CHAPTER IX

THE COLONIZATION of oregon

WHILE American trappers, traders, and missionaries were initiating the significant movements described in the last chapter, diplomatists and statesmen remained silent, if not indifferent, onlookers. For ten years after the renewal of the joint occupation treaty no step of importance was taken in the Oregon matter, either by the State department of the government or by Congress. Yet this was the period in which the nuclei of settlement were formed and preparations made for a great inrush of colonists to the Columbia.

The motives for resuming the Oregon discussion were various. For one thing, the government had been forced, on account of Texan affairs, to interest itself in the Mexican territories to the southwest, and this interest ultimately led to a project for the purchase of northern California, including San Francisco Bay. About the close of the year 1835, W. A. Slacum was commissioned by the government to visit the Pacific coast in the interest of the United States, no doubt with special reference to proposed purchase of California territory. President Jackson instructed him to proceed also to Oregon, to "stop at the different settlements of whites on the coast of the United States and on the banks of the river, and also at the various Indian villages on the banks or in the immediate neighborhood of that river; ascertain, as nearly as possible, the population of each; the relative number of whites (distinguishing the nation to which they belong) and aborigines; the jurisdiction the whites

acknowledge; the sentiments entertained by all in respect to the United States and to the two European powers having possessions in that region; and, generally, endeavor to obtain all such information, political, physical, statistical, and geographical as may prove useful or interesting to the United States."

Slacum's report, dated March 26, 1837, was presented to Congress in the following December. It enters slightly into the history of the Oregon question, discusses the situation, trade, the political and economic importance of the Hudson's Bay Company, and describes with some detail the missionary establishment on the Willamette. Slacum found the missionaries doing much good and respected by all; the temperance society was a remarkable success, and the settlers, both American and French, were in a way to prosper greatly by the introduction of cattle from California. We recall that Slacum promoted the organization of the Willamette Cattle Company, and gave its agents a free passage to San Francisco Bay. He was so strongly impressed with the possibilities of the Willamette valley for stock raising, that he declared it "the finest grazing country in the world. Here there are no droughts, as on the pampas of Buenos Ayres, or the plains of California, whilst the lands abound with richer grasses both winter and summer."

One interesting feature of Slacum's report is the emphasis he placed upon the maintenance of the right of the United States to Puget Sound. From the strategic point of view he regarded this body of water as of the highest importance, and hoped that no line south of forty-nine would ever be accepted by the United States, because such a surrender would put this magnificent harbor beyond the republic's boundaries.

After the delivery of Slacum's report, Congress took up the Oregon question once more, and from that time forward there was no abatement of interest until the country had been occupied by the American pioneers, the treaty of partition

with Great Britain secured, and a territorial government established. Many individual members participated actively in the debates, but, during the five years from 1838 to 1843, the leading place among Oregon advocates was held by Lewis F. Linn, senator from Missouri.

On the 7th of February, 1838, Senator Linn brought in a bill for the military occupation of the Columbia, the establishment of a port of entry, and the creation of a territorial government for the territory north of the forty-second parallel. This bill being referred to a committee of which Linn was chairman, he presented, in June, an elaborate report, covering all phases of the Oregon question. The arguments for the occupation of the Columbia were not essentially different from those presented fifteen years earlier by Floyd and his coadjutors, but the accumulation of facts concerning the country, the modes of reaching it, the settlements already there, the character and disposition of the natives, and the operations of the Hudson's Bay Company gave this report a weight which the earlier documents lacked. It was widely read, especially in the West, and for some years was the chief means of disseminating information on the Oregon question and country.

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In the spring of 1838, Jason Lee returned to the United States "to obtain additional facilities to carry on missionary work in the Oregon Territory." He was accompanied by P. L. Edwards, a Mr. Ewing, of Missouri, and two Chinook Indians, Brooks and Adams. On reaching the East, Lee embraced every opportunity of preaching in the local churches and lecturing to audiences eager to hear about the far-off land from which he had returned. He raised a large amount of money for his missionary enterprise, and succeeded in arousing an appreciation of the advantages of Oregon. One result of his zeal was the organization of a party at Peoria, Illinois, which undertook the trip to Oregon overland in 1839. The party consisted originally of fourteen men, under the leadership of Thomas J. Farnham. The company broke up, however, east of the

Rockies, and Farnham made the journey to Oregon with only three companions. He spent some time in the Willamette valley, and then departed for the Hawaiian Islands and California. Afterward he published accounts of both Oregon and California which, brought out in popular form, attracted wide attention. When he left Oregon, Farnham took with him a memorial to the Congress of the United States.

Lee had also borne East a memorial prepared in Oregon, and signed by thirty-six persons, which was submitted to the Senate by Senator Linn on January 29, 1839. The writer, who was P. L. Edwards, stated that the Oregon settlement had existed since 1832, dilated upon the advantages of the country for cattle raising, the agricultural opportunities of the Willamette and Umpqua valleys, the mildness of the climate and the unique commercial advantages of the Columbia. Especial attention was drawn to the growing commerce of the islands of the Pacific, the progress of the settlement of Hawaii, which could be best supplied with beef and flour from Oregon, in exchange for the coffee, sugar, and other tropical products required by the settlers in the North.

"Our interests," said the memorialists, "are identified with the country of our adoption. We flatter ourselves that we are the germ of a great State, and are anxious to give an early tone to the moral and intellectual character of its citizens. The country must populate. The Congress of the United States must say by whom. The natural resources of the country, with a well-judged civil code, will invite a good community. But a good community will hardly emigrate to a country which promises no protection to life or property. We do not

presume to suggest the manner in which the country shall be occupied by the government, nor the extent to which our settlement shall be encouraged. We confide in the wisdom of the national legislators, and leave the subject to their candid deliberations,

Lee also wrote to Caleb Cushing, representative from Massachusetts, giving further details about the colony already existing on the Willamette, its prospects, needs, and drawbacks. Two things, especially, the colony desired at the hands of Congress: a guarantee that settlers would be allowed to keep the lands taken up by them, and the protection of the laws of the United States. "It may be thought," said Lee, "that Oregon is of little importance; but depend upon it, Sir, there is the germ of a great State."

This activity of the Methodist missionary superintendent greatly strengthened the hands of men like Linn and Cushing, who were striving to develop sentiment in favor of Oregon measures. Yet, in spite of determined efforts, no bill passed Congress until 1843, when the Senate passed a bill which was defeated in the House.

Other agencies were operating throughout the country at large to stimulate the interest already felt in the region west of the Rocky Mountains. In the month of August, 1838, a society was organized at Lynn, Massachusetts, having for its aim the preparation of "the way for the Christian settlement of Oregon." It took the name of "The Oregon Provisional Emigration Society." A number of prominent Methodist pastors and laymen were interested in the project, but it was wholly independent of the society which sustained the Oregon mission, and claimed to have no "sectarian character or purpose whatever." Rev. Frederick P. Tracy, of Lynn, was the leader of the movement. He was the secretary of the society, and editor of its organ, a monthly magazine called at first The Oregonian. Afterward the phrase and Indian's Advocate, was added to the title. This change made the name of the magazine harmonize with the very comprehensive plans of the society, which were primarily of a philanthropic nature. Its members were not blind to the commercial, agricultural, and other advantages possessed by the western district of Oregon, and frankly avowed their purpose of utilizing them fully, but commerce and agriculture were not their leading