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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6d7b7c6 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #55969 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/55969) diff --git a/old/55969-0.txt b/old/55969-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 96c8d99..0000000 --- a/old/55969-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3727 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Quarterly of the Oregon Historical -Society (Vol. I, No. 2), by Various - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: The Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society (Vol. I, No. 2) - -Author: Various - -Release Date: November 14, 2017 [EBook #55969] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY *** - - - - -Produced by Larry B. Harrison and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was -produced from images made available by the HathiTrust -Digital Library.) - - - - - - - - - - THE QUARTERLY - OF THE - OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY. - - VOLUME I] JUNE, 1900 [NUMBER 2 - - - - -CONTENTS - - - THE OREGON QUESTION—_Joseph R. Wilson_ 111 - - OUR PUBLIC LAND SYSTEM AND ITS RELATION TO EDUCATION IN THE - UNITED STATES—_Frances F. Victor_ 132 - - GLIMPSES OF LIFE IN EARLY OREGON—_Mrs. William Markland - Molson_ 158 - - NOT MARJORAM.—THE SPANISH WORD "OREGANO" NOT THE ORIGINAL - OF OREGON—_H. W. Scott_ 165 - - REMINISCENCES OF LOUIS LABONTE—_H. S. Lyman_ 169 - - DR. ELLIOTT COUES—_Frances F. Victor_ 189 - - DOCUMENT.—A Narrative of Events In Early Oregon ascribed to - Dr. John McLoughlin 193 - - REVIEWS OF BOOKS.—"McLoughlin and Old Oregon"—_Eva Emery Dye_ 207 - "Missionary History of the Pacific Northwest"—_H. K. Hines, - D. D._ 210 - - NOTE.—A Correction 212 - - - PRICE: THIRTY-FIVE CENTS PER MONTH, ONE DOLLAR PER YEAR - - Entered at the Post Office at Portland, Oregon, as second-class matter - May 5, 1900. - - - - -THE OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY - -ORGANIZED DECEMBER 17, 1898 - - - H. W. SCOTT PRESIDENT - C. B. BELLINGER VICE-PRESIDENT - F. G. YOUNG SECRETARY - CHARLES E. LADD TREASURER - - GEORGE H. HIMES, Assistant Secretary. - - -DIRECTORS - - THE GOVERNOR OF OREGON, _ex officio_. - - THE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, _ex officio_. - - Term Expires at Annual Meeting in December, 1900, - H. W. SCOTT, MRS. HARRIET K. McARTHUR. - - Term Expires at Annual Meeting in December, 1901, - F. G. YOUNG, L. B. COX. - - Term Expires at Annual Meeting in December, 1902, - JAMES R. ROBERTSON, JOSEPH R. WILSON. - - Term Expires at Annual Meeting in December, 1903, - C. B. BELLINGER, MRS. MARIA L. MYRICK. - - - _The Quarterly_ is sent free to all members of the Society. The - annual dues are two dollars. The fee for life membership is - twenty-five dollars. - - Contributions to _The Quarterly_ and correspondence relative to - historical materials, or pertaining to the affairs of this Society, - should be addressed to - - F. G. YOUNG, - _Secretary_. - - EUGENE, OREGON. - - Subscriptions for _The Quarterly_, or for the other publications of - the Society, should be sent to - - GEORGE H. HIMES, - _Assistant Secretary_. - - CITY HALL, PORTLAND, OREGON. - - - - - VOLUME I.] JUNE, 1900. [NUMBER 2. - - -THE QUARTERLY - -OF THE - -OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY. - - - - -THE OREGON QUESTION. - - -I. - -Ascending the Columbia River to the junction of its two main branches, -and each of these branches in turn to its source, a point is reached to -the north well toward the fifty-fifth degree of latitude, and another -point to the south not far from the forty-first degree. Lines drawn -through these two points directly west to the Pacific Ocean would -divide the Pacific Coast of North America approximately into three -great historic divisions. Previous to the year 1792, the coast north -of the fifty-fifth degree had been explored and in some sort settled -by Russia, and the sovereignty of Russia over it recognized; the part -south of the forty-first degree had been explored and settled by Spain, -and the sovereignty of it had been conceded to Spain; the middle part -of the coast having been explored by both Spain and Britain, but -settled by neither, the sovereignty of this was yet in abeyance. If the -lines supposed to be drawn from the utmost north and south sources of -the Columbia to the Pacific now be extended eastward to the crest of -the Rocky Mountains, the territory included between these two lines, -the Pacific Ocean and the crest-line of the Rocky Mountains, will -embrace the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, with a considerable -part of the states of California, Wyoming, and Montana, together with -the greater part of British Columbia. It is the settlement of the -question of sovereignty over the region thus roughly defined that is -the subject of this paper. - -During almost the whole period when its sovereignty was in question -this region was commonly known in this country and in Europe as -Oregon, the Oregon Country, or the Oregon Territory, and the question -of its sovereignty as the Oregon Question. The country took its name -from a legendary name of the river that defines it, a name given the -river even before it had been seen by any white man. For many years -previous to 1792 the existence of such a river in this region had been -conjectured by explorers along the coast from signs they had observed -in an indentation in the coast line, and by explorers in the interior -from reports of such a river that reached them through native tribes -supposed to dwell near its sources. It is to Jonathan Carver, a native -of Connecticut, that we owe, as it is still thought, the name Oregon. -In his journal of travels in the regions of the Upper Mississippi he -speaks of four great rivers, flowing in as many directions, which -took their rise, as he had heard from native tribes, somewhere in -the mountains to the west. One of these was, as Carver writes in his -journal, "the river Oregon, or the River of the West, which falls into -the Pacific Ocean." Already, in Carver's day, and before the time of -his travels, maps had appeared with a river marked in the region of -what is now the Columbia, which bore the name, among others, of the -River of the West, or the Great River of the West. Whether Carver -thought of this river as the river of his tradition cannot now be -known, but it is certain that the name which he heard or invented came -before long to be attached to this river for a time at least, and for -all time to the region defined by the river. - -At the beginning of the year 1792, the United States had no claim -to the region of the Oregon, but by an event of this year they were -destined to become one of the chief parties to the question of its -sovereignty. This year Capt. Robert Gray, of Boston, was for the second -time on the coast, trading and exploring, under sanction of congress. -At some time during his previous voyage, or in the earlier part of -his second voyage, while sailing close in shore, Gray had discovered -in a bay or indentation of the coast in latitude 46° 10´ what seemed -to him to be the mouth of a large river. Under this impression, he -had remained in the neighborhood nine days, making repeated attempts -to cross the bar and effect an entrance. But every attempt had been -without avail, on account of the violence of the breakers which reached -across the opening; he had been obliged to relinquish the attempt and -sail away, unable at this time to verify his discovery. - -Captain Gray had spent the winter of 1791-92 in Clyoquot Sound, on -the west coast of Vancouver Island, with his ship Columbia. Resuming -his voyage in the spring, and sailing southward, on the morning of -April 28, in latitude 47° 37´, he fell in with Captain Vancouver, at -anchor off Destruction Island. In answer to Vancouver's inquiries as -to what discoveries he had made, Gray reported to him his discovery in -latitude 46° 10´ of what he took to be the mouth of a large river. This -Vancouver recognized as the Deception Bay of Captain Meares, which he -had himself passed and examined on the morning of Friday, April 27, -scarcely twenty-four hours before. Of his observations in this bay -Vancouver had at this time made this record: "The sea now changed -from its natural to river-colored water; the probable consequence of -some streams falling into the bay, or into the ocean to the north of -it through the low land. Not considering this opening worthy of more -attention, I continued our pursuits to the northwest, being desirous -to embrace the advantages of the now favorable breeze and pleasant -weather, so favorable to our examination of the coast." Vancouver's -estimate as here given of the importance of this opening is confirmed -by an entry in his journal Monday, April 30, two days after meeting -with Gray. After parting from Vancouver, who continued his course to -the north, Gray sailed on along shore southward, stopping here and -there to examine the coast or trade with the natives, but evidently -keeping in mind the bay which he had taken to be the mouth of a river. -In the log-book of the Columbia, for May 11, there is this entry: "At -4 A. M., saw the entrance of our desired port bearing east-south-east, -distance six leagues; in steering sails, and hauled our wind in shore. -At 8 A. M., being a little to windward of the entrance to the harbor, -bore away, and run in east-north-east, between the breakers. * * * When -we were over the bar we found this to be a large river of fresh water, -up which we steered." - -Captain Gray remained in this river for nine days, during which time he -explored it to a distance of thirty miles from the mouth. After filling -the ship's casks with fresh water from the river, on May 20 he sailed -out over the bar, having first given to the river his ship's name, the -Columbia, which name the river has since borne. - -From the mouth of the Columbia Gray sailed northward, and a few days -later, having suffered some injury to his ship, put into Nootka Bay -for repairs. Here he found Quadra, the Spanish commandant, to whom he -communicated his discovery, and gave a chart of the mouth of the river. -This title of Gray to be regarded as the discoverer of the Columbia -River was then, by this immediate publication of the discovery, made -secure, and it has never been successfully questioned. The existence -of such a river had long before been conjectured; others, before Gray, -sailing along the coast had remarked the same indentation, had noted -its latitude, and observed signs of fresh water issuing from it; but it -remained for Gray to surmount the obstacles to entrance and actually to -sail in and cast anchor in the river. - -It was this discovery of the Columbia River by Robert Gray, a citizen -of the United States, sailing under the American flag, and with the -sanction of congress, that first gave the United States a claim to -the Oregon region. It was not, however, to be the only ground of that -claim. Some years before the discovery of the Columbia by Gray, an -exploration of the Oregon region had been projected by Americans. The -project seems to have originated with Jefferson, and may be regarded -as a fitting prelude to the later achievement by his administration -of the Louisiana Purchase. In the year 1786, six years before Gray's -discovery, while Minister to France, Jefferson became acquainted -with John Ledyard, of Connecticut, who had been with Captain Cook in -his last voyage in the Pacific, and who as corporal of marines had -gained some reputation for enterprise and daring. Ledyard had come to -Paris in search of an opportunity to engage in the fur trade of the -Pacific, and, failing in this, was ready to enlist in almost any other -enterprise of daring. Jefferson suggested to him the exploration of -the northwest region of America. The plan was, as Jefferson himself -gives it, that Ledyard "go by land to Kamchatka, cross in Russian -vessels to Nootka Sound, fall down into the latitude of the Missouri, -and penetrate to and through that to the United States." Jefferson's -proposal was accepted by Ledyard, and steps were at once taken to -secure from the Empress of Russia permission for him to cross her -dominions. Failing to secure permission of the Empress, she being -absent from her capital in a distant part of her dominions, Ledyard, -impatient of longer delay, set out on his own responsibility, and got -to within two hundred miles of Kamchatka, when he was arrested by an -order of the Empress and taken back to Poland, where he was released. -"Thus failed," writes Jefferson, "the first attempt to explore the -western part of our Northern Continent." - -The attempt failed, but Jefferson's interest in the exploration of this -region did not die with it. Of a second attempt some years later he -writes: "In 1792, I proposed to the American Philosophical Society that -we should set on foot a subscription to engage some competent person to -explore that region in an opposite direction—that is, by ascending the -Missouri, crossing the Stony Mountains, and descending the nearest river -to the Pacific." This plan too was attempted, but the seriousness of the -projector's purpose was severely tried by the delay of years in raising -the necessary funds. When at last, under the leadership of Captain -Meriwether Lewis, later of the Lewis and Clark expedition, the explorers -were well started on the way, the expedition failed through an order of -the French minister recalling the botanist of the expedition, who was a -citizen of France. "Thus failed," writes Jefferson again, "the second -attempt to explore the Northern Pacific region." - -Jefferson's interest in the exploration of the Northwest did not die -with the failure of this second attempt. Delay in raising the necessary -funds for the expedition had brought the setting out of the explorers -down to the eve of an event that placed Jefferson in a position to -further such an enterprise to a successful issue, and of another event -which was to furnish a new motive to its undertaking. Early in the -year 1801, when Jefferson had but just taken his seat as President, -Rufus King, Minister of the United States to England, wrote to Madison, -Secretary of State, that the opinion at that time prevailed both at -Paris and at London that Spain had ceded Louisiana and the Floridas to -France. Immediately on receipt of this information Madison wrote to -Pinckney, American Minister to Spain, advising him of the rumor, and of -the President's urgent wish that he make the whole subject the object -of early and vigilant inquiries. Instructions to the same effect were -given later to Robert R. Livingston on his departure as Minister to -France. After more than a year of persistent inquiry on the part of -both ministers it was ascertained that Louisiana had been transferred -to France, and that the transfer probably included the Floridas. -Uncertainty on the latter point, as we now know, arose from the -uncertainty of the governments of France and Spain as to the limits of -Louisiana. Meanwhile the government at Washington pressed its ministers -at both courts to use every effort to secure to the United States the -Floridas and New Orleans, with the Mississippi as our western boundary, -and the free navigation of the river to its mouth. Events of the latter -part of the year 1802, and especially the Spanish intendant's order -excluding the United States from New Orleans as a place of deposit, -together with France's open preparations for the occupation and -colonization of New Orleans and Lower Louisiana, made the President yet -more urgent in pressing for this end. So far, Jefferson's thought seems -not to have gone beyond the limits of Madison's dispatch to Pinckney -of May 11 of that year, "that every effort and address be employed to -obtain the arrangement by which the territory on the east side of the -Mississippi, including New Orleans, may be ceded to the United States, -and the Mississippi be made a common boundary." The sentiment of the -Atlantic States was at this time strongly averse to the extension of -our territory west of the Mississippi River, and there is nothing -in the government's dispatches up to the close of the year 1802 to -indicate that Jefferson did not share in this sentiment. But there is -that in Jefferson's action shortly after this that shows him to have -been singularly open-minded to the suggestion of events, and to have -been prompt to prepare to avail himself of whatever the rapid movement -of events might offer of advantage to his government. - -In October of this year, 1802, in a conversation with Livingston -concerning Louisiana and the Floridas, Joseph Bonaparte put the -question to Livingston pointedly whether the United States preferred -the Floridas to Louisiana. Coming from this source, the question was -felt by Livingston to have significance. Though he shrank from the -thought of such an extension of our territory as the purchase of -Louisiana would involve, he promptly communicated the substance of -the conversation to the government at home, in a letter addressed to -the President in person. This letter dated Paris, October 28, was -due in Washington about the first of January. On the eleventh of -January Jefferson sent a message to the Senate nominating "Robert -R. Livingston to be Minister Plenipotentiary, and James Monroe to -be Minister Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, with full powers to -both jointly, or to either on the death of the other, to enter into a -treaty or convention with the First Consul of France for the purpose -of enlarging and more effectually securing our rights and interests in -the River Mississippi and the territories eastward thereof." Since the -possession of these territories was understood to be still in Spain, -Pinckney and Monroe were nominated with like powers to enter into a -treaty with Spain to the same end. The words with which Jefferson -prefaced this nomination of Monroe as Minister Extraordinary are worthy -of note in this connection, and in view of what presently emerged in -the negotiations in Paris. "While my confidence," writes Jefferson, -"in our Minister Plenipotentiary at Paris is entire and undiminished, -I still think that these objects might be promoted by joining with him -a person sent from hence directly carrying with him the feelings and -sentiments of the nation excited on the late occurrence, impressed by -full communications of all the views we entertain on this interesting -subject, and thus prepared to meet and to improve to an useful result -the counter propositions of the other contracting party, whatsoever -form their interests may give to them, and to secure to us the ultimate -accomplishment of our object." - -Whether Jefferson had in mind when he wrote these words any such -"counter proposition" as was afterward actually made, we do not -certainly know, but if he had had such in mind he could hardly have -better provided for its prompt improvement to a useful result. -Meanwhile events in Europe were shaping the suggestion of Joseph -Bonaparte into a formal proposition from the First Consul. The renewal -of hostilities between France and England was now imminent. In the -event of war it was manifest to Napoleon that he would be unable to -hold Louisiana against the sea power of England. Rather than that this -valuable possession should fall into the hands of his enemy he resolved -to sell it, if possible, to the United States, and thus win back the -nation which his policy of colonization had well-nigh alienated, and -at the same time recruit his depleted treasury. Negotiations to this -end were already begun when Monroe arrived in Paris, and were continued -after his arrival with scarcely a halt to their successful and -memorable issue. - -A third scheme of Jefferson's for the exploration of the northwestern -region of the continent was coincident with these latter steps that -led to the purchase of Louisiana. The message nominating Monroe as -Minister Extraordinary was sent to the senate, January 11, 1803. -January 18, Jefferson, taking occasion of the expiration of the term -of an act establishing trading houses with the Indian tribes, writes -to the senate on the subject of its renewal. In the course of the -message, having touched upon the fact that the maintenance of such -trading houses by the government deprived certain of our citizens of -a lucrative trade, he suggests for the senate's consideration whether -the government might not rightly do something to encourage such -persons to extend their trade in the regions beyond the Mississippi, -then proceeds to outline a plan for the exploration of a trade-route -up the waters of the Missouri and through to the Western Ocean. "The -interests of commerce," he urges, "place the principal object within -the constitutional powers and care of congress, and that it should -incidentally advance the geographical knowledge of our own continent -cannot but be an additional gratification. The nation claiming the -territory, regarding this as a literary pursuit, which it is in the -habit of permitting within its dominions, would not be disposed to view -it with jealousy, even if the expiring state of its interests there did -not render it a matter of indifference. The appropriation of $2,500 -'for the purpose of extending the external commerce of the United -States,' while understood and considered by the executive as giving -the legislative sanction, would cover the undertaking from notice and -prevent the obstructions which interested individuals might otherwise -previously prepare in its way." - -Thus skillfully did Jefferson in a confidential message, as a matter -incidental to the main purpose of the message, put before the senate -a well reasoned scheme for the exploration of the territory for the -purchase of which ministers already appointed were soon to negotiate. -One can hardly read this message and weigh its carefully worded terms -in the light of what was already in the knowledge of the President, -without its awakening more than a suspicion that the possibility of -the purchase of Louisiana by the United States was distinctly present -to Jefferson's mind as he wrote, if it did not indeed lend urgency to -his argument. It is worthy of note, at any rate, that the measures -for the carrying out of this proposed scheme of exploration of the -territory kept pace with the progress of the negotiations for its -purchase, and quite outran the business of its transfer; for while the -transfer of Louisiana was not consummated until December of that year, -the commander of the expedition had been selected and commissioned, -and the expedition organized as early as midsummer. Thus closely -joined in time, if not otherwise intimately connected, were these two -measures of Jefferson's earlier administration, the Louisiana purchase -and the Lewis and Clark exploration. The promptness, energy, and -efficiency with which the exploration was carried out under the able -and courageous leadership of the man placed in charge, were altogether -worthy of its distinguished projector. The two stand together, the -purchase and the exploration, as worthy counterparts in what must -forever be regarded as one of the most daring yet at the same time -farsighted projects of statesmanship in American history. - -These two measures have been dwelt upon thus at length because of their -material importance to the ultimate settlement of the Oregon Question. -The purchase of Louisiana brought the territory of the United States at -the crest of the Rocky Mountains in contiguity with the Oregon region -through seven degrees of latitude, while the Lewis and Clark expedition -explored a continuous route from the Mississippi River to the Pacific -Ocean, through the very center and by the central artery of the region -in question. These two events together made the second ground of our -claim to the region of the Oregon. Furthermore, they made possible -for the first time that movement of population across our border into -this adjacent and unoccupied territory which by the law of nations was -essential to the validity of our title,—that immigration of American -families upon which, in spite of every earlier attempt at settlement, -the final settlement of the question of sovereignty was destined to wait. - -Louisiana had been purchased by the United States from France, or, -rather, from the First Consul, who at the time embodied in himself the -government of France. Spain, however, though by a convention three -years before the sale having agreed to retrocede the territory to -France, had remained in possession almost to the day of its transfer to -our government, so that possession of the territory virtually passed -to the United States immediately from Spain. The transfer left Spain -still with possessions within the present boundaries of the United -States of vast extent and of immense value. East of the Mississippi -were the Floridas, and west of that river was a great region extending -from the ill-defined western boundary of Louisiana westward to the -Pacific. These were conceded possessions of Spain. Besides, Spain was -a claimant, on the grounds of discovery and exploration, of the Oregon -country. - -Spain had long claimed exclusive sovereignty over this region, with -the right to forbid the encroachment of other nations, on the ground -that it belonged to that region allotted to her by the bull of Pope -Alexander VI. England had never recognized Spain's claim to exclusive -sovereignty based upon papal authority, but had asserted her right to -settle upon any lands included within the limits prescribed by the -papal bull, even if discovered by Spain, if, after a reasonable time -allowed for settlement had passed, such lands remained unoccupied. This -attitude of England's appeared in her policy as early as the reign of -Elizabeth; it appears in the Queen's reply to the Spanish ambassador -on occasion of his remonstrance against the expedition of Drake, "that -she did not understand why either her subjects, or those of any other -European prince, should be debarred from traffic in the Indies; that -as she did not acknowledge the Spaniards to have any title by donation -of the Bishop of Rome, so she knew no right they had to any places -other than those they were in actual possession of; for that their -having touched only here and there upon a coast, and given names to -a few rivers or capes, were such insignificant things as could in no -way entitle them to a propriety further than in the parts where they -actually settled, and continued to inhabit." This principle, thus early -enunciated, of actual settlement as essential to ultimate validity of -title, is important to note, not only for its bearing against Spanish -pretensions at this time, but because of its ultimate and decisive -effect as against England herself in the settlement of the Oregon -question. The same principle emerged again in 1770, in the affair of -the Falkland Islands, and again still more distinctly ten years later -in the Nootka Convention. The point at issue in each of these cases was -that Britain claimed the right to make settlement upon a part of the -American coast claimed by Spain but remaining unoccupied by her, while -Spain denied this right and asserted her exclusive sovereignty over -all such places. In order to give effect to this claim of exclusive -sovereignty over the Northwest Coast of America, Spain had, within -a few years previous to the Nootka Convention, given orders that the -coasts of Spanish America should be more frequently navigated and -explored, and, in view of the recent encroachment of navigators and -traders of other nations in those parts, her "general orders and -instructions were, not to permit any settlements to be made by other -nations on the continent of Spanish America." It was in carrying out -these orders that the Spanish Commandant Martinez, in the summer -of 1789, finding two British vessels in Nootka Sound, attempting a -settlement there, captured the vessels and broke up the settlement. - -In the course of the negotiations that followed on this act of Spain's, -the full extent of the Spanish claims appeared. As given by Count -Nunyez, Spanish Ambassador at Paris, to M. de Montmorin, Secretary of -the Foreign Department of France, June 1, 1790, it was claimed, "that, -by treaties, demarkations, taking of possessions, and the most decided -acts of sovereignty exercised by the Spaniards in those stations from -the reign of Charles II, and authorized by that monarch in 1692, all -the coast to the north of Western America, on the side of the South -Sea, as far as beyond what is called Prince William's Sound, which is -in the sixty-first degree, is acknowledged to belong exclusively to -Spain." Not feeling sufficiently strong in herself to enforce this -claim, and unable to secure the support of allies, Spain yielded this -pretension so far as to make, July 24, 1790, a declaration to Great -Britain in which the King of Spain engaged to make full restitution of -all British vessels which were captured at Nootka, and to indemnify the -parties interested in those vessels for the losses which they should -be found to have sustained. "It being understood," the declaration -concluded, "that this declaration is not to preclude or prejudice -the ulterior discussion of any right which His Majesty may claim to -form an exclusive establishment at the port of Nootka." The same -day the British Minister at Madrid presented a counter declaration -accepting the declaration of the Spanish King as offering "full and -entire satisfaction" for the injury complained of, in which counter -declaration, however, it was added at the same time "that it is to -be understood that neither the said declaration, nor the acceptance -thereof in the name of the King, is to preclude or prejudice, in any -respect, the rights which His Majesty may claim to any establishment -which his subjects may have formed, or should be desirous of forming -in the future, at the said Bay of Nootka." The exchange of this -declaration and counter declaration in July was followed in October -of the same year by the conclusion of the Nootka Convention between -Spain and Great Britain. The third article of this convention is: -"And in order to strengthen the bonds of friendship, and to preserve -in future a perfect harmony and good understanding between the two -contracting parties, it is agreed that their respective subjects shall -not be disturbed or molested, either in navigating or carrying on their -fisheries in the Pacific Ocean, or in the South Seas, or in landing -on the coast of those seas, in places not already occupied, for the -purpose of carrying on their commerce with the natives of the country, -or of making settlements there; the whole subject, nevertheless, to the -restrictions and provisions specified in the following articles." - -After all the restrictions of the later articles of this treaty are -taken into view Britain may be regarded as having maintained her -main contention: That she had a right to any establishment which her -subjects might have formed, or shall be desirous of forming in future, -in any unoccupied places on the islands or the coasts of the Pacific -Ocean. The restrictions still left this clear, at least in respect -to the Oregon region. In so far as Britain succeeded in maintaining -in this convention this claim to the right of settlement, in so far -was Spain's claim to absolute sovereignty to this region practically -modified and limited. Unless Spain speedily made good her reserved -right of sovereignty by actual occupation of the region in question, -she must consent henceforth to hold her right of settlement as limited -by a similar right now conceded to Britain. It is at this point in -history, at the Nootka Convention, that the Oregon Question takes -definite form: Whose shall the territory be? Shall it be Spain's? or -shall it be Britain's? or shall it be divided between the two? - -The story has already been told of the entrance of the United States -into the question as a third claimant, through Gray's discovery, the -Louisiana Purchase, and the Lewis and Clark expedition. The story of -how the United States succeeded to the modified claim of Spain to the -Oregon region belongs to the sequel of the Louisiana Purchase. The -purchase of Louisiana left the United States with a group of intricate -and delicate questions to settle with Spain, and with Spain in no -mood for a speedy and amicable settlement. The transfer of Louisiana -had not carried with it a clear definition of its boundaries. This -was in part true of its boundary on the east, and especially true -of its western boundary. Almost immediately on the transfer of the -territory negotiations were begun with Spain on questions arising out -of the transfer, or intimately connected with it. Two main objects -of the negotiations on the part of the United States were, to secure -from Spain, by purchase or otherwise, the cession of her remaining -possessions east of the Mississippi, and the settlement of the boundary -of Louisiana to the west. Any question in respect to the Oregon -country seems not at first to have been present to the thought of -either party. Negotiations were begun in 1804, and were continued, -with intervals of interruption, until February 22, 1819, when, by a -convention of that date, the Floridas were ceded by Spain to the United -States, and a boundary line west of the Mississippi agreed upon. This -western boundary line, after striking latitude 42° near the supposed -source of the Arkansas River, was to run west on this parallel to the -Pacific Ocean. Article III of this convention, after particularly -describing this line, concludes: "The two high contracting parties -agree to cede and renounce all their rights, claims, and pretensions -to the territories described by said line: That is to say, the United -States hereby cede to his Catholic Majesty, and renounce forever -all their rights, claims, and pretensions to the territories lying -west and south of the above described line; and, in like manner, his -Catholic Majesty cedes to the United States all his rights, claims, -and pretensions to any territories east and north of the said line; -and for himself, his heirs, and successors renounces all claim to the -said territories forever." Thus the Florida treaty, though making no -mention of the Oregon Territory, incidentally carried with it the -final delimitation of that territory on the south, and the transfer to -the United States of the Spanish claim to Oregon. By this treaty the -earliest claimant to the Oregon Territory ceased longer to be a party -to the question of its sovereignty. - -The question of sovereignty was not left to Great Britain and the -United States alone, on the withdrawal of Spain. More than two decades -before, Russia had entered this region with an assertion of her right -to make settlement on unoccupied territory, and recently had grown -somewhat imperious in the tone of her assertion of that right. This -intrusion of Russia followed close upon the Nootka Convention, and was -the logical consequence of the principle for which Great Britain had -secured recognition in that convention. It will be remembered that -Great Britain did not base her right to make, and to have restored to -her, the Nootka settlement so much on priority in discovery of the -region in which the settlement was made, as on the broader principle of -her right to settle in any place by whomsoever discovered, which after -a reasonable time she might find unoccupied. This principle could not -be valid for England alone, and Russia was not long in discovering its -wider validity. After England's previous assertion of this principle, -in the affair of the Falkland Islands, Spain had taken alarm, and had -sent explorers along the Northwest Coast with the intention of making -good her claim to it by the northward extension of her settlements. In -like manner Russia now began to extend her claim into new territory -by availing herself of this same principle. The grant of Emperor Paul -I to the Russian American Company in 1799 gave the company exclusive -possession from latitude 55° northward to the Arctic Sea, with the -right to extend their settlements south of 55°, if they did not thereby -encroach on territories occupied by other powers. In the spring of 1808 -the Russian government opened a correspondence with the government -of the United States in relation to what Russia was pleased to term -the illicit traffic of American traders with the natives inhabiting -Russian territories. It appeared in the course of this correspondence -that Russia claimed the coast at this time as far south as the Columbia -River. The right to make settlements, or at least to establish trading -posts, it seems she did not confine to this southern limit, for in -1816, a Russian trading post was established as far south as latitude -38°, in Northern California. - -In this later and more aggressive policy of extending her claims -southward, Russia is thought to have been influenced by the publication -in Paris in 1808 of Humboldt's Political Essay on New Spain, in which -such a destiny for Russia had been hinted at. However this may have -been, it is certain that the accounts of Humboldt's travels were -eagerly read by the Russian Emperor, and an increased boldness and -aggressiveness are observable in Russian policy after the publication -of this work. - -The extreme of Russia's pretensions in the matter of extension of -territory was reached in 1810, when the subject of the encroachment of -American traders was brought again to the attention of our government. -Mr. Adams, American Minister at St. Petersburg, in reply to the -Russian Minister, suggested that, since it did not appear how far -the Russians stretched their claim southward along the coast, it was -desirable that some latitude be fixed as the limit, and that it should -be advanced as little southward as might be. The answer of Russia -was, that the Russian-American Company claimed the whole coast of -America on the Pacific, and the adjacent islands, from Bering's Strait -southward toward and beyond the mouth of the Columbia River. With this -declaration of Russia's claim negotiations were broken off, and were -not resumed until September, 1821, when Emperor Alexander issued a -ukase, in which he declared all the Northwest Coast of America north of -latitude 51° exclusively Russian, and warned all other nations against -intrusion within those limits. The extent of the territory claimed in -this imperial ukase was less than that of the territory claimed by -Russia in 1810, and in particular the extent of the claim was not so -great southward. Several events had occurred since 1810 to limit the -extent of Russia's claim, though scarcely to modify the imperiousness -of her tone. To this intervening period belong the settlement at -Astoria of the Pacific Fur Company in 1811, the exploration of the -Upper Columbia the same year by David Thompson, an agent of the -Northwest Company, with a view to the extension of the posts of his -company far to the westward; the purchase two years later by the -Northwest Company of the establishment of the Pacific Fur Company at -Astoria, and its transfer a few days later to the British flag with -the change of name to Fort George; the surrender of the fort in 1818 -in accordance with the terms of the treaty of Ghent; the extension -westward of the Hudson's Bay Company into this region, and its union in -1821 with its rival, the Northwest Company; and finally the extension -over the settlements of the united companies, by an act of parliament -in the same year, of the jurisdiction of the courts of Upper Canada. - -These events had so changed the aspect of affairs on the Columbia at -the time of the Russian Emperor's decree in 1821 as to leave him no -alternative but to resort to the middle line, and drawing a line midway -between the Anglo-American settlement at the mouth of the Columbia and -the southernmost Russian settlement to the north of that river, to stand -for a southern boundary for his possessions at the fifty-first parallel. - -This decree, though it withdrew the line of territory claimed thus -far northward, was yet offensive in tone and arbitrary in many of the -regulations it sought to enforce against the citizens of other nations. -Besides, it still encroached upon territory claimed by both Britain -and the United States. Both England and America protested, and opened, -each in her own behalf, negotiations with Russia which resulted in -establishing in 1824 the line of 54° 40´ as the boundary between the -territories claimed by Russia and those claimed by America, and in the -following year the same line, with modifications to the east, as the -boundary between the claims of Russia and those of Britain. These two -conventions may be regarded as the final acts in the delimitation of -the Oregon Territory. - - JOSEPH R. WILSON. - - - (_To be continued._) - - - - -OUR PUBLIC LAND SYSTEM AND ITS - -RELATION TO EDUCATION IN - -THE UNITED STATES. - - -Local historians seem inclined to overlook some of the most interesting -subjects included under the general term of history. One of these is -the origin of land titles. I do not propose in this article, limited -as to space, to do more than indicate by slight touches the growth of -land titles on the earth, and the steps by which we as a nation became -endowed with the ownership of land in parcels large or small. Further, -the object of this brief review is to fix in the mind of the student of -history, and especially of Oregon history, the connection between land -and educational privileges in his state. - -By way of introduction I would put forth the proposition, by no means -original, that God-made things are eternal, and belong to the children -of men equally and forever. Such is man himself. There can be no human -ownership of men except that of brotherhood. The dominion of man -over all other life is for his use only. He cannot claim collective -ownership of any particular genus or species, but only individual -ownership by conquest. Of the great divisions of inanimate nature, -earth, air, and water, individual man cannot own more than he uses, -because they belong equally to all men, and to all living things. For -the needs of these they were created, without preference for races or -single representatives of races. - -Men in their primordial condition blindly recognized this principle -as to the earth, and for thousands of years did not become owners of -land in severalty. Divided into tribes they contended with each other -for the possession of certain countries because they were born there, -or because it held the graves of their fathers. To "sleep with their -fathers," or to continue to breathe the air which had borne abroad over -the land the sacred ashes of their ancestors was with them a religion. -The same earth furnished pasturage for the animals upon whose milk -and flesh they subsisted, and nourished the fruits they found most -agreeable. Hence they contended for its use against the covetousness of -other tribes. The long and persistent war carried on by the descendants -of Abraham to regain the land which held his burial place is an example -of the ancient sentiment of ownership in land, a sentiment which we -honor most highly under the name of patriotism. Metes and bounds could -not be closely observed in a pastoral country, neither could they -in a wooded one where game furnished the chief subsistence of the -inhabitants. Everything depended upon the strength and valor of the -predatory and the resisting tribes, and the division of lands acquired -in war was settled, as in this world most things still are settled, by -the most active securing to themselves the most desirable places. - -The common desire to save from invasion the country of their birth, -and the necessity of captains in war, led to chieftainship, and -chieftainship led to the accumulation of such wealth as the conquered -lands afforded, whether in flocks and herds, in other subsistence, -or in such personal property as the subjugated nation possessed. War -makes a people nomadic in their habits. The young and the strong were -trained to fight, the feebler remained in such homes as they were able -to maintain in a state of continual dread of the enemy. The cultivation -of the ground at this stage of civilization was as uncertain as it was -unscientific. To the majority the land could have only a sentimental -value; to the higher classes it was a source of income through the -enforced labor of the enslaved class by whose toil they were enabled to -pay their military taxes to petty Kings. - -Continental Europe was at this stage of development centuries after -the Christian era, and England long after the crusades. It was in the -eleventh century that the Norman conqueror, William, having fixed -himself upon the English throne, in order to secure the military tax in -its entirety, caused the lands held by the feudal lords to be surveyed, -and a description of them recorded in his Domesday Book. Hitherto lands -were held under grants from barons or lords; but the Conqueror claimed -that, as the representative of the people, he, and he only, could give -a legal title to land, thus indirectly recognizing its ownership by the -people. Under William, all land owners, great and small, were known as -"the King's men," a policy which made the feudal lords his supporters. -In return for their support he gave them offices. An office presupposed -property, and property insured office. The first social effect of this -was to lower men hitherto free, although in time it tended to raise -the condition of the slave class to that of freemen by removing the -distinction between these two classes. But it left a peasantry attached -to the soil with no voice in its disposal. A law of primogeniture -prevented the division of the great estates conferred upon "the King's -men," who could neither sell nor give away their landed property. - -How much of the colonizing spirit of Englishmen is due to this -exclusive occupation of England by a class, we might very naturally -inquire. But that is aside from the subject under consideration. It was -my intention to point out that the land system of the United States is -directly descended from the practice of William the Conqueror, whose -policy of binding the most active and influential men of the Kingdom to -his throne by gifts of land was imitated by his successors down to the -period when English subjects began to colonize America.[1] - -At the time when Englishmen made this important movement, Spain and -France had already laid claim to extensive tracts of country lying -upon the great rivers debouching into the Gulf of Mexico in a southern -latitude, and into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in a northern latitude, -which ultimately became possessions of the United States, either by -purchase or treaty, after our war of independence. Between these two -indefinite boundaries the English colonies were located. Wherever the -Englishman went he carried his loyalty to his King and his country's -laws. His presence on the soil of Virginia made it English soil, -conveying to it the sovereignty of England, and the King's right to -confirm to him whatever he had already taken, provided both of them -together could hold it against the native occupants. [2]The grants -from James and Charles I were described in terms more imaginative than -accurate, the "South Sea," or Pacific Ocean, being the western limit -of some of the earliest charters. But when the thirteen commonwealths -on the Atlantic Coast asserted their right and ability to govern -themselves, proving it by the arbitrament of the sword, and securing -a treaty of peace with the mother country, such discoveries had been -made, and so many remained to be made, that it was thought expedient to -adopt the apparently natural boundaries of the United States, namely, -the Saint Lawrence and Great Lakes on the north, the Mississippi on the -west, the Spanish possessions in Florida on the south, and the Atlantic -Ocean on the east. - -In 1779, three years after the declaration of independence, and four -years before the treaty of peace, the American Congress recommended -to the several states in the union to make liberal cessions of their -respective claims for the common benefit of the union, including the -state making the cession. Thus early did our government assert the -principle that the lands not held by occupancy belonged to the people -for their use. The people on their side were quite willing to assist -the union, burdened as it was with the debt of the revolutionary war, -and other claims. But the unsettled boundaries of the several states -made it a matter of some difficulty to convey land to the government -in definite measure, some of the older grants, like Massachusetts and -Connecticut, extending "from sea to sea." Disputes had arisen between -the colonies over their boundaries, as when the Dutch had established -New Netherlands on the Hudson River, cutting in two the grant of -Connecticut. It was not until 1733 that the boundary of New York -(formerly New Netherlands), was settled, and Connecticut still claimed -the lands west of New York. From Maine to Georgia there were boundaries -to be settled. - -New York was the first to respond to the suggestion of congress, in -1781, by ceding all her title to lands west of a line drawn north and -south twenty miles west of Niagara River, without conditions. Virginia -followed, and on March 1, 1784, conveyed her territory west of the Ohio -River to the United States. Massachusetts, in 1785, also renounced -her claim, unconditionally, to any lands west of the Hudson River. -Connecticut, in 1786, ceded to the United States all the lands claimed -by her west of a north and south line drawn one hundred and twenty-five -miles west of the western boundary of Pennsylvania. - -Virginia's first charter having been withdrawn, the second, dated in -1609, gave this colony all the territory for two hundred miles north -and south of Point Comfort, on the Atlantic Coast, and westward to -the "South Sea," or Pacific Ocean, with all islands lying within one -hundred miles of either coast. The extension westward only to the -Mississippi of the northern line of Virginia, by the Treaty of Peace, -left nearly half of that state on the northwest side of the Ohio -River. This territory Virginia, in 1783, offered to cede to the United -States, upon condition that it should be divided into states of not -less than one hundred nor more than one hundred and fifty miles square, -"or as near thereto as circumstances will admit, and that the states -so formed shall be distinct republican states, and admitted members -of the federal union, having the same rights of sovereignty, freedom, -and independence as the other states."