USA > Oregon > History of Oregon, Vol. I, 1834-1848 > Part 37
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From and after this session of congress, for a period of more than three years, the subject of the occupa- tion of the Columbia was suffered to lie perdu in the minds of the people of the United States, except as attention was called to it by the writings of Hall J. Kelley, or by some more obscure person. For this silence there is an explanation in the probable desire of the president that the negotiations between Great Britain and the United States should not become more involved by any overt act. The negotiations being finally terminated in 1827 by an indefinite re- newal of the convention of 1818, which could be ter- minated by either party on a year's notice, left the subject where it was before they were commenced.
In December 1828 Floyd returned to the contest, being, as he said, more convinced than ever before of the importance of the question. In a speech of some length he reverted to the movement of population westward, and the means resorted to by governments to prevent it private enterprise being always in the
14 Long's Erped., ii. 350-61.
*
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OREGON BEFORE CONGRESS.
advance. He referred as in former speeches to the commercial advantages of the Columbia; and warned congress of the loss with which the country was threatened through the occupancy of Great Britain, citing a fact, as he believed, of much significance, that an act of parliament of 1821 had extended the civil jurisdiction of the courts of Upper Canada, " within the Indian territories and other parts of America, not within the limits of Upper or Lower Canada, or of any civil governments of the United States;" includ- ing in this description not only the territory west of Canada, and north of latitude 49°, but all of the terri- tory of the United States not yet erected into ter- ritorial organizations. " This insolent and outrageous act," exclaimed Floyd, "we ought promptly and effi- ciently to resist and repel." 15 A citizen of the United States, west of Arkansas, he said, under this act might be taken to Upper Canada, and tried for his life. The country ought not for a moment to submit to it. " If England has not yet learned to respect the sov- ereignty and rights of the confederacy, she must be taught that lesson ; and, sir, it must and shall be taught her ; and that, too, at no distant day, in a way which she will not easily forget." The remainder of Floyd's speech was devoted to an exposition of the profits of the fur trade, and to strictures on the tariff regula- tions, which prevented the American from realizing the same benefits enjoyed by the British trader, who introduced his goods free of duty, and sold them at an advance of more than a hundred per cent, while the American trader, selling at the same price, made no profit at all;16 and to the importance of the mouth of the Columbia as a naval station, either for the pro- tection of commerce, or in case of war as a port from
15 Congressional Debates, 1828-9, v. 193.
16 This difference operated in two ways against the American traders, as they found to their cost. Either they must sell inferior goods at the price asked by the English traders, or they must consent to sell without profit, either course being ruinons to their business, as the natives soon learned to know good articles, and to carry their furs where they brought the most.
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FRESH PROPOSALS.
which the vessels of the United States could annoy the East India trade of Great Britain.
In the course of the debate which followed, the result of the former agitation was strongly brought out in the fact that three several companies of emi- grants were petitioning congress for land grants in Oregon, one of which in Massachusetts numbered three thousand persons,17 farmers, artisans, and others. Neither of the three obtained a grant, because it was objected that two schemes of settlement, one by the government and another by private individuals, were incompatible; and because the plan of granting exclu- sive privileges to one class of citizens was not repub- lican in spirit.18
The question was again discussed at length, occupy- ing the greater portion of the time of the house for more than two weeks, from December 23d to January 9th. New men took up the discussion ; 19 but new arguments were difficult to find. The expediency, and not the right of making settlements, was the subject of doubt, as it had been in 1821 and 1825. Yet it was acknowledged that delay, by strengthening the number of British posts, increased the difficulty. The question of the con- flicting sovereignty claims was referred to oftener than in former debates; but only added to the more easily understood obstacles of expense, and the objections to making land grants before the boundary should be settled. At length, after amending the bill several times, it stood as follows, in four sections: First, au- thorizing the president to erect a fort or forts west of the Rocky Mountains, between latitudes 42° and 54° 40', and to garrison them; second, authorizing
17 This was the association formed by Hall J. Kelley. The others were a Louisiana company headed by John M. Bradford, and an Ohio company headed by Albert Town.
18 The Louisiana company petitioned for a tract of 40 miles square, which Gurley of Louisiana insisted upon their right to have granted to them; and suggested that the Massachusetts company be granted permission to erect a fort on certain conditions.
