USA > California > The history of Oregon and California & the other territories of the northwest coast of North America > Part 49
USA > Oregon > The history of Oregon and California & the other territories of the northwest coast of North America > Part 49
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I estimated the whole property to be worth nearer two hundred thousand dollars than forty thousand dollars, about the sum I received in bills on Montreal. Previous to the transaction of McDougal, we had already established trading posts in the interior, and were in contact with the North-West Company. It is now to be seen what means have been used by them to counteract my plan. It is well known that, as soon as the North-West Company had information of my intention and plan for conducting my commercial operations, they despatched a party of men from the interior, with a view to arrive before my people at Columbia. These men were obliged to return without effecting their object. In the mean time, representation was made to their government as to the proba- ble effect of my operations on their interest, and requesting to interfere in their behalf. This being in time of peace, the government did not deem it advisable so to do. So soon, however, as war was declared, these representations were renewed, aid was asked from the government, and it was granted. The Phoebe frigate, and sloops of war Raccoon and Por- cupine, were sent from England, with orders to proceed to Columbia River, and destroy my property. They sailed from England early in Jan- uary, 1813. Arriving at Rio Janeiro, Admiral Dickson ordered the Phæbe frigate, with one of the sloops, to pursue Captain Porter in the frigate Essex, and the sloop of war Raccoon, to the Columbia. She ar- rived there, took possession in the name of the king, and changed the name of the place from Astoria to Fort George. Previous to this, the North-West Company had despatched another or second party of men to the Columbia. They arrived there in the absence of Mr. Hunt; McDou- gal gave them support and protection, and they commenced, after some time, to negotiate with this gentleman.
The reasons assigned by him for his conduct will be seen by an extract of a letter said to have been sent by a Mr. Shaw, of the North-West Company, and of which I send you a copy. The plan by me adopted was such as must materially have affected the interest of the North-West and Hudson's Bay Companies, and it was easy to be foreseen that they would employ every means to counteract my operations, and which, as my impression, I stated to the executive of your department as early as Feb- ruary, 1813, as will be seen by a copy of the sketch of a letter which I wrote to the secretary of state, and to which no reply was given. On re- peated application, some time after, aid was promised me; but I believe the situation of our country rendered it inconvenient to give it. You will observe that the name of the Pacific Fur Company is made use of at the commencement of the arrangements for this undertaking. I preferred to have it appear as the business of a company, rather than that of an individual ; and several of the gentlemen engaged - Mr. Hunt, Mr. Crooks, 56
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Mr. McKay, McDougal, Stuart, &c. - were, in effect, to be interested as partners in the undertaking, so far as respected the profit which might arise : but the means were furnished by me, and the property was solely mine, and I sustained the loss, which, though considerable, I do not re- gret, because, had it not been for the unfortunate occurrence just stated, I should have been, as I believe, most richly rewarded; as it will be seen that the difference of price in the beaver and otter skins alone, say what I received, and the value of them at Canton at that time, is about sixty thousand dollars. The copy of the agreement, inventory, and extract of Shaw's letter, you will please return to me.
I am, sir, &c., JOHN JACOB ASTOR
(2.)
Agreement between the Agents of the Pacific Fur Company and the North- West Company, for the Transfer of the Establishments of the Former, on the Columbia River, to the Latter ; concluded on the 16th of Octo- ber, 1813.
THE association heretofore carrying on the fur trade to the Columbia River and its dependencies, under the firm and denomination of the Pacific Fur Company, being dissolved, on the 1st of July last, by Duncan McDougal, Donald Mckenzie, David Stuart, and John Clarke, with the intention to abandon the trade in that quarter, it is hereby agreed, concluded, and settled upon, of their own free will and consent, by Duncan McDougal, acting for himself and in behalf of his associates, namely, Donald Mckenzie, David Stuart, and John Clarke, on the one part, and John George McTavish and John Stuart, acting for themselves and in behalf of the North-West Company, on the other part, that the following agreement and settlement take place between them, and be binding and obligatory in the manner, and subject to the terms and agree- ments, hereinafter specified and contained. Now, therefore, it is hereby mutually agreed and concluded, by and between the said parties to these presents, and they do hereby mutually covenant and agree, to and with each other, in manner following, that is to say : -
ARTICLE 1. The party of the former part hereby covenants and agrees to deliver, or cause to be delivered, the whole of the establish- ments, furs, and present stock in hand, on the Columbia and Thomp- son's Rivers, as soon as the necessary inventories can be taken, unto the said party of the latter part, or any other person or persons appointed by them to represent the North-West Company, to receive the same at the prices and rates concluded and agreed upon as hereinafter specified, in article fourth.
