USA > Oregon > History of Oregon, Vol. I, 1834-1848 > Part 27
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252
PROGRESS OF EVENTS.
Oregon a company of twenty-three families, or about sixty persons, from the Red River settlement, brought out under the auspices of the Hudson's Bay Company to settle on the lands of the Puget Sound Agricultural Company. They had left Red River about the first of June with carts, of which each family had two, and with bands of cattle, horses, and dogs. The men and boys rode on horseback, and the women and children were conveyed in the carts with the household goods. The whole formed a procession of more than a mile in length. They started twenty-eight days in advance of Simpson, who passed then at Fort Carlton, on the Saskatchewan, and they arrived about the middle of October at Nisqually,57 where it was designed they should settle. But soon discovering the inferior qual- ity of the soil in that region, they nearly all removed to the Willamette Valley, to the great disappointment of McLoughlin and other members of the Puget Sound Company.5
The failure of the Red River settlers to remain on the lands of the Puget Sound Company defeated whatever political design the formation of that organ- ization favored, and during the year after their arrival added a considerable number to the Willamette settle- ments.
57 Gray, in Hist. Or., 288, places the arrival of the Red River immigrants at Fort Colville in September 1842, one year after they passed that place. George T. Allan, a clerk of the company at Vancouver, who accompanied Simpson to the Sandwich Islands, went to Colville to meet them before Sir George returned from Stikeen. Roberts' Recollections, MS., 70; Tolmie's Puget Sound, MS., 24; Evans' Puyallup Address, in New Tacoma Ledger, July 9, 1880. Simpson speaks of treating their guide, a Cree, to a short trip on the steamer Bearer, on the sound, while he was at Nisqually in Oct. 1841. Nar., i. 241.
58 Fitzgerald, one of the party, says that 'the treatment they received from Dr McLoughlin was such that after having been nearly starved under the paternal care of that gentleman, they all went over to the American settlement of the Willamette Valley.' Hudson's Bay Company, 14. This is more than even Gray can indorse, who says that to his certain knowledge McLoughlin extended to the Red River settlers every facility within his power; but that other leading members of the company were domineering and tyrannical, which was the cause of their leaving the supposed English portion of the territory. Hist. Or., 30. Applegate, in his marginal notes on Gray's history, says: 'The Red River settlers made no complaint of ill treatment, but removed from the sound to the Willamette because of the superiority of the soil and climate.' Lee and Frost give the same reason. Or., 216.
CHAPTER X.
THE SUB-INDIAN AGENT'S COMPANY 1842-1845.
THE EFFECT OF LEE'S LETTER TO CUSHING-WHITE VISITS WASHINGTON- PLANS OF THE 'FRIENDS OF OREGON '-WHITE IS APPOINTED SUB- INDIAN AGENT FOR OREGON-HE RAISES A LARGE COMPANY OF EMI- GRANTS-INCIDENTS OF THE JOURNEY-A CANINE MASSACRE-DISSEN- SIONS IN CAMP-THE HALT AT FORT LARAMIE- THE SIOUX TAKE A HAND-FORT HALL IN REACHED-RECEPTION BY THE MISSIONARIES- WHITE AND THE COLONISTS-DISGUSTED IMMIGRANTS-MCLOUGHLIN TO THE RESCUE-HASTINGS LEADS A PARTY TO CALIFORNIA.
THE return to Oregon of Elijah White, some two years after his quarrel with Jason Lee had sent him to the States in disgust, has already been alluded to. The immediate cause of his return was peculiar, inas- much as it was destined that the man who had prac- tically been the means of driving him out of the country in disgrace should involuntarily be the means of bringing him back in honor. It will be remem- bered that when Lee wrote to Cushing in January 1839, he urged that the settlers and Indians in Ore- gon sadly needed the protection of the laws of the United States, and suggested that if a suitable person should be sent out as civil magistrate and governor of the territory, the settlers would sustain his authority.1 There can be little doubt that Lee hoped for the appointment himself; certainly nothing was further from his desire than that White should get it.
No action was taken in the matter at the time, but it was carefully kept in mind by those persons in the
1 25th Cong., 3d Sess., 11. Ropt. 101, Supplement, 4.
: 253 )
254
THE SUB-INDIAN AGENT'S COMPANY.
