighborhood were

1 8 In 1869 and 1870 Kelley prepared a series of eight letters addressed "Be-
loved Brethren," and designed as the appendix to his History of the Settlement of
Oregon. These letters were not printed, however, because the printer declared
that the manuscript was "incomprehensible." Hence Kelley's statement: "The
printing press everywhere in my state is turned against me." — Letter to J. Q.
Thornton, Oct. 3'. 1870.

120

due to the desire of the Hudson's Bay company to persecute
him. He concluded the preface with the following paragraph,
with its naive prediction of the millennial dawn certain to follow
from an awakened public confidence in him :

"When the nefarious plans and plottings and murderous pur-
pose of the conspiracy at Three Rivers — one as diabolical as
was ever known in Christendom — conspiracy, I say ; diabolical.
with emphasis I repeat, have been described, and the public
understand about them, then will persecutions cease, and the
deep-rooted prejudices on the minds of men will be removed,
public confidence in my statements and character be restored,
my household and my kindred so long gone from me, will
return, and all, I trust, will treat me with respect and visit me
in my 'afflictions'."

The nature of these afflictions is set forth in detail in all of
these pamphlets. The selections that follow will serve as illus-
trations. They do not make pleasant reading, but they are es-
sential to an understanding of the man and his environment.

"Causes and effects alternately changing are traceable from
the widely separated places, London, Vancouver and Boston,
to the little village of Three Rivers ; even to my humble and
lonely cottage ....

"The Appendix shows how cruelly certain persons in the
neighborhood of my desolated residence — hirelings under the
powerful men above described, have used me. It particularizes
many ways by which I have been made to suffer, but not all.
Within the last twelve years, they have dragged me into fifteen
lawsuits ; and brought great pecuniary embarrassments upon
me. In a single transaction* I have been defrauded of $1,500.
of property and caused a further loss of more than $1,000, —
partly expenses incurred in a suit of nine years' pending."*^

* 'W contract was made in 1842, with three certain men to cut from my
forest wood and timber sufficient to pay a debt of $i,5;oo. which they had
assumed. By the last of 184.3. they had cut enough to pay the debt, and $i,soo
more. As they refused to settle or to account for any considerable part of
the property; an action in Chancery, in 1845, wts brought against them, a
hearing was had in 1853: and an award rendered for the plaintiff. Exceptions
were taken by the defendants. This is the state of the case. March, i8.!;4."

19 Narrative of Events and Difficulties, preface, 2-3. See also pp. 78-9.

121

"The last two years, adversaries, at and about the place of my
abode, have very much troubled me. The troops at this place
have come daily to vex and to torture, hoping speedily to make
an end of me ; guerillas, headed by one of my bitterest enemies —
at times, another with him — both were, as it regarded their con-
duct toward me, much like despots and demons. Within the
last thirty years, until the two last, since beginning to write
histories of countries explored by me, and to prepare accounts
of my scientific researches in the far west, and of my efforts
to propagate Christianity about the shores of the Pacific, and
of the war of persecutions so long ago waged against me, they
have often come to plunder my property — have plundered, and
carried ofT, the value of several thousand dollars; and to de-
vastate my estate; and have so done; and have desolated the
village of Three Rivers, so that it now is, and has been for
several years, a desolation, 'a heap'. They at times break into
my house, and take away documents and manuscripts and
papers of great value to me, such as furnish the best material
for the book ; perhaps, within this period, what of the last would
make a 4to. volume of a thousand pages.^^

"In telling about the conspiracy, it is not my intention to
designate persons, unless hard provoked to it, nor specify as
to conduct, cruel as it has been, further than it shall be duty in
the vindication of myself. . . ."

"To confuse my head and delay my writings, I am everywhere
represented as stupid, an idler, and prodigal of my means of
living. But I am certain that neither my great calamity, nor
the persecutions and afflictions I am made to endure, have in
the slightest degree impaired my understanding; it was never
better than at the present day. And diligent search of the
Scriptures, the last thirty years . . . has much enlarged
my comprehension of things human and divine. I consider also

20 Settlement of Oregon, iii-iv. "The author has recently lost from his
house all the copies of a pamphlet called 'History of the Colonization of Ore-
gon;' which was to comprise portions of the svipplemental appendix of thi.s
book; and also, manuscripts and papers of great value to him. He has good
reason to believe, it was the felonious service of some hireling or sub-affent
of the friends of the H. B. Co., to vex and trouble him." — Narrative of Events
and Difficulties, appx. insert.

122

that industry, frugality, temperance, benevolence, intense pur-
pose, brotherly kindness and charity have all along marked my
career. I do not thus speak of myself to glorify self; but to
glorify Him whose servant I am."^*

"The shattered and morbid-smitten nervous system is never
so bad as in the hot season of the year, and has never been so
terrible as in the present season. Am all the while faint, and
suffering a slow fever. As I have heretofore said, am forced
to live alone. I am fond of society, and delight in communion
with the virtuous and intelligent. Am forced to do my indoor
and outdoor work. There are none disposed to help me. Help,
both male and female, are turned from me. My beloved house-
hold, and all in the circle of kindred, every soul of them de-
ceived, have gone from me and are turned against me, and all
in the circle of friends and acquaintances, deceived, have turned
to treat me with contempt, some with shameful abuse. . . ."^-

There are middle-aged men to-day in Three Rivers who would
be surprised to learn that their boyish practical jokes upon the
strange old man were charged against the account of the Hud-
son's Bay company, and that when they robbed his orchard they
were interfering with the preparation of works for which future
historians would search in libraries and collectors would pay
extravagant sums in the auction rooms. When in the thought-
less cruelty of youth they called out "Old Kelley" as he passed
along the street, they did not know that they were acting as
"guerillas." The boy who put pepper on the stove after offer-
ing to help Kelley about his housework could hardly have
known of the Hudson's Bay company, yet he was classed as
one of its "troops."

There are also men in Three Rivers who can testify that
Kelley's interests were cared for by his neighbors, and that
food was regularly reserved from their tables for the old man,
who came daily to their door, pail in hand. Yet of these acts
of kindness the pamphlets tell nothing. Nbr do they tell of
the efforts of his brother to induce him to leave his hermitage

2 1 Settlement of Oreeou, v.
22 Ibid., 16-7.

1»

on the hill and to share his home in East Gilmanton. "Te-
naciously he would cling- to his little home," wrote a contem-
porary, "believing" that if he stayed there his fortune would ulti-
mately turn, and the little tract of land which his friends allowed
him to remain upon and which he finally believed was his own,
would become of untold value, and again he would be a wealthy
man. Feeble and almost blind for a year or two, he has tottered
about the village, leaning upon his cane, an object of pity,
believing that in the development and building up of the village
the golden time was approaching. "^^'^

The question naturally arises as to what he would have done
had his prayers to cong^ress been granted. This question Kelley
himself answered :

"He asks for a donation of land, that he may be able to repay,
in lands or money, those who have contributed to the means of
prosecuting his enterprise ; and to make some suitable provision
for support now in the decline of life. Could he be placed in a
state of freedom from nervous irritation, and have things
convenient and comfortable ; and could his mind rest from
anxiety and excitement caused by his persecuting enemies, and
his hands be untied and his feet unfettered, he could again,
he thinks be measurably useful to his country ; and with a good
degree of vigor, and effect, engage in laborious and philan-

23 Springfield Daily Union, January 23, 1874.

"I will now speak as to my usefulness to the people of Three Rivers; what 1
have done to promote the growth and good appearance of the village.

"To encourage the lay of the New London and Amherst railroad, through the
village and promote the interest of the company, I freely gave to the company
land . . . and also took several shares of the stock at par, and also did my
friend Pickering of Boston take fifteen or twenty shares, and in other ways en-
couraged the building of the road.

"Built three houses and parts of two others and that by my own hands.

"Mr. Pickering, for whom I acted as agent, sold at a reduced price the site
of the school house called Pickering Hall, and gave a bell for that spacious
and beautiful building, this he freely did, though at my suggestion. . . .

"To make myself further useful to the people, I prepared a circular giving a
description of the plac-e, which was sent to the manufacturers abroad, and to such
capitalists and enterprising men, as would be likely to come and contribute to its
growth and prosperity.

"For several years after coming into the place, I practiced hauling and tilting
[sic] wood at the door of poor families and in other ways did I consider the poor.
On the occasion of a Thanksgiving day I made a feast, it would well compare with
any of the feasts the rich prepare for the rich and invited widows and orphans to
it. My house was filled, and their hearts were made glad. The next day the
fragments were distributed to the poor not present." — Kelley, "Beloved Brethren,"
Jan. 14, 1870. Ms.

thropic undertaking, as when he was strong 'as a lion and swift
as an eagle'."^

"The petitioner has objects in view. He would appropriate
a part of what Congress would allow him, for educational pur-
poses in the land of the freedmen, and a part for the founding
of a benevolent institution in the manufacturing village of Three
Rivers, to be called 'The Widows' and Orphans' Home'."^^

Thus to the last his spirit of altruism persisted, and he died
as he had lived, a philanthropist at heart. One day his accus-
tomed round of visits was not made ; and he was found lying
on the floor of his little house, stricken with paralysis. He
soon became unconscious, and on the following evening, Janu-
ary 20, 1874, his troubled life came to an end.^^

24 Colonization of Oregon, 4.

25 Settlement of Oregon, 1.

26 Springfield Daily Union and Springfield Daily Republican. January 23, 1874.

CHAPTER ELEVEN
The Writings of Kelley ^

Kelley's literary efforts began early and continued until a
few years before his death. His output was therefore volumin-
ous, though his longest single work was of but 128 pages. Of
his school books enough has already been said. Had he written
nothing else his name would now be known only to the anti-
quarian. We are here concerned with what he wrote about
Oregon and about himself.

Both the Geographical Sketch and the General Circular have
been denounced as grossly inaccurate and poorly written, and
both have been praised as remarkably accurate and well written
statements of fact. As was shown in an earlier chapter, "W.
J. S." outdid himself in an attempt to convince the readers of
the New England Magazine that Kelley had nothing but sec-
ond-hand information about Oregon to present, and that his
statements were unworthy of acceptance. Nor did he stop
at that. "Some one ought to send Mr. Kelley a copy . . .
of Guthrie's Gramrnar," he declared in one article;^ and in
another place he singled out for ridicule a sentence in which
Kelley said that the proposed settlement would be ef-
fected as soon "it has consummated their title to the Indian
lands. "^ But no one was better aware of those defects than
Kelley himself. In his History Of The Settlement Of Oregon,
after giving a brief paraphrase of the General Circular, he con-
tinued, "Here I leave the manual. This document is not given
in the exact language in which it was couched. It would be
mortifying to do it. It does not furnish a fair specimen of my
composition. The productions of my pen in 1829 and several
after years, were abundantly marked with faults. At times
of mental excitement and nervous irritation, I almost lost the

1 See Powell, Bibliography of Hall J. Kelley, Oregon Historical Society,
Quarterly, VIII, 375-86 (1907).

2 W. J. S., Oregon territory, New England Magazine, II, 131.

3 W. J. S., Geographical sketch of Oregon territory. New England Mag-
azine, II, 324.

127

physical ability of speech, and was scarcely able to converse or
write upon any subject, however familiar. At every effort my
language was broken and full of errors. One of the hireUng
writers of my adversaries, in a Boston periodical in 1832, says
'he murders the King's English.' It was too true."^

Equally severe were the criticisms in that joint product of
youth and age, Wyeth's Oregon, where Kelley is described as
a man "who had read all the books he could get on the voyages
and travels in Asia, Africa, Europe, and America, until he
had heated his mind to a degree little short of the valorous
Knight of La Mancha, that is to say, he believed all he read."^
Although young Wyeth himself had turned back at a point
several hundred miles east of the mouth of the Columbia, he
boldly declared:

"I have since been well-informed that in the valley of Ore-
gon, so much extolled for its fertility and pleasantness, wood
to cook with is one among their scarcest and very dear articles
of necessity. From all accounts, except those given to the
public by Mr. Kelly, there is not a district at the mouth of any
large river more unproductive than that of the Columbia, and
it seems that this is pretty much the case from tide water
of that river to where it empties into the ocean. . . . Mr.
Hall J. Kelly published about two years since a most inflated
and extravagant account of that western tract which extends
from The Rocky Mountains to the shore of the Pacific Ocean.
He says of it that no portion of the globe presents a more fruit-
ful soil, or a milder climate, or equal facilities for carrying
into effect the great purposes of a free and enlightened na-
tion .... Lewis and Clarke's history of their expedition
had been published and very generally read; yet this extrava-
gant and fallacious account of the Oregon was read by some
people not destitute of a general information, nor unused
to reading .... But all the world exaggerates ; not even
were we of the Oregon expedition entirely free from it,

4 Kelley, Hist, of the Settlement of Oregon, 107.

5 J. B. Wveth, Oregon, .^. The book was written by Dr. Benjamin Water-
house "from notes and information" of Wyeth to discourage what was thought
to be the wild scheme of Westward migration.

128

although not to be compared with Hall Jackson Kelly, who
never stops short of superlatives, if we may judge by his pub-
lications."^

Commenting upon this attack, Reuben Gold Thwaites said
"Subsequent information has justified most of Kelley's state-
ments, here derided by Wyeth" :'^ and Mrs. Victor declared
"So completely was he sustained in his general views that we
feel surprised at this day to notice how closely they agree with
what is now known of this region,"^ and again "Regarding
settlement his writings contain some practical suggestions;
indeed, without clear discrimination between design and neces-
sity, and read by the light of subsequent events, some of them
might be pronounced prophetic."^ Equally favorable was the
opinion of S. A. Clarke, who said "Whatever were the sources
of Kelley's facts they were wonderfully correct. His critics
concede that he was a terse and vigorous writer who did much
to make Oregon known ; that his ideas were broad and for the
nation's best interests. "^^ The judgment of Major Hiram H.
Chittenden, however, is not without an element of truth: "He
read everything that he could find relating to Oregon, believed
it all, however extravagant, and retailed it to the public with
whatever addition his own over-wrought imagination might
suggest .... What he wrote was for the most part grossly
inaccurate ; but with a public quite as ignorant as he, this was
no drawback, but rather a positive advantage. Everything
came from his pen clothed with the beauty of a western sun-
set.""