19 Everett of Massachusetts, Polk of Tennessee, Bates of Missouri, and other able mnen.
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OREGON BEFORE CONGRESS.
the president to cause the territory to be explored by engineers, selected by himself, accompanied by a military escort; and also authorizing the delay of the troops mentioned in the first article until the exploration should have been completed; third, en- acting that any citizen of the United States who should commit any crime or misdemeanor in the territory should, on conviction, suffer the penalty at- tached to the same offence in any district of country under the sole jurisdiction of the United States; the trial to take place in the first district where he might. be apprehended or brought, that was under the laws of the United States; the courts being by this act in- vested with the power to try such offenders in the same manner as if the crimes had been committed in the district; fourth, the sum of $25,000 was appropri- ated to carry into effect the provisions of the act.
But although this bill seemed free from the objec- tionable features of the previous ones, it was rejected when it came to a third reading, by a vote of ninety- nine to seventy-five.20
When Floyd's congressional term ended, no suc- cessor was found to take up the subject where he had left it. But he had succeeded in infusing into the minds of the American people a romantic interest in the Oregon Territory, and above all a patriotic feeling of resistance to the reputed aggressions of the British in that quarter, which eventually served the purpose for which he labored, the settlement of the country by citizens of the United States. American traders pushed their enterprises beyond the Rocky Moun- tains, and to the Columbia River, attempting to com- pete with the English company, but failing for the reasons he had pointed out. Through these traders the missionary societies heard of the superior tribes of red men in the Oregon Territory who sought a knowledge of the white man's God, and prepared to respond to the call, with the results which have
20 Congressional Debatex, 1828-9, v. 125-53, 168-75, 187-92.
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VALUE OF THE COUNTRY.
been recorded in previous chapters of this history. The enthusiast Kelley, having failed in securing a grant of land, finally reached Oregon, sick, and in poverty and unmerited disgrace, to be rescued from perishing by the foreign company he had beforehand determined to regard with suspicion and hatred. But the little company he persuaded to accompany him from California as colonists really became such, and together with the missionaries, formed the nucleus round which grew a population which soon rivalled the fur company. I have shown how this little colony was encouraged and fostered by the heads of the gov- ernment; how President Jackson sent Slacum to inquire into their condition; how the Mission colony was assisted; the commander of the Pacific exploring squadron ordered to examine into their causes of com- plaint; and how Elijah White was commissioned sub- agent of Indian affairs to keep up their courage and loyalty.
Between 1829 and 1837 the people as well as con- gress had become comparatively well informed as to the value of the Oregon Territory, its natural resources, independent of the fur trade, and its commercial posi- tion with regard to the coast of Asia; nearly every person known to have returned from that quarter having been put upon the witness-stand. On the 16th of October of the latter year, a resolution was passed in the senate, requesting the president to inform that body at its next session of any corre- spondence between the United States government and any foreign power relative to the occupation of the territory of the United States west of the Rocky Mountains. The president's reply, made in December, was, that since the convention of 1827 no such cor- respondence had taken place; those negotiations being communicated in confidence to the senate in the early part of the 20th session of congress.21
21 25th Cong., 2d Sess., Sen. Doc., i. 39.
HIST. OR., VOL. I. 24
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OREGON BEFORE CONGRESS.
The 7th of February, 1838, Lewis F. Linn, senator from Missouri, introduced a bill for the occupation of the Columbia River, the establishment of a territory north of latitude 42° and west of the Rocky Moun- tains, to be called the Oregon Territory; the erection of a fort on the Columbia, and occupation of the coun try by a military force; the establishment of a port of entry, and requiring the country to be held sub- ject to the revenue laws of the United States, with an appropriation of $50,000 for the purposes men- tioned in the bill. This was referred to the committee on military affairs. After some discussion of the ques- tion of title, Benton procured the reference of the bill to a select committee of which Linn was chair- man.
This led to a resolution that the secretary of war be requested to furnish the senate with all the infor- mation in his department relating to the Oregon Ter- ritory, and with a map embracing recent discoveries of all the country claimed by the United States in the region between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Out of a mass of material obtained from this and every other available source, Linn pre- pared his report, which was presented to the senate on the 6th of June. After referring to the message of President Monroe recommending that a military post should be established at the mouth of the Colum- bia, or at some other point within the acknowledged limits of the United States, which should afford pro- tection to American commerce on the Pacific Ocean, and his suggestion with regard to an armed frigate to explore the mouth of the Columbia and the coast contiguous thereto, for which he advised an appropri- ation by congress sufficient for the purpose; and after alluding to the subsequent negotiations with Great Britain which ended in nothing definite concerning title; and after referring to the mission of Slacum- he entered on a history of the several treaties with Great Britain affecting the title, and the correspond-
371
REPEATED FAILURES.
ence on the subject between the two governments having adverse claims, taking the American view of the question that the line between them could not fall below the 49th parallel.