ART. 2. In consideration of article first being duly and faithfully performed by the party of the former part, they, the said John George McTavish and John Stuart, for themselves and on behalf of the North- West Company, do bind and oblige themselves and the said North-West Company, or their agents, to pay or cause to be paid, unto the said Duncan McDougal, acting for himself and in behalf of his associates, as before mentioned, his attorneys, assigns, or order, the amount of the sums arising from the sale, according to article first, and the rates hereinafter
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specified in article fourth, at three several instalments; the first one third on or before the 25th of October, 1814, the second one third on or before the 25th of November, and the remaining one third on or be- fore the 25th of December. And, further, it is hereby understood that, should the party of the former part find it convenient to leave the amount of the several drafts, after becoming payable, as already specified, in the hands of the party of the latter part, or their agents, they, the said party of the latter part, or their agents, will allow interest at six per cent. until paid on demand; and, as there are several moneys, the produce of their wages, due unto the people employed in the service of the late Pacific Fur Company, carrying on trade on the Columbia and Thompson's Rivers, the said party of the latter part, namely, John George McTavish and John Stuart, acting for themselves and the North-West Company, as their agents, do hereby bind and oblige themselves to pay, or cause to be paid, unto the several individuals employed by the party of the former part, the amount of the balances due to them, according to the statement that shall be delivered by the said Duncan McDougal, acting for himself and his associates, as before mentioned, within one month after their arrival at Montreal, in the province of Lower Canada; the amount of which several sums, so paid, is to be considered as part of, and deducted from, the first instalinent, to be paid unto the said Duncan McDougal, acting for him- self and his associates, as before mentioned, his attorneys, assigns, or order, on or before the 25th of October, 1814.
ART. 3. And, further, the said John George McTavish and John Stuart, acting for themselves and the North-West Company, will be at liberty to make a selection, and take into their service such of the peo- ple in the employment of the party of the former part as they may think proper ; in consideration of which, the said party of the latter part bind and oblige themselves to pay, or cause to be paid, unto the said party of the former part, the several sums due to them by such as may enter into the service of the party of the latter part : and the said party of the latter part further bind and oblige themselves to provide and insure a safe pas- sage to the said party of the former part, and the remaining part, that will not be taken into their service, to their respective homes.
ART. 4. And, further, it is hereby agreed and concluded upon, by the said parties, that the following are the rates at which the establish- ments, furs, and stock on hand, be valued at, as follows : dry goods, sta- tionery, gunpowder, and leaf tobacco, fifty per cent. on the prime cost ; ship chandlery, sixty per cent .; shot, ball, lead, iron, and steel, one hundred per cent. ; deduction on made-up iron works at Columbia River, thirty-three and one third per cent .; new boats, each, ten pounds Halifax currency ; boats in use, each, five pounds Halifax currency ; shallop, with rigging complete, one hundred and twelve pounds ten shillings ; two black- smith's forges complete, twenty-five pounds ; plug tobacco, one shilling and six pence per pound ; plug tobacco manufactured at Columbia, one shil- ling and three pence per pound ; beads assorted, five shillings per pound ; arms, cannon, &c., prime cost ; provisions at fixed prices ; articles in use, half inventory prices; horses, thirty shillings each; buildings, two hun- dred pounds ; John Reid's adventure, and Freeman's, in the vicinity of Snake country and Spanish River, to deduct one hundred per cent .; beaver furs, ten shillings per pound; beaver coating, eight shillings and four pence per pound; muskrats, seven pence half-penny each; land
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otters, two shillings and six pence each; sea otters, large, sixty shillings each.