It will be observed that no one has questioned Kelley's sin-
cerity in the presentation of information. It should be borne
in mind, also, that he belonged to a generation which was ac-
customed to rely upon hearsay and secondary authorities to a

6 Ibid., 53-3, 57-8, 6o.

7 Thwaites, Early IVesteni Travels, XXI, 7911.

8 Victor. Hall J. Kelley, one of the fathers of Oregon, Oregon Historical
Society, Quarterly, II, 398.

9 Bancroft, Hist, of Oregon, I, 68. As to the authorship of what Mr.
Charles F. Lumnns has aptly characterized as "that gigantic historical haystack
the Bancroft histories," see Morris, The origin and authorship of the Bancroft
Pacific states publications, Oregon Historical Society, Quarterly, IV, 287-364.

10 Clarke, Pioneer Days of Oregon History, I, 269.

11 Chittenden, The American Fur Trade of the Far West, I. 435.

129

degree that is intolerable to the historian trained in modern
scientific methods of research. If his two early pamphlets be
compared with contemporary writings on the great West, they
will be found quite as reliable and quite as readable. If Kelley's
early style be found defective, what is to be said of the flam-
boyant sentences of Benton, that other sponsor of the West?
It must be confessed, however, that in his effort to be con-
vincing, Kelley sometimes defeated his own end by references
to obscure sources of information. His pamphlet, Discoveries,
Purchases Of Lands, &c. On The Northwest Coast, published
in 1839, was criticised by a friendly Boston editor, who said,
"We do not altogether rely upon Mr. Kelley's account of the
old Spanish voyages .... He tells us of *Mss in the Marine
Archives at Madrid.' We believe no such archives are in exist-
ence."^^ To this Kelley answered "that he had the authority
of Mr. Slacum . . . for the quotation," and that he had
"also other reasons for believing it correct,"^^ but neither state-
ment is particularly convincing, and it is significant that when
the substance of the pamphlet was presented to congress in
Bulfinch's memorial of 1840, the reference was omitted.^^

However accurate or inaccurate Kelley's accounts of the early
navigators may have been, it is certain that through his pam-
phlets and his articles in various periodicals he contributed to
the general information about Oregon, and aroused popular
interest in the question of the American claim to that territory.
We have already seen that Senator Linn was indebted to him
for materials on the subject, but it is a question how much
effect the information thus presented had upon the action of
congress. For the settlement of the Oregon question was not
delayed so much for want of information as from political and
diplomatic considerations, concerning which Kelley had little
information or interest.

12 Mr. Kelley's pamphlet, The Oregonian and Indians' Advocate, I, i8o.
"Our object the elevation of the Indian race — our means a Christian settlement
in Oregon. Published under the direction of the Committee of the OreRon
Provisional Emigration Society." Lack of confidence in the statements in this
pamphlet is also expressed in Bancroft, Hist, of the Northwest Coast, I, zosn.

1 3 Ibid., I, 22.

14 26 cong. I sess. H. doc. 43.

ISO

The only one of his writings in which Kelley took pride wa'^
the Memoir on Oregon prepared for Caleb Gushing- in 1839.
Unh'ke his early accounts this was based upon observation, and
it is marred by comparatively few of the unfortunate manner-
isms that characterized so much of what he wrote. The writers
of the Bancroft histories were most favorably impressed with
it, "He certainly gives in his memoir to congress in 1839, a
very correct account of the topography, soil, and climate of
both California and Oregon .... He .... furnished
information to the government that should have been of value ;
and which should have been more properly appreciated, had it
been presented disconnected from the recital of his personal suf-
ferings and wrongs, with which all his writings after his visit
to Oregon were rendered turgid .... It seems the most
sober and intelligent of all his writings .... This present
paper is a temperate description of the country and what the
writer saw and did there. Though not without its author's
constitutional wail and his usual fling at the Hudson's Bay
Company, it is a well written document."^*''

In this judgment Kelley would have concurred; for in de-
fending himself against the criticisms of his writings on Ore-
gon, he referred to the Memoir with no little satisfaction :
"Nothing very extravagant is found in it; nothing but plain
truths can be found in that document ; nothing but such, in all
the mass of publications from my pen, which between the
years 1825 and 1832, were so freely spread over the States, to
enlighten about Oregon, and to induce emigration thither ; and
to open that remote region to missionary enterprise."^"

Of the half dozen memorials and petitions through which
Kelley sought to obtain the aid of congress during the years
1839-66, something has already been said. There was in ef-
fect but a single document of this sort, which took different
form as it was revised and amplified from time to time to

15 Bancroft, Northwest Coast, II, 556, ssSn. There is no reason to question
:curacy." — Bancroft, Hist, of California, III, _4iin. "Not very inaccurate, con-
ing Kelley's limited opportunities of observation." — Ibid., IV, 147.

Its accu
siderin„

16" Settlement of Oregon, 61

131

strengthen its appeal. Some of the materials thus presented do
not appear in Kelley's other writings.

It is no easy task to characterize Kelley's three formal pam-
phlets, the History Of The Colonization Of Oregon, the Nar-
rative Of Events And Difficulties, and the History Of The
Settlement Of Oregon. All were written after he had passed
middle age, and after physical and mental suffering had un-
manned him. They were addressed to that understanding and
sympathetic public which Kelley's faith in humanity assured
him would grant him the recognition and the material reward
he craved. It was a generation which knew little of those
early years in which he had attempted so much and accom-
plished so little ; a generation that was witness of that great
movement that so rapidly peopled the valleys of the West.

When the History Of The Colonization Of Oregon appeared,
Oregon was a regularly constituted territory and the "gold
rush" was turning the minds of the whole country toward the
Pacific Coast, which was better known because of Kelley and
the men whom he had influenced. When the Narrative Of
Events And Difficulties appeared, the tide of emigration to
the Northwest was at its height, Oregon was looking forward
to .statehood, and Washington was at the beginning of its
territorial stage. Both pamphlets were exceedingly well timed.
To Kelley all that was needed was to get the facts before the
public. With the idea of presenting the truth as he saw it,
he bared his very soul to the reader, telling of his great plans,
his high hopes, and the obstacles that had been too much for
his powers. In the History Of The Settlement Of Oregon,
"he poured himself out on paper," as Bancroft has it,^''^ in a
final attempt to convince a generation to which the settled
West had become an accepted fact. "Quite half a century has
elapsed since the conception of my Oregon enterprise" ; he said
in the preface, "although thirty years have rolled away since
its achievement, and yet my countrymen seem to know nothing
abou it — and why? This question I shall shortly answer . . . .

17 Bancroft, Northwest Coast, II, 55611.

183

"I desire my countrymen should know how much I have
expended in time and property ; and what I have suffered to
settle Oregon, and to make it an integral part of my country'-^
domain. I have truly paid from my substance, and from the
comforts and endearments of life, a great price for that land,
though a goodly one it is, and have freely possessed the nation
of it. Were my country duely apprised of the facts in the
case, they would no longer turn a deaf ear to the wrongs I
have suffered, and the rights of which I have been defrauded,
as they have done for the last thirty years ; but, would at
once return to me all, and even more than I claim ; both as a
recompense for my services, and as a testimonial of their
gratitude for the countless blessings those services have ren-
dered and are rendering to the country ....

"With the explanations I will be able to make, the reader
can more understandingly form opinions of my capabilities
and usefulness, and of the contempt so universally cast upon
me ; and can better judge of the suffering condition to which
persecutions and afflictions, endured for nearly half a century
have reduced me — such as are, probably, without parallel in
the present age of the world. "^^

Naturally self-centered, his style was egotistical to the ex-
treme. "I am Hall J. Kelley ; that is my name; am what edu-
cation, habits, and the grace of God have made me."^^ Did
Walt Whitman ever sound his "barbaric yawp" louder than
this? "I am not 'distressed' — have never been 'distressed;' "^^
he protested after telling of "persecutions and afflictions" of
nearly half a century, thereby unconsciously giving testimony
to the fact. He wrote much of himself because he was the
only human being he ever really knew. "I have said much
concerning self, and now find it indispensable to say more
With as little self-esteem as self-respect, I shall be able, to
describe the powers and qualities of my mind ; and to satisfy,
that it is not strictly true that I am 'without mind to do any-

18 Pp. 1-3.

19 Ibid., 7.

20 Ibid., 3.

133

thing.' For natural endowment, I have nothing to boast of, yet,
the operations of my mind, I think indicate sanity, and such
gifts as elevate character, as high above the characters of my
groveling enemies, as the clouds are above the ground. "^^

"Being an educated man and an enthusiast, writing was
easy," said Bancroft ; and again, "Indeed, all of Kelley's works
are well written. His command of language was far above
the average."^^ But on these points Kelley's word is quite to
the contrary and much nearer the truth. "I never had skill
at composition ; my thoughts being always occupied in other
business. My aspiration has been, more to the attainment of
preeminence as an architect than as a painter. For the busi-
ness of the former, I think I have been measurably qualified
with science and skill ; while in that of the latter, have been an
ordinary performer. "^^ He introduced his Geographical
Sketch with a statement that he was fully conscious of his
literary limitations, and declared that he attempted only "to
impress the public mind with simple and unadorned facts."
since he was not "possessed of that free and imperial com-
mand of words, which is the peculiar felicity of a few."^* Upon
several occasions he expressed regret that he was unable to
adorn his composition "with the ordinary embellishments of
rhetoric." Thus in his old age, he said, "My head is confused,
and that continually ; and I cannot help it. Thoughts, at times,
enter the mind disorderly. That which should come first
comes last, and the last first ; and they are a long while in
coming. Utterance is stammering. Language is broken and
diffuse, without imagery or beauty, or any rhetorical embellish-
ment. It is impossible for me to condense it and render it
concise and perspicuous. My compositions abound with errors.
I copy and copy, again and again, and sometimes the last copy
is worse than the first."

He therefore took to dictation ; and his last work. The
History Of The Settlement Of Oregon, was prepared in this

21 Ibid., 5-6.

22 Bancroft, Northwest Coast. II, 5S6n, SS8n.

23 Narrative of Events and Difficulties, postscript.
34 Pp. 3-4

134

manner. The result was hardly more satisfactory, for we
are told of "the inattention and carelessness of youthful
amanuenses." On account of his extreme debility and nervous
irritation he was able to dictate "only in the fore part of the
day, not every day, and not more than two or three hours
in any day."~^ In the preface he attempted "to explain con-
cerning inadvertent expressions, digressions, curtailed state-
ments, sayings, and the abrigment of the book, and errors of
composition with which it abounds. It is seldom that I can
find a person able and ready to write ; at times the amanuensis
is turned from me. For weeks, or months, no one can be
found to serve me ; and I am left without help. Portions of
the manuscript prepared for the press, and supposed to have
been sent to it, are wanting in the book. This mistake is
owing in part, I think, to the inattention of the young and in-
experienced amanuenses. These things have caused delay,"^^'
a delay of two years. In the body of the text is this interpella-
tion:

"I am in haste to finish the dictation of this book, and to
have it in print and before Congress the present session. . . .
It was commenced more than a year and a half ago, and yet
not 80 pages of it are in print. Constant vexations, 'troubles
on every side' cause the delay ; they enfeeble the pen and
unfit my mouth for speech, of course for the dictating of the
composition of the book. Persecutions and afflictions of forty
years' continuance have nearly worn me out, and I may not
last to see, in print, the Appendix, the most instructive as it
regards my biography, and perhaps the most interesting por-
tion of the book."27

Yet he continued his labors through fifty more pages, con-
cluding with the following paragraph :

"Here is the end of the book for the present. When it is
in the hands of the Congressional Committee, to whom was
referred the petition, should my life be spared, and should I

25 Settlement of Oregon, i6.

26 P. iv.

27 Pp. 76-7-

136

remain qualified for the task of further dictation, I shall pro-
ceed to prepare the appendix, which, I think, is calculated to
be as instructive and interesting- to readers as the other por-
tions of the book. "2^

The appendix was never printed. It does not matter,
particularly, for Kelley had already written himself out. The
foregoing quotations show how difficult a task it was for
him to prepare his manuscript, and how confused was his
mind. Further evidence on this point appears in the Narrative
Of Events And Difficulties. This pamphlet bears the date
1852 on the title page, yet the preface was written in March.
1854, and the memorial of 1854 appears in the appendix.
In this appendix also appears all the matter originally ap-
pended to the History Of The Colonization Of Oregon, with
the original pagination, and a "supplemental index" or rather
table of contents containing several references to materials
which do not appear in the supplemental appendix. The sup-
plemental appendix is concluded with an unpaged postscript,
and pasted on the inside of the cover is a "Notice" which
reads :

"Intense anxieties about affairs at Washington, about claims
on the country, and about enemies opposing these claims : and
severe exercise with the pen for the last two or three months,
have so amazed the brain of the author as to require im-
mediate rest of his eyes and mind, and a suspension of the
enlarging of the Supplemental Appendix of this book, until
some better state of his health."