[3] The expenses incurred by -Virginia "in subduing British posts, or in maintaining forts and -garrisons within or for the defense, or in acquiring any part of the -territory so ceded or relinquished" should be fully reimbursed by the -United States. The French and Canadian inhabitants, and other settlers -who had professed themselves to be citizens of Virginia, were to have -their possessions confirmed to them, and be protected in the enjoyment -of their rights and liberties. A quantity of land, not exceeding -one hundred and fifty thousand acres, was required to be granted "to -General George Rogers Clarke and the officers and soldiers of his -regiment, who marched with him when the post of Kaskaskia and Saint -Vincent were reduced, and to the officers and soldiers that have been -since incorporated into the said regiment," to be laid off in one -tract in such shape as the officers should choose. Also, in case the -land reserved by law on the southeast side of the Ohio River for the -bounties of the Virginia troops should prove insufficient or of poor -quality, then the deficiency should be made up from the lands on the -northwest side of that river. All the land within the ceded territory, -not reserved or appropriated to the purposes named, was to be a common -fund for the use and benefit of such of the United States as had -become, or should become, members of the confederation, "according to -their respective proportions, in the general charge and expenditure." - -In July, 1786, congress recommended to Virginia to revise her act of -cession so far as to empower the United States to divide the territory -northwest of the Ohio River into not more than five nor less than three -states, as the situation of that country and the circumstances might -require, which states were to become in the future members of the -federal union. - -In September of the same year, Connecticut ceded to the union the lands -she still claimed west of the State of New York, known as the Western -Reserve, extending one hundred and twenty miles west of the western -boundary of Pennsylvania. In accepting the gift congress required a -deed relinquishing the jurisdictional claim of Connecticut to the -Western Reserve to be deposited with the deed of cession in the office -of the Department of State of the United States; and provided that -nothing contained in the deed of cession should involve the government -in the dispute between Pennsylvania and Connecticut which had been -settled in the federal court. Neither should anything contained in the -deed pledge the United States to extinguish the Indian title to the -ceded lands. All of this being agreed to, the Western Reserve was added -to the Northwest Territory. On the other hand the "military tract" was -reserved, and even added to, but did not become United States donation -lands. They were considered as Virginia's bounty to the men who had -defended and preserved the country. The jurisdiction, however, was in -the general government. - -In 1787 South Carolina ceded unconditionally such land as she laid -claim to between the mountain range by which her territory was -traversed, and the Mississippi River. In 1790 North Carolina made her -cession similarly, except that neither the lands nor the inhabitants -west of the mountains should be "estimated" for the expenses of the -Revolutionary War; that soldiers should receive the bounty lands -promised them; that certain entries already made might be changed; that -the ceded territory should be formed into a state or states, with all -the privileges set forth in the ordinance of the late congress for the -government of the Western Territory of the United States; _provided_, -always, that no regulations made, or to be made, by congress should -tend to emancipate slaves. The inhabitants of the ceded territory -were to be liable to pay their proportion of the United States debt, -and the arrears of the debt of North Carolina to the Union. The laws -of this state should be in force in the territory until repealed or -altered, and nonresident proprietors should not be taxed higher than -residents.[4] - -For various reasons Georgia was not ready to renounce any territory -claimed by her before 1798, and the deed of cession was not made until -1802. Georgia, like North Carolina, desired to have the state formed -from her territory enjoy the privileges granted to the Northwest -Territory by the ordinance of 1787. Out of the lands relinquished -to the general government by the states south of the Ohio, and the -territory subsequently acquired by treaty and purchase from France and -Spain, were formed, in the early part of the nineteenth century, the -several territories afterwards admitted as states with the rights and -privileges guaranteed in the compact between the United States and the -people of the Northwest Territory. - -Hitherto I have sketched the political history of the lands of the -United States with the object only of pointing out the change that -had occurred in men's ideas of natural rights in the soil. They had -also progressed greatly in their understanding of political rights. -The struggle of the American colonies to achieve independence had -served as an object lesson of immense importance even to the colonies -themselves, and they were prepared to guard their new-found freedom -with a jealous care. Next to the Declaration of Independence in justice -and dignity stands the compact entered into between the people and -congress in giving and accepting the territory first ceded by the -original states to the United States, and known as the Ordinance of -Seventeen Eighty-Seven. By this ordinance the people of the Northwest -Territory were assured that no person demeaning himself in a peaceable -and orderly manner, should ever be molested on account of his mode of -worship, or religious sentiments. The people should always be entitled -to the benefits of the writ of _habeas corpus_, and trial by jury; -of proportionate representation in the legislature, and of judicial -proceedings according to the course of common law. All persons should -be bailable, except for capital offenses, the proof of which was -evident, or the presumption great. All fines should be moderate, and -no cruel or unusual punishments inflicted. No man should be deprived -of his liberty but by the judgment of his peers, or the law of the -land. No man's property should be taken for the public service without -full compensation. Religion, morality and knowledge, being necessary -to good government, and the public happiness, schools and the means of -education should be forever encouraged. The utmost good faith should -always be observed towards the Indians. Their lands and property should -never be taken away from them without their consent, nor their rights -and liberty invaded except in lawful war, but laws for their protection -should be enacted. There should be neither slavery nor involuntary -servitude in the territory, otherwise than for the punishment of crimes -whereof the person should have been duly convicted.[5] - -Comparing this noble framework of the new state with the laws and -the restrictions imposed upon the colonies from their beginning, our -admiration cannot be withheld. But it is to its effect in furnishing -the means of education to the whole people that attention is here -directed. Schools and education were "forever to be encouraged." -It is true that under the colonial system a few colleges had been -established. Six years after the settlement of Massachusetts, Harvard -College was founded. Virginia and Connecticut were equally in haste to -provide educational advantages for their young men; but it was only the -sons of clergymen and the best families who in those early days found -admittance. Humble people had to be content if they could read, write, -and cipher; and rules of grammar, with the sciences, were beyond their -ambition. - -In 1785, two years only after our independence was secured, and six -years after the congress of the states had suggested to the several -commonwealths the propriety of contracting their boundaries in order -to enable the United States to clear themselves of debt, and to be -possessed of a public domain, when only New York, Massachusetts, and -Virginia had ceded any territory, an ordinance was passed providing for -the survey of these lands, and the uses to which they should be put. -One seventh part was to be drafted for "the late Continental army," and -the remainder allotted among the states. The only reservations made -were for the officers and soldiers entitled to bounties from the lands -of Virginia; four lots in each township for the United States, and "lot -No. 16 of every township for the maintenance of public schools within -the said township; also one-third part of all gold, silver, lead, and -copper mines to be sold or otherwise disposed of as congress shall -hereafter direct."[6] - -As the other states made their contributions to the public domain, -changes were made in the appropriation of land for educational -purposes, but without affecting the reservation first determined upon -of one thirty-sixth part of all the government lands for school -purposes. As our land system developed, and states were parceled -off one after another, the propositions offered to them more and -more contained large donations for schools of different grades. The -proposition to the State of Ohio, and the appropriations actually made -in 1803, named the sixteenth section in every township in that part of -the territory purchased of the Indians; the thirty-sixth part of the -United States Military Tract; fourteen townships in the Connecticut -Reserve; one thirty-sixth part in the Virginia Military Tract, and -also one thirty-sixth part of all the United States lands in the State -of Ohio to which the Indian title had not yet been extinguished, to -be purchased of the Indians, to consist of the sixteenth section in -each township. One entire township in the District of Cincinnati was -offered for the establishment of an academy. John Cleve Symmes and his -associates, who had purchased a tract in Ohio supposed to contain one -million acres, received from congress, in addition, one entire township -"for the purpose of establishing an academy and other public schools -and seminaries of learning." - -When the public lands in Louisiana were offered for sale there was -excepted "section number 16 in every township, and a tract reserved -for a seminary of learning." When Tennessee relinquished her claims -to certain lands, the state was required to appropriate one hundred -thousand acres in one tract for the use of two colleges, one to be -located in East and one in West Tennessee. Another hundred thousand -acres was to be appropriated for the use of an academy in each county -in the state, the land not to be sold for less than $2 per acre; and -the state should, in issuing grants and perfecting titles, locate one -section in every township for the use of schools for the instruction -of children forever. Mississippi was required to reserve section 16 in -each township for the support of schools within the same, "with the -exception of thirty-six sections, to be located in one body by the -Secretary of the Treasury, for the use of Jefferson College." Other -grants were made for religious purposes, and for military services. -Lewis and Clark, for their services in exploring the continent to the -Pacific, received land warrants calling for one thousand six hundred -acres of land each, and the men who accompanied them three hundred -and twenty each, to be located on any of the public lands offered for -sale west of the Mississippi. None of these donations could be made -except by the consent of the representatives of the people in congress -assembled. Thus our government set out with the highest ideal then -possible of community rights in land. If since then we have gambled -away our common heritage, or sold it to non-resident speculators, we -have in so far departed from that ideal. - -The largeness of the subject prohibits any attempt to furnish a history -of the land laws of the United States in a single article. It is in -fact the history of this nation. Our land system settled the country -from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It drew to us all the nations of the -earth; it gave them homes, and educated their children; it was "Liberty -enlightening the world." But just because the government was so rich -in lands, it grew careless, speculative, even profligate. It lavished -soil enough to make several states upon corporations without honor, -forgetting that it was only the trustee of the people, whose consent -had never directly been asked. It sold to adventurers, who never -intended to make homes, immense tracts contiguous to watercourses, from -which the buyers excluded citizens of the United States. It winked at -the wrongful acts of its agents in selecting swamp and overflowed -lands, and mineral lands. One thing it never did, however; it never -permitted the school lands to deteriorate in value, but when the legal -sections fell upon worthless ground, lieu lands were permitted to be -selected from any unappropriated good land most contiguous.[7] - - * * * * * - -In the first quarter century of the republic there was added to its -public lands, by treaty and purchase, the Floridas and all the vast -region known as the Louisiana Territory, reaching north to the British -Possessions and west to the Rocky Mountains. One of our navigators had -discovered the mouth of the mythical Oregon River, and a party of our -explorers had discovered the headwaters of the same, following its -course to the sea. An American fur company had erected a fort near the -mouth of the river, which it lost, first through the treachery of the -British members of the company and a second time by the fortunes of -war, and finally recovered through the victory of our arms on the high -seas. These were wonderful achievements for a nation in its infancy. -But the people were prosperous and satisfied, pressing undauntedly -forward, and filling up the new states. The secret of the prosperity -and content was the equal distribution of land, at a price within the -reach of any, and the reservation in all the townships for common -schools. - -We claimed by right of discovery and first occupation, the Oregon -Territory. Great Britain disputed our claim with enough show of -rights to furnish some ground for the contention. Neither government -was prepared to go to war over it, and for nearly thirty years after -the convention of 1818 by which a joint occupancy was agreed upon, a -perpetual irritation was kept up between the two countries through -the determination of the western pioneers to stretch their boundaries -to the Pacific, taking the land surveyor along with them. In 1846 the -question was finally settled, and not unjustly. - -The pioneers who for several years had been toilsomely journeying -across two thousand miles of wilderness to reach the Land of Promise, -now looked for immediate congressional action to be taken which should -give them formally the territorial rights and privileges conferred by -the Ordinance of 1787. But in this they were disappointed. That same -ordinance, it was, which delayed the organization of a territorial -government, the people of Oregon having expressly petitioned to be -organized under it in the same manner as the Northwestern States. The -opposition to their petition came from the representatives and senators -of the slave states, who saw in the rapid increase of northern free -states a loss of the balance of power in congress, and the threatened -destruction of slavery, or of the Union. The struggle had been begun a -quarter of a century earlier, when by a compromise between the north -and south, Missouri had been admitted as a slave state under a compact -that no more slave states should be organized north of the parallel of -36° 30´. - -The prospect of a large body of free states being formed above that -line, extending even to the Pacific, was one to which southern senators -opposed their most skilled diplomacy, their object being to gain time, -by statecraft or otherwise, to extend slave territory westward at -an equal rate. But the friends of Oregon in congress, who cared not -overmuch about the question of slavery or of free soil, were touched -by the fidelity to the government of the United States of the Oregon -settlers, and anxious to have them rewarded as congress had, year -after year, proposed to do—by liberal donations of land. The Linn -bill had done its work in populating the Wallamet Valley, and the -population of this valley had determined the title to the country. So -much was granted. Thomas H. Benton had written his congratulations on -the settlement of the boundary, and promised the early organization of -the territory under the most favorable conditions. President Polk had -spoken most flatteringly of the loyalty and patriotism of the pioneers. -Stephen A. Douglas had drawn up a bill containing everything for which -the pioneers had ever asked, and something more. That something more -was the thirty-sixth section of land in every township for school -purposes, in addition to the sixteenth. - -I am aware that there are some writers who represent that this addition -to school land was a special favor to Oregon; and at least one Oregon -man who claimed to have secured it by his personal efforts.[8] But -the records of congress disprove such pretensions. It was sometimes -objected in congress that the new states were receiving too much -land gratuitously.[9] In a speech on this subject by Woodbridge, of -Michigan, delivered April 29, 1846, that gentleman said: "Now, a -very great error prevails on this subject. It is a common opinion, -I believe, that the school lands, amounting, as the gentleman from -Connecticut says, in some instances, to an enormous amount, are -gratuitously conveyed to the new states. Sir, I do not so read my books -at all. There is no gratuity about it! This appropriation of section -sixteen was made in order to secure an accelerated sale of your wild -lands. I do not say that there were not other and higher motives, but -this was one, and an efficient one. * * * You published to the world -your terms of sale. You pledged your faith to all who should buy land -of you in any surveyed township, that one thirty-sixth part of it, -namely, section number sixteen, should forever afterwards be applied -toward the support of schools. * * * It is true that you afterwards -affected to transfer these school lands to the states; but what passed -by that transfer? Nothing, sir, but the naked title only, subject -always to the use, and I am not prepared to admit the competency of -your doing even that." So there were in congress, in 1846, men who -contended that the western people, and not the government which had -solemnly renounced it, held the right to the educational reservations -in the public lands from the beginning. - -In August, 1846, a bill being before congress to enable Wisconsin to -form a state government, it passed through the usual routine, and was -reported from the territorial committee by Douglas, February 9, 1847. -On the fifteenth, the question of engrossing the bill was about being -put, when John A. Rockwell of Connecticut, moved to amend by adding -the following: "And be it further enacted, That in addition to section -numbered sixteen, section numbered thirty-six, in each township of -the public lands of the United States in said state, not heretofore -otherwise disposed of, be, and the same is hereby appropriated to -the support of education in the said state." Certain conditions were -attached, which need not be here quoted, as the amendment failed.[10] - -That it failed was not owing to any strong opposition so much as to the -fact of its not being incorporated in the original bill. Congressmen -and senators have to be urged somewhat to make changes by which their -districts gain nothing. Rockwell's amendment was crowded out by other -business concerning the disposition of the public lands then claiming -attention. - -Nothing in the circumstances of the case goes to show that Mr. Rockwell -was the first to propose the additional school section. The Wisconsin -and the Oregon bills were in the hands of the same committee of the -house, and at the same time. Yet the Douglas bill contained the two -school sections in every township, and the Wisconsin bill did not. The -Douglas bill passed in the house and was sent to the senate in January, -1847, whereas the Wisconsin bill was not reported until February, which -gives Mr. Douglas precedence in proposing the change to congress. The -question might arise why, since he was chairman of the committee which -presented both bills, he withheld the additional section from one and -gave it to the other. Did he wish to show favor, or seem to do so, to -Oregon, as a reward for her long and loyal waiting? It might well be -so, and probably was so. - -But Oregon was not receiving a special gift in the appropriation -of her school lands, as some suppose. In November, 1846, James H. -Piper, Acting Commissioner of the General Land Office, made a report -to Robert J. Walker, Secretary of the Treasury, "on the expediency -of making further provision for the support of common schools in -the land states."[11] The Secretary, in his report to the house of -representatives, referring to the proposed donations of land to -settlers in and immigrants to Oregon, recommended, also, "the grant of -a school section in the center of every quarter of a township, which -would bring the school house within a point not exceeding a mile and -a half in distance from the most remote inhabitant of such quarter -township."[12] In his report for 1847-48 the Secretary of the Treasury -again referred to this subject as follows: "Congress to some extent -adopted this recommendation, by granting two school sections instead -of one, for education in Oregon;[13] but it is respectfully suggested -that even thus extended the grant is still inadequate in amount, while -the location is inconvenient."[14] - -William M. Gwin, Senator from California, remarking on the transfer of -the public lands from the Treasury Department to the Department of the -Interior in 1849, says: "When a territorial government was established -over Oregon, some able men contended for four sections for each -township, and they succeeded in getting two," and quotes from Walker's -report.[15] He also referred, in a speech before the State Convention -of California in 1850, to Piper and Walker as authors of the movement -to increase the amount of school land in the new states. Although not -important in themselves, these facts are interesting. It is a pleasure -to the properly constituted mind to know to whom to give credits. It -is also a satisfaction to remove from history falsehoods, whether -deliberate or accidental, which blind our vision as to the verity of -so-called history.[16] - -As a matter of fact, from 1803 to 1848, in each of the twelve -territories organized from the public lands, the sixteenth section -in every township was reserved for school purposes, Oregon being the -first to receive the addition of the thirty-sixth. There has been no -fixed rule of appropriation, much depending upon the people and their -representatives. In 1812, and again in 1824 congress ordered a survey -of certain towns and villages in Missouri, reserving for the use of -schools one-twentieth part of the whole survey. When sold these town -reservations produced large sums, as in the case of St. Louis. Down to -1880 seven states and eight territories had received the thirty-sixth -section in each township. Twenty-four states had received two townships -each for the use of universities. Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota and -Florida had taken more. Previous to 1882 the appropriation of land -for common schools in the land states aggregated sixty-seven million -eight hundred and ninety-three thousand nine hundred and nineteen -acres; for university purposes, one million six hundred and fifty -thousand five hundred and twenty acres; for agricultural and mechanical -colleges, nine million six hundred thousand acres—a total of -seventy-nine million one hundred and forty-four thousand four hundred -and thirty-nine acres devoted to the support of education in the United -States. - -From time to time it has been necessary to make changes in the land -laws, as when the discovery of mineral lands, reserved by congress -called for the substitution of lieu lands, but there has been no -diminution in quantity or value. - -Oregon has less vacant or public land than from its area might be -expected. The bounty of government in donating to the pioneer settlers -six hundred and forty acres to a family—three hundred and twenty -to the husband, and the same amount to the wife—and to single men -and women three hundred and twenty each, provided they lived upon or -improved their claims, disposed of most of the cultivable area west of -the Cascade Range. The school lands which passed with the territorial -act occupied two thirty-sixths of every township. The act of admission -passed to the state the usual endowment of five hundred thousand -acres for its public uses,[17] with twelve salt springs and six -sections adjoining each; ninety thousand acres for the endowment of an -agricultural college, and seventy-two sections for the use and support -of a state university. Subsequent grants to railroads and public -highways, with military and Indian reservations, absorbed large bodies -of land, both in the valleys and the mountains. The state devoted the -net proceeds, with the accruing interest of the five hundred thousand -acres, as an irreducible fund for the support of common schools, and -for the purchase of libraries and apparatus.[18] It also added to this -fund all gifts to the state whose purpose was not named. - -The actual quantity of land allowed by congress to Oregon for common -school purposes is three million two hundred and fifty thousand acres, -at a minimum price per acre of $1.25, the management of the income -being left to a board, of which the Governor is one. I am informed by -the clerk of this board that the fund now amounts to $3,000,000, which -is securely invested at ten per cent. - -In 1850 congress passed a swamp land act, the intention of which -was to enable the states subject to overflow by the Mississippi, to -construct levees, and drain overflowed lands. The law was subsequently -extended to other states. Oregon, however, had no rivers requiring -levees, nor any swamp lands. This fact did not prevent beaver-dam -lands, the most valuable in the state, from being taken up as swamp -lands. The scandal attached also the meadow lands about lakes in the -interior, and even to lands included in Indian reservation lands. Nor -is congress quite guiltless in this respect, since it has recklessly -granted principalities in the public soil to aid enterprises designed -by private companies for their own benefit, these grants being obtained -by representations, wholly unfounded, of the public utility in the -undertaking.[19] The hand of the lobbyist is visible in these matters, -while suspicion attaches to both state and national legislators, who -too frequently have other than the people's interest at heart. - -The vacant public lands of the United States are still nine hundred -and eighty thousand three hundred and thirty-seven square miles -in extent, or one-third of our total area, exclusive of Alaska. -Indian reservations and forest reservations together occupy five and -forty-three hundredths per cent. The State of Texas comprises eight and -eighty-three hundredths per cent. of the area of the United States, and -owns all the public lands within its borders. Thus there remains open -to settlement the vacant one-third, exclusive of Alaska, Texas, and -the Islands. Almost all of the vacant lands are west of the Missouri -River, and include much that is of but little present value to the -agriculturist from its aridity. Yet not one rod of it is valueless -in the eyes of the political economist. Forests and mines are as -necessary to advanced civilization as grain fields and orchards. But -even were this not true, the earth needs waste places where pure air -and pure water are generated to be furnished to the lower plains. Men -will gradually accustom themselves to deserts, and will cause them to -blossom like the rose. Wherever they go, the foundation of a home is -awaiting them, and the common school is provided for their children. It -is thus we are educating the nations. - -It can hardly be superfluous to revert to the obligation of the general -government and the individual state to remember and guard the people's -rights in the public domain. A wastefulness which tends to contract -free acreage beyond the convenient demands of settlement and use, is to -deprive the nation of strength and elasticity. When we have no longer -anything to offer the coming generations, it will be a pity if they -come. The power of the great land owner over the man who has inherited -nothing, and is too poor to purchase at the landlords' prices, will be, -to all intents and purposes, the same which the landlords of Europe -exercise over the peasant classes there. The ladder by which our people -have climbed to happy heights of prosperity will be withdrawn, and the -poor man will have become the slave of the rich man. It is doubtful if -the universal intelligence which we are at so much pains to cultivate -will be, in such circumstances, an unmixed blessing, since the -enlightened mind has requirements which are not felt by the ignorant, -the absence of which inflicts pain, and frequently leads to crime. - - FRANCES F. VICTOR. - -[Footnote 1: The lands not held as private estates in Great Britain -were known as the "Crown lands," the revenue from which was the income -of the sovereign. This continued down to the accession of George III. -This custom continued down to Victoria, who, renouncing the crown -lands, accepted for herself and her children a fixed sum annually, but -this annuity does not descend to her grandchildren.] - -[Footnote 2: The history of the early voyages, and of the immigration -to America of different nationalities, including the Dutch, is too -familiar to be repeated here, and a period of nearly three hundred -years, from 1497 to 1783, is passed over. With independence, the -American states received an inheritance of which they hardly understood -the value at the time, except for its political importance.] - -[Footnote 3: It would seem from this demand of Virginia that this state -assumed to lay claim to all the Northwest Territory. However, it could -make no difference, since the other states had ceded whatever rights -they had, except to strengthen the title of the general government.] - -[Footnote 4: There is much that is confusing and contradictory in the -act of North Carolina, as in the reference to the ordinance of 1787, -and the clause forbidding the passage by congress of an act tending to -emancipate slaves.] - -[Footnote 5: The Constitution of the Provisional Government of Oregon -was formed on the ordinance of 1787, and the above extract is taken, -somewhat abbreviated, from Articles I, II, III and IV of that document. -When the organic act of Oregon Territory was framed by congress, it -was agreed that the laws already in operation in Oregon should be -recognized as the laws of the territory. The adoption of the ordinance -of 1787 as their Constitution by the pioneers of the state, was due to -the statesmanship of Jesse Applegate, one of the "men of 1843." Its -author was Nathan Dane, LL. D., of Massachusetts, member of congress in -1787.] - -[Footnote 6: Subsequently the reservation of gold, silver, and copper -mines was discontinued, and lead mines and salt springs substituted. -The income from these sources at that period would have been greater -than from other mines. But no change was ever made from 1785 to the -present date in the grant of the sixteenth section for school purposes.] - -[Footnote 7: A great deal of unwise criticism has been declaimed and -written upon the government's dealings with the Indians in the matter -of their reservations. But human wisdom has seldom been able, however -sincere the endeavor, to bridge over with peace the gulf between -savagery and civilization. The United States began by binding the -government in the ordinance of 1787 to "observe the utmost good faith -towards the Indians." During the first ten years of its existence, -treaties were made with half a hundred tribes. It was declared a -misdemeanor, punishable by fine and imprisonment, for any persons, not -acting for the government, to treat with, or purchase lands from an -Indian nation—an inhibition meant to prevent trouble with the natives, -as well as frauds against the government. But Indian wars were not -prevented, and continue to this day. The United States has supported an -army to defend its citizens against savage outbreaks. Every congress -appropriates large sums for the support of its Indian wards, and for -their education. According to recent reports, the Indians of New -Mexico cost the government, in 1897, for each pupil in the Indian -schools, $167, or a lump sum of $41,750, over and above the pay of the -superintendent, and other expenses. The Indian school at Salem, Oregon, -for the same year, cost the treasury $50,100, and the support of the -establishment, $71,700. The Indian reservations, including Indian -Territory, comprise four and forty-three hundredths per cent. of our -public lands, exclusive of Alaska. The whole Indian population of the -United States is officially stated at two hundred and ninety-seven -thousand. Of these forty-two thousand five hundred and ninety-seven can -read; over fifty-three thousand can converse in English. The government -has built for them twenty-six thousand three hundred and eighty-nine -dwelling houses, besides schoolhouses, and there are three hundred and -forty-eight churches on the reservations. Religious and other societies -have contributed large amounts for school and church purposes. The -money collected in 1899 for the instruction and advancement of "the -nation's wards" was $261,515; for general church work, $119,407. New -York this year contributed for an Indian school in that state $16,016. -The senate bill this present year for an Indian school at Riverside, -California, proposed to appropriate $75,000. Another Indian school -at Perris, California, gets $167 per pupil for one hundred and fifty -pupils. The whole appropriation for the support and education of -Indians in 1900 is $8,414,000. At this rate is the nation still paying -for its public lands.] - -[Footnote 8: Mr. J. Quinn Thornton, who came to Oregon late in 1846, -was appointed a judge under the provisional government by Governor -Abernethy, and was sent as a delegate to Washington late in 1847, -arriving there May 11, 1848, several times during his lifetime publicly -asserted, in written articles and in addresses delivered before the -Pioneer Association, that he was the author of the Douglas Bill. By -comparing dates it will be seen that he could have had nothing to do -with the bill, which was introduced in the house December 23, 1846, -soon after the boundary treaty. It passed the house January 16, 1847, -was sent to the senate, amended, and laid upon the table March 8, -1847. In 1848 Douglas was a senator, and Chairman of the Committee -on Territories. On the tenth of January the Oregon bill came up, was -referred to Douglas' committee, and reported, without amendments, -February 7. This was the identical bill over which senators wrangled in -so dramatic a fashion until the last hour of the session, in August, -1848. A compromise bill was devised by the southern members, by which -Oregon could come in in company with New Mexico and California, but -congress would have none of it. There was no opportunity during -Thornton's stay in Washington to alter or amend the Oregon bill, which, -when it passed the senate, was in all essential features, including -school lands, the same bill which was published in the _Oregon -Spectator_ of September 16, 1847, more than a month before Thornton set -sail for his destination. As the _Spectator_ was the only newspaper -in Oregon at that time, and owned and controlled by the Governor, -it is fair to presume that it was read by the Governor's appointee. -Notwithstanding these adverse circumstances and conclusions, Mr. -Thornton never ceased to claim the authorship of the organic act of -Oregon, nor to congratulate himself upon having bestowed upon this and -other new states the priceless benefit of school lands. "I will frankly -admit," he says in his autobiography, "that when to this section (the -sixteenth) of the public lands, the thirty-sixth was added by the -passage of this bill, the thought that Providence had made me the -instrument by which so great a boon was bestowed upon posterity filled -my heart with emotions as pure and deep as can be experienced by man;" -and goes on to anticipate being recognized as a benefactor of his race -when his toils and responsibilities should be over. See Transactions of -the Oregon Pioneer Association for 1874, and some later numbers, for -these false claims. Also the Portland _Oregonian_ of May 15, 1885, in -which he distinctly denies the facts of history, and relates incredible -occurrences with such minuteness of detail and loftiness of expression -as to deceive any but the well informed in public affairs. The ordinary -reader could not conceive such mendacity and dissembling.] - -[Footnote 9: The older states made such provision as they could -for education. Connecticut reserved some of her lands for popular -education, and any state had the same right, but the "land states," -as they were called, offered lands for seminaries of learning, and -universities, two entire townships being the usual amount granted for -this purpose, besides the thirty-sixth part set aside by compact.] - -[Footnote 10: Rockwell had given notice of this amendment on the tenth -of May, one day before the arrival of Thornton in Washington. See his -"Oregon and California," vol. 2, p. 248. Therefore Mr. Rockwell's -idea did not originate with Mr. Thornton. In his article in the -"Transactions," for 1883, he makes Mr. Rockwell prophesy that he "will -not get the Oregon bill so amended as to set apart two sections in -each township, instead of one, as already provided for in the Oregon -bill"—forgetting in this instance to claim paternity to both.] - -[Footnote 11: Says the commissioner: "The expediency of making -further provision for the support of common schools in the land -states has attracted much attention, and certainly is worthy of the -most favorable consideration. Those states are sparsely settled by an -active, industrious and enterprising people, who, however, may not have -sufficient means independent of their support, to endow or maintain -public schools. To aid in this important matter, congress at the -commencement of our land system, and when the reins of government were -held by the sages of the revolution, set apart one section out of every -township of thirty-six square miles. At that early day this provision -doubtless appeared munificent, but experience has proved it to be -inadequate. It is obviously necessary that at least one school should -be established in each of those townships, and to do this they have -only the section of land above mentioned, worth about $800. To invest -this sum safely it cannot be made to yield more than $48 per annum, -which will not pay the salary of a teacher for a single month; and the -whole of the principal would not enable a township to erect a suitable -common school edifice, and employ a teacher for one year. It is evident -therefore, that this provision does not go far to accomplish the -original design, and that without the aid of other means the citizens -of those growing states cannot obtain the advantages of a general -system of education. I would therefore recommend that further grants of -land be made for that object, and wherever the lands reserved for the -use of schools are found to be valueless, that the proper officer of -the state be authorized to select others in lieu of them. * * * - - "With great respect, your obedient servant, - "JAMES H. PIPER, - "Acting Commissioner. - - "HON. ROBERT J. WALKER, - "Secretary of the Treasury." - - House Ex. Doc. 9, Vol. II, Twenty-ninth Congress, Second Session. -] - -[Footnote 12: Ex. Doc., First Session, Thirtieth Congress, Vol. 1, -1847-48.] - -[Footnote 13: This statement that congress "granted Oregon two -school sections" calls for explanation. It was only in the Northwest -Territory, subject to the ordinance of 1787 by compact, that these -sixteen sections belonged, as Woodbridge of Michigan contended, to the -states formed out of that territory. Where other states received them -it was by grant of congress.] - -[Footnote 14: The Secretary urged other reasons for the additional -grants. "Even as a question of revenue," he says, "such grants would -more than refund their value to the government, as each quarter -township is composed of nine sections, of which the central section -would be granted for schools, and each of the remaining eight sections -would be adjacent to that granted. Those eight sections thus located -and each adjoining a school section, would be of greater value -than when separated by many miles from such opportunities, and the -thirty-two sections of one entire township, with these benefits, would -bring a larger price to the government than thirty-five sections out -of thirty-six, where one section only, so remote from the rest, was -granted for such a purpose. The public domain would thus be settled -at an earlier period, and yielding larger products, thus soon augment -our exports and our imports, with a corresponding increase of revenue -from duties. The greater diffusion of education would increase the -power of mind and knowledge, applied to our industrial pursuits, and -augment in this way also the products and wealth of the nation. Each -state is deeply interested in the welfare of every other, for the -representatives of the whole regulate by their votes the measures of -the union, which must be more happy and progressive in proportion as -its councils are guided by more enlightened views, resulting from more -universal diffusion of light and knowledge and education."—Ex. Doc., -Second Session, Thirtieth Congress, Vol. II, 1848-49.] - -[Footnote 15: Gwin's Autobiography, Mr. Bancroft's Hist. Cal. VI, 298.] - -[Footnote 16: I must be pardoned if I once more call attention to the -willful perversion of truth by the talented but unscrupulous J. Quinn -Thornton. In the transactions of the Pioneer Association for 1874, -speaking of the Oregon bill and the school-land grants: "Up to the time -of the passage of this bill, congress had never appropriated more than -the sixteenth section for the support of common schools; and the _late_ -Nathan Dane, LL. D., had labored long before he succeeded in inducing -the government to appropriate _that_ portion of the public lands." The -italics are mine: the word "late," to call attention to the fact that -Doctor Dane had been dead for thirty-nine years, having passed to his -reward in 1835, after a useful and honorable life; the word "that," -because in another place Thornton claims himself to have induced the -government to make this appropriation. It is difficult to deal with -such constant shuffling with the intention to deceive. A different -unintentional error occurred in the course of my investigations, when, -in 1882, I wrote to the Department of the Interior for information as -to the first act of congress reserving the thirty-sixth section in each -township for school purposes, and was informed by the commissioner that -"the act was approved March 3, 1849 (U. S. Statutes, Vol I, page 154), -entitled an act to establish the Territorial Government of Minnesota." -He had overlooked the fact that the organic act of Oregon, which passed -on the fourteenth of August, 1848, contained the same appropriation. -This was probably because it was in 1849 that the affairs of the land -office were turned over to the interior department, and he had not -searched the previous records.] - -[Footnote 17: Act of Congress of September 4, 1841.] - -[Footnote 18: The canal and locks at Oregon City were built out of -the first proceeds of the five hundred thousand acres, when it was -converted to the school fund to prevent its appropriation to local -schemes of minor importance.] - -[Footnote 19: By act of July, 1864, congress granted to the State of -Oregon, to aid in the construction of a military wagon road from Eugene -to the eastern boundary of the state, alternate sections of the public -lands designated by odd numbers, for three sections in width on each -side of the road, the United States to share in it as a military post -road. The land was to be sold in quantities at one time of thirty -sections on the completion of ten miles, and within five years, failing -which, the land reverted to the United States. The grant amounted to -one thousand nine hundred and twenty acres per mile for a distance of -four hundred and twenty miles—or more than all given to the state on -its admission by one hundred and fifty thousand acres. The company -was allowed a primary sale of thirty sections with which to begin -surveying. A road was opened from Eugene to and over the mountains in -1867, which was little used or useful. In 1873 the land grant was sold -to a San Francisco company, and this immense government gift passed to -private ownership in another state.] - - - - -GLIMPSES OF LIFE IN EARLY - -OREGON. - - -As we travel through the Willamette Valley with the dispatch and -comfort of a well-equipped railway service, we are quickly forgetting -how our fathers and grandfathers journeyed. Pioneer experiences and -hardships are memories of long ago; another century is dawning, and we -say that "the new is better than the old." - -In the early days of the settlement of this state the horse was the -only means of travel, unless one's course lay along the Willamette, and -then it was the canoe with paddles that carried trappers, explorers, -and occasional Hudson's Bay officials on their journeys. The native -grasses were luxuriant and abundant, the climate mild, and every -settler's door stood hospitably ajar. Journeying was by easy stages -and not irksome. It is pleasant to remember that there was a time when -one had time to be leisurely and greet one's friends in a kindly, -simple fashion. Civilization was gathered within the four walls of Fort -Vancouver, on the Columbia River. Our greatest friend, John McLoughlin, -was the chief factor of all the Hudson's Bay Company's establishments -west of the Rocky Mountains, and children who have been born in the -original Oregon Territory may well "rise up and call him blessed." - -The good "old doctor," as he was respectfully and affectionately -called, cheered the hearts of thousands of immigrants by his deeds -of gracious humanity. With a generous hand he furnished provisions, -clothing, cattle, grain, and farming implements, taking in return the -immigrant's word that he would ever be repaid; the word was sometimes -kept and oftentimes broken. Doctor McLoughlin conducted life at Fort -Vancouver as feudal lords of old, and that, too, with strict military -discipline; the coming and going regulated by the ringing of the great -bell. The members of this large household breakfasted and supped by -their own firesides, but dinner was served in the hall for gentlemen -and visitors. All stood while the doctor said grace, and men of humble -birth "sat below the salt." Distinguished men gathered at this board. -Foremost among them we reckon Douglas, the botanist, to whom the doctor -furnished escort and transportation. As he took his way through the -Willamette Valley, and on to the Rogue River, it became a journey of -months. His investigations covered a wide stretch—the lowly flower -by the trail, the myriads of brilliant blooms on the breeze-swept -prairies, the shrubs and vines of hillside and canyon, and towering -evergreens on lofty mountain heights. In order to study plant life -he watched it from the bursting bud in April showers, through sunny -summer weather, to the autumn maturing of the seed. Be it remembered -that Douglas first made the world acquainted with the three kingliest -products of our forests—the giant spruce of the Oregon wilderness, -the solemn fir of the cloud-drift region, and the sugar pine of the -Sierras. This clever man met with a tragic death in the Sandwich -Islands, for he fell into a pit dug for wild cattle and was gored to -death by a bull. - -Geologists searching the distant field, and titled gentlemen traveling -for pleasure, shared the doctor's hospitality, and were given escort -through the beautiful pastoral country. With the ingress of the -Americans Oregon City became the place of importance next to Fort -Vancouver, and when Doctor McLoughlin was called there on business, he -set out in a bateau, manned by French-Canadian voyageurs, who, clad in -their gay national dress, sang gay Canadian boating songs to the rhythm -of the paddles. The doctor sat aloft in the stern, erect and dignified, -dressed in a long blue-cloth coat, with brass buttons, buff waistcoat -and dark trousers, and a gray beaver hat. The garments were fashioned -in London, and the making of beaver hats has been a lost art these many -years. When the doctor reached Oregon City he clambered up the rocky -path and paced the single street, carrying a gold-headed cane, and with -his brilliant blue eyes and flowing white locks, his was a face and -figure never to be forgotten. This great-hearted man and friend of the -pioneers lies by the side of his wife in consecrated ground, within -sound of the Falls of the Willamette. - - -We can understand what a sore deprivation the absence of books and -papers was to the pioneers of the "forties." One man in the Yoncalla -Valley, who had accumulated several hundred dollars, called his -children about him and asked if he should build a house to replace -the log cabin, or buy "Harper's Complete Library," consisting of many -volumes bound in "12mo." Be it to their lasting credit, the books were -purchased, carefully read and remembered, and preserved for succeeding -generations. - -Another man, troubled lest his children be cut off from civilizing -influences in their frontier life, built and furnished a house at -great expense and in a style that was not equaled for many years nor -within many miles. He lived to see his lands and house swept from -him, through the dishonesty of another, but not before the attractive -home surroundings had served their purpose. This brave man spent the -declining years of trouble and sorrow on the mountain-side overlooking -the fair valley, where once lay his own broad acres, and no man -had ever been turned from his door. The letters written through -all the years of this man's life in Oregon are marvels of style -and composition, and greatly treasured by their fortunate owners. -Especially