States who were interested in the affairs of Oregon. It was not until the Lausanne had returned and Cap- tain Spaulding had presented his report according to the representations made to him by the missionaries, that the 'Friends of Oregon' began to regard Lee's proposition as feasible. But where were they to find the man for their purpose ? It was desirable that the prospective governor should be thoroughly familiar with Oregon affairs, and as such Lee himself would probably have been the first choice; but he was on the other side of the continent, and they wanted their candidate on the spot, in order that he might person- ally plead his cause with the government, and also that he might take direction of an emigrant scheme which they had in contemplation.
In January 1842 White, who had for a year past been living at his old home in Lansing, chanced to visit New York, and while there called on Fry and Farnham, owners of the Lausanne, to whom he was favorably known. Here was the very man the Friends of Oregon needed. In the consultation which followed, it was arranged that White should proceed at once to Washington. He shortly afterward set out, armed with introductory letters from persons of note to Presi- dent Tyler, Webster, and Upsher. On reaching the capital, he was presented to Senator Linn of Missouri, J. C. Spencer, secretary of war, and other high offi- cials who were interested in the Oregon Question, and disposed to remedy the evils complained of by the colonists by adopting Lee's suggestion to send out a person to act as governor and Indian agent, though they recognized the fact that the commissioning of such an official was, under the existing treaty with Great Britain, a matter of much delicacy.
The plan was only partially successful. After con- siderable discussion the government decided that as the United States made pretensions to the territory lying between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, they might venture to send a sub-Indian agent
255
ELIJAH WHITE IN THE STATES.
into the country to look after the intercourse between the natives and citizens of the United States. But as to the office of civil magistrate or governor, that was a commission the president was not prepared to issue; though the settlers, if they chose to do so, could by mutual consent sustain the sub-Indian agent's claim to be regarded as a magistrate among them without definite authority from the United States.
All this having been explained to White, he was commissioned sub-Indian agent, with a salary of seven hundred and fifty dollars, and the guaranty that if Linn's bill, then before congress, passed, his pay should be raised to the full pay of an Indian agent, or fifteen hundred a year. He was also verbally given permis- sion to draw upon government funds for the payment of necessary expenses in the discharge of his duties.2 His instructions were to lose no time in returning to Oregon, but to proceed at once overland, using by the way every reasonable effort to induce emigrants to accompany him. On reaching home the doctor ar- ranged his affairs, and having been joined by two of his neighbors, and two sons of Thomas McKay, pro- ceeded westward, making known his desire to raise a company for Oregon wherever he went, by advertis- ing in the newspapers, and occasionally lecturing to interested audiences.3 At St Louis everything relat- ing to Oregon was heard with attention, and the farther he progressed in the direction of Independence, the former recruiting rendezvous of the now disbanded fur companies, the greater was the interest evinced. From this latter place White made excursions through the country, travelling over the counties of Jackson and Platte, from which a large number of immigrants
2 See bill for relief of Elijah White, and report of committee of the senate dated Feb. 2, 1846, in White's Concise View, 64-6.
3 White gives the following glimpse of his emigration efforts: 'Last niglit all the other appointments were taken up to hear me lecture on Oregon, and as the weather was fine and travelling good, the noble church was filled, the pulpit lined with ministers of all denominations, and I talked an hour and a half with all my might.' Ten Years in Or., 142-3; White's Early Government, MS., 22, 24
256
THE SUB-INDIAN AGENT'S COMPANY.
was gained, while others appeared at Elm Grove, the appointed rendezvous twenty miles south-west of In- dependence, who had come from Illinois and Arkansas, so that by the 14th of May one hundred and twelve persons were assembled,4 fifty-two being men over eighteen years of age.5
White's company was not so favorably circum- stanced as those which had preceded it and had trav- elled under the protection of the American Fur Company. He says that his heart sank when he began to realize what he had undertaken; and that it. was not made more buoyant when Sublette assured him that there would be much difficulty in organizing and governing such a large party, and in conducting it. successfully such a distance through a wilderness in-
4 It is not to be believed that these emigrants from afar came at the doctor's. call. Probably they had already begun to move in the direction of Oregon, and hearing of White's party, joined it for safety. This opinion is sustained by Crawford.