And for the faithful performance of all and singular the said covenants and agreements, to be by them respectively kept and performed, all and every of the parties to these presents bind themselves, separately and jointly, for their several associates, firmly by these presents. In witness whereof, the parties to these presents have hereunto set their hands and seals, this 16th day of October, 1813, at the entrance of Columbia River, north-west coast of America.
Witnesses.
DUNCAN MCDOUGAL, J. G. McTAVISH, J. STUART.
JOHN C. HASLEY, ANGUS BETHUNE,
GABRIEL FRANCHERE, JAMES McMILLAN,
ALFRED SEATON, JOSEPH McGILLIVRAY.
WILLIAM WALLACE,
(3.)
Account of the Capture of Astoria by the British Sloop of War Raccoon, Captain Black, in December, 1813. Extracted from " Adventures on the Columbia River, by John Ross Cox."
THE Isaac Todd sailed from London in March, 1813, in company with the Phoebe frigate, and the Cherub and Raccoon sloops of war. They arrived safe at Rio Janeiro, and thence proceeded around Cape Horn to the Pacific, having previously made arrangements to meet at Juan Fernandez. The three men-of-war reached the latter island, after encountering dreadful gales about the cape : they waited there some time for the Isaac Todd; but, as she did not make her appearance, Conimo- dore Hillyer did not deem it prudent to remain any longer inactive. He therefore, in company with the Cherub, proceeded in search of Commo- dore Porter, who, in the American frigate Essex, was clearing the South Sea of English whalers, and inflicting other injuries of a serious nature on our commerce; he shortly after met the Essex at Valparaiso, and, after a severe contest, captured her.
At the same time, he ordered Captain Black, in the Raccoon, to proceed direct to the Columbia, for the purpose of destroying the Ameri- can establishments at Astoria. The Raccoon arrived at the Columbia on the Ist of December, 1813. The surprise and disappointment of Captain Black and his officers were extreme, on learning the arrangement that had taken place between the two companies, by which the establishment had become British property. They had calculated on obtaining a splendid prize by the capture of Astoria, the strength and importance of which had been much magnified; and the contracting parties were therefore fortunate in having closed their bargain previous to the arrival of the Raccoon. On looking at the wooden fortifications, Captain Black ex- claimed, " Is this the fort about which I have heard so much ? D-n me but I'd batter it down in two hours with a four-pounder." Captain Black, however, took possession of Astoria in the name of his Britannic majesty,
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and rebaptized it by the name of " Fort George." He also insisted on having an inventory taken of the valuable stock of furs, and all other property purchased from the American company, with a view to the adop- tion of ulterior proceedings in England for the recovery of the value from the North-West Company ; but he subsequently relinquished this idea, and we heard no more about his claims.
The Indians at the mouth of the Columbia knew well that Great Britain and America were distinct nations, and that they were then at war, but were ignorant of the arrangement made between Messrs. McDou- gal and McTavish, the former of whom still continued as nominal chief at the fort. On the arrival of the Raccoon, which they quickly discovered to be one of "King George's fighting ships," they repaired, armed, to the fort, and requested an audience of Mr. McDougal. He was somewhat surprised at their numbers and warlike appearance, and demanded the object of such an unusual visit. Comcomly, the principal chief of the Chinooks, (whose daughter McDougal had married,) there- upon addressed him in a long speech, in the course of which he said that King George had sent a ship full of warriors, and loaded with nothing but big guns, to take the Americans and make them all slaves, and that, as they (the Americans) were the first white men who settled in their country, and treated the Indians like good relations, they had resolved to defend them from King George's warriors, and were now ready to conceal themselves in the woods close to the wharf, from whence they would be able, with their guns and arrows, to shoot all the men that should attempt to land from the English boats, while the people in the fort could fire at them with their big guns and rifles. This proposition was uttered with an earnestness of manner that admitted no doubt of its sincerity. Two armed boats from the Raccoon were approaching; and, had the people in the fort felt disposed to accede to the wishes of the Indians, every man in them would have been destroyed by an invisible enemy. Mr. McDou- gal thanked them for their friendly offer, but added, that, notwithstanding the nations were at war, the people in the boats would not injure him or any of his people, and therefore requested them to throw by their war shirts and arms, and receive the strangers as their friends. They at first seemed astonished at this answer; but, on assuring them, in the most positive manner, that he was under no apprehensions, they consented to give up their weapons for a few days. They afterwards declared they were sorry for having complied with Mr. McDougal's wishes ; for when they observed Captain Black, surrounded by his officers and marines, break the bottle of Port on the flag-staff, and hoist the British ensign, after changing the name of the fort, they remarked that, however we might wish to conceal the fact, the Americans were undoubtedly made slaves ; and they were not convinced of their mistake until the sloop of war had departed without taking any prisoners.