This, he went on to explain, cut off matter on the history
of the Sandwich Islands, remarks on the North American
Indians, and a "dissertation on Christianity," all of which,
perhaps, we may well spare.

Considering the circumstances under which they were writ-
ten, these pamphlets of Kelley's, while without semblance of
order and of a most uneven style, are surprisingly informing
and accurate. Typographically they are wretched. Thus

28 P. 128.

186

Slacum's name usually appears as "Slocum," and McLoughlin's
as "McLaughlin," — this is the text of a man who resented
reference to himself as "Kelly." Again, the date of Kelley's
transcontinental railroad project appears "as early as 1849,"
when it is obvious that 1829 was meant. As to their au-
thenticity, it may be said that they compare favorably with
much that has been written of Oregon and the Northwest.
Of one thing we may be sure, Kelley based his writings upon
materials which he believed authentic, and when he relied upon
his memory he said so, as he also did when his memory
failed him.

Everything that he wrote, however, was encumbered with
denunciations of the Hudson's Bay company and with religious
phraseology ad nauseam. Eliminate these, and his writings
have real value. But to Kelley, the infamy of the company
was as real as the basis of his religious faith, and his denuncia-
tion of the one was as fervent as his worship of the other.
He did not consider it necessary to apologize for either. In-
deed, upon the latter point, he naively said :

"Some of my skeptical friends, who never examined my
works, nor the 'fruit of the Spirit,' say to me, — 'you talk too
much in your book about religion. You will expose yourself
to public ridicule.' My reply to them is, You think too little
about religion. 'I am not ashamed to own my Lord.' 'I glory
in this, that I know God,' and 'know Christ Jesus and him
crucified,' and am a 'servant of Christ according to the will
of God.' "29

This was not the sort of statement with which to impress
the authorities at Washington, but Kelley's religion was a
very real thing to him, a part of his very self. His whole
life was based on faith, — faith in God, faith in Oregon, and
faith in his fellow men.

29 Settlement of Oregon, 124.

137

CHAPTER TWELVE
The Man Kellev and His Place in History

"How inexpressibly comfortable to know our fellow-crea-
ture;" wrote Carlyle, '"to see into him, understand his goings
forth, decipher the whole heart of his mystery: nay, not only
to see into him, but even to see out of him, to view the world
altogether as he views it . . . !" If we cannot understand
what manner of man Kelley was, it is through no fault of his,
for in his voluminous writings his personality is reflected with
all the clear outlines of reality. We see him first as a serious-
minded boy of studious and pious habits of thought ; then as
a school teacher while still in his 'teens. The sports of boy-
hood were not for him ; instead, he read and studied, — even
by moonlight ! There was so much to learn ; so much good
to do ! To him, life was indeed earnest. We are told nothing
of his father's influence ; his character seems to have been
built upon his mother's teachings. Oh, Polly Kelley, why did
you not implant in your son a sense of humor, — a sense of
relative values? One wonders if he ever laughed, or even
smiled. To him the world was a formal place, peopled with
good men, with a scattering few "through whom evil must
come." The former were either "distinguished," "enterpris-
ing," "understanding," or "learned," while the latter were
characterized in terms that were of another order. Rarely
did he mention a person without employing an adjective,
complimentary or otherwise. He was a master in the use
of epithets.

It is not surprising that this self-centered and serious-
minded man was involved in personal difficulties with his im-
mediate associates; for he was as obstinate as George III,
as ponderous and immovable as his own New Hampshire
hills. In his mind there was no room for doubt as to the side
upon which the right lay, or as to his position on that side.
But if he was elephantine in his intellectual processes, he was

139

far from pachydermatous in his feehngs ; and his hurts were
faithfully recorded, whether it was an injured little finger or
a plan that was unjustly assailed. The only exception seems
to be his dismissal from the Boston schools. His domestic
relations were clearly reflected in the title chosen for his letters
to Mrs. Kelley : "Letters From An Afflicted Husband To
An Astranged Wife." He was the afiflicted one, he would
have us believe ! But there are those who will have little
difficulty in aligning themselves upon the side of that un-
fortunate woman. Who can read of that farewell scene at
Bradford without sympathizing with her? She "looked sober."
it appears, "and probably felt sad," and well she might : for
her home had been broken up because of a vision.

Late in life Kelley undertook to analyze his character and
his conduct, and we find in his writings many such statements
as these :

"I have testified against the powerful worldlings belonging
to the British and American Fur Companies, and the East
India Merchants doing business on the N. W. Coast: and so
testifying, have incurred the implacable hatred of those men.
Their policy, then, as now, was to represent me as stupid,
ignorant and crazy. The friends of my late bosom companion,
prior to my visit to Oregon — to turn from, and against me.
the loved ones of my household, called me an idler and a
spendthrift ; as one spending his time foolishly, and his money
for that which is naught, and as having neither mind nor
means to do anything.

"I do not believe these evil sayings of my enemies. I am
not, nor have I ever been, an ignorant or crazy man, an idler
or an idle schemer. My works, and the fruit of the spirit, tes-
tify to what I am. I do believe that I have as much as an
ordinary understanding. I have at the present, now in old
age, when 'waxen in decay,' as much as when fifty years ago, I
conceived and planned the settlement of Oregon, as when,
thirty-five or forty years ago, I planned so largely for internal
improvements and the founding of benevolent institutions, and.

140

as when the wise and prudent about me were wont to say of
me, 'He is Hving thirty years in advance of the times' ....

"Persecuting enemies take every advantage of my physical
infirmities to bring me into low repute with friends and coun-
trymen ; which circumstance renders it highly needful I should
explain concerning them. My infirmities are what render my
external appearance unfavorable to right perceptions of me. I
will now proceed to explain as to the cause and nature of
the great calamity I have so long suffered ....

"Besides the calamity and other evils contributing to ugly
external appearances, I am, as has been already explained, slow
of apprehension, much slower, probably, than was Moses, who
found a like difficulty with me, in expressing his thoughts,
much slower than Goldsmith .... At times of high ner-
vous irritation I lose the physical ability of expressing my
thoughts .... As a legitimate result of this evil, I am also
diffident. This adds very much to unfavorable outward ap-
pearances. Sad, very sad, were these appearances between the
years 1829 and about 1852 .... I became terribly per-
plexed, and was driven, at times, to high mental excitement,
doubtless to a near approximation to insanity. Was then more
than in previous years, liable to foibles, inadvertences, and im-
proprieties of conduct. In those years, at every attempt to
perform before the public, to lead in devotional exercises at
public gatherings, was a failure ; diffidence at such times was
more humbling and mortifying than ever. Often was I put
to shame. After the last mentioned year, the outward appear-
ances began to wear a more favorable aspect. I recovered
from perplexity .... I think my head and heart are full
of thoughts, original, great and good ....

"A word further as to the condition and evils to which I
am now reduced. Having nearly lost my eyesight, I am unable
at the present time to distinguish by the features one person
from another at six feet distant from me ; and am unable to
read manuscript or even print, unless it be in large type, and
not that without distress in the optic nerves, and a degree of

141

pain in the head. In every instance, if the reading is ever so
short, even a dozen pages, the eyes tire, and the head becomes
confused, and I am slower of speech and tongue, and utterance
is more stammering."^

"The ways of a righteous Providence are inscrutable to
mortals. In all my past career they have seemed particularly
and wonderfully merciful, yet mysterious. I talk of great
achievements, yet am I one of the least of the instrumentalities
employed in the spreading of knowledge, and the advancing of
the work of the Redeemer's kingdom. When feeling the
strongest, I am made sensible of zveakncss; when proud, am
made humble. Once, I increased in riches, 'grew fat and kicked
against the Lord,' and my adversaries came, and took away
my possessions. Confident in my abilities to declaim and, other-
wise, to hold forth before the public on the side of philan-
thropy ; and, great diffidence came upon me. After some mor-
tifying failures, I learned to be silent, was more wise, cared
less to make an outside show, and more to make faith and
works my ivorth. I began to boast of what my communica-
tions with intelligent and public-spirited men, and my books
and tracts, spread about the land, were effecting in the field of
benevolent enterprise, withholding from the mighty and
Beneficent God too much of the praise due him ; and I was
smitten by the hand of the Lord; and came, comparatively,
dumb before the people . . . ."^

"I live on, like some aged oak, lonely, on some bleak summit,
withstanding storms and tempests, and smitten by thunder-
bolts, a branchless trunk. By the help of God I live ; suffering
poverty, the loss of health, and the bereavement of companion
and children, and a persecution, terrible, and, in respect to dura-
tion and the number of powerful and cruel perpetrators, doubt-
less unparalleled in this age and country. "•''

Enough, perhaps more than enough, has been presented to
show Kelley's attitude toward himself, with all its variations.

1 Kelley, Hist, of the Settlement of Oregon. 4, 13, 15-6.

2 Kelley, Narrative of Events and Difficulties, postscript.

3 Ibid., 86.

What of the attitude of historians? Naturally the estimates
differ widely. The least sympathetic is that of Bancroft :

"The Boston school-master is a character the historian is not
particularly proud of. He is neither a great hero nor a great
rascal. He is great at nothing, and is remarkable rather for
his lack of strength, and in staggering for fifty years under
an idea too big for his brain. He was a bom enthusiast and
partisan, one of a class of projectors more capable of forming
grand schemes than of carrying them to a successful issue. . .

"Had the school-master possessed an evenly balanced, prac-
tical mind, or had his early training been more of the counting-
room, and less of the school-room, he might have made his
mark, high and ineffaceable. To one who had the means, and
knew how to employ them, it was then no difficult task to
colonize Oregon, lay the foundations of a prosperous com-
monwealth, amass wealth, and convert the savages swiftly to
heaven all at once. But there must be means and skill to handle
them."^

Despite their objectionable tone these statements are worthy
of attention, though one may well question whether the coloni-
zation of Oregon could have been accomplished so easily. The
words of Clarke, Lyman, and Temple, as quoted below, give a
much truer picture of the man :

"Let us concede in advance that the man had radical faults
of character, that he was conceited as to the value of his labors
and to some extent unreasonable in his pretentions, but, when
this is all said, he must have been a man of force and definite
purpose to expend twenty years of the prime of life in the
attempt to preserve the American title to the territory of Ore-
gon at that early day, and to entertain schemes for the settle-
ment and development of that vast region .... He was
both an enthusiast and a zealot, and — to his misfortune — was
not a clear-sighted business man."^

"Kelley was undoubtedly one of those minds ideal rather
than practical, who give suggestions which more executive per-

4 Bancroft, Hist, of the Northwest Coast, II, S44-S. SS8n.

5 Clarke, Pioneer Days of Oregon History, I, 268-9.

143

sons readily pick up and carry out without even thanks to
the giver .... All these [educational and benevolent]
efforts, requiring the confidence of the public, and of educated
persons, show a mind of fine order, highly progressive and
probably erratic ; but still neither unsound nor impractical.
That he gradually withdrew his efforts from these valuable
and congenial labors to take up the study of Oregon, and pro-
mulgate what proved to be the only practical way to maintain
the interests of .Americans here, is a work for which Oregon
at this late day, and all the Union, should feel grateful,
although in his actual movements he shows the more or less
hesitating grasp of a man born a thinker rather than an actor."**

"Of the character of Mr. Kelley it is not easy to form a
satisfactory estimate. He was a many-sided man. In certain
directions, he was a learned, but in whole, was not an edu-
cated man. His mind was active, but appears not to have
been well balanced. His sympathies were large, but liable to
be misdirected for want of cool judgment. He saw things in
their individuality, not in their relations. What appeared to
him to be desirable and philanthropic he pursued with en-
thusiasm, and without counting the cost. The goodness of his
motives were never called in question, but his zeal was often
'without knowledge.' In a word, he was the creature, not the
creator of circumstances .... The incidents narrated,
show a natural tendency to depend on dreams and impulses,
rather than on sober judgment, and calm forethought. Perhaps
his main defects were lack of knowledge of men, and lack of
financial ability, which two lacks account for his ill-success in
life."^

These appraisals of the man agree with his own statement
that his head and heart were full of thoughts, great and good ;
but they say nothing as to his originality. From the record of
his whole life, it is difficult to single out an instance in which
he exhibited originality. As a^school teacher he developed not

6 H. S. Lyman, Hist, of Oregon III, 72-3-

7 Temple, Hist, of the To-um of Palmer. 2689.

144

his own system but Lancaster's ; in proposing- the settlement of
Oregon, he acknowledged his indebtedness to Jefferson ; in the
movement for industrial education, he was an advocate, not
an originator ; his plan for the form of government of Oregon
was based not on any ideas of his own, but on the laws estab-
lishing the territory of Michigan; as a scientist he dabbled in
many fields and made shrewd and more or less accurate ob-
servations, but he originated nothing. His attempt to devise
an improved system of land surveying was never carried far
enough to entitled him to credit as an originator.