He pointed out that the occupation by the United States of the Columbia River would secure the sources of vast wealth in the fur trade, the fisheries, the trade with China, Japan, and the Orient generally, and with the Hawaiian Islands and California. He dwelt on the importance of a harbor on the north- west coast of America, where the whaling fleet of the Pacific might refit, and prophesied that direct communication between the Atlantic and Pacific would soon be opened by a canal across the isthmus of Darien, by which the whole trade of the eastern hemisphere would be changed in its course, which would then be toward the shores of North America. He spoke of the ease with which the Rocky Moun- tains could be crossed by the passes discovered by the fur-hunters, of the magnificent scenery described by travellers, of the fertility of the soil, and the mildness of the climate, testified to by various authorities. To conclude, the title of the United States was asserted by the committee to be beyond doubt, the possession of the country important, and delay in occupying it dangerous. The committee therefore reported a bill authorizing the president to employ in that quar- ter such portions of the army and navy of the United States as he might deem necessary to the protection of the American residents in that country.
Although ardently labored for, the bill for the oc- cupation of Oregon failed of its passage in the senate. But Linn's report furnished that kind of information to the American people in which they were deeply interested. Pioneer sons of pioneer ancestors, they delighted in the thought of founding another empire on the Pacific Ocean as their sires had done on the Atlantic seaboard. Resolutions began to be adopted by the legislative assemblies of different states favor-
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OREGON BEFORE CONGRESS.
ing the speedy settlement of the Oregon boundary, and its occupation by the government.22
On the 11th of December, 1838, Linn introduced a second bill for the occupation of the Oregon Territory, and the protection of citizens of the United States residing there, which was referred, as before, to a special committee of which he was chairman, his fellow-committeemen being Clay, Calhoun, Walker, and Pierce. In January 1839 the petition of which Jason Lee was bearer was presented, and ordered printed; and the correspondence between Cushing and Lee, given in a former chapter, took place; all of which went to strengthen Linn's position and inform the public. On the 22d of February Linn spoke on his bill, against the advice of other senators, who feared the effect of the agitation of such a measure on the attitude of Great Britain in disputes of another nature involving the Maine boundary and some im- portant commercial interests; but in deference to this feeling, refrained from asking that it might be put to vote. It was referred to the committee on foreign relations, and five thousand extra copies ordered printed, the circulation of which aided in forming public sentiment.
About the same time Cushing, chairman of the house committee on foreign affairs, to whom was submitted a resolution "to inquire into the expedi- ency of establishing a post on the River Columbia, for the defence and occupation of the territory of the United States watered by said river, the extent of the country claimed by the United States west of the Rocky Mountains, the title under which it is claimed, with its correctness, the extent of sea-coast and number of harbors, the nature of the soil, climate, and productions, the expense of establishing one or more forts, what ships and what soldiers and sailors would be required," and all questions concerning occu-
22.I believe the first resolution of this kind offered was by the legislature of Illinois, in 1838-9. See 26th Cong., 1st Sess., Sen. Doc., iii. 93.
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LEWIS F. LINN.