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BRITISH STATEMENT ANNEXED TO THE PROTOCOL OF THE SIXTH CONFERENCE, HELD AT LONDON, DECEMBER 16TH, 1826, BE- TWEEN MESSRS. HUSKISSON AND ADDINGTON, THE BRITISH COMMISSIONERS, AND MR. GALLATIN, THE MINISTER PLENIPO- TENTIARY OF THE UNITED STATES .*
THE government of Great Britain, in proposing to renew, for a further term of years, the third article of the convention of 1818, respecting the territory on the north-west coast of America, west of the Rocky Moun- tains, regrets that it has been found impossible, in the present negotiation, to agree upon a line of boundary which should separate those parts of that territory, which might henceforward be occupied or settled by the subjects of Great Britain, from the parts which would remain open to occupancy and settlement by the United States.
To establish such a boundary must be the ultimate object of both countries. With this object in contemplation, and from a persuasion that a part of the difficulties which have hitherto prevented its attainment is to be attributed to a misconception, on the part of the United States, of the claims and views of Great Britain in regard to the territory in ques- tion, the British plenipotentiaries deem it advisable to bring under the notice of the American plenipotentiary a full and explicit exposition of those claims and views.
As preliminary to this discussion, it is highly desirable to mark dis- tinctly the broad difference between the nature of the rights claimed by Great Britain and those asserted by the United States, in respect to the territory in question.
Over a large portion of that territory, namely, from the 42d degree to the 49th degree of north latitude, the United States claim full and ex- clusive sovereignty.
Great Britain claims no exclusive sovereignty over any portion of that territory. Her present claim, not in respect to any part, but to the whole, is limited to a right of joint occupancy, in common with other states, leaving the right of exclusive dominion in abeyance.
In other words, the pretensions of the United States tend to the ejec- tion of all other nations, and, among the rest, of Great Britain, from all right of settlement in the district claimed by the United States.
The pretensions of Great Britain, on the contrary, tend to the mere maintenance of her own rights, in resistance to the exclusive character of the pretensions of the United States.
Having thus stated the nature of the respective claims of the two parties, the British plenipotentiaries will now examine the grounds on which those claims are founded.
* This statement, published with the documents accompanying President Adams's message to Congress of December 12th, 1827, is here inserted in full, chiefly because reference is frequently made to it in the preceding History, in which its numerous misstatements are exposed and refuted. See page 347 of the History, and other pages to which reference is made by note.
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The claims of the United States are urged upon three grounds : Ist. As resulting from their own proper right.
2dly. As resulting from a right derived to them from Spain; that power having, by the treaty of Florida, concluded with the United States in 1819, ceded to the latter all their rights and claims on the western coast of America north of the 42d degree.
3dly. As resulting from a right derived to them from France, to whom the United States succeeded, by treaty, in possession of the province of Louisiana.
The first right, or right proper, of the United States, is founded on the alleged discovery of the Columbia River by Mr. Gray, of Boston, who, in 1792, entered that river, and explored it to some distance from its mouth.
To this are added the first exploration, by Lewis and Clarke, of a main branch of the same river, from its source downwards, and also the alleged priority of settlement, by citizens of the United States, of the country in the vicinity of the same river.
The second right, or right derived from Spain, is founded on the alleged prior discovery of the region in dispute by Spanish navigators, of whom the chief were, Ist, Cabrillo, who, in 1543, visited that coast as far as 44 degrees north latitude; 2d, De Fuca, who, as it is affirmed, in 1598, entered the straits known by his name, in latitude 49 degrees; 3d, Guelli, who, in 1582, is said to have pushed his researches as high as 57 degrees north latitude ; 4th, Perez, and others, who, between the years 1774 and 1792, visited Nootka Sound and the adjacent coasts.
