An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho, Part 5

Author:
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: [S.l.] : Western Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1524

USA > Idaho > Kootenai County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 5
USA > Idaho > Nez Perce County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 5
USA > Idaho > Shoshone County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 5
USA > Idaho > Latah County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 5

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Meanwhile Gray was proceeding southward "in the track of destiny and glory." On May 7th he en- tered the harbor which now bears his name and four days later passed through the breakers over the bar, and his vessel's prow plowed the waters of that fa- mous "River of the West," whose existence had been so long suspected. The storied "Oregon" for the first time heard other sound than "its own dashing."

Shortly afterward Vancouver came to Cape Disap- pointment to explore the Columbia, of which he had heard indirectly from Captain Gray. Lieutenant Broughton, of Vancouver's expedition, sailed over the bar, ascended the river a distance of more than one hundred miles to the site of the present Vancouver, and with a modesty truly remarkable, "takes possession of the river and the country in its vicinity in his Britannic Majesty's name, having every reason to believe that the subjects of no other civilized nation or state had ever entered it before." This, too, though he had re- ceived a salute of one gun from an American vessel, the Jennie, on his entrance to the bay. The lieutenant's claim was not to remain forever unchallenged, as will appear presently.

With the exploration of Puget sound and the dis- covery of the Columbia, history-making maritime ad- venture practically ceased. But as the fabled strait of Anian had drawn explorers to the Pacific shores in quest of the mythical passage to the treasurers of Ind, so likewise did the fairy tales of La Hontan and others stimulate inland exploration. Furthermore, the mys- tic charm possessed by a terra incognita was becoming irresistible to adventurous spirits, and the possibilities of discovering untold wealth in the vaults of its "shin- ing mountains" and in the sands of its crystal rivers were exceedingly fascinating to the lover of gain.

The honor of pioneership in overland exploration belongs to one Verendrye, who, under authority of the governor-general of New France, in 1773 set out on an expedition to the Rocky mountains from Canada. This explorer and his brother and sons made many im- portant explorations, but as they failed to find a pass through the Rocky mountains by which they could

HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO.

come to the Pacific side, their adventures do not fall within the purview of our volume. They are said to have reached the vicinity of the present city of Helena.

If, as seems highly probable, the events chronicled by La Page in his charming "Histoire de la Louisi- ane," published in 1758, should be taken as authentic, the first man to scale the Rocky mountains from the east and to make his way overland to the shores of the Pacific was a Yazoo Indian, Moncacht-ape or Mont- cachabe by name. But "the first traveler to lead a party of civilized men through the territory of the Stony mountains to the South sea" was Alexander Mackenzie, who, in 1793. reached the coast at fifty- two degrees, twenty-four minutes, forty-eight sec- onds north. leaving as a memorial of his visit, inscribed on a rock with vermillion and grease the words "Alex- andar Mackenzie, from Canada by land, July 22, 1793."

But western exploration by land had elicited the in- terest of one whose energy and force were sufficient to bring to a successful issue almost any undertaking worth the effort. While the other statesmen and leg- islators of his time were fully engaged with the prob- lems of the moment, the great mind of Thomas Jef- ferson, endowed as it was with a wider range of vision and more comprehensive grasp of the true situation was projecting exploring expeditions into the north- west. In 1786, while serving as minister to Paris, he had fallen in with the ardent Ledyard, who was on fire with the idea of opening a large and profitable fur trade in the north Pacific region. To this young man he had suggested the idea of journeying to Kam- tchatka, then in a Russian vessel to Nootka sound, from which, as a starting point, he should make an exploring expedition easterly to the United States. Ledyard acted on the suggestion, but was arrested as a spy in the spring of 1787 by Russian officials and so severely treated as to cause a failure of his health and a consequent failure of his enterprise.

The next effort of Jefferson was made in 1792, when he proposed to the American Philosophical Soci- ety that it should engage a competent scientist "to ex- plore northwest America from the eastward by ascend- ing the Missouri, crossing the Rocky mountains and de- scending the nearest river to the Pacific ocean." The idea was favorably received. Captain Meriwether Lewis, who afterward distinguished himself as one of the leaders of the Lewis and Clark expedition, of- fered his services, but for some reason Andre Mich- aux, a French botanist, was given the preference. Mich- aux proceeded as far as Kentucky, but there received an order from the French minister, to whom, it seems, he also owed obedience, that he should relinquish his appointment and engage upon the duties of another commission.