5 Their names are as follows: Thomas Boggs, Gabriel Brown, William Brown, James Brown, Hugh Burns, G. W. Bellamy, Barnam, Winston, Bennett, Vandeman Bennett, Bailey, Bridges, Nathaniel Crocker, Nathan Coombs, Patrick Clark, Alexander Copeland, Medorum Crawford, A. N. Coats, James Coats, John Dearum, John Daubenbiss, Samuel Davis, Allen Davy, John Force, James Force, Foster, Joseph Gibbs, Girtman, Lansford W. Hastings, John Hoffstetter, J. M. Hudspeth, Hardin Jones, Columbia Lancaster, Reuben Lewis, A. L. Lovejoy, S. W. Moss, J. L. Morrison, John Mckay, Alexander McKay, Dutch Paul, Walter Pomeroy, J. H. Perry, Dwight Pomeroy, J. R. Robb, T. J. Shadden, Owen Sumner, Andrew Smith, A. D. Smith, Darling Smith, A. Towner, Joel Turnham, David Weston, Elijah White. Of these, 10 had families, as follows: Gabriel Brown, Mr Bennett, James Force, Mr Girtman, Columbia Lancaster, Walter Pomeroy, J. W. Perry, T. J. Shadden, Owen Sumner, and Andrew Smith. But Has- tings gives the force of armed men as 80; and Frémont as 64. Crawford says the whole number of emigrants was 105. The largest number given by any authority is 160. Lovejoy says about 70 were able to stand guard. White's statement that there were 112 persons in the company when it organized, and that this number was augmented on the road until it reached 125, is probably the most reliable, and agrees with the account given in Lee and Frost's Or.,. 257. McLoughlin, in his Private Papers, MS., 2d ser. 7, puts the number at 137, but he probably includes a party of mountain men who joined the emi- grants at Fort Laramie. The authorities on the subject are: White's T'en Years in Or., 144; White's Emigration to Or., MS., 18; Strong's Hist. Or., MS., 33; Hastings' Or. and Cal., 6; Crawford's Missionaries, MS., 20; Love- joy's Founding of Portland, MS., 4; Bennett's Narrative, in San José Pioneer, May 26 and June 2, 1877. Gray says there were 42 families, and makes the whole number of persons 111, but only names two of thein. Hist. Or., 212. The names of many of the adult emigrants must have been forgotten, the. register having been lost after the death of the secretary, N. Crocker, soon after reaching Oregon. Mrs Ann Perry, wife of J. W. Perry, died in June 1879. Salem Weekly Farmer, July 4, 1879.
257
ON THE PLAINS.
fested with hostile Indians tribes; but Sublette gave valuable advice with regard to outfit and regulations.6
The train of eighteen large Pennsylvania wagons, with a long procession of horses, pack-mules, and cat- tle, set out on the 16th, White having been elected to the command for one month from the time of starting. According to the regulations, camp was made at four o'clock every afternoon when wood and water were convenient. After the wagons had been drawn up so as to form a circular enclosure, the animals were turned loose to feed till sunset, when they were brought in and tethered to stakes set about the camp. Every family had its own fire, and prepared meals in its own fashion. The evening was spent in visiting, singing, and whatever innocent amusement suggested itself. The women and children slept in the covered wagons, and the men under tents on the ground. A guard was stationed at night, and at the dawn, at a given signal, every one arose and went about his duties, the cattle being collected while breakfast was being prepared. When all were ready, the wagon which had taken the lead the previous day was sent to the rear, so that each in rotation should come to the front.
In this manner all progressed amicably until the
6 The resolutions adopted were substantially as follows: That every male over 18 years of age should be provided with one mule or horse, or wagon conveyance; should have one gun, 3 pounds of powder, 12 pounds of lead, 1,000 caps, or suitable flints, 50 pounds of flour or meal, 30 pounds of bacon, and a suitable proportion of provisions for women and children; that White should show his official appointment; that they elect a captain for one month; that there be elected a scientific corps, to consist of three persons, to keep a record of everything concerning the road and journey that might be useful to government or future emigrants. This corps consisted of C. Lancaster, L. W. Hastings, and A. L. Lovejoy. James Coats was elected pilot, and Nathaniel Crocker secretary. Moreover it was ordered that H. Burns be appointed blacksmith, with power to choose two others, and also to call to his aid the force of the company; that John Hoffstetter be appointed master wagon-maker, with like power; that the captain appoint a master road and bridge builder, with like powers; that a code of laws be draughted, and submitted to the com- pany, and that they be enforced by reprimand, fines, and final banishment; that there be no profane swearing, obscene conversation, or immoral conduct allowed in the company, on pain of expulsion; that the names of every man, woman, and child be registered by the secretary. White's Ten Years in Or., 145-6.