All agree that Kelley was a man with a distorted perspective,
who was singularly out of touch with his fellows. To such
men as Foster and Lovett, he was an easy victim ; and to the
sailors on the Dryade as well as the boys in Three Rivers he
must have appeared as one who invited annoying attacks. Suf-
fering arrest, entangled in frequent law suits, and losing prop-
erty at every turn, he blundered his lonely way through life.
He came into contact with many men of prominence, — Bul-
finch, Everett, Webster, Linn, Gushing, Lancaster, to mention
only a few ; yet he seems to have had no real friends. Every-
where he seems to have been regarded as a bore, even by those
who sympathized with him. Wyeth's letters show that he lost
respect for Kelley upon close contact, and his attitude at Fort
Vancouver can be explained only by the fact that he was en-
tirely out of patience with the man. Indeed, it is difficult to
read Kelley's narrative of his long journey to Oregon without
impatience. Why did he encumber himself with so much bag-
gage,— tracts, scarlet velvet sashes, combs, etc. ? Why did he
allow himself to be left alone in the wilds of Mexico on account
of a lame mule and a load of worthless trinkets? His route
from New Orleans to San Diego was marked wltn his be-
longings, lost, abandoned, stolen, or given away ; and yet he
arrived on the Columbia with enough baggage to worry about.
Whenever he lost anything, whether it was the hind wheels of
a wagon or a cane, the fact was duly set down and often with
a statement of the amount in terms of money. These items he

146

finally consolidated in a statement of his account against the
public under the head "Expenditures and Losses in Time and
Property — The Public To Enterprise, Dr.", the total being
$132,250.8

If we attempt to state Kelley's account in terms of public
service we must enter some items at merely nominal values
for lack of information; but with all necessary qualifications,
there would seem to be a considerable balance on the side of
Kelley, whose claim to distinction may be set forth as follows :

The American Claim to Oregon. — From a wide range of
sources Kelley collected materials on the question of title to
the lands on the Northwest Coast and presented the facts in
pamphlets, in newspaper articles, in memorials to congress, in
public lectures, and in private conferences. Many of his state-
ments of fact have been properly challenged, and his emphasis
upon the matter of the Kendrick land purchase may have
weakened his argument; yet his constant agitation served to
keep the issue alive until the national government found it
expedient to take final action. Whether Kelley's efforts di-
rectly influenced congress in any way is doubtful.

The Occupation of Oregon Proposed. — For many years
Kelley claimed that he had been the first to propose the occu-
pation of the Oregon territory by American citizens, and this
claim has been generally accepted by historians, with the
exception of Bourne, who said :

"Mr. Kelley's claims for himself seem greatly exaggerated,

8 Eleven years, up to 1836, at $2,000 per year $22,000

Fifteen years, up to 1852, at $1,500 per year 22,500

Publishing books and tracts soo

Travelling for the purpose of lecturing 200

Expenses at Washington 500

Two shares of the Oregon stock, and five certificates 300

Loss on the brig "John Q. Adams" 300

Loss at Three Rivers 300

Loss at New Orleans 300

Loss at Vera Cruz i.iso

Loss by robbers, near Salamanca 200

$48,250
Interest ... to 1852, about 84,000

Amount, $132,250

— Narrative of Events and Difficulties, 7.

140

and the dates of his pubHshed writings on the Oregon ques-
tion indicate, I think, that instead of influencing Floyd to
champion Oregon he himself reflected the movement initiated
by Floyd .... To one freshly approaching the subject the
work of Floyd for Oregon seems immensely more important
than Hall J. Kelley's to whom more space is usually allotted
in Oregon histories .... It is sufficiently clear, I think,
that a man of such antecedents and connections was not de-
pendent upon the Massachusetts schoolmaster either for in-
formation or stimulus."^

Kelley, however, did not claim that he had influenced Floyd,
and he yielded to Benton the distinction of having been the
first to propose the occupation of Oregon. In 1849 he said:

"I was not aware that any person in existence entertained
thoughts of occupyhig the banks of the Columbia with an
American population, till 1822 [1820?], when the subject was
discussed in Congress. Afterwards, I came to the knowledge,
that the Hon. T. H. Benton had previously, perhaps earlier
than myself, conceived plans for that purpose ; that he had
written upon the subject, and conversed much upon it, and
moved Governor Floyd to bring it into the National Legisla-
ture."io

The Occupation of Oregon Accomplished. — "The Oregon
enterprise was one of my own getting up and carrying through.
The wise confessed it to be magnificent and benevolent. The
best part of my life was exclusively devoted to it ; and the
whole of my substance and earthly comforts were sacrificed
to consummate its accomplishment ; and, it resulted as at its con-
ception I supposed it would, in making Oregon and California
the abode of Civilization ; and both integral parts of the United
States' domain; and in extending more widely the blessings
of Christianity."" This was Kelley's claim.

The reference to California was probably based upon the

9 Bourne, Aspects of Oregon history before 1840, Oregon Historical Society,
Quarterly, VI, 260-3.

10 Kelley, Hist, of the Colonization of Oregon, 5. See also Thornton, Ore-
ton and CaUfornia, II, m-S"- , „.,. , .

1 1 Narrative of Events and Dtrftcumes, 68-9.

147

shadowy claim to having indirectly influenced Sutter to locate
at Sacramento. As to Oregon, however, the claim is better
grounded. That Wyeth went to Oregon because of Kelley's
efforts is an established fact ; that the Lees went as a result of
his agitation is almost certain; and Kelley himself induced
Ewing Young to accompany him to Oregon, where he re-
mained as a settler. Calvin Tibbetts was the only man whose
enrollment on the books of the American Society was fol-
lowed by emigration and settlement ; but some of the men who
went out with Wyeth on his second expedition became settlers,
as did those who were members of Young's party. It was
Young's death in 1841 that led to the first movement for an
organized government among the American settlers. The
name of Webley Hauxhurst, one of Young's party, with that
of Calvin Tibbetts appears on the list of those who voted in
favor of organizing a provisional government in 1843 ; and
Joseph Gale, also of Young's party, served on the first execu-
tive committee, 1843-4, which was elected to enforce the laws
before the organization of the provisional government.^^

The settlement of Oregon was not accomplished by New
Englanders,^^ as Kelley had planned, but it was accomplished
as the result of the movement which he started.

The Origin Of The Word Oregon And Its Application To
The Pacific Northwest. — "Who first accounted for the Indian
name of the 'Great River of the West,' (Oregon) and applied
the same to the country watered by that river? Who ac-
counted for the name both of the Indian tribe and the river
called Kihnookf Who accounted for the name of Mexico?
Humboldt did not. Who accounted for the name of many of

12 Himes, Organization of Oregon provisional government, Oregon Blue Book,
191S-6: 14-6.

13 "Mr. Himes finds that of Oregon's pioneer population, 6 per cent, came
from New Eiigland, go per cent, from the Middle West, .^3 per cent, from South
of Mason's and Dixon's line and 11 per cent, from 22 foreign countries, the
great majority of the latter from the British Isles, Canada and Germnny."—
Woodward, The rise and history of politcal parties in Oregon, Oregon Historical
Society, Quarterly, XI, 328n. "Wyeth as a New Englander is hardly to be
blamed for not having foreseen the impending pioneer movcTnent. It came from
the western frontier. — Young, Correspondence and Journals of Nathaniel J.
Wyeth, xviii.

148

the places, tribes, of rivers, and animals, on the western side
of North America? ... I claim to have been him who
has accounted for them. I have alone done them."^*

We need not concern ourselves with the whole of this claim.
Our interest is in the word Oregon, "whose origin has baffled
modern investigation,"^^ and upon this point neither of Kel-
ley's statements are convincing.

In the matter of the application of the name of the river to
the territory, Kelley's claim rests upon somewhat better
grounds. "The country, in those days [before 1830], was
known as the 'North-West Territory,' 'Columbia River,' and
as the 'River Oregon.' His first step was, therefore, to en-
lighten the public concerning a country marked on all maps as
'unknown,' without a distinctive appellation, till the one it now
wears was made familiar to the public mind by his writings
and correspondence."^^ Upon this point there is sufficient
evidence upon which to deny Kelley's claim to priority, and
also to determine beyond question the person to whom the
honor belongs. Upon the evidence of Floyd's second Oregon
bill, which was introduced on January 18, 1822, we must give
to Floyd the distinction of having first proposed that "all that
portion of the territory of the United States north of the
forty-second degree of latitude, and west of the Rocky Moun-

14 Settlement of Oregon. 12. "Oregon, the Indian name of this river, was
traced by me to a large river called Orjon in Chinese Tartary, whose latitude
corresponds with that of Oregon, in America. The word Killamucks, the name
of a tribe a little south of the mouth of the Oregon, was, also, traced to a
people called Killmuchs, who anciently lived near the mouth of the Orjon in
Asia. It is evident that the Oregon Killmucks were among the early settlers
of North America, and brought with them many of the proper names used by
our Indians. The word Mexico (Mecaco) is identified with the name of the
ancient capital of Japan. Identifications of both proper and common names are
numerous." — Ibid., 88n. Another guess was: "The name of Oregon is derived
from or-gano the Spanish word tor wild marjoram, the oreganum vulgare of
Linnaeus, which grows abundantly in the western part of the disputed territory." —
Kelley, Oregon. Palmer Sentinel, April 23, 1846. This subject, which lies within
the neld of geography rather than history, is discussed in detail in Bancroft,
Hist, of Oregon, I, 17-25-

15 Bourne, The travels of Jonathan Carver, American Historical Review.
XI. 288.

16 Kelley, Petition, 1866; a.

17 17 cong. 1 sess, H. bill 47. »ec. 4.

tains, shall constitute a territory of Oregon."" This was first
emphasized by Bourne.^^

But if Kelley was not the first to apply the name, he was
the most active in making it known to the people, which in
itself was a real public service, although not of major im-
portance.

The Presidents' Range. — In his Memoir of 1839 Kelley said
"The eastern portion of the district referred to [southwestern
Oregon] is bordered by a mountain range [the Cascades],
running nearly parallel to the spine of the Rocky mountains
and to the coast, and which, from the number of its elevated
peaks, I am inclined to call the Presidents' range. These iso-
lated and remarkable cones, which are now called among the
hunters of the Hudson's Bay Company by other names, I have
christened after our ex-Presidents, viz.: 1. Washington [St.
Helens], latitude 46 deg. 15 min. ; 2. Adams [Hood], latitude
45 deg. 10 min. ; 3. Jefferson, latitude 44 deg. 30 min. ; 4.
Madison [Three Sisters], latitude 43 deg. 50 min.; 5. Monroe
[Diamond or Thielsen] , latitude 43 deg. 20 min. ; 6. J. Q. Adams
[Pitt or McLoughlin], latitude 42 deg. 10 min.: and 7. Jack-
son [Shasta], latitude 41 deg. 40 min.^^

Some contemporary writers, notably Farnham and Green-
how, were inclined to favor this suggestion ; but Mount Jef-
ferson alone has retained its name, and Mount Jefferson was
originally named not by Kelley but by Captain William Clark.
Thus it is possible to determine the source of Kelley's idea of
a Presidents' range.^^ There is a Mount Adams in southern
Washington, and its name may be the indirect result of Kel-

i8 Bourne, The travels of Jonathan Carver, ul supra, ;^88n ; Aspects of
Oregon history before 1840, ut supra, 265-6. On January 13. .1823, Mallary of
Vermont proposed an amendment to the Floyd bill which provided ainonK other
things that tlie "tracts of country, in the section described is hereby declared
to be the Territory of Oregon," and on January 24 when W^alker of North
Carolina moved to amend Mallary's amendment by substitutine Columbia for
Oregon, FJoyd objected and the motion was lost. Floyd then proposed and
Mallary accepted a substitute which differs only in a few unimportant particulars
from the original wording. — 17 cong. 2 sess. Annals of Congress. XL, 601, 678-1).
In the course of the debates on his bill Floyd used the t-ernis "the Oregon"
and "Oregon" interchangeably to describe the territory. See Ibid., 408-0.

19 Pp. 53-4-

20 There is a "President's range'' in Kelley's native state, New Hampshire.

160

ley's suggestion, but Kelley's Mount Adams was south of the
GDlumbia.

Internal Improvements Proposed. — That Kelley had little
if any influence in the movement for a transcontinental rail-
road, is the conclusion to which one is forced after an exami-
nation of all available materials. When we consider the diffi-
culties that attended the accomplishment of that great work, the
words of Kelley, as quoted below, are interesting only as they
tend to show how little he appreciated the magnitude of the
task and the sort of men needed to engage in it :

"Had enemies let me alone, the road would have been graded
from one end to the other before this [1854] ; and Oregon be-
fore the year 1840, would have teemed with a population from
our own blest country ; and Alta California would have become
the possession of the United States earlier than it did ; and have
cost less money and no blood ; and that whole country, dark as
it was, ere this day, would have been changed to shining fields
and flowery gardens ; and society there, would have been
dressed in lovely attire, and robed in charms of moral beauty. . .

"My thoughts are still on the execution of these desirable
and heaven-suggested improvements, and on the resources
which the road would open to the people of this country for
wealth and knowledge and national superiority. Should health
and strength ever again be equal to so great a labor, and my
enemies lessen the cords that bind me hand and foot, the two
projects, Indian and railroad, remaining unaccomplished, I
shall engage in them with what science and skill I possess, and
with my accustomed zeal and perseveran "e, hoping to add
them to the list of my achievements."^^

This is Kelley at his worst. Nor was his claim on this ac-
count limited to railroads. "I planned for Internal Improve-
ments— a canal from Charles River (Boston), to the Connecti-
cut River, as surveyed by L. Baldwin, and a ship-canal from
Barnstable to Buzzard's Bay."^- The Massachusetts canal was

21 Narrative of Events and DifFiculties, 70-72.

22 Settlement of Oregon, 7. As to the former Kelley said that he "Made a
cursory survey of eight or ten miles of the route, this ... at my own ex-
pense," and that he presented a petition to the legislature. As to the latter he
declared that "about the year 1825" he made a cursory survy of the route for the
ship canal, also at his own expense. — Kelley, "Beloved Brethren," Nov. 14, i86g.

161

projected in 1791 by General Henry Knox, who obtained a
charter in 1792. The project was revived by Governor Eustis
in 1825, and a special commission was appointed to make an
examination of the practicable routes through to the Hudson
river at the terminus of the Erie canal. The Cape Cod canal was
first proposed in colonial times, and it was everybody's project.
It would seem that Kelley's contribution, such as it was, was
negligible.