It was not until after the opening of the new cen- tury that another opportunity for furthering his fa- vorite project presented itself to Jefferson. An act of congress. under which trading houses had been es- tablished for facilitating commerce with the Indians, was about to expire by limitation, and President Jef- ferson, in recommending its continuance, seized the opportunity to urge upon congress the advisability of

fitting out an expedition, the object of which should be "to explore the Missouri river and such principal streams of it as, by its course of communication with the waters of the Pacific ocean, whether the Columbia, Oregon, Colorado or any other river, may offer the most direct and practical water communication across the continent, for the purpose of commerce."

Congress .voted an appropriation for the purpose, and the expedition was placed in charge of Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. President Jef- ferson gave the explorers minute and particular in- structions as to investigations to be made by them. They were to inform themselves, should they reach the Pacific ocean, "of the circumstances which may decide whether the furs of those parts may be col- lected as advantageously at the head of the Missouri (convenient as is supposed to the Colorado and Ore- gon or Columbia) as at Nootka sound or any other part of the coast ; and the trade be constantly con- ducted through the Missouri and United States more beneficially than by the circumnavigation now prac- ticed." In addition to the instructions already quoted, these explorers were directed to ascertain if possible on arriving at the seaboard if there were any ports within their reach frequented by the sea vessels of any nation, and to send, if practicable, two of their most trusted people back by sea with copies of their notes. They were also, if they deemed a return by the way they had come imminently hazardous, to ship the en- tire party and return via Good Hope or Cape Horn, as they might be able.

A few days before the initial steps were taken in discharge of the instructions of President Jefferson, news reached the seat of government of a transaction which added materially to the significance of the en- terprise. Negotiations had been successfully consum- mated for the purchase of Louisiana on April 30, 1803, but the authorities at Washington did not hear of the important transfer until the Ist of July. Of such trans- cendant import to the future of our country was this transaction and of such vital moment to the section with which our volume is primarily concerned, that we must here interrupt the trend of our narrative to give the reader an idea of the extent of territory involved and, if pos- sible, to enable him to appreciate the influence of the purchase. France. by her land explorations and the establishment of trading posts and forts, first acquired title to the territory west of the Mississippi and east of the Rocky mountains, though Great Britain claimed the territory in accordance with her doctrine of con- tinuity and contiguity, most of her colonial grants extending in express terms to the Pacific ocean. Spain also claimed the country by grant of Pope Alexander VI. A constant warfare had been waged between France and Great Britain for supremacy in America. The latter was the winner in the contest, and in 1762, France, apparently discouraged, ceded to Spain the province of Louisiana. By the treaty of February 10, 1763, which gave Great Britain the Canadas, it was agreed that the western boundary between English and Spanish possessions in America should be the Missis-

HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO.

sippi river, Great Britain renouncing all claim to the territory west of that boundary. In 1800 Spain retro- ceded Louisiana to France "with the same extent it has now in the hands of Spain, and which it had when France possessed it, and such as it should be according to the treaties subsequently made betwen Spain and other states."

The order for the formal delivery of the province to France was issued by the Spanish king on October 15, 1802, and, as above stated, the United States suc- ceeded to the title by treaty of April 30, 1803.

Of the long, weary land marches which brought the doughty explorers, Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, to the pure currents of the Clearwater, space forbids narration. It is pleasant to record that the travel-worn expedition received hospitable treat- ment upon reaching the spot where Lewiston now stands. The Nez Perces were friendly, gave the ex- plorers what information they could about the remain- der of their journey and readily traded them such food supplies as they were able. While details of this his- tory-making expedition to the mouth of the Columbia and back again to the eastern states must be sought elsewhere, we shall here quote a summary of the jour- ney given by Captain Lewis himself, which will convey some idea of the momentous task successfully accom- plished by these giants of the wilderness :