so are those of his later years, when riper experience and -a keener insight into men and events lent greater force to his pen, so -that a man of great culture and polish once said: "They sound as if -written from a baronial castle, whereas they come from a log cabin." - -On the western slope of the Willamette there was another where all -books and papers were most carefully preserved, so that the third -generation of descendants is now able to read a file of the _Oregon -Spectator_, published in 1846 and 1847. The paper was placed over -a string stretched across the cabin, until they were all carefully -laid by. An English gentleman, accompanied by a guide and traveling -in pursuit of game and pleasure, once craved food and shelter at the -cabin door. He was cheerfully bidden to enter and partake of the -unvarying fare of boiled wheat and possibly beef, and the earthen -floor and a buffalo robe served as a bed. The gentleman met his host -and hostess in Washington afterward, and when the latter spoke of -the meager entertainment in Oregon, he said: "Ha, but you gave me -the best you had; the Prince of Wales could do no better." A roomy, -comfortable house replaced the log cabin, and its door, too, stood -ajar, and all were welcomed to the kind and simple hospitality. Young -officers from West Point, on first frontier duty, passing to remote -mountain garrisons and out again for brief glimpses of civilization, -had cordial greeting. Some of these died like brave soldiers on the -battle-fields of the civil war. Others attained rank and distinction in -the service, and two at least won the highest honors ever conferred by -an appreciative country. - -Every governor and senator of Oregon has claimed the welcome extended, -unless it be the present incumbents, and though the master and his -gentle wife have passed out for the last time, those, too, would be -kindly greeted beneath the old roof. Preacher and circuit-rider, -humbly following in the footsteps of their divine Lord, students and -distinguished statesmen gathered about this fireside. Best of all were -the times when the earliest pioneers honored it with their presence, -and the quaint telling of tales of adventure, privation and Indian -warfare lasted far into the night, and the logs burned low on the hearth. - -The lack of schools was deeply deplored by many of these hardy -pioneers, men and women, though some were more fortunate. Many remember -with affection and respect one who came from her New England home and -most conscientiously taught the fortunate children entrusted to her -care. School days under her wise and kind guidance, and ofttimes in -most picturesque spots, are bright and happy memories of many men and -women today. One family spent years of happiness and contentment on a -lonely sea shore, and were taught by a governess, while the play-time -was spent among the beautiful groves and watching the waves so full of -interest and mystery. A peaceful happy life, but in their longing for -companionship they fed sugar to two house flies on the window-sill in -stormy weather,—for house flies were not then a pest. - -Sometimes the housewife was of another nationality, and claimed a -prior right to this beautiful valley. A judge once traveling across -Tualatin Plains in the winter was belated by a storm and asked shelter -at a trapper's door. He was given a place by the blazing hearth, and -the dusky housewife, busy about the evening meal, placed before them -potatoes, deliciously roasted in the ashes, venison, bread, butter, -milk and tea, while the host interestingly told of having known Captain -Bonneville and his party on the plains, as well as members of the Rocky -Mountain Fur Company. In his journeys he knew the watershed of the -Columbia and Missouri by heart, and in one night had set traps in both -rivers. - -One of Oregon's most polished and charming of her earlier pioneers, was -entertained at a frugal board, and in graceful acknowledgment sent the -hostess some soup plates from the Hudson's Bay store, and a daughter -of the house exhibited them to him forty years afterward. Although -he returned to New England to spend many of the last years of his -life, his interest in Oregon never waned, and during his visits here -his reminiscences of early days were a delight to those who were so -fortunate as to hear them. - -The first school opened in the original Oregon country for American -children was by Doctor Whitman at the Waiilatpu Mission, on the Walla -Walla River. The school was attended by the children of missionaries, -those who were left orphans, and the children of immigrants who were -belated by winter storms and kept from entering the Willamette Valley. - -Eliza Spalding was born at Lapwai Mission in 1837, and at ten years -of age was sent to Whitman's station in charge of a trusty Nez Perce -woman. These two journeyed alone on horseback three days, and camped as -many nights by the trail. The air was cold on the table land adjacent -to the Snake River, but the child was tenderly cared for by this -faithful woman. Eliza was interpreter, owing to her thorough knowledge -of Nez Perce, but her school-time at the mission was brief. Fifty years -afterward she told of the awful tragedy that ended the life-work of -a great and good man and his wife, and those others who shared their -fate. Half a century had not obliterated the traces and impression of -the horrible crime from the sensitive mind of her who was a child at -the time of the massacre. - -A little school established in Polk County, early in the forties laid -claim to the ambitious title of institute. Whether in the spirit of -true democracy, or as a deserving tribute to the great mind that -conceived the possibilities of this western land, and with marvelous -foresight planned the Lewis and Clark expedition, this little log -school house bore the name of the Jefferson Institute. The man who -presided there remembered the lore of earlier years, and equally well -had he treasured the books of that more fortunate time. - -Men and women are living who owe a debt of gratitude to John E. Lyle, -and remember with deep affection and respect that he first pointed out -the narrow path that led far afield in the great world of study and -literature of today. - -The theme is endless, when we begin to recall the men and events of -other days; much has been written and preserved, and much lost to the -world because the demands of later times were great, and those who -might have recorded faithfully and well went out into the great beyond -without having benefited Oregon's story by handing down such a record. - - MRS. WILLIAM MARKLAND MOLSON. - - - - -NOT MARJORAM. - - THE SPANISH WORD "OREGANO" NOT THE ORIGINAL OF OREGON. - - -The textbooks in the hands of our children in the public schools -continue to furnish them with the erroneous information that the name -of the State of Oregon was derived from the word "oregano," the Spanish -name for the plant that we call marjoram. This is mere conjecture, -absolutely without support. More than this, it is completely disproved -by all that is known of the history of the name. There is nothing -in the records of the Spanish navigators, nothing in the history of -Spanish exploration or discovery, that indicates even in the faintest -way that this was the origin of the name, or that the Spaniards called -this country or any portion of it by that name. There is marjoram here, -indeed; and at a time long after the Spaniards had discontinued their -northern coast voyages it was suggested that the presence of marjoram -(oregano) here had led the Spaniards to call the country "Oregon." - -From the year 1535 the Spaniards, from Mexico, made frequent voyages -of exploration along the Pacific Coast towards the north. The main -object was the discovery of a passage connecting the Pacific and -Atlantic oceans. Consequently the explorers paid little attention to -the country itself. After a time, finding the effort to discover a -passage fruitless, they desisted for a long period. But after the lapse -of two centuries they began to establish settlements on the coast of -California; and then voyages towards the north were resumed by some -of their navigators. In 1775 the mouth of the Columbia River was seen -by Heceta, but, owing to the force of the current, he was unable to -enter. The fact here to be noted is that the Spaniards of that day did -not call the country Oregon, or, if they did, they have left no record -of it. - -But even before the discovery of the Columbia River by Heceta the name -of Oregon appeared in another quarter. Jonathan Carver, of Connecticut, -who had served as a captain in the colonial war against the French, set -out from Boston in 1766 and proceeded by way of the Great Lakes to the -region of the Upper Mississippi, now forming the States of Wisconsin, -Minnesota and Iowa. He returned to Boston in October, 1768, and then -went over to England, where his "Travels" were published. From that -journey to the Upper Mississippi region he brought back the name of -Oregon, which he says he obtained from the Indians there. "From these -nations," he says, "together with my own observations, I have learned -that the four most capital rivers of the Continent of North America, -viz., the St. Lawrence, the Mississippi, the Bourbon (flowing into -Hudson's Bay), and the Oregon, or River of the West, have their sources -in the same neighborhood. The waters of the three former are within -thirty miles of each other; the latter, however, is rather farther west." - -Carver, of course, had a geographical theory, and was seeking to verify -it. This is the first mention of the name of Oregon that has yet been -discovered. Carver either invented the word, or produced it from -imitation of some word spoken by the Indians. There certainly was no -"oregano," or marjoram, about it. - -The word "oregano," it may be noted, has curious usage in Spanish -authors. One of Sancho's proverbs, literally translated, runs thus: -"Pray God, it may prove marjoram, and not turn out caraway for us." It -is said to be unexplainable why marjoram and caraway in Spain should -have been taken as types of the desirable and undesirable. In another -place Sancho says: "I would not have him marjoram (oregano), for -covetousness bursts the bag, and the covetous governor does ungoverned -justice." Here the word is used in the sense of "eager for gain." - -Others have professed or proposed to derive the name of Oregon from -the Spanish word "oreja," the ear—supposing that the Spaniards noted -the big ears of the native Indians and named the country from the -circumstance. But the Spaniards themselves have left no record of the -kind; nor has it been noted, so far as we are aware, that the ears of -our Indians were remarkably large. The word "orejon" is nearer our -form; it signifies "slice of dried apple," we may suppose from its -resemblance to the form of the ear. Many years ago Archbishop Blanchet, -of Oregon, while in Peru, noted a peculiar use of this word "orejon" in -that country, which he ingeniously conjectured might throw some light -on the origin of the name of Oregon. - -But it is unnecessary to formulate any fanciful theory. The name -of Oregon first appears in Carver's book of "Travels" in the Upper -Mississippi region in 1766-67. Did he invent the name? Probably. Did he -get it from the Indians? Possibly something like it. But it never has -been discovered among the Indians of that country since Carver's time, -nor anything like it. There remains a possible supposition that French -travelers who had passed through that country some years before, and -had proceeded on their westward journey far toward the Rocky Mountains, -and then returned, had been making inquiries among the Indians as -to the great western river that all geographers had postulated, and -had spoken a word that the Indians had tried to imitate—possibly -"Aragon"—knowing that the Spaniards had explored the western coasts, -and intimating that the country by discovery might belong to Spain. -But all these are fruitless conjectures.[20] We know where we find the -name of Oregon first written, when it was written, and by whom; and -the circumstances completely disprove the "oregano" and the "orejon" -theories. A notable fact it is that a slight incident of Carver's -career, so slight that he thought nothing about it—the creation of a -name, or the casual use of a name hitherto unknown—has immortalized -his own name upon the tongues of men dwelling in the region of his -"River of the West." But Minnesota has not neglected him. She does -justice to him in her records and historical transactions, and has not -forgotten to name a county for him. He died in poverty and misery in -London, January 31, 1780. - - H. W. SCOTT. - -[Footnote 20: Professor John Fiske, in his "History of the United -States," says that Oregon "may perhaps be the Algonquin _Wau-re-gan_, -'beautiful water.'"] - - - - -REMINISCENCES OF LOUIS LABONTE. - - By H. S. LYMAN. - - -Louis Labonte (or Le Bonte), son of Louis Labonte of the Astor -expedition, who accompanied Hunt across the continent in 1811-12, -is still living at Saint Paul, Marion County, Oregon. He is now -eighty-two years old, and is in good health. His remembrance of earlier -experiences and life is still fresh and his mind seems very vigorous -for one of his age. He says, however, that his recollection of the -Indian languages that he once knew has now largely slipped away. These -were the Clatsop or Chinook, the Tillamook, Tualatin and Calapooya, of -which he says he knew a few words, and the Spokane which he understood -almost perfectly. Besides these, he talked fluently in the Indian -jargon and in French and English. - -He was born at Astoria in 1818, his mother being a daughter of Chief -Kobayway, and an older sister of Celiast, or Mrs. Helen Smith. Three -years of his early life, about 1824 to 1827, were spent at Spokane -Falls, and the three years succeeding at Fort Colville. Then two years, -probably 1830 to 1833, were spent on French Prairie. His father had -removed to that place and was engaged in raising wheat on a piece of -land owned by Joseph Gervais, whose wife was a sister of his mother. -From this place he accompanied the family to the farm of Thomas McKay -on Scappoose Creek near Sauvie's Island, where he spent three years. -In 1836 he removed with the family to a location on the Yamhill River -near Dayton. In 1849, being then a well matured man, he accompanied -a party headed by William McKay to the gold mines of California, -returning the same year. During the Indian war of 1855-56 he was a -member of the Oregon Volunteers in the company of Robert Newell, which -was stationed at Fort Vancouver to hold in check the Cascade Indians -and the Klickitats to the north. - -His reminiscences are important on the following: _First_, as to his -father, Louis Labonte; _second_, earliest French Prairie; _third_, -experiences at Scappoose; _fourth_, Spokane Indians and Indian myths; -_fifth_, the names of Indian places and persons; _sixth_, the primitive -Indian articles of food; _seventh_, on some of the Indian tribes and -customs and traditions; and _eighth_, of the original white men. - - -I. - -LOUIS LABONTE SENIOR. - -Concerning his father, he says that this member of the Astor expedition -was born in Montreal, and was about eighteen years old when he came out -to Saint Louis, and was there engaged as an employee of the American -Fur Company for four years; at the age of twenty-two he was engaged -by Wilson P. Hunt of the Pacific Fur Company to come to Oregon, and -arrived in the following winter. Upon the disruption of that company -in 1814, Labonte took service with the Northwestern Fur Company, which -was in 1818 absorbed into the Hudson's Bay Company. He had in the -meantime become acquainted with and married at Astoria the daughter -of Chief Kobayway of the Clatsop Indians, and it was in the year 1818 -that the son was born. Labonte Sr. took six years for the Hudson's -Bay Company, and spent three years at Spokane and three at Colville. -He then returned to Fort Vancouver and his service terminated some -time near 1828, when he asked to be dismissed and allowed to remain -in Oregon. This was directly against the policy of the Hudson's Bay -Company, who wished none of their trappers to become settlers or free -laborers in their territory, and it was the rule that all of their -servants must be dismissed at the place where they were enlisted. But -Labonte was an astute Frenchman and contended that as he had enlisted -in Oregon and was not brought here by the Hudson's Bay Company, it was -no infraction of this rule, but rather in compliance with it that he -should be dismissed here. Notwithstanding, his request was refused and -no dismission was allowed unless he returned to Montreal. Accordingly, -he made the trip to Canada, starting in March, and receiving his -regular papers certifying to the ending of his term of service. But he -immediately began the journey back and arrived here again in November -of the same year—which may have been 1830. This shows him to have been -an independent and determined man, and a good husband and father. It -may also have had much more bearing than has yet been credited as to -the settlement of Oregon. - - -II. - -EARLIEST FRENCH PRAIRIE. - -After having terminated his service with the Hudson's Bay Company, -Labonte evidently made up his mind to become a settler in Oregon, the -country of his wife, and with which he was undoubtedly well pleased -as a home. Several of his comrades who belonged to the old Hunt party -were already contemplating this step, and some had actually begun -settlement. Etienne Lucier had first taken a place at the site of East -Portland, but, as Labonte remembers, having been informed by McLoughlin -that he himself wished to occupy this location, was now removing to -French Prairie. Joseph Gervais, however, was already at French Prairie, -having laid a claim at Chemaway, a point on the bank of the Willamette -River about two and a half miles south from Fairfield at present. -Labonte Sr. moved to the place of Gervais and engaged with him in -raising wheat, and, among other improvements, built a barn; but did not -complete a location of his own. - -Louis, the son, remembers more particularly the boyish occupations of -the region, of which hunting was the most important. He describes a -method of hunting the deer (jargon, Mowich; Calapooya, Ahawa-ia) which, -perhaps, has never been placed in print. The deer were very abundant -in primitive times, and during the breeding season the bucks were -pugnacious. In order to come near to them the Indians would take the -head of a deer, including also the hide of the neck, properly prepared, -which was placed over the head of the hunter; and he then, stooping -over so as to keep the mouth of the deer head off the ground, as if -grazing, would creep up on the lee side of the herd. He would also, so -as to more closely imitate the action of a deer, occasionally jerk the -head from side to side, as if nabbing flies. - -Presently a buck from the herd, observing the suspicious stranger, -would begin to stamp and snuff, and bridle with anger; or, possibly, -shaking with excitement, would edge nearer, challenging the supposed -intruder for a fight, browsing and approaching, or maneuvering for a -position. The hunter, in the meantime, would keep up his own maneuvers -until the victim was near, and then let fly the fatal arrow; though -Labonte says that before the use of guns, the Indian himself, if he -chanced to miss his mark, was sometimes so viciously attacked by the -deer as to be badly gored or trampled, or possibly killed. Young -Labonte always used a gun at this sport. - -He recalls also seeing two grizzly bears on French Prairie, one -of which was in connection with a hunting party one foggy morning. -Grizzlies were not unknown in the Willamette Valley, though they were -not abundant. The Chinook jargon name for the grizzly was eshayum, -quite distinct from the name of the common black bear, itch-hoot. Both -these words are evidently primitive Indian terms (S. B. Smith) and -thus show that the grizzlies were a well recognized species in the -Willamette Valley during the period of Indian occupation. - -Labonte Jr. has recollections of earliest French Prairie which are -very valuable, and give a new, or at least a clearer understanding of -settlement here, than ever seems to have been published, and shows -Chemaway on the Willamette River about twelve miles above Champoeg -to have been the first nucleus of settlement. According to these -recollections, which should of course be subjected to close examination -before being used as the basis of a final conclusion, it was Joseph -Gervais and the remnants of the Astor company, or Hunt's part of it, -who were the original pioneers of French Prairie, and thus of Oregon. -These were Joseph Gervais, Etienne Lucier, Louis Labonte, Wm. Cannon, -Alexander Carson, (Alex. Essen) and Dubruy. Whether the fact that they -had been with an American company made them any more independent and -more disposed to settle for themselves, may be questioned; but at any -rate, they formed a little company of comrades and became the first -group of independent Oregon people. - -Joseph Gervais was the first, and when the Labontes arrived in about -1831, he had been upon his place at Chemaway at least three years, and -had made considerable improvements. Chemaway is situated on the bank -of the Willamette River at a somewhat abrupt point over the water and -became afterwards the location of Jason Lee, and the Methodist Mission. -It is not to be confounded with Chemawa, the location of the United -States Indian Training School on the line of the Southern Pacific -Railroad,—though this is a mispronunciation of the old name, in which -both a's are long, with a strong tendency toward long e, making the -name Chemaewae. - -Gervais had substantial buildings, and Labonte's description of his -house and barn is very interesting. The house was about 18 × 24, on the -ground, and was constructed of square hewed logs, of rather large size. -There were two floors, one below and one above, both of which were laid -with long planks or puncheons of white fir, and probably adzed off to a -proper level. The roof was made of poles as rafters, and the shingling -was of carefully laid strips or sheets of ash bark, imbricated. Upon -these were cross planks to hold them in place. There were three windows -on the lower floor of about 30 × 36 inches in dimensions, and for -lights were covered with fine thinly dressed deer skins. There was also -a large fireplace, built of sticks tied together with buckskin thongs, -and covered with a stiff plaster made of clay and grass. The barn was -of good size, being about 40 × 50 feet on the ground, and was of the -peculiar construction of a number of buildings on early French Prairie. -There were posts set up at the corners and at the requisite intervals -between, in which tenon grooves had been run by use of an auger and -chisel, and into these were let white fir split planks about three -inches thick to compose the walls. The roof was shingled in the same -manner as the house, with pieces of ash bark. There was a young orchard -upon the place of small apple trees obtained from Fort Vancouver. - -At the time that the Labontes came to Chemaway, Etienne Lucier had not -yet taken his own place, about three miles above Champoeg, at Chewewa, -but was living, or camping, upon the place of Gervais, probably -looking around the country and making arrangements for a permanent -home. Lucier, therefore, was not the first settler upon French Prairie, -but this honor belongs to Joseph Gervais, who must have gone there, -according to Labonte's recollections, about 1828. - -William Cannon was a millwright, being an American by birth, from -Pennsylvania, and at the time the Labontes came to French Prairie, was -at Vancouver, building the gristmill. He afterwards built the Champoeg -gristmill, as stated by Willard H. Rees. - -Dubruy settled subsequently about two and one-half miles south of -Champoeg. - -Alexander Carson (Alex Essen, as pronounced by Labonte), was a -trapper, and spent much of his time in the Yamhill country. He seems -to have been a very independent man, but finally lost his life at a -certain butte on the North Yamhill River (still called Alec's Butte) -by the Twhatie (Tualatin) Indians, probably with the simple object of -possessing themselves of his rifle and trappings. - -As to Champoeg, the historic point in Oregon history, this was -originally a camping and council ground of the Indians. It was near -the north boundary of the Calapooyas, and here various tribes came -to trade, to play games of chance and skill, and not infrequently to -intermarry. - -One great sport was diving. The water of the Willamette River off the -bluff was very deep, and it became a great contest for the young men to -see who could dive deepest and remain under water longest. Some of the -bolder ones even not rising until the blood began to burst from their -noses or mouths. - -Labonte recalls with great vividness the wedding ceremonies which he -often witnessed, and that were frequently celebrated here between -contracting parties of the different tribes. It was quite an intricate -ceremony. The tribe of the groom would assemble on one side and that -of the bride on the other. The groom, placed in the forefront of his -people, was dressed in his best, and seated upon the ground. He was -then approached by members of his own tribe, who began removing his -outer garments, article by article. After this was done, members of the -bride's tribe came and reclothed him with different garments and placed -him in readiness to receive his wife. The bride, in the meantime, was -placed in the forefront of her people, but was covered entirely, face -and all, with a blanket. When ready to be presented, she was carried by -women of her tribe, and brought within a short distance of the groom, -but here her bearers halted to rest. Then, probably indicating the -desire of both peoples that the ceremony should proceed, and that all -were friendly, a shout or hallo was raised by all parties, which is -given as follows: "Awatch-a-he-lay-ee. Awatch-a-he-lay-ee." After which -she was taken the rest of the way and presented, while the same cry of -applause and approbation was again raised. - -A bride was purchased, and the presents were numerous and valuable. -In case that the groom and bride were descendants of chiefs, presents -were made between the whole tribes. These presents were of all sorts, -and consisted of horses (cuiton), blankets (passissie), guns (mosket), -slaves (eliatie), haiqua shells, or, as the small haiqua shells were -called, cope-cope, which is a kind of turritella, kettles (moos-moos), -tobacco (ekainoos), powder (poolallie), bullets (kah-lai-ton), knives -(eop-taths), or other articles. - -The name Champoeg, says Labonte, is not derived from Le Campment Sable, -the French name, but is purely Indian. "Cham," the hard _ch_, not -_sh_, is of the same character as the universal _Che_ prefix of the -Calapooyas; as Chehalem, Chewewa, Chemaway, Chamhokuc, or Chemeketa; -and the latter part, "poeg," or poek, was for a certain plant or root -found there by the Indians, and called po-wet-sie. That this is the -true derivation, and it is not from the French term, meaning the sandy -camp, is evidenced by its similarity to the other Indian names just -given above. - - -III. - -AT SCAPPOOSE. - -When young Labonte was about sixteen, and after spending about two -years at Chemaway, the family was employed by Thomas McKay to take -charge of his farm on Scappoose Plains, across the Willamette Slough, -or Multnomah, from Sauvie's Island—McKay being one of the most -energetic and intrepid captains of the Hudson's Bay Company, and being -at that time detailed for special service in the Snake River country, -where competition with American companies was setting in with much -vigor. On this farm the Labontes raised wheat, oats, peas, potatoes, -and various garden products, and had cattle and hogs, but no sheep. On -the farm with the Labontes there was a Frenchman named Antoine Plasier. - -It was during this period that Wyeth—whom Labonte recalls as White, -from a mixture of the English aspirate and the French non-aspiration -of th—made his second visit to the Columbia. It was, however, more -with the trim brig May Dacre that the lad had to do. He remembers that -he was at that time just as tall as a musket, which he indicates would -reach about to his chin as a man. On this craft, which lay anchored in -the stream not far from the farm, he was often invited to go visiting, -particularly Sundays, and was well treated by the sailors and Captain -Lambert. He remembers once being asked by the captain whether he could -climb a mast, and he immediately proceeded to show that he could, and -ascended to the topmast on the bare pole, climbing hand over hand. It -happened to be a windy day, and the brig was rolling somewhat in the -swell, and when the boy looked down from his lofty elevation, he was -made almost dizzy by observing how small the vessel below him looked in -the wide stream. But upon reaching deck again, he was complimented by -both sailors and captain as being made of stuff fit for a sailor. - -Indeed, Lambert seems to have been very well pleased with him, and -offered him a passage on his ship to Boston, and a return, either by -land or sea, and to this his parents were almost persuaded to give -their consent, but at the last moment could not quite bring themselves -to do this. Sometimes he was invited by the captain to take dinner, -and amused the officers by his sturdy refusal to take anything to -drink—perhaps as much from suspicion as from set conviction—though -the better class of men on the Columbia at that time greatly deprecated -the use of intoxicants and were largely temperate, and the boy very -likely had imbibed these ideas. - -He remembers Lambert as large and powerful, and full bodied; of dark -hair and complexion, and "a good man." Nathaniel Wyeth, whom he also -saw, was florid, light-haired and blue-eyed, but also large, and -perhaps even finer looking than Lambert. - -Game at Scappoose and on the ponds of Sauvie's Island was very -abundant, consisting of deer, elk and bear, and panthers and wildcats; -and beaver were still plentiful; but the waterfowl of the most -magnificent kind, at their season of passage, and, indeed, during much -of the year, almost forbade the hunter to sleep. Labonte remembers -one winter season in particular when there was a snowfall of about -sixteen inches, and in the early morning he went forth to hunt swan. -These splendid birds of the white species, like the innumerable ducks -and geese, assembled at the island ponds to feast upon the abundant -wapatoes. On this particular morning the youth soon discovered his -flock of swans upon the surface of a shallow lake, eating the roots, -and being such an immense flock that they were not to be disturbed -even by the immediate presence of the hunter. Then, disrobing to -his shoulders,—for the water was too deep to reach the flock -otherwise,—he simply waded in, bringing down two or three birds to a -shot, until he soon had as many as he could carry. Indeed, the lake was -so covered by the flock as almost to conceal the water. However, upon -reaching home he was rather chided for his performance by his father, -who told him that by such cold bathing he would be likely to get the -"rheumatism," which was his first acquaintance with that term. - - -IV. - -SPOKANE INDIANS AND INDIAN MYTHS. - -When taken to Spokane Falls, Labonte was a small boy of about six -years. His parents made their residence there from about 1824 to 1827. - -He was much with the Indians, and learned their language like a native, -and was often present at their religious services, and heard them tell -their myths. One of their meetings he describes as follows: At the -lodge of the greatest chief there was a picture, from whom obtained he -does not know, but in all probability from some member of the Hudson's -Bay Company. When worship was held, this picture was spread out on the -floor, and, kneeling before it, the chief began a prayer to the Great -Spirit, or the Hyas Ilmihum, who was addressed also by the name of -Creator; the expression "Quilen-tsatmen," meaning Creator, or, more -exactly, "He made us." The prayer was a petition to be made pleasing -to God, to be kept under His care, to be taken to Him at last, and to -be kept from the "Black fellow." After the chief had finished, others -also followed, kneeling down and uttering a shorter petition until all -at last took their place and followed along in an orderly manner. Those -who had any offerings left them before the picture. Then they began a -hymn or chant, and after that was finished, all joined in a dance. - -Labonte recollects the names of some the Spokane chiefs: Ilmicum -Spokanee, or the chief of the moon; Ilmicum Takullhalth, the chief of -the day; and Kahwakim, a broken shoulder. He also recollects a Colville -chief, whose name was Snohomich, a white-headed old man. - -The Spokane Indians had the legends of the coyote, or Tallapus, but -his name was Sincheleep. In his breast he carried certain knowing -creatures, which were his spirits, or wits, and when he wished to take -council with himself, he would call them forth. They gave him the -answers he needed, and then went back into his breast. Sincheleep, the -coyote, was quite different from the fox, Whawhaoolee, though the fox -was also a knowing beast. The big gray wolf was Cheaitsin; the grizzly -bear, Tsimhiatsin, and the black bear, N'salmbe. - -A story of Tallapus, or Sincheleep, that Labonte remembers was the same -in substance as that of Tallapus and the cedar tree; although Spokane -is almost a thousand miles from the region of the story of Tallapus. -This illustrates to what a wide extent the folklore of the primitive -Indians extended. Sincheleep was once traveling and was not entirely -certain how he should obtain his meals upon the way. However, in order -to look as well as possible he decided to dress up nicely; to comb his -hair, and paint his face becomingly. In the course of time he was met -by two women who carried baskets in which they had some camas bread and -other Indian dainties. He came forward and addressed them and said very -pleasantly, "Sit down, sisters; sit down. I will sing to you and tell -you stories." So they sat down while he sang and told them stories, -and they enjoyed his society so much that when at length he remarked -casually, "What have you in your baskets, sisters?" they very kindly -opened their stores and treated him; which, of course, he enjoyed, and -began at once to contrive for another treat. He bade them good-bye -and went on, but when out of sight took a circle about and coming to -a stream washed himself and painted another way, and also combed his -hair differently, and met the two women again. He addressed them as -before, saying, "Sit down, sisters; sit down, and I will sing and tell -you stories." This they did, and were again so charmed that they opened -their baskets and treated him as before. He then went on, but circled -about again so as to meet them once more, being now combed and painted -still differently. He sang and told stories and was again treated. But -about the fifth or sixth time that this happened, the women began to -suspect that the cunning creature was no other than Tallapus, and when -he saw that he was discovered, he bade them a final good-bye, and went -off to the wooded hills. Then began the story of the tree, which as -told by Labonte, runs as follows: "He saw a tree with a crotched root, -leading to a hollow within, and thinking this a fine resting place, -went inside. He then asked the tree to close, and it did so obediently. -This was some time along in the fall. After it was closed, he asked it -to open, and it did this also. Then he asked it to close and it was -closed. It opened or shut whenever he asked it to, but by and by when -he asked it to open, it would not. Then he was very sorry and sat down -inside the tree and cried. But he was compelled to remain there all -winter." - -Some time along in the early spring the birds came at his request to -peck him out; but the first, the second, and many others that tried -only broke their bills and were unable to make even a small hole, until -this was done by a woodpecker; and through the opening Tallapus was -able to gaze abroad and see the blooming flowers and the green grass. - -But still he could not go through the opening, and finally concluded -that the only way was to take himself to pieces and put himself out, -piece by piece. His eyes were the first parts that he thus placed -on the outside, but they were seized upon by a raven who carried -them away. Finally the various sections of his body were all out and -collected and put together properly, except that his eyes were gone -and he was blind. But he smelled the scent of flowers and felt around -until he found some of the flowers, which he placed in each eye. Then, -feeling his way along laboriously, and staring about as if seeing -everything, was at length directed by smelling smoke. Following this -odor, he was led to a lodge where there were some women. By these his -misfortune was ridiculed, and they engaged in laughter as he felt for -the door; but he answered, "I am only measuring your house." He was -moving around in the meantime and trying to find a place to sit down, -which only increased their merriment; but he answered, "I see; I see; -but I am only measuring the ground." - -Then one of the women said, "Can you indeed see?" - -Then he, staring off, replied, "Do you see that fire?" - -"Where?" they asked. - -"Far off," he answered, and described the distance as far away, beyond -the limit of their vision. - -"No," they confessed, "that is too far for us." - -Then he answered, "I can see what you do not." By which one of -the women was so impressed with the strength of his sight that -she immediately wished to swap eyes, and he promptly accepted the -proposition; as a result of which he could see even better than before, -while she became blind. He then transformed her, for her folly, into a -snail, which even to this day feels its way along the ground. - - -The following are some of the Tallapus stories, which Labonte -remembers, found in the Willamette Valley: - -According to the Calapooyas, who occupied this valley from near -the Pudding River southward, Tallapus came originally from the -Rocky Mountain country and went down the Columbia River, and thence -southward along the coast and finally over the coast mountains into the -Willamette Valley; though his exact birthplace or origin is still a -matter of doubt. - -Arriving by the Willamette River, he found the tribes of that region -in very unhappy circumstances; chiefly from the absence of any good -place for catching fish, and also, owing to the depredations of certain -gigantic skookums. In order to remedy the first evil, he determined to -make a fall in the Willamette River where the salmon would collect and -be easily captured. He found a place at the mouth of Pudding River, -the Indian name of which is Hanteuc, and here he began erecting the -barrier, but finding it not suitable, went further down, leaving only -a small riffle. At Rock Island, he began in earnest, but upon further -investigation found this also unsuitable, and leaving here a strong -rapid, went down to the present site of the Willamette Falls, where he -completed his task and made the magnificent cataract which is not only -a scene of beauty, but a model fishing place. - -After having provided the fishery, he decided to invent a remarkable -trap which would obviate the labor of fishing. He succeeded and -produced a marvelous machine which not only caught the fish, but also -had the power to talk, and would cry out, "Noseepsk, noseepsk," when it -was full. - -Determining to try his invention for himself, Tallapus set the trap and -went immediately to his camping place to build a fire in order to cook -the fish. But scarcely had he begun when the trap cried out, "Noseepsk! -Noseepsk!" and going down he found it full of fish sure enough. Then, -returning, he began once more to prepare his fire; but the trap called -out again, "Noseepsk! Noseepsk!" He obeyed its summons and found it -full, and went back once more to start his fire; but the trap called -for him again, and now, out of patience with its promptness, he said to -it crossly, "Wait until I build a fire, and do not keep calling for me -forever." But by this sternness the trap was so much offended that it -instantly ceased to work, and the wonderful invention was never used by -men, who were obliged as before to catch the salmon with spears or nets. - -THE STORY OF THE SKOOKUM'S TONGUE. - -However, in the course of time the Indians became very prosperous, -and a large village was built on the west side of the river. But -while they were thus prospering, a gigantic skookum that lived upon -the Tualatin River began to commit fearful depredations. His abode -was on a little flat about two miles from the Indian village, but so -long was his tongue that he was in the habit of reaching it forth and -catching the people as he chose. By this, of course, the village was -almost depopulated, and when, after a time, Tallapus returned, he was -very angry to see that the benefits of his fishery had gone, not to -the people, but to the wicked skookum. He therefore went forth to the -monster and cried out to it, "O, wicked skookum; long enough have you -been eating these people." And with one blow of his tomahawk cut off -the offending tongue, and buried it under the rocks upon the west side -of the falls; after which the people flourished. But so persistent is -Indian superstition that even yet some of the old Indians say that when -the canal was cut around the falls, that this was nothing more than -laying bare the channel made for the tongue of the skookum. - -THE SKOOKUM AND THE WONDERFUL BOY. - -On the east side of the falls at about the site of Oregon City the -Indians also made a large village, being nourished by the fishery, and -had among them a great chief. But from the mountains on the east there -came a frightful skookum, who destroyed the entire village and even -the old chieftain and all the people, except the chief's wife and her -unborn son. - -The woman desiring that her son should be great and strong, took him -after his birth to the various streams or lakes that were haunted by -Tomaniwus spirits, and bathed him in the waters. From these he absorbed -the strength of the water and of the spirits, and in consequence, grew -prodigiously. In the course of time, he returned to the old village -where he found his mother, and looking about the lodge, he began to -ask her what were the various articles that he saw. She replied: "This -is the spear with which your father used to catch the salmon; and this -is the tomahawk with which he used to kill his enemies or to cleave -wood; and this is the bow with which he used to shoot arrows." Taking -the tomahawk in his hand, the boy went out to look abroad but was -almost immediately met by the skookum returning. Thereupon driving his -tomahawk into a gnarly log of wood so as to make a crack, he cried -out to the giant, "If you are so strong, hold this crack open while I -take another stroke;" and into the opening the witless skookum placed -his fingers, but the tomahawk being instantly withdrawn and the crack -closing, was held fast, after which he was easily killed by the boy. -Then taking his father's bow, the youngster went forth and shot an -arrow into the sky, calling out at the same time, "As the arrow falls -let those who died come to life;" and this also was done. Scarcely had -the arrow fallen before the old chief and all his people were seen -coming up the river in their canoes; and landing at the rocks, they -began fishing as if nothing had happened. The wonderful boy being -rejoiced to see his father, whom he had never looked upon before, went -down among the fishermen; but when he was seen by the old chief, was -accosted rudely with the question "Who are you? I am chief here." And -the old chief not knowing his son, accompanied his rough language with -an even rougher blow. - -By this the wonderful boy was greatly affected, and thinking that he -could benefit his tribe no more, retired to the rocks above the falls, -and began weeping; and, indeed, wept so copiously that his tears -falling on each side of the falls wore two great holes in the solid -rock, which may be seen there to this day. Finally deciding that he -would no longer live as a man, the boy changed himself into a fish in -order that he might rest in the quiet waters. But he was disturbed by -the roaring of the river to such an extent that he swam upward as far -as the Tualatin. But neither here could he rest on account of the -roaring of the water. He proceeded thence to the mouth of the Molalla, -and of the Pudding River, and of the Yamhill, successively, but had -no resting place, until finally he reached the clear Santiam. Here he -found what he desired, and went to sleep in a still pool; but being -discovered by Tallapus, was changed into a rock, having the form of a -salmon. And this accounts, say the Indians, for the fact that no salmon -that ascend the falls at Oregon City ever turn aside into any of the -streams until they reach the Santiam; but there seeing the rock, they -take a circle and swim near, and then saluting it with a flip of their -tail proceed up the crystal clear river until they reach the pebbly -bars suitable for their spawning grounds. - -THE HAUNTED LAKE. - -In addition to the above, Labonte tells an Indian story of a haunted -lake in the hills to the northward of Newburg. The waters of this lake -are exceedingly deep and still, and it has the name of the skookum -water. - -Long ago, said the Indians, there was one man who, although he knew -that this was a tomaniwus water, determined recklessly to reach it -in his canoe, and disturb its placid surface with the strokes of his -paddle. Making his way thither, in his little craft in which he also -had his dog as his sole companion, he at length came to the shadowy -lake. He directed his strokes toward the center, which he had scarcely -reached before the water grew darker and became greatly disturbed. -Finally, it began revolving round and round, and the man with his canoe -and dog were whirled along in the stream until a vortex was developed -and opened, into which all sank. Then the lake was pacified, and again -became serene. But even at the present time, upon a foggy morning, if -one gazes over the rocks upon Skookum Lake, he will see a white object -whirling round and round on the surface of the water, and may, perhaps, -hear whines and cries; this is the spirit of the dog, which thus -returns. - - - - -DR. ELLIOTT COUES. - - -The untimely passing of Dr. Elliott Coues, scientist and historian, -has deprived the Historical Society of Oregon of the pleasure of -making acknowledgments to the living man of its appreciation of the -invaluable work he has done, touching the history of the Northwest, -and particularly of Oregon, in the latter part of the eighteenth and -early part of the nineteenth centuries. Doctor Coues' personal bias -was towards the natural sciences, in which he was distinguished, both -as to the quantity and quality of the matter produced, on ornithology, -mammalogy, herpetology, comparative anatomy, natural philosophy, -psychical research, etc.[21] Incidentally, through his researches in -natural history, which led him to explore wilderness regions, he became -a historian of more than ordinary value, for he was never satisfied -with his work until he had gone to the very bottom of his subject. The -books and manuscripts which he edited became original histories in his -hands, from his almost incredible industry in bringing to light facts -to verify or disprove the author's statements. With all the care of a -genealogist he followed a clue leading to the identity of the persons -mentioned in the writings before him, or the places named. His insight -into, and industry in exploiting the fading records of the past was -extraordinary, amounting to genius. His editorial revision of the -journal of Lewis and Clark, has added immensely to the value of that -work, so interesting to Oregonians, and should revive our zeal for the -study of early history.[22] - -But of all the work done by Doctor Coues none has interested me more -than his abridgment of and notes upon the journal of Alexander Henry -and David Thompson, two of the leaders of the Northwest Fur Company, -almost a century ago, extending over a period of fourteen years, and -covering the ground from Lake Superior to the mouth of the Columbia, -whose ruthless waters at the last swallowed up Henry, May 22, 1814. - -This journal was at Astoria at that date, and we hear in it of the -carpenter making an oak chest for it, or "for my papers," as Henry -writes it. Covering so long a period, it was very voluminous. It was -carried to Hudson's Bay, but perhaps because of this, and because its -author was dead, it was never made public. When Doctor Coues found -it the paper was much worn, and the writing in places illegible; but -that did not deter him from entering upon the task of preparing it for -publication. Not only is the journal itself of great interest, but the -notes and explanations attached to almost every page are wonderfully -complete. The enormous bulk of Henry's matter is reduced by its editor, -together with his notes, to 916 pages, in two volumes, without the -sacrifice of facts, giving us a clear account of the country's history -not obtainable in any, or all other, writers. - -A little more personal notice may not be out of place here as -significant of the man. In January, 1898, I received a letter from -Doctor Coues desiring me to send him a copy of the _River of the West_, -"with any erroneous passages it may possibly contain corrected in your -(my) own hand," and asking me to give him information on some subjects -which he named, and among them, the origin of the name "Lawyer," as -applied to a Nez Perce chief; also asking the meaning of the word -"Lo-Lo," whether it was a personal name, etc.