It remains to consider the various estimates which have
been placed upon Kelley's public services by the writers of
history. The laudatory accounts which appeared in the news-
papers of Boston from time to time after 1839, like the testi-
monials which were appended to Kelley's memorials and pe-
titions, may be safely ignored, for most of them were probably
written at his solicitation. It must be borne in mind in con-
nection with the excerpts which follow that many of them were
written in the belief that to Kelley belonged the distinction of
having been first in the field to suggest the settlement of Ore-
gon— an honor which he specifically disclaimed.

"Though Mr. Kelley did not succeed in his object of the
direct establishment of a colony on the Columbia, either for
want of adequate personal influence and resources, or because
his project was in advance of the time, or in consequence of
the obstacles thrown in his way by interested individuals, still
he is entitled to honorable mention for the exertions he made
and long persisted in; and perhaps the American settlement,
actually effected on the Wallamet, by Mr. Lee ... may
owe its conception to the publications and suggestions of Mr.
Kelley .... These and other advantages of the settlement
of Oregon were as clearly seen by Mr. Kelley then [1830], as
they are now by the country at large. But he suffered the too
common fate of those who conceive a great idea, and dedicate
themselves to a great object, in anticipation of the progress of
knowledge and opinion around them. Their discoveries or
plans conflict with existing interests; their just views are met
with misconstruction, and often with ridicule ; their zeal is

162

wrecked on petty obstacles, thrown up by the ignorance or
injustice of their misjudging contemporaries; and it is not un-
til later times, or it may be another generation, that full justice
can be done to the enthusiasm, and due allowance made for the
exaggerated feeling, which the contemplation of an elevated
purpose kindles in their breasts."^^

"And yet the occupation of Oregon was not without its
knights of La Mancha, whose brains became somewhat turned,
and that by difficulties more imaginary than real .... A
fanatic in religion, he became fanatic in his scheme of settle-
ment. All the powers of piety and avarice were employed by
him in the attempted execution of plans which grew more
wildly dear to him as the years went by and failure became
more apparent ....

"If we measure his merits by his claims we must make him
at once owner and king of Oregon. Nevertheless his writings
did exercise influence, not as great as if they had been moder-
ate, yet exceedingly weighty in those momentous questions so
shortly to arise ....

"With regard to the services which Kelley rendered the
United States, or Oregon, it would be difficult to estimate the
value. That his published articles and public lectures were
the first to call attention to the feasibility of settling the Pa-
cific coast by an overland emigration there can be no dis-
pute ....

"There are more than one in California like Vallejo and AI-
varado, prominent in the affairs of the nation, who have seen
cities rise from under the chaparal of sand-hills, and palpitat-
ing civilization fill the valleys where once they lassoed grizzly
bears and chased wild men and women into the mission con-
version pens ; there are among the fur-traders those who have
seen the rise of settlement and the wonders of progress in the
Northwest ; but there has been none like poor Kelley who laid
upon the altar of his enthusiasm more than half a century of

23 Gushing, Discovery beyond the Rocky mountains, North American Rt-
view,U t22-,i| (i840)-

les

life, who among the first to start the cry, never ceased halloo-
ing until his wilderness was a state ....

"All his influence to a very fair extent I am disposed to ac-
cord him. Had I been congress I would have given the old
schoolmaster something to, sweeten his second childhood's cup
withal, and I would have praised and petted him somewhat in
an official way, for he did more than many a well paid officer
of the government. But when a human being breaks forth in
insensate twaddle like this, 'Let me then be known by the work
divinely appointed unto me to do, by the manner of life which
the Lord Jesus revealed unto me in visions in my youth, by
the eventful, extraordinary, and useful life, which God, ac-
cording to his foreknowledge, did predestinate,' I do not much
blame the republic for giving the poor fellow the cold shoul-
der."2*

"The history of human progress shows that great move-
ments frequently receive their initial impulse from the most
visionary and impractical of men. Perhaps the very quality
of being visionary — prone to see visions — makes possible a
forecast of results which lack of practical ability in the indi-
vidual could never accomplish. John Brown did as much as
any man to give direction to public thought in favor of the
emancipation movement of the United States ; but a man less
qualified than he to bring that movement to a successful issue
could scarcely have been found. So with the vital question
of the Northwest — the long-disputed Oregon question — it was
preached, published, and kept before the pubhc for many years
by a man who proved himself wholly unfit to carry out his own
schemes. This was a Boston schoolmaster, Hall J. Kelley . . .

"His crusade was a successful one in helping to turn men's
minds to a subject of far-reaching importance, and in this
respect the American people owe to his memory a debt of grati-
tude. Although he never achieved the distinction of martyr-
dom in the cause which he so boldly and persistently cham-
pioned, he will stand in history as the John Brown of the

24 Bancroft, Northtcest Coast. II, 543, 554-.'i. S59n.

164

movement which saved to the United States a part of its right-
ful domain upon the Pacific.""''

"Hall J. Kelley may properly be called the father of the
Oregon emigration movement. "^^

"Sharing the fate of all idealists, he was a generation in
advance of his day. All that he hoped for Oregon was des-
tined to come to pass, and largely through his mad propa-
ganda. His pamphlets and his newspaper [articles] generated
a romantic enthusiasm for the vast realm beyond the Rockies
so rapidly slipping from American control. His suggestion
that every colonist should receive a grant of two hundred
acres of arable land appealed with irresistible force to the
homeless and unemployed of the eastern cities, and furnished
the foundation for the Donation Act."[?]^^

"It is impossible to show any other American at so early a
period not only devoting himself to the intellectual labor of
discussing the Oregon question, and to promoting colonization
societies, but who undertook and overcame without support,
the cost and perils of immigration with the sole object of
verifying his teachings to the country . . . . It is only jus-
tice to agree with him that he set on foot by his writings the
immigration movement to the shores of the Pacific in all its
forms, whether missionary, commercial, or colonizing ....

"If we compare the unprotected services of a Kelley with
the paid and protected services of Lewis and Clark, we have
to acknowledge that a debt of appreciation and public recog-
nition, at least, is due to the Yankee schoolmaster who spent
the best years of his life in teaching the United States govern-
ment and people the value of the Oregon territory."^*

"I consider that the real contest for Oregon was between the '

25 Chittenden, The American Fur Trade of the Far West, I. 434-5.

26 Thwaites, Early Western Travels, XXI, 24n.

27 Coman, Economic Beginnings of the Far West, II, I32-3-

38 Victor, Hall J. Kelley, one of the fathers of Oregon, Oregon Historical
Society, Quarterly, II, 39.

166

date of arrival of Hall J. Kelley, Ewing Young, and the free-
men who came with them, or near their date and 1846."^^

"Hall Jackson Kelley, a school teacher of Boston, began a
work in behalf of Oregon that Oregon has never yet acknowl-
edged or recognized. Kelley was an eccentric man, an en-
thusiast, one of those who seize a single idea and devote their
lives to it ... . He it was, beyond all question, who first
urged the settlement of Oregon, insisted upon its practicability
and set forth the importance and value of the Oregon country
to the United States. Many with whom he came in contact re-
garded him merely as a bore or troublesome fellow, and this
impression was deepened by a tone in his speech and writings
which was regarded as a religious cant ....

"This strange eccentric man can almost be called the prophet
of Oregon, the father of migration to Oregon, the man who
hastened the fulfillment of Oregon's destiny."^^

"The largest results of Wyeth's enterprise are rather to be
looked for in the contribution he made in various ways to
the furtherance of other enterprises than his own.

"Substantially the same may be said of the enterprise of
Hall J. Kelley, the leading promoter of one or more of the
emigration societies already mentioned. He contributed ma-
terially to the ultimate settlement of the territory by his per-
sistent and widespread agitation in the East, and later in some
measure by bringing into the Willamette Valley a small band
of men, some of whose number became permanent settlers. "^^

"We envy none who can look on the story of Hall J. Kelley
with contempt. . . . Continually, as I study the features
of that early time, I trace the primal influences to Hall J.
Kelley as having given them birth. Oregon can afford to
kindly remember him for the good he tried to do — and really

29 Minto, The young homeseeker, Oregon Historical Society, Proceedings,
1900: 120-1.

30 Scott, Annual address, Oregon Pioneer Association, Transactions, 1890;
33, 35.

31 Wilson, The Oregon question, Oregon Historical Society, Quarterly, I,

166

accGmplished as results have shown. He alone was stirring the
cauldron of Fate, and did and said what had momentous re-
sults. It is more kindly to place a stone upon his cairn than
to throw any slur on one who suffered and lost so much.

"Hall J. Kelley had wonderful prescience and judgment in
discerning facts and drawing conclusions .... This vis-
ionary, whose life was a disappointment, because he attempted
too much, laid the foundation for all that as finally accom-
plished. It was surprising that he accomplished so much and
was so reliable.

"Kelley's work was far reaching. His life work was as the
finger of fate pointing the way, and his labors reached fruition
while he was neglected and his services forgotten ....

"I have been struck with the fact that Kelley was the special
providence inspired at the earliest time to appreciate the value
of this region, when Congress ignored it and the nation was
ignorant of its value. Eliminate from that period this single
feature and it is doubtful when American occupancy could
have been effective. The very man who discovered gold in
California was one who came from Oregon, drawn there by
the facts stated. Before the century shall have passed, through
which he so ardently labored and so bitterly suffered, it will
not be too late to accord to him the merit he deserved and
plant this modest laurel on his forgotten grave."^^

"To him, more than any other one person, in my judgment,
may be justly attributed the subsequent occupation of the
country by emigrants from the United States — and Oregon
should in some way worthy of the subject and herself yet
acknowledge and commemorate that fact."^

"To him, without doubt, is to be attributed much of the
subsequent wave of interest which swept on toward American
immigration. At first, a New England college man, educator,
and social theorizer, and then a leader of the pioneer movement

32 Clarke, I, 274-6.

33 Deady, Annual address, Oregon Pioneer Association, Transactions, 1875:24.

157

to Oregon, Hall J. Kelley is worthy of permanent remem-
brance."^^

"Some of the Oregon historians have been disposed to be-
little Kelley's work for Oregon ; but they only expose their own
want of knowledge of the subject .... There is not a
church history or a church document that has ever been printed
that had the justice to give Kelley what was due to him ....
Unappreciated and misunderstood, by some called a fanatic, by
others a crank, and by the Hudson's Bay Company treated as
a horse-thief, the ghost of Hall J. Kelley appears and disap-
pears through the shifting scenery of Oregon's strenuous his-
tory with such kaleidoscopic presentment as almost baffles de-
scription .... Hall J. Kelley is justly entitled to have his
name enrolled among those who saved Oregon to the people
of the United States."^^

"He gained a place in history and his name is gratefully
mentioned as the earliest and one of the truest friends of the
'Americanization of Oregon.' No history of Oregon can be
written that does not thus record the name of Hall J. Kelley."^^

Kelley complained that his name had been suppressed in the
books and reports on Oregon written by Lee and Frost, Green-
how, Slacum, Howison, and others. Had he lived to read the
estimates here reproduced, he might have been satisfied ; for
it is now acknowledged that his figure bulks large among those
who have lived and labored for Oregon. A number of sugges-
tions have been made as to a proper memorial to his name. So
far as is known Kelley street in Three Rivers is his sole memo-
rial, and this is no small distinction in a village which has given
to its streets such singularly unimaginative appellations as
Main, Front, and High. The map of the Northwest Coast is
sprinkled with the names of Lewis, Clark, Jefferson, Astor,
Benton, Linn, Polk, Whitman, McLoughlin, and others vi^ho
figured in the early history of the Oregon country. Oregon

34 W. D. Lvman, The Cohimbia River, i6i.

35 Gaston, Hist, of Oregon I, 1 15-6, 268, 272.

36 H. K. Hines, Hist, of Washington, 105.

has recently dedicated the McLoughlin Home at Oregon City
and reinterred the body of Jason Lee at Salem. The body of
Kelley lies in his boyhood home in Gilmanton, and there it
should remain. Above it might well be placed these words of
Stevenson, which read as if they were written with Kelley in
mind:

"Here lies one who meant well, tried a little, failed much : —
surely that may be his epitaph, of which he need not be
ashamed. Nor will he complain at the summons which calls
a defeated soldier from the field ; defeated, ay, if he were Paul
or Marcus Aurelius : — but if there is still one inch of fight in
his old spirit, undishonoured. The faith which sustained him
in his life-long blindness and life-long disappointment will
scarce even be required in this last formality of laying down
his arms. Give him a march with his old bones ; there, out of
the glorious sun-colored earth, out of the day and the dust and
the ecstasy — there goes another Faithful Failure !"

169

APPENDIX.
Mr. Kelley's Memoir ^

Boston, January 31. 1839.

Sir : In compliance with your request, I shall willingly
communicate to you a brief account of my connexion with the
Oregon country-, and of such facts in regard to that valuable
portion of our national domain, and of adjoining regions, as
have come within my observation and are of public interest.

The perusal of Lewis and Clark's journal, personal confer-
ence with intelligent navigators and hunters who had visited
and explored the territory beyond the Rocky mountains, and
facts derived from other sources entitled to credit, many years
ago, satisfied me that this region must, at no remote period,
become of vast importance to our Government, and of deep
and general interest. Possessing, so far as I could learn, a
salubrious climate, a productive soil, and all the other natural
elements of wealth, and by its position in reference to divers
most important channels of traffic, as well as its configura-
tion of coast, and variety of native productions, being admir-
ably adapted to become a great commercial country, I foresaw
that Oregon must, eventually, become a favorite field of mod-
ern enterprise, and the abode of civilization.