"The road by which we went out by the way of the Missouri to its head is 3,096 miles ; thence by land by way of Lewis river over to Clark's river and down that to the entrance of Traverse's Rest creek, where all the roads from different routes meet ; thence across the rugged part of the Rocky mountains to the naviga- ble waters of the Columbia, 398 miles; thence down the river 640 miles to the Pacific ocean-making a total distance of 4,134 miles. On our return in 1806 we came from Traveler's Rest directly to the falls of the Missouri river, which shortens the distance about 579 miles and is a much better route, reducing the distance from the Mississippi to the Pacific ocean to 3.555 miles. Of this journey 2,575 miles is up the Missouri to the falls of that river; thence passing through the plains and across the Rocky mountains to the navigahle waters of the Kooskooskia river, a branch of the Columbia, 340 miles, two hundred of which is good road, 140 over a tremendous mountain, steep and broken, 60 miles of which is covered several feet deep with snow, on which we passed on the last of June : from the navigable part of the Kooskooskia we descended that rapid river 73 miles to its enterance into Lewis river, and down that river 154 miles to the Columbia, and thence 413 miles to its entrance into the Pacific ocean. About 180 miles of this distance is tide water. We passed several bad rapids and nar- rows and one considerable fall, 268 miles above the entrance of this river. 37 feet, eight inches ; the total distance descending the Columbia waters, 640 miles, making a total of 3.555 miles, on the most direct route from the Mississippi at the mouth of the Missouri to the Pacific ocean."

The safe return of the explorers to their homes in the United States naturally created a sensation through-

out that country and the world. Leaders and men were suitably rewarded, and the fame of the former will live while the rivers to which their names have been given, continue to pour their waters into the sea. President Jefferson, the great patron of the expedition, paying a tribute to Captain Lewis in 1813, said : "Nev- er did a similar event create more joy throughout the United States. The humblest of its citizens have taken a lively interest in the issue of this journey, and looked with impatience for the information it would furnish. Nothing short of the official journals of this extraor- dinary and interesting journey will exhibit the import- ance of the service, the courage, devotion, zeal and per- severance under circumstances calculated to discourage, which animated this little band of heroes, throughout the long, dangerous and tedious travel."

The knowledge of the Columbia basin, resulting from the extensive exploration of Lewis and Clark, soon bore fruit in a number of commercial enterprises, the first of which was the Astor expedition. It was so called from John Jacob Astor, a native of Heidelburg, who had come to America poor and had amassed a large fortune in commercial transactions. In 1800 there was conceived in the brain of this great captain of industry a scheme which for magnitude of design and careful arrangement of detail was truly master- ful. It contemplated the prosecution of the fur trade in every unsettled territory of America claimed by the United States, the trade with China and the supply of the Russian settlements with trading stock and pro- visions, the goods to be paid for in peltry. A vessel was to be dispatched at regular intervals from New York, bearing supplies and goods to be traded to the Indians. This was to discharge her cargo at a depot of trade to be established at the mouth of the Columbia river. then trade along the coast with Indians and at the Russian settlements until another cargo had been in part secured, return to the month of the river, com- plete her lading there, sail thence to China, receive a return cargo of Canton silks, nankeen and tea, and back to New York. Two years would pass in com- pleting this vast "commercial rounding-up." An im- portant part of this plan was the supply of the Russian posts at New Archangel, the object being two fold, -- first to secure the profits accruing therefrom, and sec- ondly, to shut off competition in Mr. Astor's own ter- ritory, through the semi-partnership with the Russians in furnishing them supplies. Careful arrangements had been made with the Russian government to pre- vent any possible clash between the vessels of the two companies which should be engaged in the coast trade. "It was," says Brewerton, "a collossal scheme, and deserved to succeed : had it done so it would have ad- vanced American settlement and actual occupancy on the Northwest coast by at least a quarter of a century, giving employment to thousands, and transferred the enormous profits of the Hudson's Bay and Northwest British fur companies from English to American cof- fers."