[23] He understood that -an author is pretty sure to find "erroneous passages" in books that an -honest writer must be willing to correct; besides, he wished to avoid -quoting others' errors. - -From that date to his death we were in frequent correspondence, and -when the Oregon Historical Society was formed, he was made acquainted -with the fact, on which he expressed a desire to be made a member. It -is not too late to thus honor the man who has given the state a chapter -of its history hitherto unrevealed. - -Mrs. Coues, in a letter replying to one of mine, says: "His home life -and ways would hardly interest the public, they were so simple and -quiet, with a wonderful appreciation of any little thing that was done -for his comfort. I think the one characteristic that stands out the -most prominently was, 'Now, I have finished that piece of writing. I -have begun another.'" To finish a work was not an occasion for rest, -but to put forth fresh energy for other effort. Francis P. Harper, -his publisher, says: "He had a capacity for work that was almost -beyond belief, and was always prompt and business-like. He was a -firm and trustworthy friend, and an ideal author for a publisher to -have business relations with." His printer (in the Osprey office, -Washington), adds: "I have had years of experience with various -authors and editors, and can truthfully say his genial friendship -and appreciation stands out markedly beyond all others." "He never -neglected a letter," says Mrs. Coues, "although from a total stranger, -asking for assistance. He gave it if he could, most generously, and if -unable, gave a courteous answer, and a reason. I myself have counted -sixty letters he had written in about six hours—not merely a reply of -a few lines. His one great desire in life was a search after truth, and -kept his mind receptive to all that could give him a clue." - -Doctor Coues spent the summer of 1899 in New Mexico, making researches -in his usual energetic fashion—"forgetful of his fifty-seven years" as -he wrote me after returning home ill. It was not years, however, that -bore so heavily upon him; but the crowding of five years' work into -one. This it was that deprived the world of his incomparable services -in the very fullness of his intellectual powers. - -Doctor Coues was the son of Samuel Elliott Coues and Charlotte Haven -Ladd Coues, born at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, September 9, 1842. His -literary tastes were inherited from his father, who was a writer on -scientific subjects. He was educated at Ganzaga College and Columbia -University, Washington, D. C., from which he graduated in 1861. He -continued to reside at the capital, and his life was spent in contact -with all that was strongest and best in a nation which his talents -helped to make conspicuous in the fields of science and literature. -His death occurred at Johns Hopkin's Hospital, Baltimore, December 25, -1899. The State of Oregon cannot fail to place his name high among the -fathers of her early history. - - FRANCES F. VICTOR. - -[Footnote 21: Principal Works: "Key to North American Birds," '72; -"Field Ornithology," '74; "Birds of the Northwest," '74; "Fur-Bearing -Animals," '77; "Monographs of North America Rodentia (with -Allen)," '77; "Birds of the Colorado Valley," '78; "Ornithological -Bibliography," '78-'80; "New England Bird Life (with Stearns)," '81; -"Check List and Dictionary of North American Birds," '82; "Avifauna -Columbiana (with Prentiss)," '83; "Biogen, a Speculation on the Origin -and Nature of Life," '84; "New Key to North American Birds," '84; "The -Dæmon of Darwin," '84; "Code of Nomenclature and Check List of North -American Birds (with Allen, Ridgway, Brewster, and Henshaw)," '86; "A -Woman in the Case," '87; "Neuro-Myology (with Shute)," '87; "Signs of -the Times,"'88. Also author of several hundred monographs and minor -papers in scientific periodicals, and editor or associate editor for -some years of the Bulletin of the United States Geological Survey, -Bulletin of the Nuttall Ornithological Club, American Naturalist, -American Journal of Otology, Encyclopædia Americana, Standard Natural -History, The Auk, The Biogen Series, Die Sphinx (Liepsig), The Century -Dictionary of the English Language (in General Biology, Comparative -Anatomy and all departments of Zoology), The Travels of Lewis and -Clark, &c.] - -[Footnote 22: See the "American Explorers Series," published by Francis -P. Harper, for Coues' work in this line. His last was "On the Trail of -a Spanish Pioneer."] - -[Footnote 23: I have since learned that Lolo is not an Indian word, but -is the Indian pronunciation of the word Lawrence—the letter _r_ not -being sounded in the native tongue. A mingling of the French sound of -the other letters in the word produces the word as pronounced by the -Indians.] - - - - -DOCUMENT. - - THE ORIGINAL OF THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENT IS IN THE POSSESSION OF - MRS. FRANCES FULLER VICTOR, PORTLAND, OREGON. IT WAS SECURED - FROM MR. HARVEY, A SON-IN-LAW OF DOCTOR MCLOUGHLIN, - AND SEEMS TO BE A DEFENCE BY DOCTOR MCLOUGHLIN - OF HIMSELF, ADDRESSED TO PARTIES IN LONDON. - - -The first Americans since 1814 who crossed to the west side of the -Rocky Mountains was (at least to our knowledge) Mr. Jedidiah Smith with -five trappers, who, having met some of the Hudson's Bay Company on the -headwaters of Snake River came with them to the Hudson's Bay post at -the Flat Heads, where they passed the winter. - -In 1825 he returned to join his people, and in 1826 he brought a large -party of his countrymen to hunt in the Snake country, where they have -been ever since. In 1826 and up to 1828, there were constantly five -or six hundred. But now, that beaver are scarce, there are only about -fifty. In 1827, Mr. Smith pushed his trapping parties to the Bay of -San Francisco, in California, and, in endeavoring to make his way here -from California in 1828, fifteen of his men were murdered by the Umpqua -Indians when he with only three of his men reached Vancouver from -whence, spring 1829, he proceeded to join his countrymen in the Snake -country. - -The first American vessel that entered the Columbia River to trade -since 1814 was the Oahee, Captain Dominus, in February, 1829. The -Convoy, Captain Thompson, came a while after. These two vessels -belonged to the same party, a merchant in Boston. In summer, they -went up to the coast. Returned in the fall. The Oahee wintered in the -Columbia River, but the Convoy proceeded to Oahoo. Returned spring -1830, and in the summer both vessels left and never returned. - -In 1832 a Mr. Wyeth came across by land from Boston with eleven men, -with the intention of establishing a salmon fishery and expected -to have met a vessel which he had sent from Boston, but he learned -afterwards she had been wrecked on an island in the Pacific, and the -nonarrival of his vessel obliged Mr. Wyeth to return to the United -States, but his men remained in the Wallamette. - -In 1834 Mr. Wyeth returned with a large number of men whom he left -in the Snake Country to trap beaver, where he built the present Fort -Hall, and brought about twenty men with him to prosecute the object -of his first voyage in 1832, for which purpose he had despatched the -May Dacre, Captain Lambert, from Boston in 1833, and which entered -the river a few days after Mr. Wyeth arrived at Vancouver, who built -on Wapatoo Island. Collected in 1835 about a half cargo of salmon -when the May Dacre sailed in 1835, and in 1836 Mr. Wyeth broke up his -establishment on Wapatoo Island. Returned to the states, offered the -remains of his property in the country for sale to the Directors of the -Hudson's Bay Company in London, but they referred him to their officers -in the country at Vancouver, who bought Mr. Wyeth's property and his -establishment of Fort Hall in 1837 from Mr. Wyeth's agent, and he left -in one of the Hudson's Bay Company's vessels for Oahoo in 1838. But -his labouring men dispersed in the country. The Rev. Jason and Daniel -Lee of the Methodist Episcopal Church, with three laymen came overland -from the states in company with Mr. Wyeth in 1834. They brought horses -and cattle with them, but their supplies came by sea in the May Dacre. -Messrs. Lee left the states with the intention of settling in the -Flat Head Country as missionaries to those Indians but changed their -minds and settled in the Wallamette Country, and as they had left -their cattle at Walla Walla and they were rather weak after their long -journey, they asked and obtained the loan of cattle from me. - -In 1834 one Kelley came from Boston by way of California, accompanied -by Ewing Young and eight English and American sailors. Kelley left the -states with a party intending to come here by way of Mexico, but the -party broke up on the way and Kelley alone reached California, and -with one man overtook our California trappers on their return about -two hundred miles from San Francisco, and Young, a few days after, -with the rest of them; but as Gen. Fiqueroa, Governor of California, -had written 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 dealings 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 interests. 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 till he left in 1836, when I gave him a passage to Oahoo. On his -return to the states, he published a narrative of his voyage in which, -instead of being grateful for the kindness shown him, he abased me -and falsely stated I had been so alarmed with the dread that he would -destroy the Hudson's Bay Company's trade, that I had kept a constant -watch over him, and which was published in the Report of the United -States Congress. In 1835 five English and American deserters having -lost two of their companions murdered by Indians made their way from -California to the Wallamette. The same year the Revd. Samuel Parker of -the Presbyterian Church, was sent by the Missionary Society of Boston -to examine and find proper places to establish missions. He came with -the American Fur-Traders to their rendezvous in the Snake Country, -from whence he sent his companion, Dr. Whitman, to the states for -missionaries and came alone to Vancouver. The Rev. Mr. Parker appears -to me to be a man of piety and zeal, but is very unpopular with the -other protestant missionaries in the country, for which I see no cause -except that acting differently from them, he has published to the world -the manner some of their countrymen act toward Indians, and the very -different manner we treat them as may be seen by reference to his work. -He left in 1836 by way of Oahoo. - -In 1836 Dr. Whitman with his wife, and accompanied by the Rev. Mr. -Spalding and his wife, and laymen, returned to the country. Dr. Whitman -established himself in the vicinity of Walla Walla. The Rev. Mr. -Spalding in the Nes Perces Country. In the fall Mr. Slocum [Slacum] -came in a vessel from Oahoo, which he hired for the purpose. On -arriving, he pretended that he was a private gentleman, and that he -came to meet Messrs. Murray and companions who had left the states to -visit the country. But this did not deceive me, as I perceived who he -was and his object, and by his report of his mission published in the -proceedings of the Congress of the United States, I found my surmises -were correct. This year the people in the Wallamette formed a party and -went by sea with Mr. Slacum to California for cattle, and returned in -1837 with 250 head. In 1836 the Rev. Mr. Leslie and family, accompanied -by the Rev. Mr. Perkins and another single [man], and a single woman, -came by sea to reinforce the Methodist Mission. In 1837 a bachelor and -five single women came by sea to reinforce the Methodist Mission, and -three Presbyterian ministers came across land with their families, -while their supplies came by sea. Two of these missionaries settled in -the vicinity of Colville, the other in the Nes Perces Country. In 1838 -two Roman Catholic Missionaries came from Canada. This year the Rev. -Mr. Griffin of the Presbyterian Church, with his wife, came across land -from the states by way of the Snake Country. There came with him also -a layman of the name of Munger, and his wife. They came on what they -called the self supporting system, that is, they expected the Indians -would work to support them in return for their teachings, but their -plan failed. Mr. Griffin is now settled in the Wallamette as a farmer, -and Mr. Munger joined the Methodist Mission, where he became deranged, -threw himself on a large fire, saying it would not hurt him, but was -so seriously burned that in a few days he died. In 1839 a party left -the State of Illinois, headed by Mr. Farnham, with the intention of -exploring the country and reporting to their countrymen who had sent -them. But four only reached this place. Three remained, but Mr. Farnham -returned to the states by sea and published an account of his travels. -Messrs. Geiger and Johnson came this year, sent as they said by people -in the states to examine the country and report to them. Johnson -left by sea and never returned. Geiger went as far as California and -returned here by land. He is settled in the Wallamette. In 1840, the -Rev. Mr. Clarke of the Presbyterian Church with his wife, and two -laymen with their wives, came across land on the self supporting -system, but, as their predecessors, they failed and are now settled in -the Wallamette. In 1840 the Rev. Mr. Jason Lee, who had gone in 1838 -across land to the United States, returned by sea in the Lausanne, -Capt. Spalding, with a reinforcement of fifty-two persons, ministers -and laymen, men, women and children, for the Methodist Mission, and a -large supply of goods with which the Methodist Mission opened a sale -shop. In 1841 the American exploring squadron, under Capt. Wilkes, -surveyed the Columbia River from the entrance to the Cascades, and sent -a party across land from Puget Sound to Colville and Walla Walla, and -another from Vancouver to California. At same time the Thomas Perkins, -Capt. Varney, of Boston, entered Columbia River for the purpose of -trade. She was the second vessel that came for that object since the -May Dacre in 1834. The first was the Maryland in 1840, Capt. Couch, of -Boston, who came to endeavor to establish a salmon fishery, but did -not succeed. The Thomas Perkins had a quantity of liquor, and as this -was an article which, after a great deal of difficulty, we had been -able to suppress in the trade, to prevent its being again introduced, I -bought up Varney's goods and liquor, and it was still, spring 1846, in -store at Vancouver. Spring 1842 the Americans invited the Canadians to -unite with them and organize a temporary government, but the Canadians, -apprehensive it might interfere with their allegiance, declined, and -the project, which originated with the mission, failed. This spring -the Chenamus, Capt. Couch, came from Boston. Capt. Couch opened a -store at Oregon City and left a Mr. Wilson to do his business when he -sailed in the fall for Boston. The ——, Capt. Chapman, of Boston, came -also, who traded for a cargo of salmon, sailed in the fall, but never -returned. In the spring the Rev. Father Desmit of the Society of Jesus -came to Vancouver from the Flat Head Country where the year before he -had established a mission from St. Louis. He came for supplies, which -he purchased, and with which he returned to his mission. In August, -the Rev. Messrs. Langlois and Bolduc [?] came by sea. The month of -September 137 men, women and children arrived from the states. They -came with their wagons to Fort Hall, and from thence packed their -effects on horses and drove their cattle. They passed, without visiting -Vancouver, from The Dalles to the Wallamette over the Cascades by the -road which the Methodist Mission had opened to drive cattle from the -Wallamette to that place. Dr. White who had formerly been a member of -the Methodist Mission, but disagreeing with them had left them in 1840, -came with these immigrants. He gave himself out, at a meeting which -he called for the purpose, as being appointed Sub-Indian Agent by the -American government for Oregon Territory. But of course the officers -of the Hudson's Bay Company did not acknowledge his authority, and the -immigrants brought the printed copy of a bill brought into the Senate -of the United States by Dr. Linn, in which it was proposed to donate -640 acres of land to every white male inhabitant, the same to a male -descendant of a white man, 320 to a wife, and 160 to a child under 18 -years old. This year my difficulties began with the Methodist Mission, -but as I have already given a full detail of it, I will not repeat it -here. In 1843 the Americans again proposed to the Canadians to join and -form a temporary government, but the Canadians declined for the same -reason as before. - -In the summer a number of the immigrants of last year, headed by Mr. -Hastings, not being satisfied with the country, left for California. -As they were destitute of means, I made them advances, which they were -to pay to the late Mr. Rae, at San Francisco, but few did so. But in -the fall, 875 men, women, and children came from the states by the same -route as those of last year, and brought 1,300 head of cattle. These -came to The Dalles, on the Columbia River, with their wagons, drove -their cattle over the Cascades by the same route as those of last year -to the Wallamette, and when the road was blocked up by snow, along -the north bank of the Columbia to Vancouver, where they crossed the -river and proceeded to the Wallamette, and brought down their wives and -children and property on rafts, in canoes which they hired from the -Indians, and in boats belonging to the Hudson's Bay Company, lent them -by me. Yet with the assistance I lent them, they still suffered a great -deal of misery, and spent a great deal of time, and the last passed -Vancouver only at Christmas, and if, as some years is the case, the -Columbia had frozen on the beginning of December, these immigrants were -so destitute of provisions, and so poorly clad, many of them would have -perished. - -The Rev. Father Deros, [Demers] of the Society of Jesus, came this -year with two other fathers of the same society and three laymen and -established a mission in Colville District. Lieut. Fremont, of the -United States service, came with a party to examine the country. After -purchasing supplies from the Hudson's Bay Company, he rejoined his -party at The Dalles, and proceeded across land to California. - -In 1844 the immigrants amounted to 1,475 men, women, and children. They -came by the same route, and were assisted by me with the loan of boats, -as their predecessors of last year. - -The Americans applied this year again to the Canadians in the -Wallamette (who were about settlers) to join them and form a temporary -government, to which they acceded, as they saw from the influx of -immigrants it was absolutely necessary to do so to maintain peace and -order in the country. We had the pleasure to see her Majesty's ship, -Modeste, Capt. Baillie. She anchored opposite Vancouver. The Belgian -brig, Indefatigable, also anchored there. She was the only vessel that -hitherto came under that flag, and brought the Rev. Father Desmit, -with four fathers of the Society of Jesus, and five Belgian nuns of the -Society of Sisters of our Lady. The fathers came to reinforce their -mission in the interior in the Flat Head Country, and to establish -others, and the nuns to build a convent and open a school for young -females in the Wallamette. Spring, 1845, an American of the name of -Williamson built a hut half a mile from Vancouver, on a piece of ground -occupied by the Hudson's Bay Company. As soon as I was informed of -it, I ordered the hut to be pulled down. A few days after, Williamson -returned with a surveyor to survey the place, and finding his hut -pulled down, and on inquiring, found it was pulled down by my orders, -he called on me and asked the reason of my doing so. I told him it was -because it was built on premises occupied by the Hudson's Bay Company, -who were carrying on business in the country under a license from -the British Government according to a treaty between the British and -American Governments, which implies a right to occupy as much ground -as they require for their business. But this was disputed, and he said -he would persist and build. One of his companions went so far as to -say if he was disturbed, he would burn the finest building in Oregon. -Not wishing to enter into an altercation with this fellow, I told him -in the presence of Chief Factor Douglas, and several of the Hudson's -Bay Company's officers, and several Americans, and of Dr. White, who -happened to be present at the time, that if he persisted in building, -he would place me under the disagreeable necessity of using force -to prevent him. He went away saying he would build. Although none -of the Hudson's Bay Company's people, or any from the north side of -the Columbia, had joined the organization, yet as Williamson was an -American citizen, as a matter of courtesy to them, the accompanying -letter of the 11th of March was addressed to the members of the -Executive Committee of Oregon Organization with an address to the -people, which on receipt was to be posted up for public perusal in -Oregon City. - -I also addressed them on the 12th, informing them that Williamson had -desisted from his design of building on the premises in question. - -In the summer a meeting of the people in the Wallamette was called in -which the organization was new-modeled, and a clause put in by which -it was provided that no man could be called to do any act contrary to -his allegiance. It struck me this was done to enable us to join the -organization and I mentioned this to my colleague Chief Factor Douglas, -who thought, as I did, that in our present situation and the state of -the country it would be advisable to do so, and I was not surprised -to find a few days after on my visit to Oregon City that my surmises -were correct, as the originator of the clause who was a member of -the legislature then in session, called on me and proposed to me to -enter the organization on the part of the Hudson's Bay Company. After -conversing on the subject and being aware the organization could afford -assistance to none but its own members, I told him I would proceed to -Vancouver, consult with my colleague, Chief Factor Douglas, and the -other officers of the Hudson's Bay Company at that place, which I did, -and Chief Factor Douglas coincided with me in the expediency of our -doing so. I returned to Oregon City and on the legislature writing -me a letter inviting me to join the organization on the part of the -Hudson's Bay Company, in a written reply I informed them I did so; and -on my way back to Vancouver, I was informed of the arrival of Chief -Factor Ogden with dispatches from Sir George Simpson, Governor in Chief -of Rupert's Land, in which I was happy to see that my proceeding in -the case of Williamson had been approved. I have stated that Chief -Factor Douglas coincided in opinion with me that in our situation, -and in the present state of the country, it was evident for us (since -none of us could be called to do any act contrary to our allegiance), -to join the organization, as it resolved itself by this clause merely -into an association of the people of the country to maintain peace -and order among themselves, and in the present state it was not only -necessary, but absolutely our duty, as in 1843, seeing the large number -of immigrants of that season, and seeing from the public papers it -was expected the numbers would be greater next year, and as they came -from that part of the United States most hostile in feeling to British -interest which was greatly excited by the perusal of Irving's Astoria. -Kelley and Spalding's letters, several copies of which were among -them, in which our conduct and proceedings were represented in the -blackest and falsest colors, had worked so much on the minds of these -immigrants that I found out they supposed we would have set the Indians -on them, and that they had frequently talked among themselves that -they ought to take Vancouver. They now knew these reports were false, -but as prejudice takes a strong hold of people's minds, and of which -others might avail themselves to form a party to make an attack on the -Hudson's Bay Company's property—of which it may be said they were -encouraged by the public papers stating that British subjects ought -not to be allowed to be in the country, by the expectation held out by -Linn's bill that every male above eighteen years of age would have a -donation 640 acres of land, a wife 320, and all under 18 would have 160 -acres in any part of the country—I wrote, fall 1843, to the Directors -of the Hudson's Bay Company that it was necessary to get protection -from the government for the security of the Hudson Bay Company's -property, and to which in June 1845 I received their answer stating -that in the present state of affairs the company could not obtain -protection from the government, and that I must protect it the best way -I could, and as I had sent an account of Williamson's attempt to build -on the premises of the Hudson's Bay Company, and of my proceedings on -the occasion to her Majesty's Consul, Gen. Millar, at Oahoo, calling -on him for protection for the Hudson's Bay Company's property, and to -which he did not even reply, though he could have done so by the vessel -which conveyed my letter. Therefore,—[seeing our situation, and that -an incendiary in the dry weather in the summer and fall might easily -destroy Vancouver and fly to the Wallamette where we could not touch -him. Indeed at that very time, there was a man at Vancouver on his way -with Dr. White to the states whom we knew had repeatedly said among his -countrymen that his only object for coming to this country was to try -a change of air for the benefit of his health, and to burn Vancouver, -and I heard afterwards on his way back he had expressed his great -regret at not having perpetrated his atrocious intention, and wanted -to return from Fort Hall to endeavor to carry it into effect, but his -countrymen and Dr. White persuaded him to continue his journey to the -states with them; and there are plenty such characters in the country. -One Chapman got up at a Methodist Camp Meeting and confessed publicly -that he had belonged to a celebrated band of robbers in the State of -Arkansas headed by the notorious —— whom the United States Government -had a great deal of trouble to catch and break up his band, and Chapman -declared there were several of his former associates in this country, -and if they reformed he would not expose them, but if they persisted in -their former evil course, he certainly would. Even in 1844 a man agreed -at this place to erect a building on the opposite side of the river. -After it was erected, they differed about the payment. It was referred -to arbitration, and the builder lost his case. A few days after, the -building was burnt in the night, and though every person about the -place is convinced who did it, yet there is no evidence to convict, and -if there was, it would afford no indemnification to the owner of the -property that was destroyed. I also had been informed that an American -had proposed to form a party to take Vancouver by surprise. To deprive -evil-doers of a place of refuge, as the organization could only assist -its own members]—I considered it our duty to join the organization, as -already mentioned. It may be said why not place sentries? It is because -I know from experience that common men cannot be depended on for such -a purpose beyond a few nights, and there were so few officers at the -fort, to have employed them on that duty we must have put a stop to the -business of the place which would derange the whole business of the -department, and I therefore considered it best to act as I did. I was -much surprised a few days after the arrival of Chief Factor Ogden, by -the arrival of Lieut. Peel and Capt. Parks, who handed me a letter from -Capt. Gorden of Her Majesty's Ship America, from Nisqually, and stating -he was sent by Admiral Seymour, who wrote me to the same purport to -assure her Majesty's subjects in the country of firm protection, and -which was most unexpected after what the Directors of the Hudson's Bay -Company had written me. But more particularly from the silence of Her -Majesty's Consul, Gen. Millar, at Oahoo, which led me to suppose at -the time, though I was mistaken, that the British Government had cast -us off and we must take care of ourselves the "best way we could." I -do not mention this to find fault with others, but merely to state -my feelings, and the responsibility I felt for the property under my -charge. I was still more surprised on the return of Chief Factor -Douglas from Nisqually, where he had been in company with Mr. Peel, -to see Capt. Gorden, to receive a letter from Capt. Baillie of Her -Majesty's Ship Modeste, informing me he was sent by Admiral Seymour to -afford protection to her Majesty's subjects in the Columbia River if -they required it. At first I thought we would not, as we had joined -the organization, but on the suggestion of Chief Factor Douglas I -thought it well to accept Capt. Baillie's important offer, and I am now -happy I did so, as I am convinced it was owing to the Modeste being -at Vancouver, and the gentlemen-like conduct of Capt. Baillie and his -officers, and the good discipline and behavior of the crew, that the -officers of the Hudson's Bay Company at Vancouver have had less trouble -than they would have had, and which (though they have had a great deal -more than I expected) certainly they have done nothing to incur, but -the reverse. They have done everything they could to avoid it, but -after all of which I am not surprised when I am certain there are many -ill-disposed persons among these immigrants who think they are doing a -meritorious act by giving trouble to British subjects. - -The immigrants in 1845 amounted to 3,000 persons, men, women and -children. - - - - -REVIEWS OF BOOKS. - - -_McLoughlin and Old Oregon._ By EVA EMERY DYE. (Chicago: A. C. McClurg -and Company, 1900. Pp. VIII, 381.) - -The incidents, personalities, color, and sequence of events in the -growth of Oregon from 1832 to 1849 were never before portrayed as they -are in Mrs. Dye's "McLoughlin and Old Oregon." Had the present day -kinetograph and phonograph been at hand and in operation for recording -the dramatic scenes and sayings of that period of wonderful changes in -the Valley of the Columbia, we should have had more of the foibles, -limitations, and obliquities of human nature, but Mrs. Dye's minute -study, sympathetic assimilation, and unique strength in constructive -imagination have given us an exceedingly interesting series of pictures -almost as vivid as real life. - -The book opens at Fort Vancouver, on the Columbia, the center of the -Hudson's Bay Company's widely extended operations west of the Rocky -Mountains, and the home of its chief factor, Dr. John McLoughlin. The -time, 1832, marks the revival of the movement of American enterprise -for the occupation of Oregon in the person of Nathaniel J. Wyeth. -Nineteen years had passed since the Astor venture had suffered dismal -discomfiture in that region. From 1832 on, however, the United States -was to have representatives, in one capacity or another, of its -interests in Oregon. Slender was its hold during the first half of -this period, but its preponderance was overwhelming in the latter -half. Wyeth failed with his commercial venture. Physical obstacles -taxed his resources, and he had to meet the determined monopoly of -the Hudson's Bay Company under its competent and benignant chief -factor, Dr. John McLoughlin, backed by the millions of the company, -and a disciplined host in possession of the good-will and salutary -respect of the Indians. But the American missionaries remained on the -ground, established stations, accumulated stores, formed nuclei of -settlements through their lay helpers, and correctly conceived policies -of inuring the Indians through example and precept to a status of -settled agricultural life. Then come strong mountain men, who had had -their fill of experience as solitary trappers in the wilds of the Rocky -Mountains. Beginning with a band of one hundred and thirty-seven in -1842, and rising immediately to eight hundred and seventy-five in 1843 -there rolled in the mighty tide of pioneer home-builders. - -In such an entourage of events the author correctly conceives of -the motive that is primary in this culminative course of events. -A lower race is to be dispossessed by a higher, though Wyeth's -plans contemplated advantage from the Indians' retaining their -native employments, and the missionaries vainly hoped by a summary -procedure to elevate them from lowest barbarism to civilization. -Doctor McLoughlin holds the key to the situation, at least as to the -immediate outcome. As representative of the fur trading monopoly, his -interests are linked with the interests of the Indians in remaining in -undisturbed possession of their imperial domains. It would have been -so easy to have hustled back home the first forerunners of the great -immigrations, and, if this had not deterred others from coming on in -larger numbers, these in turn, utterly without resources after their -long marches, could easily have been thrown into consternation and -wrought havoc with by the chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company. - -The issues in this great drama of the Pacific Northwest turn then, -first, upon the qualities of heart and character of the Indians that -came under the influence of Lee, Whitman, and Spalding. Will they -have the faith and fortitude to sacrifice a world in which they are -the leaders for a possibly better world in which leadership is with -the white man? Secondly, the outcome of this second movement of the -Americans on to Oregon lies with Doctor McLoughlin. Will the depth of -his humanity suffice to rescue, shelter, nourish and shield year after -year those who would have perished but for his intervention and whose -survival is bound to result in the appearance of invading hosts who -will wrest the sceptre from him? Mrs. Dye has thrilling issues and two -real heroes, Whitman and McLoughlin, in this epoch of Oregon history, -and she makes the most of them. - -The secret of her remarkable success in making the characters and -conditions of that time live again lay in her getting the confidence -of the principal surviving actors of that period and securing from -them the fullest impress of the traditions of stirring times, with all -the halo that half-a-century would naturally invest them with. Through -these sources she attained an understanding of the actors and spirit -of the times so intimate that her pretension to supply the words used -on all important occasions does not become a mockery, but through this -dramatizing the author attains the unique element in her success. -In this role her inimitable power of vivid representation, through -successions of pictures, has its best application. - -The stock of reminiscences that Mrs. Dye exploited with such rare skill -and energy needed corroboration from contemporary documents. As the -material for Oregon history is brought together, many lapses, more or -less important, in matters of fact will no doubt be disclosed. As an -instance: The magnitude of Wyeth's second expedition is stated in -figures at least four times too large, both for the number of men and -the amount of money. - -The author has, however, kept herself remarkably well poised between -the partisan bickerings that have characterized so much of the writing -in Oregon history. The search of the author for indubitable evidence -has been rewarded in the finding of some valuable material, notably the -Whitman papers; and clues that she came upon have yielded treasures for -others. - -Towards the closing chapters the author swerves farthest from history -towards romance. Instead of bringing the vigorous young Oregon -community into the foreground, she leaves the stage empty. "Old -Oregon," with its life had, of course, departed, but it was crowded out -by the thronging of the new. - -This book is by far the best that the general reader can select for an -introduction to the life of early Oregon. - - -_Missionary History of the Pacific Northwest._ By H. K. HINES, D. D. -(Portland: H. K. Hines, San Francisco: J. D. Hammond, 1899. Pp. 510.) - -As the sub-title indicates, this is rather the "Story of Jason Lee" -than a missionary history of the Pacific Northwest. There would have -been no impropriety in giving it the title of "Jason Lee and the -Methodist Missionary Effort in the Pacific Northwest." The title is -positively misleading as it stands, for forty pages only are devoted -to an account of the work of the missionaries under the "American -Board," while some four hundred and fifty are taken up with the story -of the Methodist Missions. The Methodist denomination was first in this -field with wisely chosen representatives. It sustained and reinforced -its movement to christianize the Indians of Oregon most munificently, -considering the conditions of the times. As a memorial of these efforts -conceived with such grand and consecrated spirit, nothing would have -been more fitting than a volume by Doctor Hines. - -No one could have been so unfair as to demand of Doctor Hines a cold -and critical account of these missionaries and their work. A panegyric -on Jason Lee and his colaborers was becoming from him. He was the -man prepared through life-long schooling and natural inclination to -do this, and Jason Lee's work deserved it. But for the title and an -invidious comparison that crops out all too frequently, Doctor Hines -has done in this book just what God had prepared him to do. - -It is a pity that a work of so high general character, the best product -of such fine literary ability as Doctor Hines possesses, could not have -been one of some famous series by a strong publishing house of the East -that would have pushed it into the markets of the world. - -The fact that the critical historian will take issue with the -conclusions of this book almost from the beginning constitutes no -disparagement of the real worth of the author's work. It was a labor -of love for a character and for a denomination. This, however, may -be said: The Methodist missionary project in the Pacific Northwest -was, soon after its inception, at all but one or two points, not -distinctively a missionary station at all. But it was a colony with a -strong secular spirit and exercised a most salutary influence upon the -affairs of the Oregon community. This fact the work of Doctor Hines -unwittingly proves. - - - - -NOTE—A CORRECTION. - - - _To the Editor Oregon Historical Quarterly_: - -In the article upon F. X. Matthieu in the March Quarterly there appears -one inadvertence which should be corrected: Doctor White is mentioned -as having first come to Oregon on the Lausanne. He came in 1837 _via_ -Honolulu, leaving Boston on the ship Hamilton, and reaching the -Columbia in May, on the brig Diana. - - H. S. LYMAN. - - - - -PUBLICATIONS - -OF THE - -OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY - - -SOURCES OF THE HISTORY OF OREGON - -VOLUME I - -NUMBER 1.—JOURNAL OF MEDOREM CRAWFORD—AN ACCOUNT OF HIS TRIP ACROSS -THE PLAINS IN 1842. PRICE, 25 CENTS. - -NUMBER 2.—THE INDIAN COUNCIL AT WALLA WALLA, MAY AND JUNE, 1856, BY -COL. LAWRENCE KIP—A JOURNAL. PRICE, 25 CENTS. - -NUMBERS 3 TO 6 INCLUSIVE.—THE CORRESPONDENCE AND JOURNALS OF CAPTAIN -NATHANIEL J. WYETH, 1831-6.—A RECORD OF TWO EXPEDITIONS FOR THE -OCCUPATION OF THE OREGON COUNTRY, WITH MAPS, INTRODUCTION AND INDEX. -PRICE, $1.10. - -THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY FOR 1898-9, INCLUDING -PAPER BY SILAS B. SMITH, ON "BEGINNINGS IN OREGON," 97 PAGES. PRICE, 25 -CENTS. - - -QUARTERLY OF THE OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY. - -CONTENTS NO. 1, VOL. I, MARCH, 1900. - - THE GENESIS OF POLITICAL AUTHORITY AND OF A COMMONWEALTH - GOVERNMENT IN OREGON—_James R. Robertson_ 1 - - THE PROCESS OF SELECTION IN OREGON PIONEER SETTLEMENT—_Thomas - Condon_ 60 - - NATHANIEL J. WYETH'S OREGON EXPEDITIONS—"In Historic Mansions - and Highways Around Boston" 66 - - REMINISCENCES OF F. X. MATTHIEU—_H. S. Lyman_ 73 - - DOCUMENTS—Correspondence of John McLoughlin, Nathaniel J. - Wyeth, S. R. Thurston, and R. C. Winthrop, pertaining to claim - of Dr. McLoughlin at the Falls of the Willamette—the site of - Oregon City 105 - - NOTES AND NEWS 70 - - -PRICE: THIRTY-FIVE CENTS PER NUMBER, ONE DOLLAR PER YEAR - - - - -UNIVERSITY OF OREGON. - - -_THE GRADUATE SCHOOL confers the degrees of Master of Arts, (and in -prospect, of Doctor of Philosophy,) Civil and Sanitary Engineer (C. -E.), Electrical Engineer (E. E.), Chemical Engineer (Ch. E.), and -Mining Engineer (Min. E.)_ - - -_THE COLLEGE OF LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND THE ARTS confers the degree -of Bachelor of Arts on graduates from the following groups: (1) -General Classical; (2) General Literary; (3) General Scientific; (4) -Civic-Historical. It offers Collegiate Courses not leading to a degree -as follows: (1) Preparatory to Law or Journalism; (2) Course for -Teachers._ - - -_THE COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING._— - - _A.—The School of Applied Science confers the degree of Bachelor - of Science on graduates from the following groups: (1) General - Science; (2) Chemistry; (3) Physics; (4) Biology; (5) Geology and - Mineralogy. It offers a Course Preparatory to Medicine._ - - _B.—The School of Engineering: (1) Civil and Sanitary; (2) - Electrical; (3) Chemical._ - - - _THE SCHOOL OF MINES AND MINING._ - _THE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE at Portland._ - _THE SCHOOL OF LAW at Portland._ - _THE SCHOOL OF MUSIC._ - _THE UNIVERSITY ACADEMY._ - - _Address_ - THE PRESIDENT, - EUGENE, OREGON. - - - - -Transcriber's Note - - The order for "Contents No. 1, Vol. I, March, 1900" has been retained - as published in the original publication. Other apparent typographical - errors have been repaired. - - Footnotes placed at end of the respective chapters. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Quarterly of the Oregon Historical -Society (Vol. I, No. 2), by Various - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY *** - -***** This file should be named 55969-0.txt or 55969-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/5/9/6/55969/ - -Produced by Larry B. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: The Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society (Vol. I, No. 2) - -Author: Various - -Release Date: November 14, 2017 [EBook #55969] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY *** - - - - -Produced by Larry B. Harrison and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was -produced from images made available by the HathiTrust -Digital Library.) - - - - - - -</pre> - - - - - -<hr /> - -<div class="figcenter newpage hideepub"> - <img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="Cover" /> -</div> - - - - -<hr /> - -<h1><span class="small">THE QUARTERLY</span><br /> -<span class="xsmall">OF THE</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">Oregon Historical Society</span>.</h1> - -<p class="bold center in0"><span class="smcap p2b">Volume</span> I]      JUNE, 1900      [<span class="smcap">Number</span> 2</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2>CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - -<table summary="Contents"> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Oregon Question</span>—<i>Joseph R. Wilson</i></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_111">111</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Our Public Land System and its Relation to Education in the<br /> - United States</span>—<i>Frances F. Victor</i></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_132">132</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Glimpses of Life in Early Oregon</span>—<i>Mrs. William Markland Molson</i></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_158">158</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Not Marjoram.—The Spanish Word "Oregano" not the Original<br /> - of Oregon</span>—<i>H. W. Scott</i></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_165">165</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Reminiscences of Louis Labonte</span>—<i>H. S. Lyman</i></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_169">169</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Dr. Elliott Coues</span>—<i>Frances F. Victor</i></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_189">189</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Document.</span>—A Narrative of Events In Early Oregon ascribed to Dr. John<br /> - McLoughlin</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_193">193</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Reviews of Books.</span>—"McLoughlin and Old Oregon"—<i>Eva Emery Dye</i></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_207">207</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl">   "Missionary History of the Pacific Northwest"—<i>H. K. Hines, D. D.</i></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_210">210</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Note.</span>—A Correction</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_212">212</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr class="style1" /> - -<p class="bold center in0">PRICE: THIRTY-FIVE CENTS PER MONTH, ONE DOLLAR PER YEAR<br /> -<span class="vspace"> </span><br /> -Entered at the Post Office at Portland, Oregon, as second-class matter<br /> -May 5, 1900.</p> - - - - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2><span class="smcap">The Oregon Historical Society</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="center bold in0 p2b"><span class="smcap">Organized December 17, 1898</span></p> - - -<table summary="Officers"> - <tr> - <td class="tdl">H. W. SCOTT</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="smcap">President</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl">C. B. BELLINGER</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="smcap">Vice-President</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl">F. G. YOUNG</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="smcap">Secretary</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl">CHARLES E. LADD</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="smcap">Treasurer</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="tdc"><span class="smcap">George H. Himes</span>, Assistant Secretary.</td> - </tr> -</table> - - -<p class="center bold in0 p2t p2b">DIRECTORS</p> - -<ul class="index table2"> - <li class="isub1">THE GOVERNOR OF OREGON, <i>ex officio</i>.</li> - <li class="isub1">THE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, <i>ex officio</i>.</li> - <li class="isub3 p1t">Term Expires at Annual Meeting in December, 1900,</li> - <li class="isub3">H. W. SCOTT, MRS. HARRIET K. McARTHUR.</li> - <li class="isub3 p1t">Term Expires at Annual Meeting in December, 1901,</li> - <li class="isub3">F. G. YOUNG, L. B. COX.</li> - <li class="isub3 p1t">Term Expires at Annual Meeting in December, 1902,</li> - <li class="isub3">JAMES R. ROBERTSON, JOSEPH R. WILSON.</li> - <li class="isub3 p1t">Term Expires at Annual Meeting in December, 1903,</li> - <li class="isub3">C. B. BELLINGER, MRS. MARIA L. MYRICK.</li> -</ul> - - -<blockquote class="block2"> -<p><i>The Quarterly</i> is sent free to all members of the Society. The annual dues -are two dollars. The fee for life membership is twenty-five dollars.</p> - -<p>Contributions to <i>The Quarterly</i> and correspondence relative to historical -materials, or pertaining to the affairs of this Society, should be addressed to</p> - -<p class="sigright">F. G. YOUNG,  <br /> -<i>Secretary</i>.</p> - -<p class="sigleft"><span class="smcap">Eugene, Oregon.</span></p> -</blockquote> - -<p> </p> - -<blockquote class="block2"> -<p>Subscriptions for <i>The Quarterly</i>, or for the other publications of the -Society, should be sent to</p> - -<p class="sigright">GEORGE H. HIMES,  <br /> -<i>Assistant Secretary</i>.</p> - -<p class="sigleft"><span class="smcap">City Hall, Portland, Oregon.</span></p> -</blockquote> - - - - -<hr /> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">111</a></span></p> - -<p class="center bold in0 newpage"><span class="smcap">Volume</span> I.]  JUNE, 1900.  [<span class="smcap">Number</span> 2.</p> - -<hr class="style1" /> - -<p class="center bold in0"><span class="xlarge">THE QUARTERLY</span><br /> -OF THE<br /> -<span class="smcap xxlarge">Oregon Historical Society</span>.</p> - -<hr class="style1" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak">THE OREGON QUESTION.</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center bold in0 p1t p1b">I.</p> - -<p>Ascending the Columbia River to the junction of its -two main branches, and each of these branches in turn -to its source, a point is reached to the north well toward -the fifty-fifth degree of latitude, and another point to the -south not far from the forty-first degree. Lines drawn -through these two points directly west to the Pacific -Ocean would divide the Pacific Coast of North America -approximately into three great historic divisions. Previous -to the year 1792, the coast north of the fifty-fifth -degree had been explored and in some sort settled by -Russia, and the sovereignty of Russia over it recognized; -the part south of the forty-first degree had been explored -and settled by Spain, and the sovereignty of it had been -conceded to Spain; the middle part of the coast having -been explored by both Spain and Britain, but settled by -neither, the sovereignty of this was yet in abeyance. If -the lines supposed to be drawn from the utmost north -and south sources of the Columbia to the Pacific now<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">112</a></span> -be extended eastward to the crest of the Rocky Mountains, -the territory included between these two lines, the -Pacific Ocean and the crest-line of the Rocky Mountains, -will embrace the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, -with a considerable part of the states of California, Wyoming, -and Montana, together with the greater part of -British Columbia. It is the settlement of the question -of sovereignty over the region thus roughly defined that -is the subject of this paper.</p> - -<p>During almost the whole period when its sovereignty -was in question this region was commonly known in this -country and in Europe as Oregon, the Oregon Country, -or the Oregon Territory, and the question of its sovereignty -as the Oregon Question. The country took its -name from a legendary name of the river that defines it, -a name given the river even before it had been seen by -any white man. For many years previous to 1792 the -existence of such a river in this region had been conjectured -by explorers along the coast from signs they had -observed in an indentation in the coast line, and by explorers -in the interior from reports of such a river that -reached them through native tribes supposed to dwell -near its sources. It is to Jonathan Carver, a native of -Connecticut, that we owe, as it is still thought, the name -Oregon. In his journal of travels in the regions of the -Upper Mississippi he speaks of four great rivers, flowing -in as many directions, which took their rise, as he -had heard from native tribes, somewhere in the mountains -to the west. One of these was, as Carver writes -in his journal, "the river Oregon, or the River of the -West, which falls into the Pacific Ocean." Already, in -Carver's day, and before the time of his travels, maps -had appeared with a river marked in the region of what -is now the Columbia, which bore the name, among -others, of the River of the West, or the Great River of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">113</a></span> -the West. Whether Carver thought of this river as the -river of his tradition cannot now be known, but it is -certain that the name which he heard or invented came -before long to be attached to this river for a time at least, -and for all time to the region defined by the river.