With these views constantly and vividly before me. I could
but desire most earnestly to communicate them to the public,
and impress them upon the Government. And, to accomplish
these objects, I have done and suffered much ; having been
particularly attentive to it for many years, and wholly devoted
to it a large part of my time.

One great object of my labors has been to induce Congress,
in the exercise of a sound discretion and foresight, and in

I Committee On Foreign Affairs, Supplemental report, Territory of Oregon,
Appendix O; 47-61. 25 cong. 3 sess. H. rep. 101.

161

conformity with good faith towards Great Britain, to extend
the active jurisdiction and guardianship of the General Gov-
ernment over this territory, so that it might be brought under
the restraints and protection of poHtical organization and of
law, by the country to which it justly belongs.

Another of my objects has been to give my fellow-citizens
correct information, and thus induce a full and free emigration
to this territory, of temperate, orderly, and industrious men ;
such men as might most certainly carry thither all the ad-
vantages of civilization, and lay the foundations of a virtuous
community; and thus to convert the wilderness into a [47]
garden, the wild retreats of Indians and roving hunters into
the smiling abodes of knowledge and Christianity.

/ longed and labored, also, for the highest interests of the
native owners of the great West ; for their social, intellectual,
and moral culture; and my objects were not less benevolent
than commercial, and looked as much to the elevation and
melioration of the red race as to the benefit of the white.

And, finally, I desired most earnestly that the United States
should secure to their western frontier the ocean as its de-
fense, and thus remove from one of our borders, at least,
the dangers arising from the vicinity of foreign states — an
object which I deemed of vast importance, and upon which
I need not enlarge.

These were the objects to whose accomplishment I looked
forward, and from which I confidently anticipated many bene-
fits: such as a more friendly and profitable intercourse be-
tween our people and the various Indian tribes ; the immediate
occupation of the harbors and havens of the Oregon, and the
use of its abundant ship timber ; great profit from the whale
and salmon fisheries of the northwest coast ; a free and grow-
ing commerce with the islands and coasts of the Pacific, with
worlds should be united, and their wealth interchanged and
speedy line of communication over land from the Mississippi
to the Oregon, by means of which the Eastern and Western
China, and India, and the Southern America ; a certain and

increased; and many other particular benefits, which I need
not enumerate.

It is not necessary for me to enter, on this occasion, into
a narrative of the obstacles which I encountered in the prosecu-
tion of my views, and of the many sacrifices which I incurred
in order to accomplish objects which I considered as of the
highest public utility. Suffice it to say here, that, induced
by the considerations I have stated, in 1833 I started from
New Orleans for Vera Cruz and Mexico, and after remain-
ing some time in Mexico, I proceeded through Upper Cali-
fornia to Oregon.

I shall confine myself, in this communication, to the results
of my study and inspection within the Oregon territory, and
the adjoining province of High California.

I extend my remarks to this part of California, because it
has been, and may agam be. made the subject of conference
and negotiation between Mexico and the United States ; and
because its future addition to our western possessions is, most
unqu^itionably, a matter to be desired.

HIGH CALIFORNIA.

Commencing my remarks, therefore, at Monterey, a sea-
port town situated in latitude 36 deg. 37 min. north, where
I spent the months of June and July, 1834, I intend to pro-
ceed with these, in the route of my travels, northward, to
the Columbia river. During my route, I was accompanied by
Captain Young, a veteran hunter, who had repeatedly tra-
versed this country, and was familiar with most of its features.

Adopting such an arrangement of facts as will, I trust,
prove convenient to the committee, I will now call their atten-
tion to a brief geographical account of the northern portion
of High California.

This tract of country extends from the 37th to the 42nd
parallel north latitude, and forms a portion of the Mexican
territories, except some few patches on the coast ; it has never

183

been improved by the hand of civiliza-[48]tion. A, lofty
range, called the Snowy mountains, divides it from Oregon.
This range extends from the Pacific ocean, eastwardly, to
the Rocky mountains, is broken into a great number of sub-
ordinate ranges, spurs, and detached peaks. It is bounded
by the valley of the Colorado, and by rugged walls of rocky
highlands on the east, and its surface is diversified by groups
of wooded hills, extensive prairies and marshes, and a multi-
tude of streams, some of which are rapid and others sluggish
in their currents. The Colorado drains this district on the
east, and empties its waters into the gulf of California. Sev-
eral rivers on the west flow into the bay of San Francisco.

The prairies, which form perhaps one half of the surface of
this region, differ widely in character, extent, in formation,
and fertility ; but in general they are covered with a deep
and rich soil, and with an exuberant vegetation. Their uni-
formity is broken by numerous well-wooded hills and hillocks,
and by those belts of forest which stretch along all the water-
courses.

The mountainous regions are, in general, heavily timbered ;
but occasionally, instead of forests, we find tracts of utter
barrenness, bearing the strongest marks of volcanic action,
and destitute of all appearance of vegetable life.

There is one continuous line of prairie extending from the
gulf of California to the 39th parallel, sometimes a hundred
miles wide, and seldom less than ten, opening to the ocean
only at the bay of San Francisco, its surface so diversified
by fringes of trees along the borders of its streams, and by
the wooded capes and peninsulas which break the uniformity
of its outline, as to present the appearance of a chain ul prairies
of every conceivable size and form. Here, amidst the luxuriant
grasses and native oats which cover its surface, immense
herds of cattle, and wild game, and droves of horses, find
abundant pasturage.

Although most of these prairies are very fertile, my observa-
tion led me to doubt whether they could all be readily and

profitably cultivated. The soil is in many places strongly
impregnated with the muriate of soda, and in others it abounds
with asphaltum, by which it is rendered too compact, especially
during the excessive heats of the dry season, for tillage. The
experiment has been tried on these soils, with fruit trees and
esculent roots, and has repeatedly failed. Thus the apple and
the potato have both been introduced, and to both the prairie
has been found uncongenial, although they both flourish in
the hilly region, and near the seashore. My belief is that
these prairies are the results of ancient volcanic action, in
which respect they do not differ from all the rest of that
territory. But while the conformation of the hilly country, has
aided the efforts of nature, by rains, and dews, and streams
of water, to carry off these salts and other elements which
are unfriendly to vegetation, and hasten the return of fertility
and productiveness, the level pranrie has advanced much more
slowly in the same direction, retaining for ages, in defiance
of the tardy process of leaching and infiltration, vast quantities
of mineral substance, destructive to vegetable life. Without
the aids of agricultural science, centuries more must elapse
before the pure waters of the skies shall wash out from the
soil of the prairie these poisonous relics of that awful con-
vulsion of nature which, in ages far beyond human tradition,
overwhelmed the western shores of our continent. Immediately
along the banks of the rivers by which the prairie is inter-
sected, as if to [49] demonstrate the correctness of my
hypothesis, there is always found a strip of the choicest
alluvion.

The seasons of this country are two — the wet and the dry.
The wet or winter season extends from November to March,
covering about five months of the year. During this period
it rains without cessation for many days or weeks together;
and during the rest of the year the rain seldom or never falls,
and nothing but the heavy dews of the short summer nights
relieves the fiery monotony of those seven long months. By
the abundant waters of the rainy season, immense tracts of

16ft

low prairie land are submerged, and thus for awhile con-
verted into lakes, which gradually subside as the summer
advances, contributing by their stagnant pools and putrid
exhalations to render those lowlands exceedingly unhealthy.
Some travellers, misled by these temporary floods, have spoken
of vast lakes and ponds in the interior of California, instead
of which their astonished successors of the following summer
have discovered only arid plains or sedgy pools and marshes.

I was told that about once in every ten years it happens that
little or no rain falls during the winter season ; and that, in
consequence of this drought, the whole country is dried up,
vegetable life is almost annihilated, and the beasts of the field
perish of thirst and starvation.

Along the coast, where the seabreezes have easy and con-
stant access, the climate throughout the year is salubrious
and delightful, differing in temperature many degrees, during
the dry season, from the prairie lands, which lie beyond
the first range of hills, where the ardor of the sun is mitigated
by no cooling wind. The range of hills shuts out the western
breezes, and the surrounding masses of forest exclude all
other winds, and render ventilation impossible on the prairies,
so that, while the inhabitants of the coast are enjoying all
the delights of a serene and benignant climate, the panting
traveller upon these burning plains is suffering all the dis-
comforts of the torrid zone. In crossing from the prairies
in the latitude of v38 deg. 30 min., during the month of August.
I found that for several successive days the mercury ranged
at 110 deg. (Fahrenheit) in the shade; and sealing wax de-
posited in one of my boxes was converted into an almost
semi-fluid state. At the same time, and in the same parallel,
on the borders of the Pacific, the thermometer seldom ex-
hibited a greater temperature than 75 deg., and in the evening
a fire was frequently essential to comfort.

This difference of temperature is accompanied by a corre-
sponding diversity of healthfulness. The coast is always
healthy; but during the heat of summer the prairies of the
interior are pestilential, and diseases abound.

The principal harbors which I visited on the Pacific coast
of this province (and I speak only of what I actually saw)
are Santa Cruz and San Francisco. The former, about lat.
V deg. north, is open to the sea, and exposed at times to
a tremendous surf. On the northern side of the harbor lies
the small town of Santa Cruz.

San Francisco bay or harbor is very spacious, and furnishes
several safe and convenient havens and roadsteads. It lies
some forty miles north of Santa Cruz. Its entrance, latitude
37 deg. 49 min., is two miles wide, and admits ships of the
largest draught and burden. From its entrance it stretches
twenty miles towards the north, and thirty miles [50] south-
easterly, the southern branch of the bay being sheltered by
a range of high hills. Throughout the bay the anchorage is
safe, so that a more commodious harbor could not be desired.
Excepting one in De Fuca straits, it is considered the best in
Northwestern America. A number of important streams find
an outlet in the harbors above named. Of these, the St.
Joaquin may be particularized. It rises in a large lake near
the 36th deg. north, moves with a deep, slow, and tranquil
current through several hundred miles of prairie, receiving
the tribute of many lesser streams from the mountains on
the east, and at last discharges its transparent waters into the
northerly part of the bay of San Francisco. This tranquil
river must eventually become productive of vast benefit to
California, not merely as a convenient and ready inlet for
commercial purpose, but as a great outlet through which shall
be drained those superfluous waters by which so much of the
prairie is converted into a marsh, and rendered fruitful only
of disease and death. It is indeed a vast canal, constructed by
an Almighty Architect, and destined, I doubt not, in future
ages, to transport the countless products of a mighty empire.

Another river of note is called the Sacrament. Next to the
Columbia it is the largest stream on the western side of the
continent. Its head waters are in the Snowy mountains (of
which I have already spoken), and almost mingle with those

167

of three other mighty rivers — the Colorado, the Rio Del
Norte, and the Columbia. Its tributaries flow also from the
range of mountains which flank the valley of the Colorado.
It empties into the bay of San Francisco, and is navigable
for vessels of small burden to its first fork, about eighty miles
from its mouth. The branches which unite at that point are
both rapid mountain streams ; too rapid for easy navigation,
but admirably adapted to float down to the waters of the
Pacific the valuable timber which covers the mountains where
they rise. The Sacrament, in the rainy season, rises fifteen
or twenty feet, overflows its banks, assumes the appearance
of a succession of lakes, and fertilizes with its alluvion im-
mense tracts of champagne country. Of its numerous branches,
and their countless tributary rivers and rivulets. I need not
here make mention.

I crossed the rapids of the Scarament at what was said to
be its lowest ford, in latitude 39 deg. 35 min. Several of our
horses were borne away by the torrent. The width of the
river at that point exceeded 100 yards, and its depth varied
from two to four feet. The streams west of this crossing
place are said to be full of rapids. The western branch of
the river is nearly equal in size to the eastern; but its tribu-
taries are, however, less copious.

It may be advisable to say something more of the aspect
of this territory.

The Snowy mountains (Sierras Nevadas, as Vasquez named
them in 1540), extending from the Rocky mountains to the
Pacific, are drained by the largest rivers of North America.
From these mountains a spur of rugged hills extends south-
wardly, between the principal branches of the Sacrament, to
that fork of the river of which I have spoken. These hills
are manifestly of volcanic origin, and they might well be named
the "Volcanic ridge." They abound in basaltic and vitrified
stones, scoria, and many other products of volcanic action.
Along their base stretches [51] a beautiful chain of prairies,
for 70 or 80 miles, watered by numerous streams and rivulets.

16S

North of the 39th deg. of latitude, the whole character and
aspect of the country changes suddenly, and decidedly for
the better. At this latitude commences the southerly slope
of the Snowy mountains. The soil upon most of the hills
seems admirably adapted to the growth of forest trees, and
the prairies and pleasant valleys which there abound furnish
the best possible land for farming purposes. Now and then,
however, occurs a hill destitute of vegetation, scattered over
which are to be found dark-colored iron stones, of all shapes,
with sharp edges, resembling clinkers in the arches of a
brick kiln ; and reddish clay and gravel, like pulverized brick.

In this volcanic ridge I found a stratum of earth which
the Mexicans called tepetate, and which forms a sort of cement.
When covered by water, or buried so far below the earth as
to retain moisture, it is so soft as to be easily penetrated by
an iron bar, but it becomes as solid and impenetrable as a
rock on being exposed to the sun or wind.

The prairies in this hilly region are narrow vales, which
stretch like beautiful ribbons along the basis of the high-
lands and the margins of rivers. They are variegated with
an infinite variety, and abundance of vegetable productions, gay
with a thousand blossoms, and fragrant with countless per-
fumes. Among the grasses which, in the month of September,
were in full growth and vigor, I noticed the red clover, wild
rye, wild oats, and a peculiar species of coarse grass, whose
seed furnished the native with their most common article
of food.