Notwithstanding the opposition of the Northwest Fur Company, a powerful British corporation, As- tor's sea expedition reached the mouth of the Columbia

HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO.

before the territory had been pre-empted by any other fur traders. His overland company arrived later, after having suffered terrible hardships, being well nigh overcome by the fatigues of their journey, the rigors of the inhospitable mountain ranges and lack of food. Astoria was founded and named. The little colony of traders set vigorously about the task of carrying into execution Astor's comprehensive plan. There were many difficulties to be overcome and one serious disaster, the massacre of the Tonquin's crew and the subsequent destruction of that vessel, had its decidedly depressing effect. Nevertheless, the Astor expedi- tion would have doubtless proved a success were it not for two unfortunate circumstances. In the choice of his partners in the Pacific Fur Company, Mr. Astor had made a serious mistake. Broad minded and liberal himself, he did not appreciate the danger of entrusting his undertaking to the hands of men whose national prejudices were bitterly anti-American and whose pre- vious connection with a rival company might affect their loyalty to this one. He associated with himself as partners in the enterprise Donald Mackenzie, Alex- ander Mackay, who had accompanied Alexandar Mac- kenzie on his voyage of discovery, hence possessed in- valuable experience, and Duncan Macdougal, all late of the Northwest Company, and though men of great skill and experience, schooled in the prejudices of the association with which they had so long maintained connection, and able to see only through British eyes. To the partners already enumerated were subsequently added Wilson P. Hunt and Robert Maclellan, Ameri- cans, John Clarke, a Canadian, David and Robert Stu- art and Ramsey Crooks, Scotchmen, and others.

The second unfortunate circumstance and the one which gave perfidity a chance to perform its perfect work was the outbreak of the war of 1812. The dan- ger that Astoria might be captured by the British (for the United States had neglected to furnish suitable protection to this most remote outpost of its domin- ion) gave the traitorous Macdougal a colorable ex- cuse to betray into the hands of the Northwest Com- pany Mr. Astor's interests on the Pacific coast. The denouement of the plot was in this wise. On the 8th of October, 1813, Macdougal, by way of preparation for his final coupe, read a letter announcing the sailing of two British armed vessels, the Phoebe and the Is- aac Todd, with orders "to take and destroy everything American on the Northwest coast."

"This dramatic scene," says Evans, "was followed by a proposition of MacTavish (of the Northwest Fur Company) to purchase the interests, stocks, establish- ments, etc. of the Pacific Fur Company. Macdougal then assumed sole control and agency because of the non-arrival of Hunt, and after repeated conference with MacTavish in which the presence of the other part- ners was ignored, the sale was concluded at certain rates. A few days later J. Stuart arrived with the re- mainder of the Northwest party. He objected to Mac- Tavish's prices and lowered the rates materially. Mr. Stuart's offer was accepted by Macdougal and the agreement of transfer was signed October 16th. By it Duncan Macdougal, for and on behalf of himself, Don-

ald Mackenzie, David Stuart and John Clarke, part- ners of the Pacific Fur Company, dissolved July Ist, pretended to sell to his British conferes and co-con- spirators of the Northwest Company 'the whole of the establishments, furs and present stock on hand, of the Columbia and Thompson's rivers.'"

It is needless to add that on the arrival of the Brit- ish vessels Astoria became a British possession. The formal change of sovereignty and raising of the Union Jack took place on December 12th, and as if to oblit- erate all trace of Mr. Astor's operations, the name of Astoria was changed to Fort George. The arrival of Isaac Todd the following spring with a cargo of trad- ing goods and supplies enabled the Northwest Com- pany to enter vigorously into the prosecution of their trade in the territory of their wronged and outraged rival. "Thus disgracefully failed," says Evans, "a magnificent enterprise, which merited success for sa- gacity displayed in its conception, its details, its ob- jects ; for the liberality and munificence of its projec- tor in furnishing means adequate for its thorough exe- cution ; for the results it had aimed to produce. It was inaugurated purely for commercial purposes. Had it not been transferred to its enemies, it would have pien- eered the colonization of the northwest coast by citi- zens of the United States ; it would have furnished the natural and peaceful solution of the question of the right to the territory drained by the Columbia and its tributaries.