</p> - -<p>At the beginning of the year 1792, the United States -had no claim to the region of the Oregon, but by an -event of this year they were destined to become one of -the chief parties to the question of its sovereignty. This -year Capt. Robert Gray, of Boston, was for the second -time on the coast, trading and exploring, under sanction -of congress. At some time during his previous voyage, -or in the earlier part of his second voyage, while sailing -close in shore, Gray had discovered in a bay or indentation -of the coast in latitude 46° 10´ what seemed to him -to be the mouth of a large river. Under this impression, -he had remained in the neighborhood nine days, making -repeated attempts to cross the bar and effect an entrance. -But every attempt had been without avail, on account -of the violence of the breakers which reached across the -opening; he had been obliged to relinquish the attempt -and sail away, unable at this time to verify his discovery.</p> - -<p>Captain Gray had spent the winter of 1791–92 in Clyoquot -Sound, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, with -his ship Columbia. Resuming his voyage in the spring, -and sailing southward, on the morning of April 28, in -latitude 47° 37´, he fell in with Captain Vancouver, at -anchor off Destruction Island. In answer to Vancouver's -inquiries as to what discoveries he had made, Gray reported -to him his discovery in latitude 46° 10´ of what -he took to be the mouth of a large river. This Vancouver -recognized as the Deception Bay of Captain -Meares, which he had himself passed and examined on -the morning of Friday, April 27, scarcely twenty-four -hours before. Of his observations in this bay Vancouver<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">114</a></span> -had at this time made this record: "The sea now changed -from its natural to river-colored water; the probable -consequence of some streams falling into the bay, or into -the ocean to the north of it through the low land. Not -considering this opening worthy of more attention, I continued -our pursuits to the northwest, being desirous to -embrace the advantages of the now favorable breeze and -pleasant weather, so favorable to our examination of the -coast." Vancouver's estimate as here given of the importance -of this opening is confirmed by an entry in his -journal Monday, April 30, two days after meeting with -Gray. After parting from Vancouver, who continued -his course to the north, Gray sailed on along shore southward, -stopping here and there to examine the coast or -trade with the natives, but evidently keeping in mind the -bay which he had taken to be the mouth of a river. In -the log-book of the Columbia, for May 11, there is this -entry: "At 4 A. M., saw the entrance of our desired port -bearing east-south-east, distance six leagues; in steering -sails, and hauled our wind in shore. At 8 A. M., being -a little to windward of the entrance to the harbor, bore -away, and run in east-north-east, between the breakers. -* * * When we were over the bar we found this -to be a large river of fresh water, up which we steered."</p> - -<p>Captain Gray remained in this river for nine days, -during which time he explored it to a distance of thirty -miles from the mouth. After filling the ship's casks -with fresh water from the river, on May 20 he sailed out -over the bar, having first given to the river his ship's -name, the Columbia, which name the river has since -borne.</p> - -<p>From the mouth of the Columbia Gray sailed northward, -and a few days later, having suffered some injury -to his ship, put into Nootka Bay for repairs. Here he -found Quadra, the Spanish commandant, to whom he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">115</a></span> -communicated his discovery, and gave a chart of the -mouth of the river. This title of Gray to be regarded -as the discoverer of the Columbia River was then, by this -immediate publication of the discovery, made secure, and -it has never been successfully questioned. The existence -of such a river had long before been conjectured; others, -before Gray, sailing along the coast had remarked the -same indentation, had noted its latitude, and observed -signs of fresh water issuing from it; but it remained for -Gray to surmount the obstacles to entrance and actually -to sail in and cast anchor in the river.</p> - -<p>It was this discovery of the Columbia River by Robert -Gray, a citizen of the United States, sailing under the -American flag, and with the sanction of congress, that -first gave the United States a claim to the Oregon region. -It was not, however, to be the only ground of that claim. -Some years before the discovery of the Columbia by -Gray, an exploration of the Oregon region had been projected -by Americans. The project seems to have originated -with Jefferson, and may be regarded as a fitting -prelude to the later achievement by his administration -of the Louisiana Purchase. In the year 1786, six years -before Gray's discovery, while Minister to France, Jefferson -became acquainted with John Ledyard, of Connecticut, -who had been with Captain Cook in his last voyage -in the Pacific, and who as corporal of marines had gained -some reputation for enterprise and daring. Ledyard had -come to Paris in search of an opportunity to engage in -the fur trade of the Pacific, and, failing in this, was -ready to enlist in almost any other enterprise of daring. -Jefferson suggested to him the exploration of the northwest -region of America. The plan was, as Jefferson himself -gives it, that Ledyard "go by land to Kamchatka, -cross in Russian vessels to Nootka Sound, fall down into -the latitude of the Missouri, and penetrate to and through<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">116</a></span> -that to the United States." Jefferson's proposal was -accepted by Ledyard, and steps were at once taken to -secure from the Empress of Russia permission for him -to cross her dominions. Failing to secure permission of -the Empress, she being absent from her capital in a distant -part of her dominions, Ledyard, impatient of longer -delay, set out on his own responsibility, and got to within -two hundred miles of Kamchatka, when he was arrested -by an order of the Empress and taken back to Poland, -where he was released. "Thus failed," writes Jefferson, -"the first attempt to explore the western part of our -Northern Continent."</p> - -<p>The attempt failed, but Jefferson's interest in the exploration -of this region did not die with it. Of a second -attempt some years later he writes: "In 1792, I proposed -to the American Philosophical Society that we -should set on foot a subscription to engage some competent -person to explore that region in an opposite direction—that -is, by ascending the Missouri, crossing the -Stony Mountains, and descending the nearest river to the -Pacific." This plan too was attempted, but the seriousness -of the projector's purpose was severely tried by the -delay of years in raising the necessary funds. When at -last, under the leadership of Captain Meriwether Lewis, -later of the Lewis and Clark expedition, the explorers -were well started on the way, the expedition failed -through an order of the French minister recalling the -botanist of the expedition, who was a citizen of France. -"Thus failed," writes Jefferson again, "the second attempt -to explore the Northern Pacific region."</p> - -<p>Jefferson's interest in the exploration of the Northwest -did not die with the failure of this second attempt. Delay -in raising the necessary funds for the expedition had -brought the setting out of the explorers down to the eve -of an event that placed Jefferson in a position to further<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">117</a></span> -such an enterprise to a successful issue, and of another -event which was to furnish a new motive to its undertaking. -Early in the year 1801, when Jefferson had but -just taken his seat as President, Rufus King, Minister of -the United States to England, wrote to Madison, Secretary -of State, that the opinion at that time prevailed both -at Paris and at London that Spain had ceded Louisiana -and the Floridas to France. Immediately on receipt of -this information Madison wrote to Pinckney, American -Minister to Spain, advising him of the rumor, and of the -President's urgent wish that he make the whole subject -the object of early and vigilant inquiries. Instructions -to the same effect were given later to Robert R. Livingston -on his departure as Minister to France. After more -than a year of persistent inquiry on the part of both ministers -it was ascertained that Louisiana had been transferred -to France, and that the transfer probably included -the Floridas. Uncertainty on the latter point, as we now -know, arose from the uncertainty of the governments of -France and Spain as to the limits of Louisiana. Meanwhile -the government at Washington pressed its ministers -at both courts to use every effort to secure to the -United States the Floridas and New Orleans, with the -Mississippi as our western boundary, and the free navigation -of the river to its mouth. Events of the latter -part of the year 1802, and especially the Spanish intendant's -order excluding the United States from New -Orleans as a place of deposit, together with France's open -preparations for the occupation and colonization of New -Orleans and Lower Louisiana, made the President yet -more urgent in pressing for this end. So far, Jefferson's -thought seems not to have gone beyond the limits of -Madison's dispatch to Pinckney of May 11 of that year, -"that every effort and address be employed to obtain the -arrangement by which the territory on the east side of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">118</a></span> -the Mississippi, including New Orleans, may be ceded -to the United States, and the Mississippi be made a common -boundary." The sentiment of the Atlantic States -was at this time strongly averse to the extension of our -territory west of the Mississippi River, and there is nothing -in the government's dispatches up to the close of the -year 1802 to indicate that Jefferson did not share in this -sentiment. But there is that in Jefferson's action shortly -after this that shows him to have been singularly open-minded -to the suggestion of events, and to have been -prompt to prepare to avail himself of whatever the rapid -movement of events might offer of advantage to his government.</p> - -<p>In October of this year, 1802, in a conversation with -Livingston concerning Louisiana and the Floridas, Joseph -Bonaparte put the question to Livingston pointedly -whether the United States preferred the Floridas to -Louisiana. Coming from this source, the question was -felt by Livingston to have significance. Though he -shrank from the thought of such an extension of our -territory as the purchase of Louisiana would involve, he -promptly communicated the substance of the conversation -to the government at home, in a letter addressed to -the President in person. This letter dated Paris, October -28, was due in Washington about the first of January. -On the eleventh of January Jefferson sent a message to -the Senate nominating "Robert R. Livingston to be Minister -Plenipotentiary, and James Monroe to be Minister -Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, with full powers to -both jointly, or to either on the death of the other, to -enter into a treaty or convention with the First Consul -of France for the purpose of enlarging and more effectually -securing our rights and interests in the River Mississippi -and the territories eastward thereof." Since the -possession of these territories was understood to be still<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">119</a></span> -in Spain, Pinckney and Monroe were nominated with like -powers to enter into a treaty with Spain to the same end. -The words with which Jefferson prefaced this nomination -of Monroe as Minister Extraordinary are worthy of -note in this connection, and in view of what presently -emerged in the negotiations in Paris. "While my confidence," -writes Jefferson, "in our Minister Plenipotentiary -at Paris is entire and undiminished, I still think that -these objects might be promoted by joining with him a -person sent from hence directly carrying with him the -feelings and sentiments of the nation excited on the late -occurrence, impressed by full communications of all the -views we entertain on this interesting subject, and thus -prepared to meet and to improve to an useful result the -counter propositions of the other contracting party, whatsoever -form their interests may give to them, and to secure -to us the ultimate accomplishment of our object."</p> - -<p>Whether Jefferson had in mind when he wrote these -words any such "counter proposition" as was afterward -actually made, we do not certainly know, but if he had -had such in mind he could hardly have better provided -for its prompt improvement to a useful result. Meanwhile -events in Europe were shaping the suggestion of -Joseph Bonaparte into a formal proposition from the -First Consul. The renewal of hostilities between France -and England was now imminent. In the event of war it -was manifest to Napoleon that he would be unable to hold -Louisiana against the sea power of England. Rather -than that this valuable possession should fall into the -hands of his enemy he resolved to sell it, if possible, to -the United States, and thus win back the nation which -his policy of colonization had well-nigh alienated, and -at the same time recruit his depleted treasury. Negotiations -to this end were already begun when Monroe arrived -in Paris, and were continued after his arrival with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">120</a></span> -scarcely a halt to their successful and memorable issue.</p> - -<p>A third scheme of Jefferson's for the exploration of the -northwestern region of the continent was coincident with -these latter steps that led to the purchase of Louisiana. -The message nominating Monroe as Minister Extraordinary -was sent to the senate, January 11, 1803. January -18, Jefferson, taking occasion of the expiration of the -term of an act establishing trading houses with the Indian -tribes, writes to the senate on the subject of its -renewal. In the course of the message, having touched -upon the fact that the maintenance of such trading houses -by the government deprived certain of our citizens of a -lucrative trade, he suggests for the senate's consideration -whether the government might not rightly do something -to encourage such persons to extend their trade in the -regions beyond the Mississippi, then proceeds to outline -a plan for the exploration of a trade-route up the waters -of the Missouri and through to the Western Ocean. "The -interests of commerce," he urges, "place the principal -object within the constitutional powers and care of congress, -and that it should incidentally advance the geographical -knowledge of our own continent cannot but -be an additional gratification. The nation claiming the -territory, regarding this as a literary pursuit, which it -is in the habit of permitting within its dominions, would -not be disposed to view it with jealousy, even if the -expiring state of its interests there did not render it a -matter of indifference. The appropriation of $2,500 'for -the purpose of extending the external commerce of the -United States,' while understood and considered by the -executive as giving the legislative sanction, would cover -the undertaking from notice and prevent the obstructions -which interested individuals might otherwise previously -prepare in its way."</p> - -<p>Thus skillfully did Jefferson in a confidential message,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">121</a></span> -as a matter incidental to the main purpose of the message, -put before the senate a well reasoned scheme for -the exploration of the territory for the purchase of which -ministers already appointed were soon to negotiate. One -can hardly read this message and weigh its carefully -worded terms in the light of what was already in the -knowledge of the President, without its awakening more -than a suspicion that the possibility of the purchase of -Louisiana by the United States was distinctly present to -Jefferson's mind as he wrote, if it did not indeed lend -urgency to his argument. It is worthy of note, at any -rate, that the measures for the carrying out of this proposed -scheme of exploration of the territory kept pace -with the progress of the negotiations for its purchase, -and quite outran the business of its transfer; for while -the transfer of Louisiana was not consummated until -December of that year, the commander of the expedition -had been selected and commissioned, and the expedition -organized as early as midsummer. Thus closely joined -in time, if not otherwise intimately connected, were these -two measures of Jefferson's earlier administration, the -Louisiana purchase and the Lewis and Clark exploration. -The promptness, energy, and efficiency with which -the exploration was carried out under the able and courageous -leadership of the man placed in charge, were -altogether worthy of its distinguished projector. The -two stand together, the purchase and the exploration, -as worthy counterparts in what must forever be regarded -as one of the most daring yet at the same time farsighted -projects of statesmanship in American history.</p> - -<p>These two measures have been dwelt upon thus at -length because of their material importance to the ultimate -settlement of the Oregon Question. The purchase -of Louisiana brought the territory of the United States -at the crest of the Rocky Mountains in contiguity with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">122</a></span> -the Oregon region through seven degrees of latitude, -while the Lewis and Clark expedition explored a continuous -route from the Mississippi River to the Pacific -Ocean, through the very center and by the central artery -of the region in question. These two events together -made the second ground of our claim to the region of -the Oregon. Furthermore, they made possible for the -first time that movement of population across our border -into this adjacent and unoccupied territory which by the -law of nations was essential to the validity of our title,—that -immigration of American families upon which, -in spite of every earlier attempt at settlement, the final -settlement of the question of sovereignty was destined to -wait.</p> - -<p>Louisiana had been purchased by the United States -from France, or, rather, from the First Consul, who at -the time embodied in himself the government of France. -Spain, however, though by a convention three years before -the sale having agreed to retrocede the territory to -France, had remained in possession almost to the day of -its transfer to our government, so that possession of the -territory virtually passed to the United States immediately -from Spain. The transfer left Spain still with -possessions within the present boundaries of the United -States of vast extent and of immense value. East of -the Mississippi were the Floridas, and west of that river -was a great region extending from the ill-defined western -boundary of Louisiana westward to the Pacific. These -were conceded possessions of Spain. Besides, Spain was -a claimant, on the grounds of discovery and exploration, -of the Oregon country.</p> - -<p>Spain had long claimed exclusive sovereignty over this -region, with the right to forbid the encroachment of -other nations, on the ground that it belonged to that -region allotted to her by the bull of Pope Alexander VI.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">123</a></span> -England had never recognized Spain's claim to exclusive -sovereignty based upon papal authority, but had asserted -her right to settle upon any lands included within the -limits prescribed by the papal bull, even if discovered by -Spain, if, after a reasonable time allowed for settlement had -passed, such lands remained unoccupied. This attitude -of England's appeared in her policy as early as the -reign of Elizabeth; it appears in the Queen's reply to -the Spanish ambassador on occasion of his remonstrance -against the expedition of Drake, "that she did not understand -why either her subjects, or those of any other -European prince, should be debarred from traffic in the -Indies; that as she did not acknowledge the Spaniards -to have any title by donation of the Bishop of Rome, so -she knew no right they had to any places other than -those they were in actual possession of; for that their -having touched only here and there upon a coast, and -given names to a few rivers or capes, were such insignificant -things as could in no way entitle them to a propriety -further than in the parts where they actually -settled, and continued to inhabit." This principle, thus -early enunciated, of actual settlement as essential to -ultimate validity of title, is important to note, not only -for its bearing against Spanish pretensions at this time, -but because of its ultimate and decisive effect as against -England herself in the settlement of the Oregon question. -The same principle emerged again in 1770, in the -affair of the Falkland Islands, and again still more distinctly -ten years later in the Nootka Convention. The -point at issue in each of these cases was that Britain -claimed the right to make settlement upon a part of the -American coast claimed by Spain but remaining unoccupied -by her, while Spain denied this right and asserted -her exclusive sovereignty over all such places. In order -to give effect to this claim of exclusive sovereignty over<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">124</a></span> -the Northwest Coast of America, Spain had, within a -few years previous to the Nootka Convention, given orders -that the coasts of Spanish America should be more -frequently navigated and explored, and, in view of the -recent encroachment of navigators and traders of other -nations in those parts, her "general orders and instructions -were, not to permit any settlements to be made by -other nations on the continent of Spanish America." -It was in carrying out these orders that the Spanish -Commandant Martinez, in the summer of 1789, finding -two British vessels in Nootka Sound, attempting a settlement -there, captured the vessels and broke up the -settlement.</p> - -<p>In the course of the negotiations that followed on this -act of Spain's, the full extent of the Spanish claims -appeared. As given by Count Nunyez, Spanish Ambassador -at Paris, to M. de Montmorin, Secretary of -the Foreign Department of France, June 1, 1790, it -was claimed, "that, by treaties, demarkations, taking -of possessions, and the most decided acts of sovereignty -exercised by the Spaniards in those stations -from the reign of Charles II, and authorized by that -monarch in 1692, all the coast to the north of Western -America, on the side of the South Sea, as far as -beyond what is called Prince William's Sound, which is -in the sixty-first degree, is acknowledged to belong exclusively -to Spain." Not feeling sufficiently strong in -herself to enforce this claim, and unable to secure the -support of allies, Spain yielded this pretension so far as -to make, July 24, 1790, a declaration to Great Britain in -which the King of Spain engaged to make full restitution -of all British vessels which were captured at Nootka, -and to indemnify the parties interested in those vessels -for the losses which they should be found to have sustained. -"It being understood," the declaration concluded,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">125</a></span> -"that this declaration is not to preclude or -prejudice the ulterior discussion of any right which His -Majesty may claim to form an exclusive establishment -at the port of Nootka." The same day the British Minister -at Madrid presented a counter declaration accepting -the declaration of the Spanish King as offering "full -and entire satisfaction" for the injury complained of, in -which counter declaration, however, it was added at the -same time "that it is to be understood that neither the -said declaration, nor the acceptance thereof in the name -of the King, is to preclude or prejudice, in any respect, -the rights which His Majesty may claim to any establishment -which his subjects may have formed, or should -be desirous of forming in the future, at the said Bay of -Nootka." The exchange of this declaration and counter -declaration in July was followed in October of the same -year by the conclusion of the Nootka Convention between -Spain and Great Britain. The third article of this convention -is: "And in order to strengthen the bonds of -friendship, and to preserve in future a perfect harmony -and good understanding between the two contracting -parties, it is agreed that their respective subjects shall -not be disturbed or molested, either in navigating or -carrying on their fisheries in the Pacific Ocean, or in the -South Seas, or in landing on the coast of those seas, in -places not already occupied, for the purpose of carrying -on their commerce with the natives of the country, or of -making settlements there; the whole subject, nevertheless, -to the restrictions and provisions specified in the -following articles."</p> - -<p>After all the restrictions of the later articles of this -treaty are taken into view Britain may be regarded as -having maintained her main contention: That she had a -right to any establishment which her subjects might -have formed, or shall be desirous of forming in future,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">126</a></span> -in any unoccupied places on the islands or the coasts of -the Pacific Ocean. The restrictions still left this clear, -at least in respect to the Oregon region. In so far as -Britain succeeded in maintaining in this convention this -claim to the right of settlement, in so far was Spain's -claim to absolute sovereignty to this region practically -modified and limited. Unless Spain speedily made good -her reserved right of sovereignty by actual occupation of -the region in question, she must consent henceforth to -hold her right of settlement as limited by a similar right -now conceded to Britain. It is at this point in history, -at the Nootka Convention, that the Oregon Question takes -definite form: Whose shall the territory be? Shall it be -Spain's? or shall it be Britain's? or shall it be divided -between the two?</p> - -<p>The story has already been told of the entrance of the -United States into the question as a third claimant, -through Gray's discovery, the Louisiana Purchase, and -the Lewis and Clark expedition. The story of how the -United States succeeded to the modified claim of Spain to -the Oregon region belongs to the sequel of the Louisiana -Purchase. The purchase of Louisiana left the United -States with a group of intricate and delicate questions to -settle with Spain, and with Spain in no mood for a speedy -and amicable settlement. The transfer of Louisiana had -not carried with it a clear definition of its boundaries. -This was in part true of its boundary on the east, and -especially true of its western boundary. Almost immediately -on the transfer of the territory negotiations were -begun with Spain on questions arising out of the transfer, -or intimately connected with it. Two main objects of -the negotiations on the part of the United States were, -to secure from Spain, by purchase or otherwise, the cession -of her remaining possessions east of the Mississippi, -and the settlement of the boundary of Louisiana to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">127</a></span> -west. Any question in respect to the Oregon country -seems not at first to have been present to the thought -of either party. Negotiations were begun in 1804, and -were continued, with intervals of interruption, until February -22, 1819, when, by a convention of that date, the -Floridas were ceded by Spain to the United States, and -a boundary line west of the Mississippi agreed upon. -This western boundary line, after striking latitude 42° -near the supposed source of the Arkansas River, was to -run west on this parallel to the Pacific Ocean. Article -III of this convention, after particularly describing this -line, concludes: "The two high contracting parties -agree to cede and renounce all their rights, claims, and -pretensions to the territories described by said line: -That is to say, the United States hereby cede to his -Catholic Majesty, and renounce forever all their rights, -claims, and pretensions to the territories lying west and -south of the above described line; and, in like manner, -his Catholic Majesty cedes to the United States all his -rights, claims, and pretensions to any territories east and -north of the said line; and for himself, his heirs, and -successors renounces all claim to the said territories forever." -Thus the Florida treaty, though making no mention -of the Oregon Territory, incidentally carried with it -the final delimitation of that territory on the south, and -the transfer to the United States of the Spanish claim to -Oregon. By this treaty the earliest claimant to the Oregon -Territory ceased longer to be a party to the question -of its sovereignty.</p> - -<p>The question of sovereignty was not left to Great -Britain and the United States alone, on the withdrawal -of Spain. More than two decades before, Russia had entered -this region with an assertion of her right to make -settlement on unoccupied territory, and recently had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">128</a></span> -grown somewhat imperious in the tone of her assertion -of that right. This intrusion of Russia followed close -upon the Nootka Convention, and was the logical consequence -of the principle for which Great Britain had secured -recognition in that convention. It will be remembered -that Great Britain did not base her right to make, -and to have restored to her, the Nootka settlement so -much on priority in discovery of the region in which the -settlement was made, as on the broader principle of her -right to settle in any place by whomsoever discovered, -which after a reasonable time she might find unoccupied. -This principle could not be valid for England alone, and -Russia was not long in discovering its wider validity. -After England's previous assertion of this principle, in -the affair of the Falkland Islands, Spain had taken -alarm, and had sent explorers along the Northwest Coast -with the intention of making good her claim to it by the -northward extension of her settlements. In like manner -Russia now began to extend her claim into new territory -by availing herself of this same principle. The grant of -Emperor Paul I to the Russian American Company in -1799 gave the company exclusive possession from latitude -55° northward to the Arctic Sea, with the right to -extend their settlements south of 55°, if they did not -thereby encroach on territories occupied by other powers. -In the spring of 1808 the Russian government -opened a correspondence with the government of the -United States in relation to what Russia was pleased to -term the illicit traffic of American traders with the natives -inhabiting Russian territories. It appeared in the -course of this correspondence that Russia claimed the -coast at this time as far south as the Columbia River. -The right to make settlements, or at least to establish -trading posts, it seems she did not confine to this southern -limit, for in 1816, a Russian trading post was established<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">129</a></span> -as far south as latitude 38°, in Northern California.</p> - -<p>In this later and more aggressive policy of extending -her claims southward, Russia is thought to have been influenced -by the publication in Paris in 1808 of Humboldt's -Political Essay on New Spain, in which such a -destiny for Russia had been hinted at. However this -may have been, it is certain that the accounts of Humboldt's -travels were eagerly read by the Russian Emperor, -and an increased boldness and aggressiveness are observable -in Russian policy after the publication of this -work.</p> - -<p>The extreme of Russia's pretensions in the matter of -extension of territory was reached in 1810, when the -subject of the encroachment of American traders was -brought again to the attention of our government. Mr. -Adams, American Minister at St. Petersburg, in reply to -the Russian Minister, suggested that, since it did not -appear how far the Russians stretched their claim southward -along the coast, it was desirable that some latitude -be fixed as the limit, and that it should be advanced as -little southward as might be. The answer of Russia was, -that the Russian-American Company claimed the whole -coast of America on the Pacific, and the adjacent islands, -from Bering's Strait southward toward and beyond the -mouth of the Columbia River. With this declaration of -Russia's claim negotiations were broken off, and were -not resumed until September, 1821, when Emperor Alexander -issued a ukase, in which he declared all the Northwest -Coast of America north of latitude 51° exclusively -Russian, and warned all other nations against intrusion -within those limits. The extent of the territory claimed -in this imperial ukase was less than that of the territory -claimed by Russia in 1810, and in particular the extent -of the claim was not so great southward. Several events -had occurred since 1810 to limit the extent of Russia's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">130</a></span> -claim, though scarcely to modify the imperiousness of -her tone. To this intervening period belong the settlement -at Astoria of the Pacific Fur Company in 1811, the -exploration of the Upper Columbia the same year by -David Thompson, an agent of the Northwest Company, -with a view to the extension of the posts of his company -far to the westward; the purchase two years later by the -Northwest Company of the establishment of the Pacific -Fur Company at Astoria, and its transfer a few days later -to the British flag with the change of name to Fort -George; the surrender of the fort in 1818 in accordance -with the terms of the treaty of Ghent; the extension -westward of the Hudson's Bay Company into this region, -and its union in 1821 with its rival, the Northwest Company; -and finally the extension over the settlements of -the united companies, by an act of parliament in the -same year, of the jurisdiction of the courts of Upper -Canada.</p> - -<p>These events had so changed the aspect of affairs on -the Columbia at the time of the Russian Emperor's -decree in 1821 as to leave him no alternative but to -resort to the middle line, and drawing a line midway -between the Anglo-American settlement at the mouth of -the Columbia and the southernmost Russian settlement -to the north of that river, to stand for a southern boundary -for his possessions at the fifty-first parallel.</p> - -<p>This decree, though it withdrew the line of territory -claimed thus far northward, was yet offensive in tone -and arbitrary in many of the regulations it sought to -enforce against the citizens of other nations. Besides, -it still encroached upon territory claimed by both Britain -and the United States. Both England and America protested, -and opened, each in her own behalf, negotiations -with Russia which resulted in establishing in 1824 the -line of 54° 40´ as the boundary between the territories<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">131</a></span> -claimed by Russia and those claimed by America, and -in the following year the same line, with modifications -to the east, as the boundary between the claims of Russia -and those of Britain. These two conventions may be -regarded as the final acts in the delimitation of the -Oregon Territory.</p> - -<p class="sigright">JOSEPH R. WILSON.</p> - -<p class="center in0 p3t">(<i>To be continued.</i>)</p> - - - - -<hr /> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">132</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2><span class="smcap">OUR PUBLIC LAND SYSTEM and ITS<br /> -RELATION To EDUCATION IN<br /> -THE UNITED STATES.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p>Local historians seem inclined to overlook some of the -most interesting subjects included under the general term -of history. One of these is the origin of land titles. I -do not propose in this article, limited as to space, to do -more than indicate by slight touches the growth of land -titles on the earth, and the steps by which we as a nation -became endowed with the ownership of land in parcels -large or small. Further, the object of this brief review -is to fix in the mind of the student of history, and -especially of Oregon history, the connection between -land and educational privileges in his state.</p> - -<p>By way of introduction I would put forth the proposition, -by no means original, that God-made things are -eternal, and belong to the children of men equally and -forever. Such is man himself. There can be no human -ownership of men except that of brotherhood. The -dominion of man over all other life is for his use only. -He cannot claim collective ownership of any particular -genus or species, but only individual ownership by conquest. -Of the great divisions of inanimate nature, earth, -air, and water, individual man cannot own more than he -uses, because they belong equally to all men, and to all -living things. For the needs of these they were created, -without preference for races or single representatives of -races.</p> - -<p>Men in their primordial condition blindly recognized -this principle as to the earth, and for thousands of years<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">133</a></span> -did not become owners of land in severalty. Divided -into tribes they contended with each other for the possession -of certain countries because they were born there, -or because it held the graves of their fathers. To "sleep -with their fathers," or to continue to breathe the air -which had borne abroad over the land the sacred ashes -of their ancestors was with them a religion. The same -earth furnished pasturage for the animals upon whose -milk and flesh they subsisted, and nourished the fruits -they found most agreeable. Hence they contended for -its use against the covetousness of other tribes. The -long and persistent war carried on by the descendants of -Abraham to regain the land which held his burial place -is an example of the ancient sentiment of ownership in -land, a sentiment which we honor most highly under the -name of patriotism. Metes and bounds could not be -closely observed in a pastoral country, neither could they -in a wooded one where game furnished the chief subsistence -of the inhabitants. Everything depended upon the -strength and valor of the predatory and the resisting -tribes, and the division of lands acquired in war was -settled, as in this world most things still are settled, by -the most active securing to themselves the most desirable -places.</p> - -<p>The common desire to save from invasion the country -of their birth, and the necessity of captains in war, led -to chieftainship, and chieftainship led to the accumulation -of such wealth as the conquered lands afforded, -whether in flocks and herds, in other subsistence, or in -such personal property as the subjugated nation possessed. -War makes a people nomadic in their habits. -The young and the strong were trained to fight, the -feebler remained in such homes as they were able to -maintain in a state of continual dread of the enemy. -The cultivation of the ground at this stage of civilization<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">134</a></span> -was as uncertain as it was unscientific. To the majority -the land could have only a sentimental value; to the -higher classes it was a source of income through the -enforced labor of the enslaved class by whose toil they -were enabled to pay their military taxes to petty Kings.</p> - -<p>Continental Europe was at this stage of development -centuries after the Christian era, and England long after -the crusades. It was in the eleventh century that the -Norman conqueror, William, having fixed himself upon -the English throne, in order to secure the military tax -in its entirety, caused the lands held by the feudal lords -to be surveyed, and a description of them recorded in -his Domesday Book. Hitherto lands were held under -grants from barons or lords; but the Conqueror claimed -that, as the representative of the people, he, and he only, -could give a legal title to land, thus indirectly recognizing -its ownership by the people. Under William, all -land owners, great and small, were known as "the -King's men," a policy which made the feudal lords his -supporters. In return for their support he gave them -offices. An office presupposed property, and property -insured office. The first social effect of this was to lower -men hitherto free, although in time it tended to raise the -condition of the slave class to that of freemen by removing -the distinction between these two classes. But it -left a peasantry attached to the soil with no voice in its -disposal. A law of primogeniture prevented the division -of the great estates conferred upon "the King's -men," who could neither sell nor give away their landed -property.</p> - -<p>How much of the colonizing spirit of Englishmen is -due to this exclusive occupation of England by a class, -we might very naturally inquire. But that is aside from -the subject under consideration. It was my intention -to point out that the land system of the United States is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">135</a></span> -directly descended from the practice of William the Conqueror, -whose policy of binding the most active and influential -men of the Kingdom to his throne by gifts of -land was imitated by his successors down to the period -when English subjects began to colonize America.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor"><sup>1</sup></a></p> - -<p>At the time when Englishmen made this important -movement, Spain and France had already laid claim to -extensive tracts of country lying upon the great rivers -debouching into the Gulf of Mexico in a southern latitude, -and into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in a northern -latitude, which ultimately became possessions of the -United States, either by purchase or treaty, after our -war of independence. Between these two indefinite -boundaries the English colonies were located. Wherever -the Englishman went he carried his loyalty to his King -and his country's laws. His presence on the soil of Virginia -made it English soil, conveying to it the sovereignty -of England, and the King's right to confirm to him whatever -he had already taken, provided both of them together -could hold it against the native occupants. <a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor"><sup>2</sup></a>The -grants from James and Charles I were described in terms -more imaginative than accurate, the "South Sea," or Pacific -Ocean, being the western limit of some of the earliest -charters. But when the thirteen commonwealths on the -Atlantic Coast asserted their right and ability to govern -themselves, proving it by the arbitrament of the sword, -and securing a treaty of peace with the mother country,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">136</a></span> -such discoveries had been made, and so many remained -to be made, that it was thought expedient to adopt the -apparently natural boundaries of the United States, -namely, the Saint Lawrence and Great Lakes on the -north, the Mississippi on the west, the Spanish possessions -in Florida on the south, and the Atlantic Ocean on -the east.</p> - -<p>In 1779, three years after the declaration of independence, -and four years before the treaty of peace, the -American Congress recommended to the several states -in the union to make liberal cessions of their respective -claims for the common benefit of the union, including -the state making the cession. Thus early did our government -assert the principle that the lands not held by -occupancy belonged to the people for their use. The -people on their side were quite willing to assist the union, -burdened as it was with the debt of the revolutionary -war, and other claims. But the unsettled boundaries of -the several states made it a matter of some difficulty to -convey land to the government in definite measure, some -of the older grants, like Massachusetts and Connecticut, -extending "from sea to sea." Disputes had arisen between -the colonies over their boundaries, as when the -Dutch had established New Netherlands on the Hudson -River, cutting in two the grant of Connecticut. It was -not until 1733 that the boundary of New York (formerly -New Netherlands), was settled, and Connecticut still -claimed the lands west of New York. From Maine to -Georgia there were boundaries to be settled.</p> - -<p>New York was the first to respond to the suggestion -of congress, in 1781, by ceding all her title to lands -west of a line drawn north and south twenty miles west -of Niagara River, without conditions. Virginia followed, -and on March 1, 1784, conveyed her territory west of the -Ohio River to the United States. Massachusetts, in 1785,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">137</a></span> -also renounced her claim, unconditionally, to any lands -west of the Hudson River. Connecticut, in 1786, ceded -to the United States all the lands claimed by her west of -a north and south line drawn one hundred and twenty-five -miles west of the western boundary of Pennsylvania.</p> - -<p>Virginia's first charter having been withdrawn, the -second, dated in 1609, gave this colony all the territory -for two hundred miles north and south of Point Comfort, -on the Atlantic Coast, and westward to the "South Sea," -or Pacific Ocean, with all islands lying within one hundred -miles of either coast. The extension westward only -to the Mississippi of the northern line of Virginia, by -the Treaty of Peace, left nearly half of that state on the -northwest side of the Ohio River. This territory Virginia, -in 1783, offered to cede to the United States, upon -condition that it should be divided into states of not less -than one hundred nor more than one hundred and fifty -miles square, "or as near thereto as circumstances will -admit, and that the states so formed shall be distinct -republican states, and admitted members of the federal -union, having the same rights of sovereignty, freedom, -and independence as the other states."<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor"><sup>3</sup></a> The expenses -incurred by Virginia "in subduing British posts, or in -maintaining forts and garrisons within or for the defense, -or in acquiring any part of the territory so ceded -or relinquished" should be fully reimbursed by the -United States. The French and Canadian inhabitants, -and other settlers who had professed themselves to be -citizens of Virginia, were to have their possessions confirmed -to them, and be protected in the enjoyment of -their rights and liberties. A quantity of land, not exceeding<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">138</a></span> -one hundred and fifty thousand acres, was -required to be granted "to General George Rogers Clarke -and the officers and soldiers of his regiment, who marched -with him when the post of Kaskaskia and Saint Vincent -were reduced, and to the officers and soldiers that have -been since incorporated into the said regiment," to be -laid off in one tract in such shape as the officers should -choose. Also, in case the land reserved by law on the -southeast side of the Ohio River for the bounties of the -Virginia troops should prove insufficient or of poor quality, -then the deficiency should be made up from the -lands on the northwest side of that river. All the land -within the ceded territory, not reserved or appropriated -to the purposes named, was to be a common fund for the -use and benefit of such of the United States as had become, -or should become, members of the confederation, -"according to their respective proportions, in the general -charge and expenditure."</p> - -<p>In July, 1786, congress recommended to Virginia to -revise her act of cession so far as to empower the United -States to divide the territory northwest of the Ohio River -into not more than five nor less than three states, as the -situation of that country and the circumstances might -require, which states were to become in the future members -of the federal union.</p> - -<p>In September of the same year, Connecticut ceded to -the union the lands she still claimed west of the State of -New York, known as the Western Reserve, extending one -hundred and twenty miles west of the western boundary -of Pennsylvania. In accepting the gift congress required -a deed relinquishing the jurisdictional claim of -Connecticut to the Western Reserve to be deposited with -the deed of cession in the office of the Department of -State of the United States; and provided that nothing -contained in the deed of cession should involve the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">139</a></span> -government in the dispute between Pennsylvania and -Connecticut which had been settled in the federal court. -Neither should anything contained in the deed pledge -the United States to extinguish the Indian title to the -ceded lands. All of this being agreed to, the Western -Reserve was added to the Northwest Territory. On the -other hand the "military tract" was reserved, and even -added to, but did not become United States donation -lands. They were considered as Virginia's bounty to -the men who had defended and preserved the country. -The jurisdiction, however, was in the general government.