The timber trees of this region are numerous and valuable
and deserve some notice.

About the highlands of the Sacrament, I discovered abun-
dance of the ivhite pine. But this species, though of great
size and value, does not compare with the prodigious size and
towering height of the Lambert pine; (pinus Lambertiana) or
pino Colorado. Cabrillo, in 1542, gave the name of "Bahia de
los Pinos" to the harbor of Monterey, undoubtedly with ref-
erence to this splendid species of the coniferee. The dimensions

of the Lambert pine may be inferred from the fact that I
found near Santa Cruz an extensive forest, the full-grown
trees of which, at the height of twenty feet from the ground,
in their diameter, would average from five to six feet. Their
trunks run up like the spars of a ship, without branches, to
a prodigious height. The wood of this pine has the color of
red cedar, as might be inferred from the Spanish name.
(Colorado,) and the rift and softness of white pine. I ex-
amined one of the trees which had been felled, and by its
concentric laminae ascertained its age to be 510 years.

These majestic towers of evergreen continue as far north-
ward as 40 degrees.

There are several kinds of oak. Of these, the most common
is in California called white oak, (encina blanca.) rising to
the average height of forty feet, its trunk measuring from
six to eight feet in girth, with numerous branches, which
grow together with such compactness as to furnish an im-
penetrable retreat to those who seek concealment therein, and
in perfect symmetry of form, like the rounded tops of an
apple orchard ; these oaks present a very pleasing appearance
to the eye.

The live oak (querau virens) is likewise found in great
abundance. [52] It is said to grow only on the highlands;
in this respect differing from the live oak of Florida. It has
a diameter of three or four feet, and an altitude of sixty
or seventy. For solidity, strength, and durability, judging
from specimens in my possession, I deem it equal to any in
the world. This invaluable timber extends northward beyond
the 40th parallel.

But the most lordly species of oak here found is the white
oak, {q. iiavalis.) It abounds on the river banks, and covers
the low hills on the prairies. It not infrequently gives a
diameter of five feet, measured at a height of ten or twelve
feet above the ground, and its branches attain to corresponding
dimensions, and extend a prodigious distance horizontally from
the stem.

170

I mig-ht pursue to much greater length my statements in
regard to this interesting region ; so as to speak of its towns,
villages, missions, population, and of all its natural features
and productions, more fully and minutely. But while I felt
bound to allude, as I have, to the most remarkable facts which
I observed during my travels in High California, I have
avoided going into details, or making statements which my
own inspection has not enabled me to verify. A few words
more concerning the native tribes of California, and I will
pass northward to the Oregon.

Most of the native Indians have perished, or have gone into
the missions about the bay of San Francisco. Many tribes
are utterly extinct ; in places where I was told that, in 1832,
there was a population of a thousand or fifteen hundred souls.
T found sometimes but one hundred, sometimes not more than
fifty, and sometimes none ; and not a vestige of their habita-
tions, save a pile of discolored stones, or a slight depression of
the soil. Pestilence and the wrath of man have combined in
the work of extermination, until, of the ancient owners of this
most interesting territory, very few now occupy its fertile
fields. T do not believe, and I speak after due investigation,
that the whole Indian population between the Colorado and
the Pacific, in 1834, exceeded three thousand souls. But along
the Sacrament and elsewhere, there is abundant evidence that,
in former times, a teeming and crowded population was spread
over that now desolate region.

When I remember the exuberant fertility, tiie exhaustless
natural wealth, the abundant streams and admirable harbors,
and the advantageous shape and position of High California.
I cannot but believe that at no very distant day a swarming
multitude of human beings will again people the solitude, and
that the monuments of civilization will throng along those
streams whose waters now murmur to the desert, and cover
those fertile vales — whose tumuli now record the idolatrous
worship and commemorate the former existence of innumerable
savage generations.

171

OREGON.

I will now present to the committee, in brief, the facts which
I gathered during a residence of five months in the Oregon
territory, and which relate to the aspect, mountains, rivers and
other waters, climate, soil, productions, trade and population
of that country. My inspection having been confined to the
southwesterly portion of Oregon, I shall limit my statements
accordingly.

The eastern section of the district referred to is bordered by
a mountain range, running nearly parallel to the spine of the
Rocky mountains [53] and to the coast, and which, from
the number of its elevated peaks. I am inclined to call the
President's range*

There is a great uniformity of aspect among these peaks.
They all resemble the frustum of a cone, the declivity forming
an angle of from thirty to thirty-five degrees with the hori-
zon. They lift their bold summits several thousand feet from
their mountain bases, are thinly wooded near the bottom, but
from mid-distance upward present their barren sides in the
naked deformity of rock, lava, cinders, or whatever else might
have come glowing, at some former period, from the deep-
caverned volcanic cauldrons below. I did not ascend them ;
but if it be safe to reason on the analogy furnished by the
Mexican peaks, whose summits I did explore, and whose forms
are precisely similar, these elevated summits are the chimneys
of extinct volcanoes, and retain the vestiges of those craters
from which the fiery discharges and eruptions were wont to be
made.

I encamped for some time at the base of Mount Jackson,
and was equally moved by the sublime spectacle of its abrupt
ascent and towering grandeur, and by the beautiful diversity
of its aspect and colors, engirdled as it was below with suc-

*These isolated and remarkable cones, which are now called aniong the hunters
of the Hudson's Bay Company by other names. I have christened after our ex-
Presidents, viz: I. Washington', latitude 46 deg. 15 min.; 2. Adams, latitude 4.S
deg. 10 minutes: 3. Jefferson, latitude 44 deg., 30 min.: 4. Madison, latitude 4.3
deg. 50 min.; 5. Monroe, latitude 43 deg. 20 min.; 6. T. Q. Adams, latitude 4,:
deg. 10 min.; and 7. Jackson, latitude 41 deg. 40 min.

172

cessive belts of forest, shrub and hardy plant, and terminating
aloft in perpetual frost and unbroken desolation. It was my
misfortune at this time to be disabled by ill health, so far as to
be- prevented both from ascending this peak, and from meas-
uring its altitude and fixing its exact latitude.

From the Presidents' range there are two chains of hills
extending to the Pacific ocean; one of them branching off
from the base of J. Q. Adams peak, flanked on the north by
the Umpqua river, and on the south by the Clamet, and ter-
minating on the coast, in latitude , in high bluffs ; and

the other chain running from Adams peak nearly parallel
with the Columbia river, until it reaches the ocean in a lofty
summit, called by Lewis and Clark "Clark's Point of View."

In all these chains of hills, and conical peaks, and isolated
piles, whether springing from the heart of the prairie or clus-
tering amongst the highlands, I feel confident that we dis-
cover unquestionable proof that in former ages this western
portion of our continent was convulsed, rent asunder, and
thrown into wild disorder, by earthquakes and the operation of
subterranean fires.

The first important river in Oregon, on the northerly side
of the Snowy mountains, is the Clamet. It is formed of two
branches, one of which rises in a lake of the same name,
measuring some fifteen or twenty miles over ; the other in
Mount Monroe.

Both these branches are mountain torrents, rushing furiously
over rocky beds to their confluence. After breaking through
a ridge of low rocky hills, some thirty miles from the coast,
the Clamet proceeds in a northwesterly direction, and with a
moderated current to the Pacific.

Next northwardly from the Clamet is the river Umpqua,
very similar in size, character and direction, rapid during
most of its course, but passing through the level country near
its embouchure with slackened speed. [54]

These two rivers are divided, as I have before stated, by
one of the spurs of the Presidents' range. Their margins

173

are finely wooded and timbered, broken into an agreeable
variety of hill and dale, and covered with an excellent soil.
The pine, oak and other timber is very abundant and very
heavy, not only along the main stream of these rivers, but
among all the highlands where they and their tributaries

rise.

The Wallamette, an important branch of the Columbia river,
has its headwaters near the sources of the Umpqua, receives
numerous tributary streams from the Presidents' range, to
which its course runs nearly parallel, and pours its floods into
the Columbia, about eighty miles from the ocean. On its
upper course it is said to be broken into several beautiful cat-
aracts. For the last hundred miles above its junction it tra-
verses a comparatively level and open country ; and. with the
exception of one short portage, is navigable for this whole
distance by boats drawing three or four feet of water. It
penetrates the ridge of hills bordering the southern shore
of the Columbia, and at that place falls over three several
terraces of basaltic rock, making in all a descent of twenty-
five feet. These falls are twenty miles from the Columbia.
Below this point its banks are low, are subject to inundation
in the season of the "freshets" or vernal floods. It has two
mouths, formed by the position of a group of three islands
whose longitudinal extent is sixteen miles, and which, though
lying chiefly in the Columbia, project into the current of the
Wallamette, and divide its waters in the manner described.
This river has been sometimes misnamed the "Multnomah,"
with reference to a tribe of Indians, now extinct, who formerly
occupied the land lying around its northern entrance into the
Columbia.

In beauty of scenery, fertility of .soil, and other natural
advantages, no portion of our country surpasses that which is
found upon the Wallamette. The whole valley of this river
abounds in white oak and other valuable timber. Fringes of
trees grow along the margin of the stream, and back of these
are rich bottom lands or prairie ground of inexhaustible fer-

174

tility, and adorned with all the wealth of vegetation. From
these prairies, which are sometimes a few rods and sometimes
several miles wide, often rise round isolated hills, heavily
wooded, and presenting a lovely contrast to the sea of grass
and flowers from which they spring.

I have now reached the Columbia river. The few statements
which I propose to make concerning this noble stream will
refer to matters which may not come within the knowledge
of the committee from other sources.

I made surveys of the Columbia from the Wallamette to the
ocean, the results of which appear upon the map which I had
the honor to transmit to the committee.

For about 100 miles above its mouth the banks of the Colum-
bia are generally above the reach of inundation. The period-
ical floods begin about the first of May, and subside about
the middle of June ; and of the distance of which I have spoken,
it may be that one-tenth part is reached by the waters.

During all seasons of the year the entrance into the Colum-
bia is both difficult and dangerous. Flats and sand bars
stretch nearly the whole distance between its two headlands,
Point Adams and Cape Hancock ("Disappointment") leaving
only a narrow channel near the point last named. This chan-
nel, however, furnishes at all times more than twenty feet of
water. [55]

From October to April, the prevalence of strong westerly
winds increases the difficulty of threading this channel. The
waves are driven landward with great violence, and break
upon the shoals and bars with tremendous force and deafening-
roar. It sometimes happens, therefore, that vessels are driven
by the force of the waves from the channel, and dashed hope-
lessly upon those treacherous sands.

There are several harbors, formed by the cufvature of the
river banks, which deserve mention.

Of these, Chenook harbor, on the northerly shore, is a spa-
cious bay, directly back of Cape Hancock, having deep sound-
ings and a good bottom, the outer part of which is somewhat
exposed, but within it is sheltered by the cape.

175

Gray's harbor, on the same side of the river, about ten miles
from the cape, is better protected than Chenook, but it is com-
paratively shallow, except for a short distance, where the water
measures three and four fathoms. It must become a great
place for shipbuilding, in consequence of the vicinity of im-
mense quantities of ship timber.

Nearly opposite is Astor harbor, lying a little south of
"Tongue point." Though not wholly defended from the
westerly winds, it is the best of the harbors yet mentioned,
having soundings of from four to seven fathoms, and a muddy
bottom. From Astor harbor to Cape Hancock the direct dis-
tance is eleven miles ; but by the channel it is increased to
something over fourteen.

Directly over against Chenook harbor is Merhcether bay, a
deep opening behind Point Adams, inaccessible to vessels of
large size, by reason of sand bars, but furnishing a secure
anchorage to the smaller craft.

It would be easy to improve the entrance of the Columbia
by cutting a ship channel across a narrow strip of lowland
from Chenook bay to a small but deep harbor which lies north
of Cape Hancock. The distance does not exceed a hundred
rods ; a creek extends nearly across, and the spring flood flows
quite over it. My belief is that, at some former period, the
waters of the Columbia had a free outlet at this place, but that
the gradual deposits of sand and alluvion have choked up the
channel.

So also might a canal be cut at small expense from Chenook
harbor, some thirty miles northwestwardly, to Bulfinch's bay.
by which the navigation would be greatly facilitated. The in-
tervening land invites this enterprise ; for it is not only low and
level, but, for a considerable portion of the distance, ponds
and natural channels of water furnish great facilities to such
a work.

The Columbia is, at all seasons, navigable for ships to the
head of tide water, which is two miles from its outlet. The
brig Convoy, Captain Thompson, in the season of the freshet,
ascended forty miles further to the falls.

The climate of this region is mild, salubrious and healthful.
During the whole winter of 1834-5, settlers on the Columbia
were engaged in ploughing and sowing their lands, and cattle
were grazing on the prairies. One of the factors of the Hud-
son's Bay Company, who cultivated an extensive farm on
the northern bank of the Columbia, informed me that he sowed
one hundred and fifty bushels of wheat during the months of
January and February. I knew of but three falls of snow dur-
ing that winter in the vicinity of the river. These occurred
in February, and neither of them exceeded three inches in
depth. The 28th [56] of February was the coldest day in the
season ; rain fell during the forenoon. It then cleared off
cold and, for a few hours, houses, trees and fields sparkled
in an icy covering.

During the winter, nearly every day witnessed an alternation
of sunshine and rain ; the forenoons being mild and clear, and
the afternoons ending in showers or drizzling rain.