HIST. OR., VOL. I. 17
258
THE SUB-INDIAN AGENT'S COMPANY.
company had turned off from the Santa Fé trail in a north-westerly direction to the crossing of the Kansas River. At this point White startled the company by officially recommending that all the dogs in camp be forthwith killed lest they should go mad upon the arid plains which they were now approaching. King Herod's edict anent the slaughter of the innocents could scarcely have called forth a louder wail of lamentation from the mothers of Judea than was evoked from the women and children of White's party by this proposed immolation of their canine pets and companions. Many of the men, too, pro- tested loudly against the sacrifice; and although when it came to a vote most of them yielded to their leader's wish, yet the measure was so unpopular that it con- tributed largely to the election of L. W. Hastings as captain at the end of the first month.7
At this same camp Columbia Lancaster lost a child, and as the mother was ill, the disheartened parents turned back to Platte City, their starting-point. The Kansas River, the South Platte, and other deep fords were made by placing boards across the tops of the wagon-boxes, on which the load was fastened, while above were perched the women and children. Soon after passing the South Fork, the company was over- taken by Stephen H. L. Meek, a brother of J. L. Meek, then in Oregon, and one Bishop, who was travelling for his health.
After Hastings was elected to succeed White, har- mony no longer prevailed. The determination of the new commander to "govern and not be governed" 8 divided the party into two factions, who marched in separate columns till Fort Laramie was reached on the 23d of June. Here they spent a week in refitting, and during that time Mr Bissonette, who was in charge of the post, managed to bring about a reunion by
7 Lovejoy's Portland, MS., 3. It appears that after all the measure was only partially carried out.
8 Hastings' Or. and Cal., 6, 9.
259
OVER THE MOUNTAINS.
urging that the company would need its full strength while passing through the hostile tribes between Laramie and Fort Hall.
As the emigrants were told that it would be imposs- sible for them to take their oxen and wagons through to Oregon, many sold or exchanged them for horses, the advantage being generally on the side of the fort people.9 They also laid in a fresh stock of provisions, for which they had to pay at the rate of a dollar a pint for flour and a dollar a pound for coffee and sugar. Before leaving Laramie the company was joined by F. X. Matthieu and half a dozen Canadians, who had been in the service of the fur company east of the Rocky Mountains, and were now going to settle in Oregon. They had few supplies, but depended on game for subsistence.10
The company had now no guide for the remainder of the journey, Coats' knowledge of the country ex- tending no farther than Fort Laramie; but they had hardly proceeded a mile from that post before they met Bridger and Fitzpatrick, of the fur companies, the former being on his way to the States with a large
9 They disposed of their wagons and cattle at the fort; selling them at the prices they had paid in the States, and taking in exchange coffee and sugar at one dollar a pound, and miserable, worn-out horses, which died before they reached the mountains. Mr Bondeau informed me that he had purchased 30, and the lower fort 80 head of fine cattle, some of them of the Durham breed.' Frémont's Expeditions, 40-1.
10 F. X. Matthieu was born in 1818, and in 1837, at the time of the Cana. dian rebellion, was clerk in a store in Montreal. Being a rebel, he employed his leisure in purchasing and shipping arms to the centres of rebellion, and was obliged at last to quit Canada, which he did in 1838. He went first to Albany, New York, and afterward to St Louis, where he engaged with the American Fiir Company to trade in the Yellowstone country; and subsequently made an expedition to Santa Fé, from which place he rejoined the fur com- pany at Fort Laramie in 1841, and traded for one year with the natives in the Yellowstone region. But the natives being furnished with rum became too savage and dangerous to deal with, and Matthieu decided to go to Oregon with the emigration. Two of the Canadians with him were Peter Gauthier and Paul Ojet. Matthieu went to Etienne Lucier at Champoeg, where he remained two years, working as a carpenter or farmer as circumstances required. In 1844 he married and settled at St Pauls as a farmer. When the gold fever broke out he went to California for a time. He was afterward elected constable and justice of the peace under the provisional government of Oregon. In 1878 he dictated to my stenographer an account of his adven- tures, which, under the title of Matthieu's Refugee, MS., furnishes several items of interest and importance to this work.