</p> - -<p>In 1787 South Carolina ceded unconditionally such -land as she laid claim to between the mountain range by -which her territory was traversed, and the Mississippi -River. In 1790 North Carolina made her cession similarly, -except that neither the lands nor the inhabitants -west of the mountains should be "estimated" for the expenses -of the Revolutionary War; that soldiers should -receive the bounty lands promised them; that certain -entries already made might be changed; that the ceded -territory should be formed into a state or states, with all -the privileges set forth in the ordinance of the late congress -for the government of the Western Territory of the -United States; <i>provided</i>, always, that no regulations -made, or to be made, by congress should tend to emancipate -slaves. The inhabitants of the ceded territory were -to be liable to pay their proportion of the United States -debt, and the arrears of the debt of North Carolina to the -Union. The laws of this state should be in force in the -territory until repealed or altered, and nonresident proprietors -should not be taxed higher than residents.<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor"><sup>4</sup></a></p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">140</a></span></p> - -<p>For various reasons Georgia was not ready to renounce -any territory claimed by her before 1798, and the deed -of cession was not made until 1802. Georgia, like North -Carolina, desired to have the state formed from her -territory enjoy the privileges granted to the Northwest -Territory by the ordinance of 1787. Out of the lands -relinquished to the general government by the states -south of the Ohio, and the territory subsequently acquired -by treaty and purchase from France and Spain, -were formed, in the early part of the nineteenth century, -the several territories afterwards admitted as states with -the rights and privileges guaranteed in the compact -between the United States and the people of the Northwest -Territory.</p> - -<p>Hitherto I have sketched the political history of the -lands of the United States with the object only of pointing -out the change that had occurred in men's ideas of -natural rights in the soil. They had also progressed -greatly in their understanding of political rights. The -struggle of the American colonies to achieve independence -had served as an object lesson of immense importance -even to the colonies themselves, and they were -prepared to guard their new-found freedom with a jealous -care. Next to the Declaration of Independence in justice -and dignity stands the compact entered into between the -people and congress in giving and accepting the territory -first ceded by the original states to the United States, -and known as the Ordinance of Seventeen Eighty-Seven. -By this ordinance the people of the Northwest Territory -were assured that no person demeaning himself in a -peaceable and orderly manner, should ever be molested -on account of his mode of worship, or religious sentiments. -The people should always be entitled to the -benefits of the writ of <i>habeas corpus</i>, and trial by jury; -of proportionate representation in the legislature, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">141</a></span> -of judicial proceedings according to the course of common -law. All persons should be bailable, except for -capital offenses, the proof of which was evident, or the -presumption great. All fines should be moderate, and -no cruel or unusual punishments inflicted. No man -should be deprived of his liberty but by the judgment of -his peers, or the law of the land. No man's property -should be taken for the public service without full compensation. -Religion, morality and knowledge, being -necessary to good government, and the public happiness, -schools and the means of education should be forever -encouraged. The utmost good faith should always be -observed towards the Indians. Their lands and property -should never be taken away from them without their -consent, nor their rights and liberty invaded except in -lawful war, but laws for their protection should be -enacted. There should be neither slavery nor involuntary -servitude in the territory, otherwise than for the -punishment of crimes whereof the person should have -been duly convicted.<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor"><sup>5</sup></a></p> - -<p>Comparing this noble framework of the new state with -the laws and the restrictions imposed upon the colonies -from their beginning, our admiration cannot be withheld. -But it is to its effect in furnishing the means of -education to the whole people that attention is here -directed. Schools and education were "forever to be encouraged." -It is true that under the colonial system -a few colleges had been established. Six years after -the settlement of Massachusetts, Harvard College was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">142</a></span> -founded. Virginia and Connecticut were equally in -haste to provide educational advantages for their young -men; but it was only the sons of clergymen and the -best families who in those early days found admittance. -Humble people had to be content if they could -read, write, and cipher; and rules of grammar, with the -sciences, were beyond their ambition.</p> - -<p>In 1785, two years only after our independence was -secured, and six years after the congress of the states -had suggested to the several commonwealths the propriety -of contracting their boundaries in order to enable -the United States to clear themselves of debt, and to be -possessed of a public domain, when only New York, -Massachusetts, and Virginia had ceded any territory, an -ordinance was passed providing for the survey of these -lands, and the uses to which they should be put. One -seventh part was to be drafted for "the late Continental -army," and the remainder allotted among the states. -The only reservations made were for the officers and -soldiers entitled to bounties from the lands of Virginia; -four lots in each township for the United States, and "lot -No. 16 of every township for the maintenance of public -schools within the said township; also one-third part -of all gold, silver, lead, and copper mines to be sold -or otherwise disposed of as congress shall hereafter -direct."<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor"><sup>6</sup></a></p> - -<p>As the other states made their contributions to the -public domain, changes were made in the appropriation -of land for educational purposes, but without affecting -the reservation first determined upon of one thirty-sixth<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">143</a></span> -part of all the government lands for school purposes. As -our land system developed, and states were parceled off -one after another, the propositions offered to them more -and more contained large donations for schools of different -grades. The proposition to the State of Ohio, and -the appropriations actually made in 1803, named the -sixteenth section in every township in that part of the -territory purchased of the Indians; the thirty-sixth part -of the United States Military Tract; fourteen townships -in the Connecticut Reserve; one thirty-sixth part in the -Virginia Military Tract, and also one thirty-sixth part of -all the United States lands in the State of Ohio to which -the Indian title had not yet been extinguished, to be purchased -of the Indians, to consist of the sixteenth section -in each township. One entire township in the District -of Cincinnati was offered for the establishment of an -academy. John Cleve Symmes and his associates, who -had purchased a tract in Ohio supposed to contain one -million acres, received from congress, in addition, one -entire township "for the purpose of establishing an -academy and other public schools and seminaries of -learning."</p> - -<p>When the public lands in Louisiana were offered for -sale there was excepted "section number 16 in every -township, and a tract reserved for a seminary of learning." -When Tennessee relinquished her claims to certain -lands, the state was required to appropriate one -hundred thousand acres in one tract for the use of two -colleges, one to be located in East and one in West Tennessee. -Another hundred thousand acres was to be appropriated -for the use of an academy in each county in -the state, the land not to be sold for less than $2 per -acre; and the state should, in issuing grants and perfecting -titles, locate one section in every township for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">144</a></span> -the use of schools for the instruction of children forever. -Mississippi was required to reserve section 16 in each -township for the support of schools within the same, -"with the exception of thirty-six sections, to be located -in one body by the Secretary of the Treasury, for the use -of Jefferson College." Other grants were made for religious -purposes, and for military services. Lewis and -Clark, for their services in exploring the continent to -the Pacific, received land warrants calling for one thousand -six hundred acres of land each, and the men who -accompanied them three hundred and twenty each, to be -located on any of the public lands offered for sale west of -the Mississippi. None of these donations could be made -except by the consent of the representatives of the people -in congress assembled. Thus our government set out -with the highest ideal then possible of community rights -in land. If since then we have gambled away our common -heritage, or sold it to non-resident speculators, we -have in so far departed from that ideal.</p> - -<p>The largeness of the subject prohibits any attempt to -furnish a history of the land laws of the United States -in a single article. It is in fact the history of this nation. -Our land system settled the country from the Atlantic to -the Pacific. It drew to us all the nations of the earth; -it gave them homes, and educated their children; it was -"Liberty enlightening the world." But just because the -government was so rich in lands, it grew careless, speculative, -even profligate. It lavished soil enough to make -several states upon corporations without honor, forgetting -that it was only the trustee of the people, whose -consent had never directly been asked. It sold to adventurers, -who never intended to make homes, immense -tracts contiguous to watercourses, from which the buyers -excluded citizens of the United States. It winked at the -wrongful acts of its agents in selecting swamp and overflowed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">145</a></span> -lands, and mineral lands. One thing it never -did, however; it never permitted the school lands to -deteriorate in value, but when the legal sections fell -upon worthless ground, lieu lands were permitted to be -selected from any unappropriated good land most contiguous.<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor"><sup>7</sup></a></p> - -<div class="tb"> - * <span class="in2">* </span><span class="in2">* </span><span class="in2">* </span><span class="in2">*</span> -</div> - -<p>In the first quarter century of the republic there was -added to its public lands, by treaty and purchase, the -Floridas and all the vast region known as the Louisiana -Territory, reaching north to the British Possessions and -west to the Rocky Mountains. One of our navigators -had discovered the mouth of the mythical Oregon River, -and a party of our explorers had discovered the headwaters -of the same, following its course to the sea. An -American fur company had erected a fort near the mouth -of the river, which it lost, first through the treachery of -the British members of the company and a second time -by the fortunes of war, and finally recovered through -the victory of our arms on the high seas. These were -wonderful achievements for a nation in its infancy. But -the people were prosperous and satisfied, pressing undauntedly -forward, and filling up the new states. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">146</a></span> -secret of the prosperity and content was the equal distribution -of land, at a price within the reach of any, and -the reservation in all the townships for common schools.</p> - -<p>We claimed by right of discovery and first occupation, -the Oregon Territory. Great Britain disputed our claim -with enough show of rights to furnish some ground for -the contention. Neither government was prepared to go -to war over it, and for nearly thirty years after the convention -of 1818 by which a joint occupancy was agreed -upon, a perpetual irritation was kept up between the -two countries through the determination of the western -pioneers to stretch their boundaries to the Pacific, taking -the land surveyor along with them. In 1846 the question -was finally settled, and not unjustly.</p> - -<p>The pioneers who for several years had been toilsomely -journeying across two thousand miles of wilderness to -reach the Land of Promise, now looked for immediate -congressional action to be taken which should give them -formally the territorial rights and privileges conferred -by the Ordinance of 1787. But in this they were disappointed. -That same ordinance, it was, which delayed -the organization of a territorial government, the people -of Oregon having expressly petitioned to be organized<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">147</a></span> -under it in the same manner as the Northwestern States. -The opposition to their petition came from the representatives -and senators of the slave states, who saw in -the rapid increase of northern free states a loss of the -balance of power in congress, and the threatened destruction -of slavery, or of the Union. The struggle had been -begun a quarter of a century earlier, when by a compromise -between the north and south, Missouri had been -admitted as a slave state under a compact that no more -slave states should be organized north of the parallel of -36° 30´.</p> - -<p>The prospect of a large body of free states being -formed above that line, extending even to the Pacific, -was one to which southern senators opposed their most -skilled diplomacy, their object being to gain time, by -statecraft or otherwise, to extend slave territory westward -at an equal rate. But the friends of Oregon in -congress, who cared not overmuch about the question of -slavery or of free soil, were touched by the fidelity to -the government of the United States of the Oregon -settlers, and anxious to have them rewarded as congress -had, year after year, proposed to do—by liberal donations -of land. The Linn bill had done its work in populating -the Wallamet Valley, and the population of this -valley had determined the title to the country. So -much was granted. Thomas H. Benton had written his -congratulations on the settlement of the boundary, and -promised the early organization of the territory under -the most favorable conditions. President Polk had -spoken most flatteringly of the loyalty and patriotism of -the pioneers. Stephen A. Douglas had drawn up a bill -containing everything for which the pioneers had ever -asked, and something more. That something more was -the thirty-sixth section of land in every township for -school purposes, in addition to the sixteenth.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">148</a></span></p> - -<p>I am aware that there are some writers who represent -that this addition to school land was a special favor to -Oregon; and at least one Oregon man who claimed to -have secured it by his personal efforts.<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor"><sup>8</sup></a> But the records -of congress disprove such pretensions. It was sometimes -objected in congress that the new states were receiving -too much land gratuitously.<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor"><sup>9</sup></a> In a speech on -this subject by Woodbridge, of Michigan, delivered April<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">149</a></span> -29, 1846, that gentleman said: "Now, a very great -error prevails on this subject. It is a common opinion, I -believe, that the school lands, amounting, as the gentleman -from Connecticut says, in some instances, to an -enormous amount, are gratuitously conveyed to the new -states. Sir, I do not so read my books at all. There is no -gratuity about it! This appropriation of section sixteen -was made in order to secure an accelerated sale of your -wild lands. I do not say that there were not other and -higher motives, but this was one, and an efficient one. -* * * You published to the world your terms of sale. -You pledged your faith to all who should buy land of -you in any surveyed township, that one thirty-sixth -part of it, namely, section number sixteen, should forever -afterwards be applied toward the support of schools. -* * * It is true that you afterwards affected to transfer -these school lands to the states; but what passed by -that transfer? Nothing, sir, but the naked title only, -subject always to the use, and I am not prepared to admit -the competency of your doing even that." So there -were in congress, in 1846, men who contended that the -western people, and not the government which had solemnly -renounced it, held the right to the educational -reservations in the public lands from the beginning.</p> - -<p>In August, 1846, a bill being before congress to enable -Wisconsin to form a state government, it passed through -the usual routine, and was reported from the territorial -committee by Douglas, February 9, 1847. On the -fifteenth, the question of engrossing the bill was about -being put, when John A. Rockwell of Connecticut, moved -to amend by adding the following: "And be it further -enacted, That in addition to section numbered sixteen, -section numbered thirty-six, in each township of the -public lands of the United States in said state, not heretofore -otherwise disposed of, be, and the same is hereby<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">150</a></span> -appropriated to the support of education in the said -state." Certain conditions were attached, which need -not be here quoted, as the amendment failed.<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor"><sup>10</sup></a></p> - -<p>That it failed was not owing to any strong opposition -so much as to the fact of its not being incorporated in -the original bill. Congressmen and senators have to be -urged somewhat to make changes by which their districts -gain nothing. Rockwell's amendment was crowded out -by other business concerning the disposition of the public -lands then claiming attention.</p> - -<p>Nothing in the circumstances of the case goes to show -that Mr. Rockwell was the first to propose the additional -school section. The Wisconsin and the Oregon bills -were in the hands of the same committee of the house, -and at the same time. Yet the Douglas bill contained -the two school sections in every township, and the Wisconsin -bill did not. The Douglas bill passed in the house -and was sent to the senate in January, 1847, whereas -the Wisconsin bill was not reported until February, -which gives Mr. Douglas precedence in proposing the -change to congress. The question might arise why, since -he was chairman of the committee which presented both -bills, he withheld the additional section from one and -gave it to the other. Did he wish to show favor, or seem -to do so, to Oregon, as a reward for her long and loyal -waiting? It might well be so, and probably was so.</p> - -<p>But Oregon was not receiving a special gift in the appropriation -of her school lands, as some suppose. In -November, 1846, James H. Piper, Acting Commissioner -of the General Land Office, made a report to Robert J.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">151</a></span> -Walker, Secretary of the Treasury, "on the expediency -of making further provision for the support of common -schools in the land states."<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor"><sup>11</sup></a> The Secretary, in his report -to the house of representatives, referring to the proposed -donations of land to settlers in and immigrants to Oregon, -recommended, also, "the grant of a school section in -the center of every quarter of a township, which would -bring the school house within a point not exceeding a -mile and a half in distance from the most remote inhabitant -of such quarter township."<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor"><sup>12</sup></a> In his report for -1847–48 the Secretary of the Treasury again referred -to this subject as follows: "Congress to some extent -adopted this recommendation, by granting two school -sections instead of one, for education in Oregon;<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor"><sup>13</sup></a> but it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">152</a></span> -is respectfully suggested that even thus extended the -grant is still inadequate in amount, while the location is -inconvenient."<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor"><sup>14</sup></a></p> - -<p>William M. Gwin, Senator from California, remarking -on the transfer of the public lands from the Treasury -Department to the Department of the Interior in 1849, -says: "When a territorial government was established -over Oregon, some able men contended for four sections -for each township, and they succeeded in getting two," -and quotes from Walker's report.<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor"><sup>15</sup></a> He also referred, in -a speech before the State Convention of California in -1850, to Piper and Walker as authors of the movement -to increase the amount of school land in the new states. -Although not important in themselves, these facts are -interesting. It is a pleasure to the properly constituted -mind to know to whom to give credits. It is also a -satisfaction to remove from history falsehoods, whether<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">153</a></span> -deliberate or accidental, which blind our vision as to the -verity of so-called history.<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor"><sup>16</sup></a></p> - -<p>As a matter of fact, from 1803 to 1848, in each of the -twelve territories organized from the public lands, the -sixteenth section in every township was reserved for -school purposes, Oregon being the first to receive the -addition of the thirty-sixth. There has been no fixed -rule of appropriation, much depending upon the people -and their representatives. In 1812, and again in 1824 -congress ordered a survey of certain towns and villages -in Missouri, reserving for the use of schools one-twentieth -part of the whole survey. When sold these town reservations -produced large sums, as in the case of St. Louis. -Down to 1880 seven states and eight territories had received -the thirty-sixth section in each township. Twenty-four -states had received two townships each for the use -of universities. Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Florida -had taken more. Previous to 1882 the appropriation of -land for common schools in the land states aggregated -sixty-seven million eight hundred and ninety-three thousand<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">154</a></span> -nine hundred and nineteen acres; for university -purposes, one million six hundred and fifty thousand -five hundred and twenty acres; for agricultural and -mechanical colleges, nine million six hundred thousand -acres—a total of seventy-nine million one hundred and -forty-four thousand four hundred and thirty-nine acres -devoted to the support of education in the United States.</p> - -<p>From time to time it has been necessary to make -changes in the land laws, as when the discovery of -mineral lands, reserved by congress called for the substitution -of lieu lands, but there has been no diminution -in quantity or value.</p> - -<p>Oregon has less vacant or public land than from its -area might be expected. The bounty of government in -donating to the pioneer settlers six hundred and forty -acres to a family—three hundred and twenty to the husband, -and the same amount to the wife—and to single -men and women three hundred and twenty each, provided -they lived upon or improved their claims, disposed -of most of the cultivable area west of the Cascade Range. -The school lands which passed with the territorial act -occupied two thirty-sixths of every township. The act -of admission passed to the state the usual endowment of -five hundred thousand acres for its public uses,<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor"><sup>17</sup></a> with -twelve salt springs and six sections adjoining each; -ninety thousand acres for the endowment of an agricultural -college, and seventy-two sections for the use and -support of a state university. Subsequent grants to railroads -and public highways, with military and Indian -reservations, absorbed large bodies of land, both in the -valleys and the mountains. The state devoted the net -proceeds, with the accruing interest of the five hundred -thousand acres, as an irreducible fund for the support of -common schools, and for the purchase of libraries and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">155</a></span> -apparatus.<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor"><sup>18</sup></a> It also added to this fund all gifts to the -state whose purpose was not named.</p> - -<p>The actual quantity of land allowed by congress to -Oregon for common school purposes is three million two -hundred and fifty thousand acres, at a minimum price -per acre of $1.25, the management of the income being -left to a board, of which the Governor is one. I am informed -by the clerk of this board that the fund now -amounts to $3,000,000, which is securely invested at ten -per cent.</p> - -<p>In 1850 congress passed a swamp land act, the intention -of which was to enable the states subject to overflow -by the Mississippi, to construct levees, and drain overflowed -lands. The law was subsequently extended to -other states. Oregon, however, had no rivers requiring -levees, nor any swamp lands. This fact did not prevent -beaver-dam lands, the most valuable in the state, from -being taken up as swamp lands. The scandal attached -also the meadow lands about lakes in the interior, and -even to lands included in Indian reservation lands. Nor -is congress quite guiltless in this respect, since it has -recklessly granted principalities in the public soil to aid -enterprises designed by private companies for their own -benefit, these grants being obtained by representations, -wholly unfounded, of the public utility in the undertaking.<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor"><sup>19</sup></a> -The hand of the lobbyist is visible in these matters, -while suspicion attaches to both state and national<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">156</a></span> -legislators, who too frequently have other than the people's -interest at heart.</p> - -<p>The vacant public lands of the United States are still -nine hundred and eighty thousand three hundred and -thirty-seven square miles in extent, or one-third of our -total area, exclusive of Alaska. Indian reservations and -forest reservations together occupy five and forty-three -hundredths per cent. The State of Texas comprises eight -and eighty-three hundredths per cent. of the area of the -United States, and owns all the public lands within its -borders. Thus there remains open to settlement the -vacant one-third, exclusive of Alaska, Texas, and the -Islands. Almost all of the vacant lands are west of the -Missouri River, and include much that is of but little -present value to the agriculturist from its aridity. Yet -not one rod of it is valueless in the eyes of the political -economist. Forests and mines are as necessary to advanced -civilization as grain fields and orchards. But -even were this not true, the earth needs waste places -where pure air and pure water are generated to be furnished -to the lower plains. Men will gradually accustom -themselves to deserts, and will cause them to blossom -like the rose. Wherever they go, the foundation of a -home is awaiting them, and the common school is provided -for their children. It is thus we are educating the -nations.</p> - -<p>It can hardly be superfluous to revert to the obligation -of the general government and the individual state -to remember and guard the people's rights in the public<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">157</a></span> -domain. A wastefulness which tends to contract free -acreage beyond the convenient demands of settlement -and use, is to deprive the nation of strength and elasticity. -When we have no longer anything to offer the -coming generations, it will be a pity if they come. The -power of the great land owner over the man who has -inherited nothing, and is too poor to purchase at the -landlords' prices, will be, to all intents and purposes, the -same which the landlords of Europe exercise over the -peasant classes there. The ladder by which our people -have climbed to happy heights of prosperity will be withdrawn, -and the poor man will have become the slave of -the rich man. It is doubtful if the universal intelligence -which we are at so much pains to cultivate will be, in -such circumstances, an unmixed blessing, since the enlightened -mind has requirements which are not felt by -the ignorant, the absence of which inflicts pain, and frequently -leads to crime.</p> - -<p class="sigright">FRANCES F. VICTOR.</p> - - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1">1</a> The lands not held as private estates in Great Britain were known as the -"Crown lands," the revenue from which was the income of the sovereign. This -continued down to the accession of George III. This custom continued down to -Victoria, who, renouncing the crown lands, accepted for herself and her children -a fixed sum annually, but this annuity does not descend to her grandchildren.</p> - -<p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2">2</a> The history of the early voyages, and of the immigration to America of different -nationalities, including the Dutch, is too familiar to be repeated here, and -a period of nearly three hundred years, from 1497 to 1783, is passed over. With -independence, the American states received an inheritance of which they hardly -understood the value at the time, except for its political importance.</p> - -<p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3">3</a> It would seem from this demand of Virginia that this state assumed to lay -claim to all the Northwest Territory. However, it could make no difference, -since the other states had ceded whatever rights they had, except to strengthen -the title of the general government.</p> - -<p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4">4</a> There is much that is confusing and contradictory in the act of North Carolina, -as in the reference to the ordinance of 1787, and the clause forbidding the -passage by congress of an act tending to emancipate slaves.</p> - -<p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5">5</a> The Constitution of the Provisional Government of Oregon was formed on -the ordinance of 1787, and the above extract is taken, somewhat abbreviated, -from Articles I, II, III and IV of that document. When the organic act of Oregon -Territory was framed by congress, it was agreed that the laws already in operation -in Oregon should be recognized as the laws of the territory. The adoption of the -ordinance of 1787 as their Constitution by the pioneers of the state, was due to -the statesmanship of Jesse Applegate, one of the "men of 1843." Its author was -Nathan Dane, LL. D., of Massachusetts, member of congress in 1787.</p> - -<p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6">6</a> Subsequently the reservation of gold, silver, and copper mines was discontinued, -and lead mines and salt springs substituted. The income from these -sources at that period would have been greater than from other mines. But no -change was ever made from 1785 to the present date in the grant of the sixteenth -section for school purposes.</p> - -<p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7">7</a> A great deal of unwise criticism has been declaimed and written upon the -government's dealings with the Indians in the matter of their reservations. But -human wisdom has seldom been able, however sincere the endeavor, to bridge -over with peace the gulf between savagery and civilization. The United States -began by binding the government in the ordinance of 1787 to "observe the utmost -good faith towards the Indians." During the first ten years of its existence, -treaties were made with half a hundred tribes. It was declared a misdemeanor, -punishable by fine and imprisonment, for any persons, not acting for the government, -to treat with, or purchase lands from an Indian nation—an inhibition -meant to prevent trouble with the natives, as well as frauds against the government. -But Indian wars were not prevented, and continue to this day. The -United States has supported an army to defend its citizens against savage outbreaks. -Every congress appropriates large sums for the support of its Indian -wards, and for their education. According to recent reports, the Indians of New -Mexico cost the government, in 1897, for each pupil in the Indian schools, $167, or -a lump sum of $41,750, over and above the pay of the superintendent, and other -expenses. The Indian school at Salem, Oregon, for the same year, cost the treasury -$50,100, and the support of the establishment, $71,700. The Indian reservations, -including Indian Territory, comprise four and forty-three hundredths per cent. -of our public lands, exclusive of Alaska. The whole Indian population of the -United States is officially stated at two hundred and ninety-seven thousand. Of -these forty-two thousand five hundred and ninety-seven can read; over fifty-three -thousand can converse in English. The government has built for them -twenty-six thousand three hundred and eighty-nine dwelling houses, besides -schoolhouses, and there are three hundred and forty-eight churches on the reservations. -Religious and other societies have contributed large amounts for school -and church purposes. The money collected in 1899 for the instruction and advancement -of "the nation's wards" was $261,515; for general church work, $119,407. -New York this year contributed for an Indian school in that state $16,016. The -senate bill this present year for an Indian school at Riverside, California, proposed -to appropriate $75,000. Another Indian school at Perris, California, gets $167 -per pupil for one hundred and fifty pupils. The whole appropriation for the support -and education of Indians in 1900 is $8,414,000. At this rate is the nation still -paying for its public lands.</p> - -<p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8">8</a> Mr. J. Quinn Thornton, who came to Oregon late in 1846, was appointed a -judge under the provisional government by Governor Abernethy, and was sent -as a delegate to Washington late in 1847, arriving there May 11, 1848, several times -during his lifetime publicly asserted, in written articles and in addresses delivered -before the Pioneer Association, that he was the author of the Douglas Bill. -By comparing dates it will be seen that he could have had nothing to do with -the bill, which was introduced in the house December 23, 1846, soon after the -boundary treaty. It passed the house January 16, 1847, was sent to the senate, -amended, and laid upon the table March 8, 1847. In 1848 Douglas was a senator, -and Chairman of the Committee on Territories. On the tenth of January the -Oregon bill came up, was referred to Douglas' committee, and reported, without -amendments, February 7. This was the identical bill over which senators -wrangled in so dramatic a fashion until the last hour of the session, in August, -1848. A compromise bill was devised by the southern members, by which Oregon -could come in in company with New Mexico and California, but congress -would have none of it. There was no opportunity during Thornton's stay in -Washington to alter or amend the Oregon bill, which, when it passed the senate, -was in all essential features, including school lands, the same bill which was -published in the <i>Oregon Spectator</i> of September 16, 1847, more than a month -before Thornton set sail for his destination. As the <i>Spectator</i> was the only newspaper -in Oregon at that time, and owned and controlled by the Governor, it is -fair to presume that it was read by the Governor's appointee. Notwithstanding -these adverse circumstances and conclusions, Mr. Thornton never ceased to -claim the authorship of the organic act of Oregon, nor to congratulate himself -upon having bestowed upon this and other new states the priceless benefit of -school lands. "I will frankly admit," he says in his autobiography, "that when -to this section (the sixteenth) of the public lands, the thirty-sixth was added -by the passage of this bill, the thought that Providence had made me the instrument -by which so great a boon was bestowed upon posterity filled my heart with -emotions as pure and deep as can be experienced by man;" and goes on to anticipate -being recognized as a benefactor of his race when his toils and responsibilities -should be over. See Transactions of the Oregon Pioneer Association for -1874, and some later numbers, for these false claims. Also the Portland <i>Oregonian</i> -of May 15, 1885, in which he distinctly denies the facts of history, and relates incredible -occurrences with such minuteness of detail and loftiness of expression -as to deceive any but the well informed in public affairs. The ordinary reader -could not conceive such mendacity and dissembling.</p> - -<p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9">9</a> The older states made such provision as they could for education. Connecticut -reserved some of her lands for popular education, and any state had the -same right, but the "land states," as they were called, offered lands for seminaries -of learning, and universities, two entire townships being the usual amount -granted for this purpose, besides the thirty-sixth part set aside by compact.</p> - -<p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10">10</a> Rockwell had given notice of this amendment on the tenth of May, one day -before the arrival of Thornton in Washington. See his "Oregon and California," -vol. 2, p. 248. Therefore Mr. Rockwell's idea did not originate with Mr. Thornton. -In his article in the "Transactions," for 1883, he makes Mr. Rockwell prophesy -that he "will not get the Oregon bill so amended as to set apart two sections -in each township, instead of one, as already provided for in the Oregon bill"—forgetting -in this instance to claim paternity to both.</p> - -<p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11">11</a> Says the commissioner: "The expediency of making further provision for -the support of common schools in the land states has attracted much attention, -and certainly is worthy of the most favorable consideration. Those states are -sparsely settled by an active, industrious and enterprising people, who, however, -may not have sufficient means independent of their support, to endow or maintain -public schools. To aid in this important matter, congress at the commencement -of our land system, and when the reins of government were held by the sages -of the revolution, set apart one section out of every township of thirty-six -square miles. At that early day this provision doubtless appeared munificent, -but experience has proved it to be inadequate. It is obviously necessary that at -least one school should be established in each of those townships, and to do this -they have only the section of land above mentioned, worth about $800. To invest -this sum safely it cannot be made to yield more than $48 per annum, which will -not pay the salary of a teacher for a single month; and the whole of the principal -would not enable a township to erect a suitable common school edifice, and employ -a teacher for one year. It is evident therefore, that this provision does not -go far to accomplish the original design, and that without the aid of other means -the citizens of those growing states cannot obtain the advantages of a general -system of education. I would therefore recommend that further grants of land -be made for that object, and wherever the lands reserved for the use of schools -are found to be valueless, that the proper officer of the state be authorized to -select others in lieu of them. * * *</p> - -<p class="sigright">"With great respect, your obedient servant,     <br /> -"JAMES H. PIPER, <br /> -"Acting Commissioner.</p> - -<p class="sigleft">"HON. ROBERT J. WALKER,<br /> -  "Secretary of the Treasury."</p> - -<p class="sigleft">House Ex. Doc. 9, Vol. II, Twenty-ninth Congress, Second Session.</p> - -<p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12">12</a> Ex. Doc., First Session, Thirtieth Congress, Vol. 1, 1847–48.</p> - -<p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13">13</a> This statement that congress "granted Oregon two school sections" calls for -explanation. It was only in the Northwest Territory, subject to the ordinance -of 1787 by compact, that these sixteen sections belonged, as Woodbridge of Michigan -contended, to the states formed out of that territory. Where other states -received them it was by grant of congress.</p> - -<p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14">14</a> The Secretary urged other reasons for the additional grants. "Even as a -question of revenue," he says, "such grants would more than refund their value -to the government, as each quarter township is composed of nine sections, of -which the central section would be granted for schools, and each of the remaining -eight sections would be adjacent to that granted. Those eight sections thus -located and each adjoining a school section, would be of greater value than when -separated by many miles from such opportunities, and the thirty-two sections of -one entire township, with these benefits, would bring a larger price to the government -than thirty-five sections out of thirty-six, where one section only, so remote -from the rest, was granted for such a purpose. The public domain would thus -be settled at an earlier period, and yielding larger products, thus soon augment -our exports and our imports, with a corresponding increase of revenue from -duties. The greater diffusion of education would increase the power of mind -and knowledge, applied to our industrial pursuits, and augment in this way also -the products and wealth of the nation. Each state is deeply interested in the -welfare of every other, for the representatives of the whole regulate by their votes -the measures of the union, which must be more happy and progressive in proportion -as its councils are guided by more enlightened views, resulting from -more universal diffusion of light and knowledge and education."—Ex. Doc., -Second Session, Thirtieth Congress, Vol. II, 1848–49.</p> - -<p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15">15</a> Gwin's Autobiography, Mr. Bancroft's Hist. Cal. VI, 298.</p> - -<p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16">16</a> I must be pardoned if I once more call attention to the willful perversion of -truth by the talented but unscrupulous J. Quinn Thornton. In the transactions -of the Pioneer Association for 1874, speaking of the Oregon bill and the school-land -grants: "Up to the time of the passage of this bill, congress had never -appropriated more than the sixteenth section for the support of common schools; -and the <i>late</i> Nathan Dane, LL. D., had labored long before he succeeded in inducing -the government to appropriate <i>that</i> portion of the public lands." The italics -are mine: the word "late," to call attention to the fact that Doctor Dane had been -dead for thirty-nine years, having passed to his reward in 1835, after a useful and -honorable life; the word "that," because in another place Thornton claims himself -to have induced the government to make this appropriation. It is difficult -to deal with such constant shuffling with the intention to deceive. A different -unintentional error occurred in the course of my investigations, when, in 1882, I -wrote to the Department of the Interior for information as to the first act of congress -reserving the thirty-sixth section in each township for school purposes, and -was informed by the commissioner that "the act was approved March 3, 1849 (U. -S. Statutes, Vol I, page 154), entitled an act to establish the Territorial Government -of Minnesota." He had overlooked the fact that the organic act of Oregon, -which passed on the fourteenth of August, 1848, contained the same appropriation. -This was probably because it was in 1849 that the affairs of the land office -were turned over to the interior department, and he had not searched the previous -records.</p> - -<p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17">17</a> Act of Congress of September 4, 1841.</p> - -<p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18">18</a> The canal and locks at Oregon City were built out of the first proceeds of -the five hundred thousand acres, when it was converted to the school fund to -prevent its appropriation to local schemes of minor importance.</p> - -<p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19">19</a> By act of July, 1864, congress granted to the State of Oregon, to aid in the -construction of a military wagon road from Eugene to the eastern boundary of -the state, alternate sections of the public lands designated by odd numbers, for -three sections in width on each side of the road, the United States to share in it as -a military post road. The land was to be sold in quantities at one time of thirty -sections on the completion of ten miles, and within five years, failing which, the -land reverted to the United States. The grant amounted to one thousand nine -hundred and twenty acres per mile for a distance of four hundred and twenty -miles—or more than all given to the state on its admission by one hundred and -fifty thousand acres. The company was allowed a primary sale of thirty sections -with which to begin surveying. A road was opened from Eugene to and -over the mountains in 1867, which was little used or useful. In 1873 the land -grant was sold to a San Francisco company, and this immense government gift -passed to private ownership in another state.</p> -</div> - - - - -<hr /> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">158</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2>GLIMPSES OF LIFE IN EARLY<br /> -OREGON.</h2> -</div> - -<p>As we travel through the Willamette Valley with the -dispatch and comfort of a well-equipped railway service, -we are quickly forgetting how our fathers and grandfathers -journeyed. Pioneer experiences and hardships -are memories of long ago; another century is dawning, -and we say that "the new is better than the old."</p> - -<p>In the early days of the settlement of this state the -horse was the only means of travel, unless one's course -lay along the Willamette, and then it was the canoe with -paddles that carried trappers, explorers, and occasional -Hudson's Bay officials on their journeys. The native -grasses were luxuriant and abundant, the climate mild, -and every settler's door stood hospitably ajar. Journeying -was by easy stages and not irksome. It is pleasant -to remember that there was a time when one had time -to be leisurely and greet one's friends in a kindly, simple -fashion. Civilization was gathered within the four walls -of Fort Vancouver, on the Columbia River. Our greatest -friend, John McLoughlin, was the chief factor of all -the Hudson's Bay Company's establishments west of -the Rocky Mountains, and children who have been born -in the original Oregon Territory may well "rise up and -call him blessed."</p> - -<p>The good "old doctor," as he was respectfully and -affectionately called, cheered the hearts of thousands of -immigrants by his deeds of gracious humanity. With a -generous hand he furnished provisions, clothing, cattle, -grain, and farming implements, taking in return the -immigrant's word that he would ever be repaid; the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">159</a></span> -word was sometimes kept and oftentimes broken. Doctor -McLoughlin conducted life at Fort Vancouver as -feudal lords of old, and that, too, with strict military -discipline; the coming and going regulated by the -ringing of the great bell. The members of this large -household breakfasted and supped by their own firesides, -but dinner was served in the hall for gentlemen and -visitors. All stood while the doctor said grace, and men -of humble birth "sat below the salt." Distinguished -men gathered at this board. Foremost among them we -reckon Douglas, the botanist, to whom the doctor furnished -escort and transportation. As he took his way -through the Willamette Valley, and on to the Rogue -River, it became a journey of months. His investigations -covered a wide stretch—the lowly flower by the -trail, the myriads of brilliant blooms on the breeze-swept -prairies, the shrubs and vines of hillside and canyon, -and towering evergreens on lofty mountain heights. In -order to study plant life he watched it from the bursting -bud in April showers, through sunny summer weather, -to the autumn maturing of the seed. Be it remembered -that Douglas first made the world acquainted with the -three kingliest products of our forests—the giant spruce -of the Oregon wilderness, the solemn fir of the cloud-drift -region, and the sugar pine of the Sierras. This -clever man met with a tragic death in the Sandwich -Islands, for he fell into a pit dug for wild cattle and was -gored to death by a bull.</p> - -<p>Geologists searching the distant field, and titled gentlemen -traveling for pleasure, shared the doctor's hospitality, -and were given escort through the beautiful -pastoral country. With the ingress of the Americans -Oregon City became the place of importance next to Fort -Vancouver, and when Doctor McLoughlin was called -there on business, he set out in a bateau, manned by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">160</a></span> -French-Canadian voyageurs, who, clad in their gay national -dress, sang gay Canadian boating songs to the -rhythm of the paddles. The doctor sat aloft in the stern, -erect and dignified, dressed in a long blue-cloth coat, -with brass buttons, buff waistcoat and dark trousers, -and a gray beaver hat. The garments were fashioned -in London, and the making of beaver hats has been a -lost art these many years. When the doctor reached -Oregon City he clambered up the rocky path and paced -the single street, carrying a gold-headed cane, and with -his brilliant blue eyes and flowing white locks, his was -a face and figure never to be forgotten. This great-hearted -man and friend of the pioneers lies by the side -of his wife in consecrated ground, within sound of the -Falls of the Willamette.</p> - - -<p>We can understand what a sore deprivation the absence -of books and papers was to the pioneers of the -"forties." One man in the Yoncalla Valley, who had -accumulated several hundred dollars, called his children -about him and asked if he should build a house to -replace the log cabin, or buy "Harper's Complete -Library," consisting of many volumes bound in "12mo." -Be it to their lasting credit, the books were purchased, -carefully read and remembered, and preserved -for succeeding generations.