The healthfulness of this country is unquestionable. With
the exception of some few low and swampy spots on the banks
of the Columbia, at and below the junction of the Wallamette.
the whole region of the Columbia enjoys a clear and fine
atmosphere, and an exemption from all the ordinary causes of
endemic disease. It is said that till the year 1830 fever and
ague had not been known. In that year, as I was informed,
the Indians suffered from intermittent fevers. But there was
no reason to attribute this mortality to climate. On the other
hand, it is believed that the excessive filth and slovenly habits
of the inhabitants of the English settlement at Vancouver were
the occasion of the disease. Vancouver itself is situated on a
high, delightful and salubrious spot, and nothing but gross and
unpardonable habits of life could render it unwholesome.

All veritable evidence speaks favorably of the climate of this
beautiful tract of country, and none but ignorant or deceitful
witnesses have ever testified to the contrary.

The valley of the Wallamette is the finest country I ever
saw, whether for the gratification of the eye or the substantial

177

comforts of life, for all the natural elements of wealth or for its
adaptation to the wants and happiness of civilized man. It
declares to the intelligent observer, beyond the power of doubt,
that it is intended to be the habitation of myriads of civilized
and happy men.

So far as I could learn from intelligent and credible wit-
nesses, the country north of the Columbia, to the 54th paral-
lel, possesses nearly the same character which I have described
as belonging to the region which I myself traversed.

The Hudson's Bay Company, who have long occupied this
territory, and endeavored to monopolize the benefits of its
trade, it is believed, possesses greater capital, and employs a
larger number of men in its various departments of service
than any other association, excepting, perhaps, the East India
Company, under the auspices of the British Government.

For nearly twenty years, ever since, in 1821, the Northwest
Company was finally broken up, the Hudson's Bay Company
have exercised an almost unlimited control over the Indian
tribes and the trade of the whole country west of the Rocky
mountains.

It has made great progress in settling that region. In 1834
it had over 2,000 men engaged in trading, farming, mechanical
and commercial operations. Of these individuals, the major
part had taken Indian women to wife, by whom they had
children of all ages, from infancy to manhood. The company
exercises full authority over all, whether Indians, English, or
Americans, who are in its service, and in a manner always
injurious, and generally disastrous, to all others who under-
take to trade or settle in that territory. It may be said in fact
that Americans, except associated with this company, are not
permitted to carry on a traffic within several hundred miles
of the company's posts. I cannot state how long the inland
trade has been cut off. But within the last season, our [57]
merchants, since 1834, have not been allowed to participate in
the lucrative trade and commerce of the northwest coast.
While I was at Vancouver, in that year, the American ship

178

Europa, Captain Allen, of Boston, was on that coast. The
Hudson's Bay Company, in pursuance of their regular policy,
immediately fitted out the brig Llama, and instructed her cap-
tain, McNeil (as he himself informed me), to follow the
Europa from port to port, and harbor to harbor, and drive her
off the coast at any sacrifice, by underselling her, no matter
what her prices, whenever she should open a trade. It has
been declared by Mr. Simpson, who was at the head of the
company's marine, that they were resolved, even at the cost o^
a hundred thousand pounds, to expel the Americans from
traffic on that coast.

I am informed that in November last (1838) the brig
Joseph Peabody, of New York, was fitted and sent out to
attempt once more the northwest fur trade. The voyage is
regarded as an experiment, and her chance of success depends
on her finding the company unprepared for her arrival. So
long as our Government slumbers on her rights, so long must
the enterprise of our citizens, even within our own territorial
limits, even within American sovereignty, be rendered abortive
by the force or fraud of foreign monopolists.

In their intercourse with the Indians, the company are gov-
erned by no higher principle than self-interest, and are fre-
quently guilty of the most arbitrary acts. While I was there,
the company surgeon at Vancouver deliberately seized an
Indian who had been guilty of some indecency, and proceeded
to mutilate his person, and for this wrong, neither the victim
nor his friends dared to ask for redress, or even to make any
complaint.

The number of trading posts in Oregon, belonging to this
company, in 1834, exceeded twenty. They are called "forts,"
but they are mostly regular villages, such as Vancouver,
Wallawallah, Oakenagen, Colville. Neperces, &c. At these
places are seen houses, stores, workshops, traders, farmers,
artisans, herds of cattle, and cultivated farms, waving with
abundant harvests ; in short, every appearance of permanent
and flourishing settlements. Of these farming establishments,

179

futt accounts are already supplied by Mr. Slacum. I will only
add a few facts in regard to this subject. I saw at Vancouver
a large and splendid barn, in which was a thrashing machine
that cost $1,500, and was worked by oxen. Connected with the
same farming establishment I saw also more than 1,000 head
of neat cattle, grazing on the ever-verdant prairie, and flocks
of sheep, swine and horses, and domestic fowls of various
kinds, both in and around the village.

The stocks of grain on that farm exceeded anything of the
kind that I had ever seen in the United States. Twelve thou-
sand bushels of wheat, at a very moderate computation, re-
mained in the sheaf at the time of my leaving Vancouver in
the spring.

Six miles above Vancouver, on the same side of the river,
was a large sawmill, capable of cutting from 20 to 25 thousand
feet of boards per day, throughout the year. It can be readily
inferred that, with this and other such mills, vast havoc would
soon be made in the timber of this region, and the banks of the
rivers and streams be cleared of that which is at once the
most valuable and the most accessible.

The town of Vancouver, as I have stated, stands on a high
and healthy [58] spot. I might, with propriety, dwell for a
moment upon its picturesque and beautiful landscape. Directly
back of the village the ground rises considerably, forming a
kind of "steppe" or plateau, from which the prospect is one of
the loveliest on which my eye ever rested, diversified by all that
is wild, rugged and sublime, in forest and mountain scenery,
or soft and smiling in lowland and meadow, river and plain ;
all that the bounty of nature or the skill of man combined can
furnish to surprise or delight the eye and the taste of the
beholder. In the distance, yet looking as though within reach,
are the snowy peaks of the Rocky mountains, whose frosty
mantle defies the hottest sun of summer. Nearer at hand is
a vast ocean of forest, variegated with every hue known to
the foliage of trees, whether deciduous or evergreen. At your
feet are a thousand appearances of industry, wealth and pros-

19)

perity, and before you are the valleys of both the Wallamette
and Columbia, spreading and winding afar, and almost weary-
ing the eye with countless varieties of aspect and innumerable
forms of loveliness.

Amongst the other forms of industry at Vancouver, ship-
building should not be omitted. There was a shipyard there
in 1834, where several vessels had been built, and where all
the vessels of the Hudson's Bay Company were repaired. The
neighboring forests abound in timber adapted to naval pur-
poses, such as oak, cedar, spruce and firs, of gigantic growth.
There is, in particular, an extensive forest of white oak within
a small distance of the fort.

I found that a canal had been commenced at the falls of
the Wallamette by the company, for the purpose of making the
head of water available for practical purposes — the propulsion
of machinery, &c.

Families who had settled in the valley of the Wallamette
continued under the government and control of the company,
receiving therefrom, on loan, all the stock, stores and imple-
ments of agriculture, in consideration of which they stipulated
that all the marketable products of their farms should be sold
exclusively to the company. Oxen and cows were furnished
in like manner, it being the settled policy of the company not
to kill or sell any cattle until the country should become well
stocked.

All these circumstances indicated a disposition to form per-
manent interests and establishments on the part of this great
association and its members and servants ; and I was assured
that, whatever may be the result of the disputed question of
sovereignty and occupancy, most of the people of this territory
will remain quietly fixed in their residences.

The fisheries of this territory have been comparatively neg-
lected by the company. They might be made immensely pro-
ductive and profitable, for there are several species of fish,
particularly salmon, which swim in countless numbers in the
Columbia and its branches, and are easily taken and prepared

for exportation. Formerly they put up 500 or 1,000 barrels
of salmon per year at Vancouver alone, and a much larger
quantity at Fort Langley.

The trade of the company consists of furs, lumber, flour,
fish, grain and potatoes. The amount of traffic in furs I
have no accurate means of computation; but that it is enor-
mous may be safely inferred from the fact that a single indi-
vidual at Astoria, in 1834, collected more than 1,800 beaver
skins, although that post was nearly deserted.

The furs and peltries are shipped to London. Other exports
find a ready market in California and the Sandwich Islands,
such as fir boards [59] and other lumber, white oak ship tim-
ber, spruce knees and spars, and white ash oars. In return,
the company receives provisions, salt, sugar, molasses, spirits,
&c. They obtain beef cattle from California, at three dollars
per head, and pay for them in lumber, at sixty to one hundred
dollars per M.

Some notion of the amount of lumber exported may be
obtained from the fact that the vessel which bore me from
Oregon to the Sandwich Islands brought out the complement
of a quantity of boards contracted for at the price of twenty
thousand dollars.

The value of flour at the Russian settlements varied from
fifteen to twenty dollars per barrel. In more southerly mar-
kets, salmon were worth twenty dollars per barrel, and sixty
dollars per M was the minimum price of merchantable boards.

I arrived at Vancouver unwell, and was hospitably welcomed
by Mr. McLaughlin, the chief factor. Medical aid was ren-
dered me ; a house in the village was furnished for my use,
and all my physical wants were supplied ; but I was forbidden
to enter the fort. Before I had been long in the country, I
learned that the factor and his agents were preparing, in every
artful way, to render my abode there uncomfortable and unsafe.
The most preposterous calumnies and slanders were set on foot
in regard to my character, conduct and designs. All my move-
ments were watched, and, in some instances, I was threatened

18?

with violence by persons who had been instigated, as I had
reason to beheve, by the company. Had I been willing to place
myself under the direction and control of the company, all
would have been peace; but so long as I was resolved to act
independently, as an American on American soil, seeking
authentic information for general diffusion, and pursuing the
avowed purpose of opening the trade of the territory to gen-
eral competition, and the wealth of the country to general
participation and enjoyment, so long was I an object of dread
and dislike to the grasping monopolists of the Hudson's Bay
Company.

My abode in Oregon was thus rendered very disagreealjle.
The loss of my property on the route had obliged me to vary
my original plans, and limit my enterprise to such an examina-
tion of the country as would enable me to enlighten the Ameri-
can public on my return to the United States. I remained,
therefore, in Oregon no longer than was needful to satisfy
myself on the desired points of inquiry ; and so long as I did
remain, I was treated very much like a prisoner of war,
although not subjected to actual confinement.

When I left the Oregon country, I took passage in the brig
Dryad, Captain Keplin, for the Sandwich Islands.

The petition recently presented to the Senate of the United
States, signed by residents of Oregon, will fortify my views in
regard to the necessity for some degree of protection on the
part of the Government over the people of that territory.

I come now, in conclusion, to say something of the Indians
of Oregon.

This unfortunate race of men, as on the eastern so on the
western coast of America, perish and pass away at the ap-
proach of white men, like those who are swept off by pesti-
lence. By the accounts of voyagers and travellers who visited
Oregon 30 or 40 years ago, it is made evident that the Indian
population was very numerous. But of their hundred tribes,
sovereign or subordinate, including probably one hundred and
fifty thousand souls, but a small fraction now remains. [60]

In 1804, within 100 miles upward from the mouth of the
Columbia, there were no less than eig'ht Indian tribes, with
an average population of nearly a thousand persons to each
tribe. In 1834 nothing- remained but the remnants of these
tribes, including less than four hundred Indians. Two-thirds
of all the tribes ever known in Oregon are utterly extinct, and
the names of them are scarcely remembered.

The Multnomahs, who formerly occupied the Wappatoo
islands, and the country around the mouth of the Wallamette.
and who numbered 3,000 souls, are all dead, and their villages
reduced to desolation. The once numerous Clatsops have lost
their national existence, the few who survive seeking a shelter
amongst the Chenooks, who are also reduced to less than one-
fourth of their former numbers.

All the remaining Indians below Vancouver live in the most
brutal, sottish and degraded manner, addicted to the grossest
intemperance, and associating with the whites in such manner
that there can scarcely be found among them a full-blooded
Indian child. Rum and other intoxicating liquors are used as
the besom of destruction among the miserable victims of the
white man's cruelty. While I was on board one of the com-
pany's vessels, at the mouth of the Columbia, I saw the captain
dealing out rum by the bucket to the chief of the Chenooks, in
return for wild game. I saw the chief, with his family of eight
persons, intoxicated on the shore.

Such has been the result of the intercourse between the
untutored children of the wild and the inhabitants of civilized
and Christian communities.

In concluding this imperfect letter, I ought, in justice to
myself, to state that it was not disappointment in regard to
the natural advantages of Oregon which prevented my form-
ing a permanent connexion with that region ; but I was im-
pelled by a determination to do all in my power, by constant
effort in the United States, to lead our Government to extend
over Oregon that paternal care which alone is needed to render
it the very nucleus of emigration, and the most attractive
portion of our national domain.

184

Lb 0 18

Having, by the hardships and exposures of a lonely and long
continued adventure of life, been deprived in a great degree of
the use of my eyes, my health broken down, and my constitu-
tion shattered, I have, of course, since my return, found my
exertions restricted and impaired, but by no means terminated.
It is consoling to me, in the midst of poverty and suffering, to
believe that my fellow-citizens and my country are at last
beginning to appreciate the value of the objects and measures
for which I have sacrificed my possessions, my health, and
the best portion of my life. It is also a matter of congratu-
lation to me that some of those whom my persuasion induced
to emigrate to Oregon have there found prosperous settle-
ments, and are now asking Congress to accept them and pro-
tect them as citizens ; and that I have, therefore, been instru-
mental in planting the seed of American empire in a soil where
it shall take root and spring up and flourish like the luxuriant
productions there scattered by the bounty of nature.

I have the honor to be, dear sir, yours, with the highest con-
sideration and respect. Hall J. Kelley.

Hon. Caleb Cushing. [61]

185

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