260
THE SUB-INDIAN AGENT'S COMPANY.
quantity of furs, and accompanied through the hostile country by the latter. As Bridger no longer required his services, Fitzpatrick was induced by White, who claims to have acted with authority, to guide the com- pany to Fort Hall at the expense of the government.11
The new guide soon had an opportunity to show his skill in dealing with the natives; for while at Independence Rock, where some of the party were am- bitious to inscribe their names, Hastings and Love- joy, who had fallen behind, were cut off by a party of Sioux, and narrowly escaped to camp after several hours of detention, the savages following, and being met by Fitzpatrick, who succeeded in arranging mat- ters. 12
The Sweetwater was reached on the 13th of July, and here one of the company, a young man named Bailey, was accidently shot by another of the party. At this place all remained for several days to hunt buffalo and to dry the meat. The Sioux, who infested the country in considerable numbers, caused the hunt- ers great annoyance, frequently robbing them of both horses and game, though they were kept at a safe distance from the camp. The last that was seen of them was on a tributary of the Sweetwater, where the principal chiefs were invited to camp and con- ciliated with presents.
As soon as they were clear of the enemy, White and a dozen others who were well mounted pushed on before, taking Fitzpatrick with them. This left Has- tings in charge of the heavier portion of the train, without a guide, and accordingly caused much dissat-
11 Hastings says that White had no authority to employ a guide at the expense of the government. Or. and Cal., 9. Lovejoy, who was Hastings' lieutenant, says the same. Founding of Portland, MS., 7. White undoubtedly had verbal assurances that the necessary expenses of his expedition would be paid, see Letter of J. C. Spencer, in White's Ten Years in Or., 322-5, and was encouraged to expect the protection of Fremont's exploring expedi- tion, which did not, however, leave the frontier until the 10th of June, nor arrive at Laramie until the 15th of July, when White's party had been a week gone.
12 Lovejoy's Portland, MS., 9-18; Hastings' Or. and Cal., 11-17; White's Ten Years, 155-7
261
L. W. HASTINGS' PARTY.
isfaction. At Green River another division occurred. About half the original number of wagons was still retained; and now part persisted in cutting up their wagons and making pack-saddles, and travelling hence- forth with horses. Heavy rain-storms hindered both parties, who arrived at Fort Hall about the same time. Here the emigrants were kindly received by Grant, who sold them flour for half the price paid at Laramie, taking in payment the running-gear of the wagons, which all now agreed to dispense with.13
The company remained at Fort Hall about ten days, except White's party, who started a few days in advance. They lost a man, Adam Horn, the un- fortunate cause of Bailey's death, at the crossing of Snake River below Salmon Falls.14 The doctor and his companions started with McDonald, a Hudson's Bay trader; but the pack-animals not being able to keep up with the fur company's cavalcade, the greater number of the party fell behind, while White and a few others proceeded with McDonald to Walla Walla. The route taken by McDonald and White after leav- ing Fort Boisé was the same as that described by Farnham, through Burnt River Cañon, and Grand Ronde Valley, and thence over the Blue Mountains, which they crossed in two days. From the foot of the mountains an Indian guided White to Whitman's mission. Hastings' party avoided the crossing of Snake River, proceeding along the south side of that stream as far as the lower crossing at Fort Boisé, where they came into the trail of the advance party. They also turned aside to visit Waiilatpu, where they were warmly welcomed by Whitman about the middle
13 White's Ten Years in Or., 164; Hastings' Or. and Cal., 20; Crawford's Missionaries, MS., 24. Attempts have been made to show that the Hudson's Bay Company's officers did what they could to obstruct immigration from the States, and purposely exaggerate the difficulties in order to induce the emi- grants to sell their oxen and wagons at a sacrifice. That such was not the case is proved by Grant's kindness to White's and other parties. He sold them provisions low, and so far from trying to get their wagons, he assured them that they could travel with them as far as Walla Walla without serious interruption. It was their own fault that they did not take his advice.
1+ Crawford's Missionaries, MS., 23.
262
THE SUB-INDIAN AGENT'S COMPANY.
of September. Here they halted several days to re- cruit, and were kept busy answering the eager ques- tions of the isolated missionaries concerning affairs in the States. 15
From Waiilatpu the emigrants proceeded with- out accident to the Willamette Valley, which they reached on the 5th of October, some by Daniel Lee's cattle trail from the Dalles, and others by the trail on the north of the Columbia, swimming their cattle to the south side when opposite the mouth of Sandy River.
White, who appears to have been anxious to reach the settlements as early as possible, arrived at Van- couver about the 20th of September. Considering the circumstances of his departure from Oregon, it was but natural that he should have some feeling of self- importance and exultation on returning as the first officer of the United States appointed in that country. But as his commission as governor, or rather magis- trate, was only verbal, and depended on the will of the colonists, it was prudent at least to ascertain the sentiment of the people, and that, too, before the ar- rival of the Hastings wing of the immigration, whose influence was likely to be thrown against him.
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