* *

"The scheme was grand in its aim, magnificent in its breadth of purpose and area of operation. Its re- sults were naturally feasible, not over-anticipated. They were but the logical and necessary sequences of the pursuit of the plan. Mr. Astor made no miscal- culation, no omission ; neither did he permit a sanguine hope to lead him into any wild or imaginary venture. He was practical, generous, broad. He executed what Sir Alexander Mackenzie urged should be adopted as the policy of British capital and enterprise. That one American citizen should have individually undertaken what two mammoth British companies had not the courage to try was but an additional cause which had intensified national prejudice into embittered jealousy on the part of the British rivals, the Northwest Com- pany."

By the first article of the treaty of Ghent entered into between Great Britain and the United States, De- cember 14, 1814, it was agreed "that all territory, places and possessions whatsoever taken by either party from the other, during or after the war, should be restored." Astoria, therefore, again became the possession of the United States, and in September, 1817, the government sent the sloop-of-war Ontario "to assert the claim of the United States to the sover- eignty of the adjacent country, and especially to re- occupy Astoria or Fort George." The formal surren- der of the fort is dated October 6, 1818.

Mr. Astor had urged the United States to repos- sess Astoria, and intended fully to resume operations in the basin of the Columbia, but the Pacific Fur Com- pany was never reorganized, and never again did the

HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO.

great captain of industry engage in trade on the shores of the Pacific.

Brief and general though this introductory sketch must be we cannot omit mention of the two British fur companies who played such a prominent part in the early history of the section to which the five northern counties of Idaho belong. Although organized in 1774, the Northwest Company, successor in interest of the Pacific Fur Company, did not attain to high prestige until the dawn of the nineteenth century. Then, how- ever, it seemed to take on new life, and before the first half decade was passed it had become the successful rival of the Hudson's Bay Company for the fur trade of the interior of North America. The Hudson's Bay Company when originally chartered in 1670 was granted in a general way the right to traffic in Hud- son's Bay and the territory contiguous thereto, and the Northwest Company began to insist that the grant should be more strictly construed. The boundaries of Prince Rupert's land, as the Hudson's Bay territory was named, had never been definitely determined and there had long been contention in those regions which were claimed by that company but denied to it by the other fur traders. Beyond the recognized area of the Hudson's Bay territory, the old Northwest Company (a French company which had fallen, at the time of the fall of Canada into the possession of the British) had been a competitor of the Hudson's Bay Company. When this French association went out of existence the con- test was kept up by private merchants, but without lasting success. The new Northwest Company, of Montreal, united and cemented into one organization all these individuals for the better discharge of the common purpose. It is interesting to note the theory of trade of this association as contrasted with that of the Hudson's Bay Company.

From established posts as centers of operations, the Montreal association dispatched parties in all di- rections to visit the villages and haunts of the natives and secure furs from every source possible. It went to the natives for their goods, while the rival company so arranged its posts that these were convenient to the whole Indian population, then depended upon the abor- igines to bring in their peltries and exchange the same for such articles as might supply their wants or gratify their fancies. Consequently the one company required many employees, the other comparatively few. The clerks or traders of the Montreal association were re- quired to serve an apprenticeship of seven years at small wages. That term successfully completed, the stipend was doubled. Skill and special aptitude in trad- ing brought speedy promotions, and the chance to be- come a partner in the business was an unfailing incent- ive to strenuous effort. The Hudson's Bay Company, on the other hand, had established fixed grades of con- pensation. Promotion was slow, coming periodically rather than as a reward for specially meritorious serv- ice, and though faithfulness to duty was required, no incentive was offered for special endeavor. The Hud- son's Bay Company based its territorial title upon a specific grant from the crown, while the rival associa- tion sought no other title than such as priority of oc-

cupancy and pre-emption afforded. It claimed as its. field of operation all unoccupied territory wherever lo- cated.

The Northwest Company showed also its animus to confirm and strengthen British title to all territories adversely claimed, and wherever a post was estab- lished the territory contiguous thereto was ceremoni- ously taken possession of "in the name of the king of Great Britain, for the Northwest Company." Its es- tablishments and possessions afterward constituted the substantial basis of Great Britain's claim to the territory.

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An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho, Part 5

Author: Publication date: 1903 Publisher: [S.l.] : Western Historical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1524

Author:
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: [S.l.] : Western Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1524