</p> - -<p>Another man, troubled lest his children be cut off from -civilizing influences in their frontier life, built and furnished -a house at great expense and in a style that was -not equaled for many years nor within many miles. He -lived to see his lands and house swept from him, through -the dishonesty of another, but not before the attractive -home surroundings had served their purpose. This brave -man spent the declining years of trouble and sorrow on -the mountain-side overlooking the fair valley, where once<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">161</a></span> -lay his own broad acres, and no man had ever been turned -from his door. The letters written through all the years -of this man's life in Oregon are marvels of style and -composition, and greatly treasured by their fortunate -owners. Especially so are those of his later years, when -riper experience and a keener insight into men and -events lent greater force to his pen, so that a man of -great culture and polish once said: "They sound as if -written from a baronial castle, whereas they come from -a log cabin."</p> - -<p>On the western slope of the Willamette there was -another where all books and papers were most carefully -preserved, so that the third generation of descendants is -now able to read a file of the <i>Oregon Spectator</i>, published -in 1846 and 1847. The paper was placed over a string -stretched across the cabin, until they were all carefully -laid by. An English gentleman, accompanied by a guide -and traveling in pursuit of game and pleasure, once -craved food and shelter at the cabin door. He was cheerfully -bidden to enter and partake of the unvarying fare -of boiled wheat and possibly beef, and the earthen floor -and a buffalo robe served as a bed. The gentleman met -his host and hostess in Washington afterward, and when -the latter spoke of the meager entertainment in Oregon, -he said: "Ha, but you gave me the best you had; the -Prince of Wales could do no better." A roomy, comfortable -house replaced the log cabin, and its door, too, -stood ajar, and all were welcomed to the kind and simple -hospitality. Young officers from West Point, on first -frontier duty, passing to remote mountain garrisons and -out again for brief glimpses of civilization, had cordial -greeting. Some of these died like brave soldiers on the -battle-fields of the civil war. Others attained rank and -distinction in the service, and two at least won the highest -honors ever conferred by an appreciative country.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">162</a></span></p> - -<p>Every governor and senator of Oregon has claimed -the welcome extended, unless it be the present incumbents, -and though the master and his gentle wife have -passed out for the last time, those, too, would be kindly -greeted beneath the old roof. Preacher and circuit-rider, -humbly following in the footsteps of their divine Lord, -students and distinguished statesmen gathered about this -fireside. Best of all were the times when the earliest -pioneers honored it with their presence, and the quaint -telling of tales of adventure, privation and Indian warfare -lasted far into the night, and the logs burned low -on the hearth.</p> - -<p>The lack of schools was deeply deplored by many of -these hardy pioneers, men and women, though some -were more fortunate. Many remember with affection -and respect one who came from her New England home -and most conscientiously taught the fortunate children -entrusted to her care. School days under her wise and -kind guidance, and ofttimes in most picturesque spots, -are bright and happy memories of many men and women -today. One family spent years of happiness and contentment -on a lonely sea shore, and were taught by a -governess, while the play-time was spent among the -beautiful groves and watching the waves so full of interest -and mystery. A peaceful happy life, but in their -longing for companionship they fed sugar to two house -flies on the window-sill in stormy weather,—for house -flies were not then a pest.</p> - -<p>Sometimes the housewife was of another nationality, -and claimed a prior right to this beautiful valley. A -judge once traveling across Tualatin Plains in the winter -was belated by a storm and asked shelter at a trapper's -door. He was given a place by the blazing hearth, and -the dusky housewife, busy about the evening meal, -placed before them potatoes, deliciously roasted in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">163</a></span> -ashes, venison, bread, butter, milk and tea, while the -host interestingly told of having known Captain Bonneville -and his party on the plains, as well as members -of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company. In his journeys -he knew the watershed of the Columbia and Missouri by -heart, and in one night had set traps in both rivers.</p> - -<p>One of Oregon's most polished and charming of her -earlier pioneers, was entertained at a frugal board, and -in graceful acknowledgment sent the hostess some soup -plates from the Hudson's Bay store, and a daughter of -the house exhibited them to him forty years afterward. -Although he returned to New England to spend many -of the last years of his life, his interest in Oregon never -waned, and during his visits here his reminiscences of -early days were a delight to those who were so fortunate -as to hear them.</p> - -<p>The first school opened in the original Oregon country -for American children was by Doctor Whitman at the -Waiilatpu Mission, on the Walla Walla River. The school -was attended by the children of missionaries, those who -were left orphans, and the children of immigrants who -were belated by winter storms and kept from entering -the Willamette Valley.</p> - -<p>Eliza Spalding was born at Lapwai Mission in 1837, -and at ten years of age was sent to Whitman's station in -charge of a trusty Nez Perce woman. These two journeyed -alone on horseback three days, and camped as -many nights by the trail. The air was cold on the table -land adjacent to the Snake River, but the child was tenderly -cared for by this faithful woman. Eliza was interpreter, -owing to her thorough knowledge of Nez Perce, -but her school-time at the mission was brief. Fifty years -afterward she told of the awful tragedy that ended the -life-work of a great and good man and his wife, and those -others who shared their fate. Half a century had not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">164</a></span> -obliterated the traces and impression of the horrible -crime from the sensitive mind of her who was a child at -the time of the massacre.</p> - -<p>A little school established in Polk County, early in the -forties laid claim to the ambitious title of institute. -Whether in the spirit of true democracy, or as a deserving -tribute to the great mind that conceived the possibilities -of this western land, and with marvelous foresight -planned the Lewis and Clark expedition, this little log -school house bore the name of the Jefferson Institute. -The man who presided there remembered the lore of -earlier years, and equally well had he treasured the -books of that more fortunate time.</p> - -<p>Men and women are living who owe a debt of gratitude -to John E. Lyle, and remember with deep affection -and respect that he first pointed out the narrow path that -led far afield in the great world of study and literature of -today.</p> - -<p>The theme is endless, when we begin to recall the men -and events of other days; much has been written and -preserved, and much lost to the world because the demands -of later times were great, and those who might -have recorded faithfully and well went out into the great -beyond without having benefited Oregon's story by handing -down such a record.</p> - -<p class="sigright">MRS. WILLIAM MARKLAND MOLSON.</p> - - - - -<hr /> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">165</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2>NOT MARJORAM.</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center bold in0 p1t p1b"><span class="smcap">The Spanish Word "Oregano" not the Original of Oregon.</span></p> - -<p>The textbooks in the hands of our children in the public -schools continue to furnish them with the erroneous -information that the name of the State of Oregon was -derived from the word "oregano," the Spanish name -for the plant that we call marjoram. This is mere conjecture, -absolutely without support. More than this, it -is completely disproved by all that is known of the history -of the name. There is nothing in the records of the -Spanish navigators, nothing in the history of Spanish -exploration or discovery, that indicates even in the faintest -way that this was the origin of the name, or that the -Spaniards called this country or any portion of it by that -name. There is marjoram here, indeed; and at a time -long after the Spaniards had discontinued their northern -coast voyages it was suggested that the presence of marjoram -(oregano) here had led the Spaniards to call the -country "Oregon."</p> - -<p>From the year 1535 the Spaniards, from Mexico, made -frequent voyages of exploration along the Pacific Coast -towards the north. The main object was the discovery -of a passage connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. -Consequently the explorers paid little attention to the -country itself. After a time, finding the effort to discover -a passage fruitless, they desisted for a long period. But -after the lapse of two centuries they began to establish -settlements on the coast of California; and then voyages -towards the north were resumed by some of their navigators. -In 1775 the mouth of the Columbia River was -seen by Heceta, but, owing to the force of the current, he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">166</a></span> -was unable to enter. The fact here to be noted is that -the Spaniards of that day did not call the country Oregon, -or, if they did, they have left no record of it.</p> - -<p>But even before the discovery of the Columbia River -by Heceta the name of Oregon appeared in another -quarter. Jonathan Carver, of Connecticut, who had -served as a captain in the colonial war against the -French, set out from Boston in 1766 and proceeded by -way of the Great Lakes to the region of the Upper Mississippi, -now forming the States of Wisconsin, Minnesota -and Iowa. He returned to Boston in October, 1768, and -then went over to England, where his "Travels" were -published. From that journey to the Upper Mississippi -region he brought back the name of Oregon, which he -says he obtained from the Indians there. "From these -nations," he says, "together with my own observations, -I have learned that the four most capital rivers of the -Continent of North America, viz., the St. Lawrence, the -Mississippi, the Bourbon (flowing into Hudson's Bay), -and the Oregon, or River of the West, have their sources -in the same neighborhood. The waters of the three -former are within thirty miles of each other; the latter, -however, is rather farther west."</p> - -<p>Carver, of course, had a geographical theory, and was -seeking to verify it. This is the first mention of the -name of Oregon that has yet been discovered. Carver -either invented the word, or produced it from imitation -of some word spoken by the Indians. There certainly -was no "oregano," or marjoram, about it.</p> - -<p>The word "oregano," it may be noted, has curious -usage in Spanish authors. One of Sancho's proverbs, -literally translated, runs thus: "Pray God, it may prove -marjoram, and not turn out caraway for us." It is said -to be unexplainable why marjoram and caraway in Spain -should have been taken as types of the desirable and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">167</a></span> -undesirable. In another place Sancho says: "I would -not have him marjoram (oregano), for covetousness -bursts the bag, and the covetous governor does ungoverned -justice." Here the word is used in the sense of -"eager for gain."</p> - -<p>Others have professed or proposed to derive the name -of Oregon from the Spanish word "oreja," the ear—supposing -that the Spaniards noted the big ears of the native -Indians and named the country from the circumstance. -But the Spaniards themselves have left no record of the -kind; nor has it been noted, so far as we are aware, -that the ears of our Indians were remarkably large. -The word "orejon" is nearer our form; it signifies -"slice of dried apple," we may suppose from its resemblance -to the form of the ear. Many years ago -Archbishop Blanchet, of Oregon, while in Peru, noted -a peculiar use of this word "orejon" in that country, -which he ingeniously conjectured might throw some -light on the origin of the name of Oregon.</p> - -<p>But it is unnecessary to formulate any fanciful theory. -The name of Oregon first appears in Carver's book of -"Travels" in the Upper Mississippi region in 1766–67. -Did he invent the name? Probably. Did he get it -from the Indians? Possibly something like it. But it -never has been discovered among the Indians of that -country since Carver's time, nor anything like it. There -remains a possible supposition that French travelers who -had passed through that country some years before, and -had proceeded on their westward journey far toward the -Rocky Mountains, and then returned, had been making -inquiries among the Indians as to the great western river -that all geographers had postulated, and had spoken a -word that the Indians had tried to imitate—possibly -"Aragon"—knowing that the Spaniards had explored -the western coasts, and intimating that the country by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">168</a></span> -discovery might belong to Spain. But all these are -fruitless conjectures.<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor"><sup>20</sup></a> We know where we find the name -of Oregon first written, when it was written, and by -whom; and the circumstances completely disprove the -"oregano" and the "orejon" theories. A notable fact it -is that a slight incident of Carver's career, so slight that -he thought nothing about it—the creation of a name, or -the casual use of a name hitherto unknown—has immortalized -his own name upon the tongues of men dwelling -in the region of his "River of the West." But Minnesota -has not neglected him. She does justice to him in -her records and historical transactions, and has not forgotten -to name a county for him. He died in poverty -and misery in London, January 31, 1780.</p> - -<p class="sigright">H. W. SCOTT.</p> - - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20">20</a> Professor John Fiske, in his "History of the United States," says that Oregon -"may perhaps be the Algonquin <i>Wau-re-gan</i>, 'beautiful water.'"</p> -</div> - - - - -<hr /> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">169</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2>REMINISCENCES OF LOUIS LABONTE.</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center bold in0 p1t p1b">By <span class="smcap">H. S. Lyman.</span></p> - -<p>Louis Labonte (or Le Bonte), son of Louis Labonte -of the Astor expedition, who accompanied Hunt across -the continent in 1811–12, is still living at Saint Paul, -Marion County, Oregon. He is now eighty-two years -old, and is in good health. His remembrance of earlier -experiences and life is still fresh and his mind seems -very vigorous for one of his age. He says, however, -that his recollection of the Indian languages that he -once knew has now largely slipped away. These were -the Clatsop or Chinook, the Tillamook, Tualatin and -Calapooya, of which he says he knew a few words, and -the Spokane which he understood almost perfectly. Besides -these, he talked fluently in the Indian jargon and -in French and English.</p> - -<p>He was born at Astoria in 1818, his mother being a -daughter of Chief Kobayway, and an older sister of -Celiast, or Mrs. Helen Smith. Three years of his early -life, about 1824 to 1827, were spent at Spokane Falls, -and the three years succeeding at Fort Colville. Then -two years, probably 1830 to 1833, were spent on French -Prairie. His father had removed to that place and was -engaged in raising wheat on a piece of land owned by -Joseph Gervais, whose wife was a sister of his mother. -From this place he accompanied the family to the farm -of Thomas McKay on Scappoose Creek near Sauvie's -Island, where he spent three years. In 1836 he removed -with the family to a location on the Yamhill River near -Dayton. In 1849, being then a well matured man, he -accompanied a party headed by William McKay to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">170</a></span> -gold mines of California, returning the same year. During -the Indian war of 1855–56 he was a member of the -Oregon Volunteers in the company of Robert Newell, -which was stationed at Fort Vancouver to hold in check -the Cascade Indians and the Klickitats to the north.</p> - -<p>His reminiscences are important on the following: -<i>First</i>, as to his father, Louis Labonte; <i>second</i>, earliest -French Prairie; <i>third</i>, experiences at Scappoose; <i>fourth</i>, -Spokane Indians and Indian myths; <i>fifth</i>, the names of -Indian places and persons; <i>sixth</i>, the primitive Indian -articles of food; <i>seventh</i>, on some of the Indian tribes -and customs and traditions; and <i>eighth</i>, of the original -white men.</p> - - -<p class="center bold in0 p1t p1b">I.<br /> -<span class="smcap">LOUIS LABONTE Senior.</span></p> - -<p>Concerning his father, he says that this member of the -Astor expedition was born in Montreal, and was about -eighteen years old when he came out to Saint Louis, and -was there engaged as an employee of the American Fur -Company for four years; at the age of twenty-two he -was engaged by Wilson P. Hunt of the Pacific Fur Company -to come to Oregon, and arrived in the following -winter. Upon the disruption of that company in 1814, -Labonte took service with the Northwestern Fur Company, -which was in 1818 absorbed into the Hudson's -Bay Company. He had in the meantime become acquainted -with and married at Astoria the daughter of -Chief Kobayway of the Clatsop Indians, and it was in -the year 1818 that the son was born. Labonte Sr. took -six years for the Hudson's Bay Company, and spent -three years at Spokane and three at Colville. He then -returned to Fort Vancouver and his service terminated -some time near 1828, when he asked to be dismissed and -allowed to remain in Oregon. This was directly against<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">171</a></span> -the policy of the Hudson's Bay Company, who wished -none of their trappers to become settlers or free laborers -in their territory, and it was the rule that all of their -servants must be dismissed at the place where they were -enlisted. But Labonte was an astute Frenchman and -contended that as he had enlisted in Oregon and was not -brought here by the Hudson's Bay Company, it was no -infraction of this rule, but rather in compliance with it -that he should be dismissed here. Notwithstanding, -his request was refused and no dismission was allowed -unless he returned to Montreal. Accordingly, he made -the trip to Canada, starting in March, and receiving his -regular papers certifying to the ending of his term of -service. But he immediately began the journey back -and arrived here again in November of the same year—which -may have been 1830. This shows him to have -been an independent and determined man, and a good -husband and father. It may also have had much more -bearing than has yet been credited as to the settlement of -Oregon.</p> - - -<p class="center bold in0 p1t p1b">II.<br /> -EARLIEST FRENCH PRAIRIE.</p> - -<p>After having terminated his service with the Hudson's -Bay Company, Labonte evidently made up his mind to -become a settler in Oregon, the country of his wife, and -with which he was undoubtedly well pleased as a home. -Several of his comrades who belonged to the old Hunt -party were already contemplating this step, and some -had actually begun settlement. Etienne Lucier had first -taken a place at the site of East Portland, but, as -Labonte remembers, having been informed by McLoughlin -that he himself wished to occupy this location, was -now removing to French Prairie. Joseph Gervais, however, -was already at French Prairie, having laid a claim<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">172</a></span> -at Chemaway, a point on the bank of the Willamette -River about two and a half miles south from Fairfield -at present. Labonte Sr. moved to the place of Gervais -and engaged with him in raising wheat, and, among -other improvements, built a barn; but did not complete -a location of his own.</p> - -<p>Louis, the son, remembers more particularly the boyish -occupations of the region, of which hunting was the -most important. He describes a method of hunting the -deer (jargon, Mowich; Calapooya, Ahawa-ia) which, perhaps, -has never been placed in print. The deer were -very abundant in primitive times, and during the breeding -season the bucks were pugnacious. In order to -come near to them the Indians would take the head of a -deer, including also the hide of the neck, properly prepared, -which was placed over the head of the hunter; -and he then, stooping over so as to keep the mouth of the -deer head off the ground, as if grazing, would creep up -on the lee side of the herd. He would also, so as to -more closely imitate the action of a deer, occasionally -jerk the head from side to side, as if nabbing flies.</p> - -<p>Presently a buck from the herd, observing the suspicious -stranger, would begin to stamp and snuff, and -bridle with anger; or, possibly, shaking with excitement, -would edge nearer, challenging the supposed -intruder for a fight, browsing and approaching, or -maneuvering for a position. The hunter, in the meantime, -would keep up his own maneuvers until the victim -was near, and then let fly the fatal arrow; though -Labonte says that before the use of guns, the Indian -himself, if he chanced to miss his mark, was sometimes -so viciously attacked by the deer as to be badly gored -or trampled, or possibly killed. Young Labonte always -used a gun at this sport.</p> - -<p>He recalls also seeing two grizzly bears on French<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">173</a></span> -Prairie, one of which was in connection with a hunting -party one foggy morning. Grizzlies were not unknown -in the Willamette Valley, though they were not abundant. -The Chinook jargon name for the grizzly was eshayum, -quite distinct from the name of the common black bear, -itch-hoot. Both these words are evidently primitive Indian -terms (S. B. Smith) and thus show that the grizzlies -were a well recognized species in the Willamette -Valley during the period of Indian occupation.</p> - -<p>Labonte Jr. has recollections of earliest French Prairie -which are very valuable, and give a new, or at least a -clearer understanding of settlement here, than ever seems -to have been published, and shows Chemaway on the -Willamette River about twelve miles above Champoeg -to have been the first nucleus of settlement. According -to these recollections, which should of course be subjected -to close examination before being used as the basis -of a final conclusion, it was Joseph Gervais and the remnants -of the Astor company, or Hunt's part of it, who -were the original pioneers of French Prairie, and thus -of Oregon. These were Joseph Gervais, Etienne Lucier, -Louis Labonte, Wm. Cannon, Alexander Carson, (Alex. -Essen) and Dubruy. Whether the fact that they had -been with an American company made them any more -independent and more disposed to settle for themselves, -may be questioned; but at any rate, they formed a little -company of comrades and became the first group of independent -Oregon people.</p> - -<p>Joseph Gervais was the first, and when the Labontes -arrived in about 1831, he had been upon his place at -Chemaway at least three years, and had made considerable -improvements. Chemaway is situated on the bank -of the Willamette River at a somewhat abrupt point -over the water and became afterwards the location of -Jason Lee, and the Methodist Mission. It is not to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">174</a></span> -confounded with Chemawa, the location of the United -States Indian Training School on the line of the Southern -Pacific Railroad,—though this is a mispronunciation of -the old name, in which both a's are long, with a strong -tendency toward long e, making the name Chemaewae.</p> - -<p>Gervais had substantial buildings, and Labonte's description -of his house and barn is very interesting. The -house was about 18 × 24, on the ground, and was constructed -of square hewed logs, of rather large size. -There were two floors, one below and one above, both -of which were laid with long planks or puncheons of -white fir, and probably adzed off to a proper level. The -roof was made of poles as rafters, and the shingling was -of carefully laid strips or sheets of ash bark, imbricated. -Upon these were cross planks to hold them in place. -There were three windows on the lower floor of about -30 × 36 inches in dimensions, and for lights were covered -with fine thinly dressed deer skins. There was also a -large fireplace, built of sticks tied together with buckskin -thongs, and covered with a stiff plaster made of -clay and grass. The barn was of good size, being about -40 × 50 feet on the ground, and was of the peculiar -construction of a number of buildings on early French -Prairie. There were posts set up at the corners and at -the requisite intervals between, in which tenon grooves -had been run by use of an auger and chisel, and into -these were let white fir split planks about three inches -thick to compose the walls. The roof was shingled in -the same manner as the house, with pieces of ash bark. -There was a young orchard upon the place of small -apple trees obtained from Fort Vancouver.</p> - -<p>At the time that the Labontes came to Chemaway, -Etienne Lucier had not yet taken his own place, about -three miles above Champoeg, at Chewewa, but was living, -or camping, upon the place of Gervais, probably<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">175</a></span> -looking around the country and making arrangements -for a permanent home. Lucier, therefore, was not the -first settler upon French Prairie, but this honor belongs -to Joseph Gervais, who must have gone there, according -to Labonte's recollections, about 1828.</p> - -<p>William Cannon was a millwright, being an American -by birth, from Pennsylvania, and at the time the Labontes -came to French Prairie, was at Vancouver, building -the gristmill. He afterwards built the Champoeg -gristmill, as stated by Willard H. Rees.</p> - -<p>Dubruy settled subsequently about two and one-half -miles south of Champoeg.</p> - -<p>Alexander Carson (Alex Essen, as pronounced by Labonte), -was a trapper, and spent much of his time in the -Yamhill country. He seems to have been a very independent -man, but finally lost his life at a certain butte -on the North Yamhill River (still called Alec's Butte) by -the Twhatie (Tualatin) Indians, probably with the simple -object of possessing themselves of his rifle and trappings.</p> - -<p>As to Champoeg, the historic point in Oregon history, -this was originally a camping and council ground of the -Indians. It was near the north boundary of the Calapooyas, -and here various tribes came to trade, to play -games of chance and skill, and not infrequently to intermarry.</p> - -<p>One great sport was diving. The water of the Willamette -River off the bluff was very deep, and it became -a great contest for the young men to see who could dive -deepest and remain under water longest. Some of the -bolder ones even not rising until the blood began to burst -from their noses or mouths.</p> - -<p>Labonte recalls with great vividness the wedding ceremonies -which he often witnessed, and that were frequently<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">176</a></span> -celebrated here between contracting parties of -the different tribes. It was quite an intricate ceremony. -The tribe of the groom would assemble on one side and -that of the bride on the other. The groom, placed in -the forefront of his people, was dressed in his best, and -seated upon the ground. He was then approached by -members of his own tribe, who began removing his outer -garments, article by article. After this was done, members -of the bride's tribe came and reclothed him with -different garments and placed him in readiness to receive -his wife. The bride, in the meantime, was placed in the -forefront of her people, but was covered entirely, face and -all, with a blanket. When ready to be presented, she -was carried by women of her tribe, and brought within a -short distance of the groom, but here her bearers halted -to rest. Then, probably indicating the desire of both -peoples that the ceremony should proceed, and that all -were friendly, a shout or hallo was raised by all parties, -which is given as follows: "Awatch-a-he-lay-ee. Awatch-a-he-lay-ee." -After which she was taken the rest of the -way and presented, while the same cry of applause and -approbation was again raised.</p> - -<p>A bride was purchased, and the presents were numerous -and valuable. In case that the groom and bride were -descendants of chiefs, presents were made between the -whole tribes. These presents were of all sorts, and consisted -of horses (cuiton), blankets (passissie), guns (mosket), -slaves (eliatie), haiqua shells, or, as the small -haiqua shells were called, cope-cope, which is a kind of -turritella, kettles (moos-moos), tobacco (ekainoos), powder -(poolallie), bullets (kah-lai-ton), knives (eop-taths), -or other articles.</p> - -<p>The name Champoeg, says Labonte, is not derived from -Le Campment Sable, the French name, but is purely -Indian. "Cham," the hard <i>ch</i>, not <i>sh</i>, is of the same<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">177</a></span> -character as the universal <i>Che</i> prefix of the Calapooyas; -as Chehalem, Chewewa, Chemaway, Chamhokuc, or Chemeketa; -and the latter part, "poeg," or poek, was for -a certain plant or root found there by the Indians, and -called po-wet-sie. That this is the true derivation, and -it is not from the French term, meaning the sandy camp, -is evidenced by its similarity to the other Indian names -just given above.</p> - - -<p class="center bold in0 p1t p1b">III.<br /> -AT SCAPPOOSE.</p> - -<p>When young Labonte was about sixteen, and after -spending about two years at Chemaway, the family was -employed by Thomas McKay to take charge of his farm -on Scappoose Plains, across the Willamette Slough, or -Multnomah, from Sauvie's Island—McKay being one of -the most energetic and intrepid captains of the Hudson's -Bay Company, and being at that time detailed for special -service in the Snake River country, where competition -with American companies was setting in with much -vigor. On this farm the Labontes raised wheat, oats, -peas, potatoes, and various garden products, and had -cattle and hogs, but no sheep. On the farm with the -Labontes there was a Frenchman named Antoine Plasier.</p> - -<p>It was during this period that Wyeth—whom Labonte -recalls as White, from a mixture of the English aspirate -and the French non-aspiration of th—made his second -visit to the Columbia. It was, however, more with the -trim brig May Dacre that the lad had to do. He remembers -that he was at that time just as tall as a musket, -which he indicates would reach about to his chin as a -man. On this craft, which lay anchored in the stream -not far from the farm, he was often invited to go visiting, -particularly Sundays, and was well treated by the -sailors and Captain Lambert. He remembers once being<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">178</a></span> -asked by the captain whether he could climb a mast, -and he immediately proceeded to show that he could, and -ascended to the topmast on the bare pole, climbing hand -over hand. It happened to be a windy day, and the brig -was rolling somewhat in the swell, and when the boy -looked down from his lofty elevation, he was made almost -dizzy by observing how small the vessel below him -looked in the wide stream. But upon reaching deck -again, he was complimented by both sailors and captain -as being made of stuff fit for a sailor.</p> - -<p>Indeed, Lambert seems to have been very well pleased -with him, and offered him a passage on his ship to Boston, -and a return, either by land or sea, and to this his -parents were almost persuaded to give their consent, but -at the last moment could not quite bring themselves to do -this. Sometimes he was invited by the captain to take -dinner, and amused the officers by his sturdy refusal to -take anything to drink—perhaps as much from suspicion -as from set conviction—though the better class of men -on the Columbia at that time greatly deprecated the use -of intoxicants and were largely temperate, and the boy -very likely had imbibed these ideas.</p> - -<p>He remembers Lambert as large and powerful, and -full bodied; of dark hair and complexion, and "a good -man." Nathaniel Wyeth, whom he also saw, was florid, -light-haired and blue-eyed, but also large, and perhaps -even finer looking than Lambert.</p> - -<p>Game at Scappoose and on the ponds of Sauvie's -Island was very abundant, consisting of deer, elk and -bear, and panthers and wildcats; and beaver were still -plentiful; but the waterfowl of the most magnificent -kind, at their season of passage, and, indeed, during -much of the year, almost forbade the hunter to sleep. -Labonte remembers one winter season in particular when -there was a snowfall of about sixteen inches, and in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">179</a></span> -early morning he went forth to hunt swan. These splendid -birds of the white species, like the innumerable -ducks and geese, assembled at the island ponds to feast -upon the abundant wapatoes. On this particular morning -the youth soon discovered his flock of swans upon -the surface of a shallow lake, eating the roots, and being -such an immense flock that they were not to be disturbed -even by the immediate presence of the hunter. Then, -disrobing to his shoulders,—for the water was too deep -to reach the flock otherwise,—he simply waded in, bringing -down two or three birds to a shot, until he soon had -as many as he could carry. Indeed, the lake was so -covered by the flock as almost to conceal the water. -However, upon reaching home he was rather chided for -his performance by his father, who told him that by such -cold bathing he would be likely to get the "rheumatism," -which was his first acquaintance with that term.</p> - - -<p class="center bold in0 p1t p1b">IV.<br /> -SPOKANE INDIANS AND INDIAN MYTHS.</p> - -<p>When taken to Spokane Falls, Labonte was a small -boy of about six years. His parents made their residence -there from about 1824 to 1827.</p> - -<p>He was much with the Indians, and learned their language -like a native, and was often present at their religious -services, and heard them tell their myths. One of -their meetings he describes as follows: At the lodge of -the greatest chief there was a picture, from whom obtained -he does not know, but in all probability from -some member of the Hudson's Bay Company. When -worship was held, this picture was spread out on the -floor, and, kneeling before it, the chief began a prayer -to the Great Spirit, or the Hyas Ilmihum, who was -addressed also by the name of Creator; the expression<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">180</a></span> -"Quilen-tsatmen," meaning Creator, or, more exactly, -"He made us." The prayer was a petition to be made -pleasing to God, to be kept under His care, to be taken -to Him at last, and to be kept from the "Black fellow." -After the chief had finished, others also followed, kneeling -down and uttering a shorter petition until all at last -took their place and followed along in an orderly manner. -Those who had any offerings left them before the picture. -Then they began a hymn or chant, and after that was -finished, all joined in a dance.</p> - -<p>Labonte recollects the names of some the Spokane -chiefs: Ilmicum Spokanee, or the chief of the moon; -Ilmicum Takullhalth, the chief of the day; and Kahwakim, -a broken shoulder. He also recollects a Colville -chief, whose name was Snohomich, a white-headed old -man.</p> - -<p>The Spokane Indians had the legends of the coyote, -or Tallapus, but his name was Sincheleep. In his breast -he carried certain knowing creatures, which were his -spirits, or wits, and when he wished to take council with -himself, he would call them forth. They gave him the -answers he needed, and then went back into his breast. -Sincheleep, the coyote, was quite different from the fox, -Whawhaoolee, though the fox was also a knowing beast. -The big gray wolf was Cheaitsin; the grizzly bear, Tsimhiatsin, -and the black bear, N'salmbe.</p> - -<p>A story of Tallapus, or Sincheleep, that Labonte remembers -was the same in substance as that of Tallapus -and the cedar tree; although Spokane is almost a thousand -miles from the region of the story of Tallapus. -This illustrates to what a wide extent the folklore of the -primitive Indians extended. Sincheleep was once traveling -and was not entirely certain how he should obtain -his meals upon the way. However, in order to look as -well as possible he decided to dress up nicely; to comb<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">181</a></span> -his hair, and paint his face becomingly. In the course -of time he was met by two women who carried baskets -in which they had some camas bread and other Indian -dainties. He came forward and addressed them and -said very pleasantly, "Sit down, sisters; sit down. I -will sing to you and tell you stories." So they sat down -while he sang and told them stories, and they enjoyed -his society so much that when at length he remarked -casually, "What have you in your baskets, sisters?" -they very kindly opened their stores and treated him; -which, of course, he enjoyed, and began at once to contrive -for another treat. He bade them good-bye and -went on, but when out of sight took a circle about and -coming to a stream washed himself and painted another -way, and also combed his hair differently, and met the -two women again. He addressed them as before, saying, -"Sit down, sisters; sit down, and I will sing and tell -you stories." This they did, and were again so charmed -that they opened their baskets and treated him as before. -He then went on, but circled about again so as to meet -them once more, being now combed and painted still -differently. He sang and told stories and was again -treated. But about the fifth or sixth time that this happened, -the women began to suspect that the cunning -creature was no other than Tallapus, and when he saw -that he was discovered, he bade them a final good-bye, -and went off to the wooded hills. Then began the story -of the tree, which as told by Labonte, runs as follows: -"He saw a tree with a crotched root, leading to a hollow -within, and thinking this a fine resting place, went inside. -He then asked the tree to close, and it did so -obediently. This was some time along in the fall. After -it was closed, he asked it to open, and it did this also. -Then he asked it to close and it was closed. It opened -or shut whenever he asked it to, but by and by when he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">182</a></span> -asked it to open, it would not. Then he was very sorry -and sat down inside the tree and cried. But he was -compelled to remain there all winter."</p> - -<p>Some time along in the early spring the birds came at -his request to peck him out; but the first, the second, -and many others that tried only broke their bills and -were unable to make even a small hole, until this was -done by a woodpecker; and through the opening Tallapus -was able to gaze abroad and see the blooming -flowers and the green grass.</p> - -<p>But still he could not go through the opening, and -finally concluded that the only way was to take himself -to pieces and put himself out, piece by piece. His eyes -were the first parts that he thus placed on the outside, -but they were seized upon by a raven who carried them -away. Finally the various sections of his body were all -out and collected and put together properly, except that -his eyes were gone and he was blind. But he smelled -the scent of flowers and felt around until he found some -of the flowers, which he placed in each eye. Then, -feeling his way along laboriously, and staring about as -if seeing everything, was at length directed by smelling -smoke. Following this odor, he was led to a lodge -where there were some women. By these his misfortune -was ridiculed, and they engaged in laughter as he -felt for the door; but he answered, "I am only measuring -your house." He was moving around in the meantime -and trying to find a place to sit down, which only -increased their merriment; but he answered, "I see; I -see; but I am only measuring the ground."</p> - -<p>Then one of the women said, "Can you indeed see?"</p> - -<p>Then he, staring off, replied, "Do you see that fire?"</p> - -<p>"Where?" they asked.</p> - -<p>"Far off," he answered, and described the distance as -far away, beyond the limit of their vision.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">183</a></span></p> - -<p>"No," they confessed, "that is too far for us."</p> - -<p>Then he answered, "I can see what you do not." By -which one of the women was so impressed with the -strength of his sight that she immediately wished to -swap eyes, and he promptly accepted the proposition; -as a result of which he could see even better than before, -while she became blind. He then transformed her, for -her folly, into a snail, which even to this day feels its -way along the ground.</p> - - -<p>The following are some of the Tallapus stories, which -Labonte remembers, found in the Willamette Valley:</p> - -<p>According to the Calapooyas, who occupied this valley -from near the Pudding River southward, Tallapus came -originally from the Rocky Mountain country and went -down the Columbia River, and thence southward along -the coast and finally over the coast mountains into the -Willamette Valley; though his exact birthplace or origin -is still a matter of doubt.</p> - -<p>Arriving by the Willamette River, he found the tribes -of that region in very unhappy circumstances; chiefly -from the absence of any good place for catching fish, -and also, owing to the depredations of certain gigantic -skookums. In order to remedy the first evil, he determined -to make a fall in the Willamette River where the -salmon would collect and be easily captured. He found -a place at the mouth of Pudding River, the Indian name -of which is Hanteuc, and here he began erecting the -barrier, but finding it not suitable, went further down, -leaving only a small riffle. At Rock Island, he began -in earnest, but upon further investigation found this -also unsuitable, and leaving here a strong rapid, went -down to the present site of the Willamette Falls, where -he completed his task and made the magnificent cataract<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">184</a></span> -which is not only a scene of beauty, but a model fishing -place.</p> - -<p>After having provided the fishery, he decided to invent -a remarkable trap which would obviate the labor of fishing. -He succeeded and produced a marvelous machine -which not only caught the fish, but also had the power -to talk, and would cry out, "Noseepsk, noseepsk," when -it was full.</p> - -<p>Determining to try his invention for himself, Tallapus -set the trap and went immediately to his camping place -to build a fire in order to cook the fish. But scarcely -had he begun when the trap cried out, "Noseepsk! Noseepsk!" -and going down he found it full of fish sure -enough. Then, returning, he began once more to prepare -his fire; but the trap called out again, "Noseepsk! -Noseepsk!" He obeyed its summons and found it full, -and went back once more to start his fire; but the trap -called for him again, and now, out of patience with its -promptness, he said to it crossly, "Wait until I build a -fire, and do not keep calling for me forever." But by -this sternness the trap was so much offended that it instantly -ceased to work, and the wonderful invention was -never used by men, who were obliged as before to catch -the salmon with spears or nets.</p> - -<p class="center bold in0 p1t p1b">THE STORY OF THE SKOOKUM'S TONGUE.</p> - -<p>However, in the course of time the Indians became -very prosperous, and a large village was built on the -west side of the river. But while they were thus prospering, -a gigantic skookum that lived upon the Tualatin -River began to commit fearful depredations. His abode -was on a little flat about two miles from the Indian village, -but so long was his tongue that he was in the habit -of reaching it forth and catching the people as he chose.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">185</a></span> -By this, of course, the village was almost depopulated, -and when, after a time, Tallapus returned, he was very -angry to see that the benefits of his fishery had gone, -not to the people, but to the wicked skookum. He therefore -went forth to the monster and cried out to it, "O, -wicked skookum; long enough have you been eating -these people." And with one blow of his tomahawk cut -off the offending tongue, and buried it under the rocks -upon the west side of the falls; after which the people -flourished. But so persistent is Indian superstition that -even yet some of the old Indians say that when the -canal was cut around the falls, that this was nothing -more than laying bare the channel made for the tongue -of the skookum.</p> - -<p class="center bold in0 p1t p1b">THE SKOOKUM AND THE WONDERFUL BOY.</p> - -<p>On the east side of the falls at about the site of Oregon -City the Indians also made a large village, being nourished -by the fishery, and had among them a great chief. -But from the mountains on the east there came a frightful -skookum, who destroyed the entire village and even -the old chieftain and all the people, except the chief's -wife and her unborn son.</p> - -<p>The woman desiring that her son should be great and -strong, took him after his birth to the various streams -or lakes that were haunted by Tomaniwus spirits, and -bathed him in the waters. From these he absorbed the -strength of the water and of the spirits, and in consequence, -grew prodigiously. In the course of time, he -returned to the old village where he found his mother, -and looking about the lodge, he began to ask her what -were the various articles that he saw. She replied: -"This is the spear with which your father used to catch -the salmon; and this is the tomahawk with which he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">186</a></span> -used to kill his enemies or to cleave wood; and this is -the bow with which he used to shoot arrows." Taking -the tomahawk in his hand, the boy went out to look -abroad but was almost immediately met by the skookum -returning. Thereupon driving his tomahawk into a -gnarly log of wood so as to make a crack, he cried out -to the giant, "If you are so strong, hold this crack open -while I take another stroke;" and into the opening the -witless skookum placed his fingers, but the tomahawk -being instantly withdrawn and the crack closing, was -held fast, after which he was easily killed by the boy. -Then taking his father's bow, the youngster went forth -and shot an arrow into the sky, calling out at the same -time, "As the arrow falls let those who died come to -life;" and this also was done. Scarcely had the arrow -fallen before the old chief and all his people were seen -coming up the river in their canoes; and landing at the -rocks, they began fishing as if nothing had happened. -The wonderful boy being rejoiced to see his father, whom -he had never looked upon before, went down among the -fishermen; but when he was seen by the old chief, was -accosted rudely with the question "Who are you? I am -chief here." And the old chief not knowing his son, -accompanied his rough language with an even rougher -blow.</p> - -<p>By this the wonderful boy was greatly affected, and -thinking that he could benefit his tribe no more, retired -to the rocks above the falls, and began weeping; and, -indeed, wept so copiously that his tears falling on each -side of the falls wore two great holes in the solid rock, -which may be seen there to this day. Finally deciding -that he would no longer live as a man, the boy changed -himself into a fish in order that he might rest in the quiet -waters. But he was disturbed by the roaring of the river -to such an extent that he swam upward as far as the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">187</a></span> -Tualatin. But neither here could he rest on account of -the roaring of the water. He proceeded thence to the -mouth of the Molalla, and of the Pudding River, and of -the Yamhill, successively, but had no resting place, until -finally he reached the clear Santiam. Here he found -what he desired, and went to sleep in a still pool; but -being discovered by Tallapus, was changed into a rock, -having the form of a salmon. And this accounts, say -the Indians, for the fact that no salmon that ascend the -falls at Oregon City ever turn aside into any of the -streams until they reach the Santiam; but there seeing -the rock, they take a circle and swim near, and then -saluting it with a flip of their tail proceed up the crystal -clear river until they reach the pebbly bars suitable for -their spawning grounds.</p> - -<p class="center bold in0 p1t p1b">THE HAUNTED LAKE.</p> - -<p>In addition to the above, Labonte tells an Indian story -of a haunted lake in the hills to the northward of Newburg. -The waters of this lake are exceedingly deep and -still, and it has the name of the skookum water.</p> - -<p>Long ago, said the Indians, there was one man who, -although he knew that this was a tomaniwus water, determined -recklessly to reach it in his canoe, and disturb -its placid surface with the strokes of his paddle. Making -his way thither, in his little craft in which he also had -his dog as his sole companion, he at length came to the -shadowy lake. He directed his strokes toward the center, -which he had scarcely reached before the water grew -darker and became greatly disturbed. Finally, it began -revolving round and round, and the man with his canoe -and dog were whirled along in the stream until a vortex -was developed and opened, into which all sank. Then -the lake was pacified, and again became serene. But<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">188</a></span> -even at the present time, upon a foggy morning, if one -gazes over the rocks upon Skookum Lake, he will see a -white object whirling round and round on the surface of -the water, and may, perhaps, hear whines and cries; this -is the spirit of the dog, which thus returns.