The third right, derived from the cession of Louisiana to the United States, is founded on the assumption that that province, its boundaries never having been exactly defined longitudinally, may fairly be as- serted to extend westward across the Rocky Mountains, to the shore of the Pacific.
Before the merits of these respective claims are considered, it is necessary to observe that one only out of the three can be valid.
They are, in fact, claims obviously incompatible the one with the other. If, for example, the title of Spain by first discovery, or the title of France as the original possessor of Louisiana, be valid, then must one or the other of those kingdoms have been the lawful possessor of that territory, at the moment when the United States claim to have discovered it. If, on the other hand, the Americans were the first discoverers, there is necessarily an end of the Spanish claim; and if priority of discovery constitutes the title, that of France falls equally to the ground.
Upon the question, how far prior discovery constitutes a legal claim to sovereignty, the law of nations is somewhat vague and undefined. It is, however, admitted by the most approved writers that mere accidental discovery, unattended by exploration -by formally taking possession in the name of the discoverer's sovereign-by occupation and settlement, more or less permanent- by purchase of the territory-or receiving the sovereignty from the natives-constitutes the lowest degree of title, and that it is only in proportion as first discovery is followed by any or all of these acts, that such title is strengthened and confirmed.
The rights conferred by discovery, therefore, must be discussed on their own merits.
But before the British plenipotentiaries proceed to compare the relative
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claims of Great Britain and the United States, in this respect, it will be advisable to dispose of the two other grounds of right, put forward by the United States.
The second ground of claim, advanced by the United States, is the cession made by Spain to the United States, by the treaty of Florida, in 1819.
If the conflicting claims of Great Britain and Spain, in respect to all that part of the coast of North America, had not been finally adjusted by the convention of Nootka, in the year 1790, and if all the arguments and pretensions, whether resting on priority of discovery, or derived from any other consideration, had not been definitively set at rest by the signature of that convention, nothing would be more easy than to demonstrate that the claims of Great Britain to that country, as opposed to those of Spain, were so far from visionary, or arbitrarily assumed, that they established more than a parity of title to the possession of the country in question, either as against Spain, or any other nation.
Whatever that title may have been, however, either on the part of Great Britain or on the part of Spain, prior to the convention of 1790, it was from thenceforward no longer to be traced in vague narratives of discoveries, several of them admitted to be apocryphal, but in the text and stipulations of that convention itself.
By that convention it was agreed that all parts of the north-western coast of America, not already occupied at that time by either of the con- tracting parties, should thenceforward be equally open to the subjects of both, for all purposes of commerce and settlement; the sovereignty remaining in abeyance.
In this stipulation, as it has been already stated, all tracts of country claimed by Spain and Great Britain, or accruing to either, in whatever manner, were included.
The rights of Spain on that coast were, by the treaty of Florida, in 1819, conveyed by Spain to the United States. With those rights the United States necessarily succeeded to the limitations by which they were defined, and the obligations under which they were to be exercised. From those obligations and limitations, as contracted towards Great Britain, Great Britain cannot be expected gratuitously to release those countries, merely because the rights of the party originally bound have been transferred to a third power.
The third ground of claim of the United States rests on the right supposed to be derived from the cession to them of Louisiana by France.
In arguing this branch of the question, it will not be necessary to examine in detail the very dubious point of the assumed extent of that province, since, by the treaty between France and Spain of 1763, the whole of that territory, defined or undefined, real or ideal, was ceded by France to Spain, and, consequently, belonged to Spain, not only in 1790, when the convention of Nootka was signed between Great Britain and Spain, but also subsequently, in 1792, the period of Gray's discovery of the mouth of the Columbia. If, then, Louisiana embraced the country west of the Rocky Mountains, to the south of the 49th parallel of latitude, it must have embraced the Columbia itself, which that parallel intersects ; and, consequently, Gray's discovery must have been made in a country avowedly already appropriated to Spain, and, if so appropriated, neces-
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