</p> - - - - -<hr /> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">189</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2>DR. ELLIOTT COUES.</h2> -</div> - -<p>The untimely passing of Dr. Elliott Coues, scientist and -historian, has deprived the Historical Society of Oregon -of the pleasure of making acknowledgments to the living -man of its appreciation of the invaluable work he has -done, touching the history of the Northwest, and particularly -of Oregon, in the latter part of the eighteenth -and early part of the nineteenth centuries. Doctor -Coues' personal bias was towards the natural sciences, in -which he was distinguished, both as to the quantity and -quality of the matter produced, on ornithology, mammalogy, -herpetology, comparative anatomy, natural philosophy, -psychical research, etc.<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor"><sup>21</sup></a> Incidentally, through -his researches in natural history, which led him to explore -wilderness regions, he became a historian of more -than ordinary value, for he was never satisfied with his -work until he had gone to the very bottom of his subject. -The books and manuscripts which he edited became -original histories in his hands, from his almost incredible -industry in bringing to light facts to verify or -disprove the author's statements. With all the care of -a genealogist he followed a clue leading to the identity<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">190</a></span> -of the persons mentioned in the writings before him, or -the places named. His insight into, and industry in exploiting -the fading records of the past was extraordinary, -amounting to genius. His editorial revision of the -journal of Lewis and Clark, has added immensely to the -value of that work, so interesting to Oregonians, and -should revive our zeal for the study of early history.<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor"><sup>22</sup></a></p> - -<p>But of all the work done by Doctor Coues none has -interested me more than his abridgment of and notes -upon the journal of Alexander Henry and David Thompson, -two of the leaders of the Northwest Fur Company, -almost a century ago, extending over a period of fourteen -years, and covering the ground from Lake Superior to -the mouth of the Columbia, whose ruthless waters at the -last swallowed up Henry, May 22, 1814.</p> - -<p>This journal was at Astoria at that date, and we hear in -it of the carpenter making an oak chest for it, or "for my -papers," as Henry writes it. Covering so long a period, -it was very voluminous. It was carried to Hudson's Bay, -but perhaps because of this, and because its author was -dead, it was never made public. When Doctor Coues -found it the paper was much worn, and the writing in -places illegible; but that did not deter him from entering -upon the task of preparing it for publication. Not only -is the journal itself of great interest, but the notes and -explanations attached to almost every page are wonderfully -complete. The enormous bulk of Henry's matter -is reduced by its editor, together with his notes, to 916 -pages, in two volumes, without the sacrifice of facts, giving -us a clear account of the country's history not obtainable -in any, or all other, writers.</p> - -<p>A little more personal notice may not be out of place -here as significant of the man. In January, 1898, I received<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">191</a></span> -a letter from Doctor Coues desiring me to send -him a copy of the <i>River of the West</i>, "with any erroneous -passages it may possibly contain corrected in your -(my) own hand," and asking me to give him information -on some subjects which he named, and among them, -the origin of the name "Lawyer," as applied to a Nez -Perce chief; also asking the meaning of the word "Lo-Lo," -whether it was a personal name, etc.<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor"><sup>23</sup></a> He understood -that an author is pretty sure to find "erroneous -passages" in books that an honest writer must be willing -to correct; besides, he wished to avoid quoting -others' errors.</p> - -<p>From that date to his death we were in frequent correspondence, -and when the Oregon Historical Society was -formed, he was made acquainted with the fact, on which -he expressed a desire to be made a member. It is not -too late to thus honor the man who has given the state -a chapter of its history hitherto unrevealed.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Coues, in a letter replying to one of mine, says: -"His home life and ways would hardly interest the -public, they were so simple and quiet, with a wonderful -appreciation of any little thing that was done for his -comfort. I think the one characteristic that stands out -the most prominently was, 'Now, I have finished that -piece of writing. I have begun another.'" To finish -a work was not an occasion for rest, but to put forth -fresh energy for other effort. Francis P. Harper, his -publisher, says: "He had a capacity for work that was -almost beyond belief, and was always prompt and business-like. -He was a firm and trustworthy friend, and -an ideal author for a publisher to have business relations<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">192</a></span> -with." His printer (in the Osprey office, Washington), -adds: "I have had years of experience with -various authors and editors, and can truthfully say his -genial friendship and appreciation stands out markedly -beyond all others." "He never neglected a letter," says -Mrs. Coues, "although from a total stranger, asking for -assistance. He gave it if he could, most generously, -and if unable, gave a courteous answer, and a reason. -I myself have counted sixty letters he had written in -about six hours—not merely a reply of a few lines. His -one great desire in life was a search after truth, and kept -his mind receptive to all that could give him a clue."</p> - -<p>Doctor Coues spent the summer of 1899 in New Mexico, -making researches in his usual energetic fashion—"forgetful -of his fifty-seven years" as he wrote me after returning -home ill. It was not years, however, that bore -so heavily upon him; but the crowding of five years' -work into one. This it was that deprived the world of -his incomparable services in the very fullness of his intellectual -powers.</p> - -<p>Doctor Coues was the son of Samuel Elliott Coues and -Charlotte Haven Ladd Coues, born at Portsmouth, New -Hampshire, September 9, 1842. His literary tastes were -inherited from his father, who was a writer on scientific -subjects. He was educated at Ganzaga College and Columbia -University, Washington, D. C., from which he -graduated in 1861. He continued to reside at the capital, -and his life was spent in contact with all that was -strongest and best in a nation which his talents helped -to make conspicuous in the fields of science and literature. -His death occurred at Johns Hopkin's Hospital, -Baltimore, December 25, 1899. The State of Oregon -cannot fail to place his name high among the fathers of -her early history.</p> - -<p class="sigright">FRANCES F. VICTOR.</p> - - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21">21</a> Principal Works: "Key to North American Birds," '72; "Field Ornithology," -'74; "Birds of the Northwest," '74; "Fur-Bearing Animals," '77; "Monographs -of North America Rodentia (with Allen)," '77; "Birds of the Colorado -Valley," '78; "Ornithological Bibliography," '78-'80; "New England Bird Life -(with Stearns)," '81; "Check List and Dictionary of North American Birds," '82; -"Avifauna Columbiana (with Prentiss)," '83; "Biogen, a Speculation on the Origin -and Nature of Life," '84; "New Key to North American Birds," '84; "The -Dæmon of Darwin," '84; "Code of Nomenclature and Check List of North American -Birds (with Allen, Ridgway, Brewster, and Henshaw)," '86; "A Woman in -the Case," '87; "Neuro-Myology (with Shute)," '87; "Signs of the Times,"'88. -Also author of several hundred monographs and minor papers in scientific periodicals, -and editor or associate editor for some years of the Bulletin of the United -States Geological Survey, Bulletin of the Nuttall Ornithological Club, American -Naturalist, American Journal of Otology, Encyclopædia Americana, Standard -Natural History, The Auk, The Biogen Series, Die Sphinx (Liepsig), The Century -Dictionary of the English Language (in General Biology, Comparative Anatomy -and all departments of Zoology), The Travels of Lewis and Clark, &c.</p> - -<p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22">22</a> See the "American Explorers Series," published by Francis P. Harper, for -Coues' work in this line. His last was "On the Trail of a Spanish Pioneer."</p> - -<p><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23">23</a> I have since learned that Lolo is not an Indian word, but is the Indian pronunciation -of the word Lawrence—the letter <i>r</i> not being sounded in the native -tongue. A mingling of the French sound of the other letters in the word produces -the word as pronounced by the Indians.</p> -</div> - - - - -<hr /> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">193</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2>DOCUMENT.</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center bold in0 p1t p1b"><span class="smcap">The Original of the Following Document is in the Possession of<br /> -Mrs. Frances Fuller Victor, Portland, Oregon. It was Secured<br /> -From Mr. Harvey, a Son-in-Law of Doctor McLoughlin,<br /> -and Seems to be a Defence by Doctor McLoughlin<br /> -of Himself, Addressed to Parties in London.</span></p> - -<p>The first Americans since 1814 who crossed to the west -side of the Rocky Mountains was (at least to our knowledge) -Mr. Jedidiah Smith with five trappers, who, having -met some of the Hudson's Bay Company on the -headwaters of Snake River came with them to the Hudson's -Bay post at the Flat Heads, where they passed the -winter.</p> - -<p>In 1825 he returned to join his people, and in 1826 he -brought a large party of his countrymen to hunt in the -Snake country, where they have been ever since. In -1826 and up to 1828, there were constantly five or six -hundred. But now, that beaver are scarce, there are -only about fifty. In 1827, Mr. Smith pushed his trapping -parties to the Bay of San Francisco, in California, -and, in endeavoring to make his way here from California -in 1828, fifteen of his men were murdered by the -Umpqua Indians when he with only three of his men -reached Vancouver from whence, spring 1829, he proceeded -to join his countrymen in the Snake country.</p> - -<p>The first American vessel that entered the Columbia -River to trade since 1814 was the Oahee, Captain Dominus, -in February, 1829. The Convoy, Captain Thompson, -came a while after. These two vessels belonged to -the same party, a merchant in Boston. In summer, they -went up to the coast. Returned in the fall. The Oahee -wintered in the Columbia River, but the Convoy proceeded -to Oahoo. Returned spring 1830, and in the -summer both vessels left and never returned.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">194</a></span></p> - -<p>In 1832 a Mr. Wyeth came across by land from Boston -with eleven men, with the intention of establishing a -salmon fishery and expected to have met a vessel which -he had sent from Boston, but he learned afterwards she -had been wrecked on an island in the Pacific, and the -nonarrival of his vessel obliged Mr. Wyeth to return to -the United States, but his men remained in the Wallamette.</p> - -<p>In 1834 Mr. Wyeth returned with a large number of -men whom he left in the Snake Country to trap beaver, -where he built the present Fort Hall, and brought about -twenty men with him to prosecute the object of his first -voyage in 1832, for which purpose he had despatched the -May Dacre, Captain Lambert, from Boston in 1833, and -which entered the river a few days after Mr. Wyeth -arrived at Vancouver, who built on Wapatoo Island. Collected -in 1835 about a half cargo of salmon when the -May Dacre sailed in 1835, and in 1836 Mr. Wyeth broke -up his establishment on Wapatoo Island. Returned to -the states, offered the remains of his property in the -country for sale to the Directors of the Hudson's Bay -Company in London, but they referred him to their officers -in the country at Vancouver, who bought Mr. Wyeth's -property and his establishment of Fort Hall in 1837 -from Mr. Wyeth's agent, and he left in one of the Hudson's -Bay Company's vessels for Oahoo in 1838. But -his labouring men dispersed in the country. The Rev. -Jason and Daniel Lee of the Methodist Episcopal Church, -with three laymen came overland from the states in -company with Mr. Wyeth in 1834. They brought horses -and cattle with them, but their supplies came by sea in -the May Dacre. Messrs. Lee left the states with the -intention of settling in the Flat Head Country as missionaries -to those Indians but changed their minds and -settled in the Wallamette Country, and as they had left<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">195</a></span> -their cattle at Walla Walla and they were rather weak -after their long journey, they asked and obtained the -loan of cattle from me.</p> - -<p>In 1834 one Kelley came from Boston by way of California, -accompanied by Ewing Young and eight English -and American sailors. Kelley left the states with a -party intending to come here by way of Mexico, but the -party broke up on the way and Kelley alone reached -California, and with one man overtook our California -trappers on their return about two hundred miles from -San Francisco, and Young, a few days after, with the -rest of them; but as Gen. Fiqueroa, Governor of California, -had written 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 dealings 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 -interests. 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 till he left in -1836, when I gave him a passage to Oahoo. On his -return to the states, he published a narrative of his -voyage in which, instead of being grateful for the kindness -shown him, he abased me and falsely stated I had -been so alarmed with the dread that he would destroy -the Hudson's Bay Company's trade, that I had kept a -constant watch over him, and which was published in the -Report of the United States Congress. In 1835 five -English and American deserters having lost two of their -companions murdered by Indians made their way from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">196</a></span> -California to the Wallamette. The same year the Revd. -Samuel Parker of the Presbyterian Church, was sent by -the Missionary Society of Boston to examine and find -proper places to establish missions. He came with the -American Fur-Traders to their rendezvous in the Snake -Country, from whence he sent his companion, Dr. Whitman, -to the states for missionaries and came alone to -Vancouver. The Rev. Mr. Parker appears to me to be -a man of piety and zeal, but is very unpopular with the -other protestant missionaries in the country, for which I -see no cause except that acting differently from them, he -has published to the world the manner some of their -countrymen act toward Indians, and the very different -manner we treat them as may be seen by reference to -his work. He left in 1836 by way of Oahoo.</p> - -<p>In 1836 Dr. Whitman with his wife, and accompanied -by the Rev. Mr. Spalding and his wife, and laymen, -returned to the country. Dr. Whitman established himself -in the vicinity of Walla Walla. The Rev. Mr. Spalding -in the Nes Perces Country. In the fall Mr. Slocum -[Slacum] came in a vessel from Oahoo, which he hired -for the purpose. On arriving, he pretended that he was -a private gentleman, and that he came to meet Messrs. -Murray and companions who had left the states to visit -the country. But this did not deceive me, as I perceived -who he was and his object, and by his report of his -mission published in the proceedings of the Congress of -the United States, I found my surmises were correct. -This year the people in the Wallamette formed a party -and went by sea with Mr. Slacum to California for -cattle, and returned in 1837 with 250 head. In 1836 the -Rev. Mr. Leslie and family, accompanied by the Rev. Mr. -Perkins and another single [man], and a single woman, -came by sea to reinforce the Methodist Mission. In 1837 -a bachelor and five single women came by sea to reinforce<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">197</a></span> -the Methodist Mission, and three Presbyterian -ministers came across land with their families, while -their supplies came by sea. Two of these missionaries -settled in the vicinity of Colville, the other in the Nes -Perces Country. In 1838 two Roman Catholic Missionaries -came from Canada. This year the Rev. Mr. Griffin -of the Presbyterian Church, with his wife, came across -land from the states by way of the Snake Country. -There came with him also a layman of the name of -Munger, and his wife. They came on what they called -the self supporting system, that is, they expected the -Indians would work to support them in return for their -teachings, but their plan failed. Mr. Griffin is now settled -in the Wallamette as a farmer, and Mr. Munger -joined the Methodist Mission, where he became deranged, -threw himself on a large fire, saying it would not hurt -him, but was so seriously burned that in a few days he -died. In 1839 a party left the State of Illinois, headed by -Mr. Farnham, with the intention of exploring the country -and reporting to their countrymen who had sent them. -But four only reached this place. Three remained, but -Mr. Farnham returned to the states by sea and published -an account of his travels. Messrs. Geiger and -Johnson came this year, sent as they said by people -in the states to examine the country and report to them. -Johnson left by sea and never returned. Geiger went -as far as California and returned here by land. He is -settled in the Wallamette. In 1840, the Rev. Mr. Clarke -of the Presbyterian Church with his wife, and two laymen -with their wives, came across land on the self supporting -system, but, as their predecessors, they failed and are -now settled in the Wallamette. In 1840 the Rev. Mr. -Jason Lee, who had gone in 1838 across land to the United -States, returned by sea in the Lausanne, Capt. Spalding, -with a reinforcement of fifty-two persons, ministers and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">198</a></span> -laymen, men, women and children, for the Methodist -Mission, and a large supply of goods with which the -Methodist Mission opened a sale shop. In 1841 the -American exploring squadron, under Capt. Wilkes, surveyed -the Columbia River from the entrance to the Cascades, -and sent a party across land from Puget Sound to -Colville and Walla Walla, and another from Vancouver -to California. At same time the Thomas Perkins, Capt. -Varney, of Boston, entered Columbia River for the purpose -of trade. She was the second vessel that came for -that object since the May Dacre in 1834. The first was -the Maryland in 1840, Capt. Couch, of Boston, who came -to endeavor to establish a salmon fishery, but did not -succeed. The Thomas Perkins had a quantity of liquor, -and as this was an article which, after a great deal of -difficulty, we had been able to suppress in the trade, to -prevent its being again introduced, I bought up Varney's -goods and liquor, and it was still, spring 1846, in store -at Vancouver. Spring 1842 the Americans invited the -Canadians to unite with them and organize a temporary -government, but the Canadians, apprehensive it might -interfere with their allegiance, declined, and the project, -which originated with the mission, failed. This spring -the Chenamus, Capt. Couch, came from Boston. Capt. -Couch opened a store at Oregon City and left a Mr. -Wilson to do his business when he sailed in the fall for -Boston. The ——, Capt. Chapman, of Boston, came also, -who traded for a cargo of salmon, sailed in the fall, but -never returned. In the spring the Rev. Father Desmit -of the Society of Jesus came to Vancouver from the Flat -Head Country where the year before he had established -a mission from St. Louis. He came for supplies, which -he purchased, and with which he returned to his mission. -In August, the Rev. Messrs. Langlois and Bolduc [?] -came by sea. The month of September 137 men, women<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">199</a></span> -and children arrived from the states. They came with -their wagons to Fort Hall, and from thence packed their -effects on horses and drove their cattle. They passed, -without visiting Vancouver, from The Dalles to the Wallamette -over the Cascades by the road which the Methodist -Mission had opened to drive cattle from the Wallamette -to that place. Dr. White who had formerly been a -member of the Methodist Mission, but disagreeing with -them had left them in 1840, came with these immigrants. -He gave himself out, at a meeting which he called for the -purpose, as being appointed Sub-Indian Agent by the -American government for Oregon Territory. But of -course the officers of the Hudson's Bay Company did not -acknowledge his authority, and the immigrants brought -the printed copy of a bill brought into the Senate of the -United States by Dr. Linn, in which it was proposed to -donate 640 acres of land to every white male inhabitant, -the same to a male descendant of a white man, 320 to a -wife, and 160 to a child under 18 years old. This year my -difficulties began with the Methodist Mission, but as I -have already given a full detail of it, I will not repeat it -here. In 1843 the Americans again proposed to the -Canadians to join and form a temporary government, -but the Canadians declined for the same reason as before.</p> - -<p>In the summer a number of the immigrants of last -year, headed by Mr. Hastings, not being satisfied with -the country, left for California. As they were destitute -of means, I made them advances, which they were to -pay to the late Mr. Rae, at San Francisco, but few did -so. But in the fall, 875 men, women, and children came -from the states by the same route as those of last year, -and brought 1,300 head of cattle. These came to The -Dalles, on the Columbia River, with their wagons, drove -their cattle over the Cascades by the same route as those -of last year to the Wallamette, and when the road was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">200</a></span> -blocked up by snow, along the north bank of the Columbia -to Vancouver, where they crossed the river and proceeded -to the Wallamette, and brought down their wives and -children and property on rafts, in canoes which they -hired from the Indians, and in boats belonging to the -Hudson's Bay Company, lent them by me. Yet with -the assistance I lent them, they still suffered a great deal -of misery, and spent a great deal of time, and the last -passed Vancouver only at Christmas, and if, as some -years is the case, the Columbia had frozen on the beginning -of December, these immigrants were so destitute of -provisions, and so poorly clad, many of them would have -perished.</p> - -<p>The Rev. Father Deros, [Demers] of the Society of -Jesus, came this year with two other fathers of the same -society and three laymen and established a mission in -Colville District. Lieut. Fremont, of the United States -service, came with a party to examine the country. After -purchasing supplies from the Hudson's Bay Company, -he rejoined his party at The Dalles, and proceeded across -land to California.</p> - -<p>In 1844 the immigrants amounted to 1,475 men, -women, and children. They came by the same route, -and were assisted by me with the loan of boats, as their -predecessors of last year.</p> - -<p>The Americans applied this year again to the Canadians -in the Wallamette (who were about settlers) to join -them and form a temporary government, to which they -acceded, as they saw from the influx of immigrants it -was absolutely necessary to do so to maintain peace and -order in the country. We had the pleasure to see her -Majesty's ship, Modeste, Capt. Baillie. She anchored -opposite Vancouver. The Belgian brig, Indefatigable, -also anchored there. She was the only vessel that hitherto -came under that flag, and brought the Rev. Father<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">201</a></span> -Desmit, with four fathers of the Society of Jesus, and five -Belgian nuns of the Society of Sisters of our Lady. The -fathers came to reinforce their mission in the interior in -the Flat Head Country, and to establish others, and the -nuns to build a convent and open a school for young -females in the Wallamette. Spring, 1845, an American -of the name of Williamson built a hut half a mile from -Vancouver, on a piece of ground occupied by the Hudson's -Bay Company. As soon as I was informed of it, -I ordered the hut to be pulled down. A few days after, -Williamson returned with a surveyor to survey the place, -and finding his hut pulled down, and on inquiring, found -it was pulled down by my orders, he called on me and -asked the reason of my doing so. I told him it was because -it was built on premises occupied by the Hudson's -Bay Company, who were carrying on business in the -country under a license from the British Government -according to a treaty between the British and American -Governments, which implies a right to occupy as much -ground as they require for their business. But this was -disputed, and he said he would persist and build. One of -his companions went so far as to say if he was disturbed, -he would burn the finest building in Oregon. Not wishing -to enter into an altercation with this fellow, I told -him in the presence of Chief Factor Douglas, and several -of the Hudson's Bay Company's officers, and several -Americans, and of Dr. White, who happened to be present -at the time, that if he persisted in building, he would -place me under the disagreeable necessity of using force -to prevent him. He went away saying he would build. -Although none of the Hudson's Bay Company's people, -or any from the north side of the Columbia, had joined -the organization, yet as Williamson was an American -citizen, as a matter of courtesy to them, the accompanying -letter of the 11th of March was addressed to the members<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">202</a></span> -of the Executive Committee of Oregon Organization with -an address to the people, which on receipt was to be -posted up for public perusal in Oregon City.</p> - -<p>I also addressed them on the 12th, informing them that -Williamson had desisted from his design of building on -the premises in question.</p> - -<p>In the summer a meeting of the people in the Wallamette -was called in which the organization was new-modeled, -and a clause put in by which it was provided -that no man could be called to do any act contrary to his -allegiance. It struck me this was done to enable us to -join the organization and I mentioned this to my colleague -Chief Factor Douglas, who thought, as I did, that -in our present situation and the state of the country it -would be advisable to do so, and I was not surprised to -find a few days after on my visit to Oregon City that my -surmises were correct, as the originator of the clause who -was a member of the legislature then in session, called -on me and proposed to me to enter the organization on -the part of the Hudson's Bay Company. After conversing -on the subject and being aware the organization -could afford assistance to none but its own members, I -told him I would proceed to Vancouver, consult with my -colleague, Chief Factor Douglas, and the other officers of -the Hudson's Bay Company at that place, which I did, -and Chief Factor Douglas coincided with me in the expediency -of our doing so. I returned to Oregon City -and on the legislature writing me a letter inviting me to -join the organization on the part of the Hudson's Bay -Company, in a written reply I informed them I did so; -and on my way back to Vancouver, I was informed of -the arrival of Chief Factor Ogden with dispatches from -Sir George Simpson, Governor in Chief of Rupert's Land, -in which I was happy to see that my proceeding in the -case of Williamson had been approved. I have stated<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">203</a></span> -that Chief Factor Douglas coincided in opinion with me -that in our situation, and in the present state of the -country, it was evident for us (since none of us could -be called to do any act contrary to our allegiance), to join -the organization, as it resolved itself by this clause -merely into an association of the people of the country to -maintain peace and order among themselves, and in the -present state it was not only necessary, but absolutely -our duty, as in 1843, seeing the large number of immigrants -of that season, and seeing from the public papers -it was expected the numbers would be greater next year, -and as they came from that part of the United States most -hostile in feeling to British interest which was greatly -excited by the perusal of Irving's Astoria. Kelley and -Spalding's letters, several copies of which were among -them, in which our conduct and proceedings were represented -in the blackest and falsest colors, had worked -so much on the minds of these immigrants that I found -out they supposed we would have set the Indians on -them, and that they had frequently talked among themselves -that they ought to take Vancouver. They now -knew these reports were false, but as prejudice takes a -strong hold of people's minds, and of which others might -avail themselves to form a party to make an attack on -the Hudson's Bay Company's property—of which it -may be said they were encouraged by the public papers -stating that British subjects ought not to be allowed to -be in the country, by the expectation held out by Linn's -bill that every male above eighteen years of age would -have a donation 640 acres of land, a wife 320, and all -under 18 would have 160 acres in any part of the country—I -wrote, fall 1843, to the Directors of the Hudson's -Bay Company that it was necessary to get protection from -the government for the security of the Hudson Bay Company's -property, and to which in June 1845 I received<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">204</a></span> -their answer stating that in the present state of affairs -the company could not obtain protection from the government, -and that I must protect it the best way I could, -and as I had sent an account of Williamson's attempt to -build on the premises of the Hudson's Bay Company, and -of my proceedings on the occasion to her Majesty's Consul, -Gen. Millar, at Oahoo, calling on him for protection -for the Hudson's Bay Company's property, and to which -he did not even reply, though he could have done so -by the vessel which conveyed my letter. Therefore,—[seeing -our situation, and that an incendiary in the dry -weather in the summer and fall might easily destroy -Vancouver and fly to the Wallamette where we could not -touch him. Indeed at that very time, there was a man -at Vancouver on his way with Dr. White to the states -whom we knew had repeatedly said among his countrymen -that his only object for coming to this country was -to try a change of air for the benefit of his health, and -to burn Vancouver, and I heard afterwards on his way -back he had expressed his great regret at not having perpetrated -his atrocious intention, and wanted to return -from Fort Hall to endeavor to carry it into effect, but -his countrymen and Dr. White persuaded him to continue -his journey to the states with them; and there are -plenty such characters in the country. One Chapman -got up at a Methodist Camp Meeting and confessed publicly -that he had belonged to a celebrated band of robbers -in the State of Arkansas headed by the notorious —— -whom the United States Government had a great deal of -trouble to catch and break up his band, and Chapman -declared there were several of his former associates in -this country, and if they reformed he would not expose -them, but if they persisted in their former evil course, -he certainly would. Even in 1844 a man agreed at this -place to erect a building on the opposite side of the river.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">205</a></span> -After it was erected, they differed about the payment. -It was referred to arbitration, and the builder lost his -case. A few days after, the building was burnt in the -night, and though every person about the place is convinced -who did it, yet there is no evidence to convict, -and if there was, it would afford no indemnification to -the owner of the property that was destroyed. I also -had been informed that an American had proposed to -form a party to take Vancouver by surprise. To deprive -evil-doers of a place of refuge, as the organization could -only assist its own members]—I considered it our duty -to join the organization, as already mentioned. It may be -said why not place sentries? It is because I know from -experience that common men cannot be depended on for -such a purpose beyond a few nights, and there were so -few officers at the fort, to have employed them on that -duty we must have put a stop to the business of the place -which would derange the whole business of the department, -and I therefore considered it best to act as I did. -I was much surprised a few days after the arrival of -Chief Factor Ogden, by the arrival of Lieut. Peel and -Capt. Parks, who handed me a letter from Capt. Gorden -of Her Majesty's Ship America, from Nisqually, and stating -he was sent by Admiral Seymour, who wrote me to -the same purport to assure her Majesty's subjects in the -country of firm protection, and which was most unexpected -after what the Directors of the Hudson's Bay -Company had written me. But more particularly from -the silence of Her Majesty's Consul, Gen. Millar, at -Oahoo, which led me to suppose at the time, though I -was mistaken, that the British Government had cast us -off and we must take care of ourselves the "best way -we could." I do not mention this to find fault with -others, but merely to state my feelings, and the responsibility -I felt for the property under my charge. I was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">206</a></span> -still more surprised on the return of Chief Factor Douglas -from Nisqually, where he had been in company with Mr. -Peel, to see Capt. Gorden, to receive a letter from Capt. -Baillie of Her Majesty's Ship Modeste, informing me he -was sent by Admiral Seymour to afford protection to her -Majesty's subjects in the Columbia River if they required -it. At first I thought we would not, as we had joined -the organization, but on the suggestion of Chief Factor -Douglas I thought it well to accept Capt. Baillie's important -offer, and I am now happy I did so, as I am convinced -it was owing to the Modeste being at Vancouver, -and the gentlemen-like conduct of Capt. Baillie and his -officers, and the good discipline and behavior of the crew, -that the officers of the Hudson's Bay Company at Vancouver -have had less trouble than they would have had, -and which (though they have had a great deal more than -I expected) certainly they have done nothing to incur, -but the reverse. They have done everything they could -to avoid it, but after all of which I am not surprised -when I am certain there are many ill-disposed persons -among these immigrants who think they are doing a -meritorious act by giving trouble to British subjects.</p> - -<p>The immigrants in 1845 amounted to 3,000 persons, -men, women and children.</p> - - - - -<hr /> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">207</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2>REVIEWS OF BOOKS.</h2> -</div> - - -<blockquote> -<p><i>McLoughlin and Old Oregon.</i> By <span class="smcap">Eva Emery Dye</span>. -(Chicago: A. C. McClurg and Company, 1900. Pp. -VIII, 381.)</p> -</blockquote> - - -<p>The incidents, personalities, color, and sequence of -events in the growth of Oregon from 1832 to 1849 were -never before portrayed as they are in Mrs. Dye's "McLoughlin -and Old Oregon." Had the present day kinetograph -and phonograph been at hand and in operation -for recording the dramatic scenes and sayings of that -period of wonderful changes in the Valley of the Columbia, -we should have had more of the foibles, limitations, -and obliquities of human nature, but Mrs. Dye's -minute study, sympathetic assimilation, and unique -strength in constructive imagination have given us an -exceedingly interesting series of pictures almost as vivid -as real life.</p> - -<p>The book opens at Fort Vancouver, on the Columbia, -the center of the Hudson's Bay Company's widely extended -operations west of the Rocky Mountains, and the -home of its chief factor, Dr. John McLoughlin. The -time, 1832, marks the revival of the movement of American -enterprise for the occupation of Oregon in the person -of Nathaniel J. Wyeth. Nineteen years had passed since -the Astor venture had suffered dismal discomfiture in -that region. From 1832 on, however, the United States -was to have representatives, in one capacity or another, -of its interests in Oregon. Slender was its hold during -the first half of this period, but its preponderance was -overwhelming in the latter half. Wyeth failed with his -commercial venture. Physical obstacles taxed his resources, -and he had to meet the determined monopoly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">208</a></span> -of the Hudson's Bay Company under its competent and -benignant chief factor, Dr. John McLoughlin, backed by -the millions of the company, and a disciplined host in -possession of the good-will and salutary respect of the -Indians. But the American missionaries remained on the -ground, established stations, accumulated stores, formed -nuclei of settlements through their lay helpers, and correctly -conceived policies of inuring the Indians through -example and precept to a status of settled agricultural -life. Then come strong mountain men, who had had -their fill of experience as solitary trappers in the wilds -of the Rocky Mountains. Beginning with a band of one -hundred and thirty-seven in 1842, and rising immediately -to eight hundred and seventy-five in 1843 there rolled in -the mighty tide of pioneer home-builders.</p> - -<p>In such an entourage of events the author correctly -conceives of the motive that is primary in this culminative -course of events. A lower race is to be dispossessed -by a higher, though Wyeth's plans contemplated -advantage from the Indians' retaining their native employments, -and the missionaries vainly hoped by a summary -procedure to elevate them from lowest barbarism -to civilization. Doctor McLoughlin holds the key to the -situation, at least as to the immediate outcome. As representative -of the fur trading monopoly, his interests are -linked with the interests of the Indians in remaining in -undisturbed possession of their imperial domains. It -would have been so easy to have hustled back home the -first forerunners of the great immigrations, and, if this -had not deterred others from coming on in larger numbers, -these in turn, utterly without resources after their -long marches, could easily have been thrown into consternation -and wrought havoc with by the chief factor -of the Hudson's Bay Company.</p> - -<p>The issues in this great drama of the Pacific Northwest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">209</a></span> -turn then, first, upon the qualities of heart and -character of the Indians that came under the influence -of Lee, Whitman, and Spalding. Will they have the -faith and fortitude to sacrifice a world in which they are -the leaders for a possibly better world in which leadership -is with the white man? Secondly, the outcome of -this second movement of the Americans on to Oregon -lies with Doctor McLoughlin. Will the depth of his humanity -suffice to rescue, shelter, nourish and shield year -after year those who would have perished but for his intervention -and whose survival is bound to result in the -appearance of invading hosts who will wrest the sceptre -from him? Mrs. Dye has thrilling issues and two real -heroes, Whitman and McLoughlin, in this epoch of Oregon -history, and she makes the most of them.</p> - -<p>The secret of her remarkable success in making the -characters and conditions of that time live again lay in -her getting the confidence of the principal surviving -actors of that period and securing from them the fullest -impress of the traditions of stirring times, with all the -halo that half-a-century would naturally invest them -with. Through these sources she attained an understanding -of the actors and spirit of the times so intimate -that her pretension to supply the words used on all -important occasions does not become a mockery, but -through this dramatizing the author attains the unique -element in her success. In this role her inimitable power -of vivid representation, through successions of pictures, -has its best application.</p> - -<p>The stock of reminiscences that Mrs. Dye exploited -with such rare skill and energy needed corroboration -from contemporary documents. As the material for -Oregon history is brought together, many lapses, more -or less important, in matters of fact will no doubt be -disclosed. As an instance: The magnitude of Wyeth's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">210</a></span> -second expedition is stated in figures at least four times -too large, both for the number of men and the amount -of money.</p> - -<p>The author has, however, kept herself remarkably well -poised between the partisan bickerings that have characterized -so much of the writing in Oregon history. The -search of the author for indubitable evidence has been -rewarded in the finding of some valuable material, -notably the Whitman papers; and clues that she came -upon have yielded treasures for others.</p> - -<p>Towards the closing chapters the author swerves -farthest from history towards romance. Instead of bringing -the vigorous young Oregon community into the foreground, -she leaves the stage empty. "Old Oregon," -with its life had, of course, departed, but it was crowded -out by the thronging of the new.</p> - -<p>This book is by far the best that the general reader can -select for an introduction to the life of early Oregon.</p> - - -<blockquote> -<p><i>Missionary History of the Pacific Northwest.</i> By <span class="smcap">H. K. -Hines</span>, D. D. (Portland: H. K. Hines, San Francisco: -J. D. Hammond, 1899. Pp. 510.)</p> -</blockquote> - - -<p>As the sub-title indicates, this is rather the "Story -of Jason Lee" than a missionary history of the Pacific -Northwest. There would have been no impropriety in -giving it the title of "Jason Lee and the Methodist Missionary -Effort in the Pacific Northwest." The title is -positively misleading as it stands, for forty pages only -are devoted to an account of the work of the missionaries -under the "American Board," while some four -hundred and fifty are taken up with the story of the -Methodist Missions. The Methodist denomination was -first in this field with wisely chosen representatives. It<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">211</a></span> -sustained and reinforced its movement to christianize -the Indians of Oregon most munificently, considering -the conditions of the times. As a memorial of these -efforts conceived with such grand and consecrated spirit, -nothing would have been more fitting than a volume by -Doctor Hines.</p> - -<p>No one could have been so unfair as to demand of Doctor -Hines a cold and critical account of these missionaries -and their work. A panegyric on Jason Lee and his colaborers -was becoming from him. He was the man prepared -through life-long schooling and natural inclination -to do this, and Jason Lee's work deserved it. But for -the title and an invidious comparison that crops out all -too frequently, Doctor Hines has done in this book just -what God had prepared him to do.</p> - -<p>It is a pity that a work of so high general character, -the best product of such fine literary ability as Doctor -Hines possesses, could not have been one of some famous -series by a strong publishing house of the East that -would have pushed it into the markets of the world.</p> - -<p>The fact that the critical historian will take issue with -the conclusions of this book almost from the beginning -constitutes no disparagement of the real worth of the -author's work. It was a labor of love for a character -and for a denomination. This, however, may be said: -The Methodist missionary project in the Pacific Northwest -was, soon after its inception, at all but one or two -points, not distinctively a missionary station at all. But -it was a colony with a strong secular spirit and exercised -a most salutary influence upon the affairs of the Oregon -community. This fact the work of Doctor Hines unwittingly -proves.</p> - - - - -<hr /> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">212</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2>NOTE—A CORRECTION.</h2> -</div> - -<p class="sigleft"><i>To the Editor Oregon Historical Quarterly</i>:</p> - -<p>In the article upon F. X. Matthieu in the March Quarterly there -appears one inadvertence which should be corrected: Doctor White -is mentioned as having first come to Oregon on the Lausanne. He -came in 1837 <i>via</i> Honolulu, leaving Boston on the ship Hamilton, and -reaching the Columbia in May, on the brig Diana.</p> - -<p class="sigright">H. S. LYMAN.</p> - - - - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2><a name="PUBLICATIONS" id="PUBLICATIONS">PUBLICATIONS</a><br /> -OF THE<br /> -<span class="smcap">Oregon Historical Society</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="center bold in0 p1t p1b">SOURCES OF THE HISTORY OF OREGON</p> - -<p class="center bold in0 p1t p1b"><span class="smcap">Volume I</span></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Number 1.—Journal of Medorem Crawford—An Account of His -Trip Across the Plains in 1842. Price, 25 Cents.</span></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Number 2.—The Indian Council at Walla Walla, May and June, -1856, by Col. Lawrence Kip—A Journal. Price, 25 Cents.</span></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Numbers 3 to 6 Inclusive.—The Correspondence and Journals of -Captain Nathaniel J. Wyeth, 1831–6.—A Record of Two Expeditions -for the Occupation of the Oregon Country, with Maps, Introduction -and Index. Price, $1.10.</span></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">The Proceedings of the Oregon Historical Society for 1898–9, -Including Paper by Silas B. Smith, on "Beginnings in Oregon," -97 Pages. Price, 25 Cents.</span></p> - -<hr class="style1" /> - -<p class="center bold in0 p1t p1b">QUARTERLY OF THE OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.</p> - -<p class="center bold in0 p1t p1b"><span class="smcap">Contents No. 1, Vol. I, March, 1900.</span></p> - -<table summary="Contents2"> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Genesis of Political Authority and of a Commonwealth<br /> - Government in Oregon</span>—<i>James R. Robertson</i></td> - <td class="tdr">1</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Process of Selection in Oregon Pioneer Settlement</span>—<i>Thomas<br /> - Condon</i></td> - <td class="tdr">60</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Nathaniel J. Wyeth's Oregon Expeditions</span>—"In Historic Mansions<br /> - and Highways Around Boston"</td> - <td class="tdr">66</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Reminiscences of F. X. Matthieu</span>—<i>H. S. Lyman</i></td> - <td class="tdr">73</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Documents</span>—Correspondence of John McLoughlin, Nathaniel J. Wyeth,<br /> - S. R. Thurston, and R. C. Winthrop, pertaining to claim of Dr. McLoughlin<br /> - at the Falls of the Willamette—the site of Oregon City</td> - <td class="tdr">105</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Notes and News</span></td> - <td class="tdr">70</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr class="style1" /> - -<p class="center bold in0 p1t p1b">PRICE: THIRTY-FIVE CENTS PER NUMBER, ONE DOLLAR PER YEAR</p> - - - - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2>UNIVERSITY OF OREGON.</h2> -</div> - -<p><i>THE GRADUATE SCHOOL confers the degrees of -Master of Arts, (and in prospect, of Doctor of Philosophy,) -Civil and Sanitary Engineer (C. E.), Electrical -Engineer (E. E.), Chemical Engineer (Ch. E.), -and Mining Engineer (Min. E.)</i></p> - - -<p><i>THE COLLEGE OF LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND THE -ARTS confers the degree of Bachelor of Arts on -graduates from the following groups: (1) General -Classical; (2) General Literary; (3) General Scientific; -(4) Civic-Historical. It offers Collegiate Courses -not leading to a degree as follows: (1) Preparatory -to Law or Journalism; (2) Course for Teachers.</i></p> - - -<p><i>THE COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING.</i>—</p> - - -<blockquote> -<p><i>A.—The School of Applied Science confers the degree -of Bachelor of Science on graduates from -the following groups: (1) General Science; (2) -Chemistry; (3) Physics; (4) Biology; (5) Geology -and Mineralogy. It offers a Course Preparatory -to Medicine.</i></p> - -<p><i>B.—The School of Engineering: (1) Civil and Sanitary; -(2) Electrical; (3) Chemical.</i></p> -</blockquote> - - -<ul class="index"> - <li class="isub1_first"><i>THE SCHOOL OF MINES AND MINING.</i></li> - <li class="isub1_first"><i>THE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE at Portland.</i></li> - <li class="isub1_first"><i>THE SCHOOL OF LAW at Portland.</i></li> - <li class="isub1_first"><i>THE SCHOOL OF MUSIC.</i></li> - <li class="isub1_first"><i>THE UNIVERSITY ACADEMY.</i></li> - <li class="isub3"> </li> - <li class="isub3"><i>Address</i></li> - <li class="isub5"><span class="smcap">The President</span>,</li> - <li class="isub6"><span class="smcap">Eugene, Oregon</span>.</li> -</ul> - - - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="transnote"> -<h2 class="nobreak p1">Transcriber's Note</h2> - -<p>The order for "Contents No. 1, Vol. I, March, 1900" has been retained as published in -the original publication. Other apparent typographical errors have been repaired.</p> - -<p>Footnotes placed at end of the respective chapters.</p> -</div> -</div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Quarterly of the Oregon Historical -Society (Vol. I, No. 2), by Various - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY *** - -***** This file should be named 55969-h.htm or 55969-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/5/9/6/55969/ - -Produced by Larry B. 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