pation, presented a report adverse to the expediency of establishing a territorial government. The rea- son given by the committee for making an adverse report was that they were "anxious to observe the letter and spirit of the treaties between the United States and Great Britain." Yet they accompanied their report by a communication from the secretary of war, and another from the secretary of the navy, con- taining estimates of the expense which would probably be incurred in " certain assumed contingencies contem- plated by the order of the house; " by the letter and petition of Jason Lee before adverted to; by a memoir from Wyeth on the soil, climate, and resources of the country, and the business of the Hudson's Bay Com- pany, representing the value of the fur trade; by a letter from the secretary of the Oregon Provisional Emigration Society, to which reference has been made in one of the early chapters of this volumne, with a copy of the constitution of the society; and by Sla- cum's report, and a memoir by Kelley. Of this volu- minous document, the whole of which took, from having so much in it that was furnished by persons interested in the occupation of Oregon, a tone of accusation and enmity toward the British fur company, ten thousand extra copies were ordered printed, which were scattered broadcast over the land, educating the people to an exalted idea of the worth of the Oregon country, and at the same time to a hatred of the British traders who had so far succeeded in driving out of it Amer- ican competitors.23
On the 18th of December Linn again called the attention of the senate to a series of resolutions on the subject of Oregon, which were referred as usual to a select committee, who reported, on the 31st of March, 1840, a substitute, asserting the title of the United States to Oregon, authorizing the president to take such measures as might be demanded for the protection of the persons and property of citizens of
23 See 25th Cong., 3d Sess., Sup. H. Rept. 101.
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OREGON BEFORE CONGRESS.
the United States residing in that territory, to erect a line of military posts from Fort Leavenworth to the Rocky Mountains, for the protection of the Indian trade, and provided also for the appointment of an Indian agent for Oregon Territory. The chief feature in these resolutions was a provision for granting to each white male inhabitant over eighteen years of age one thousand acres of land.
This was the measure of the 'liberal grant' to set- tlers, which was, on the suggestion of Jason Lee, to reward the pioneers of Oregon, a suggestion which was eagerly caught at by the western people. A petition was presented to congress at this session from twenty- seven citizens of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, setting forth that in their opinion the United States govern- ment should plant a colony in the Oregon Territory, giving it such nurture in its infancy as to enable it to establish itself permanently, and to develop the natural resources of the country, making it contribute to the national wealth. They believed it necessary to the success of the enterprise that a road should be cut 24 from some point on the Missouri River to Astoria, at the mouth of the Columbia. "As soon as this passage can be opened," said the petitioners, " a colony of farmers and mechanics should be con- ducted across the mountains and settled, with a mili- tary power stationed, strong enough to protect the colony. Donations of land should be made to those who would become actual settlers, sufficiently large to induce emigration. At convenient distances across the mountains, small garrisons should be placed to protect travellers from the hostilities of the Indians." These measures it was thought would secure a more important commercial position than any yet enjoyed by the United States.25
Forty-four citizens of Indiana also petitioned con-
24 The word 'cut' comes well from inhabitants of a timbered country like Kentucky, but scarcely applies to the western prairies.
25 26th Cong., 1st Sess., Sen. Doc. 172.
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PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS.
gress for the "occupation and settlement of Oregon Territory, and the construction of a road thereto;" and remonstrating against the proposed ship canal across the isthmus of Darien; urging as a reason for the construction of a national road to the Pacific, that the commerce of the United States was then, and had always been, exposed to the dangers of the stormy seas of the high southern latitudes, with long voyages at great expense and toil; whereas these dangers might be avoided, or greatly lessened, by an inland and coast trade, and a route across the continent to a point on the Columbia which could be reached by sea-going vessels from the Pacific side. These memo- rialists were, like those of Kentucky, of opinion that the United States ought to induce emigration by liberal grants of land to persons removing with their families to Oregon; and suggested that alternate sec- tions might be reserved, as their value would be greatly enhanced by the settled portions; and also that grants should be confined to a limit within ten miles of the Willamette River,26 in order to secure the early sup- port of steamboat navigation.27
A similar memorial was presented by the legisla- tive assembly of Missouri, asking for grants of land to settlers.28 On the 26th of February a report was made to the senate by the secretary of war, in reply to a resolution asking his opinion of the expediency of establishing a line of military posts from the Mis- souri River, near the mouth of the Platte, to the pass or passes of the Rocky Mountains, with the object to protect the American fur trade, to facilitate intercourse between the valley of the Mississippi and the Pacific Ocean, and to hold in check the native tribes; also the number and kind of troops which would be required for such service, the probable cost of keeping up the posts, and whether it would be
26 The memorial reads, 'the navigable branch of the Oregon River.'
27 26th Cong., 1st Sess., Sen. Doc. 244.
28 26th Cong., 1st Sess., Sen. Doc. 40.
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OREGON BEFORE CONGRESS.
necessay to increase the military force of the United States in order to garrison such establishments
Poinsett's report set forth that the question as to expenditures and troops could not be satisfactorily answered before the completion of certain explorations undertaken by his direction, and which were expected to be extended to the passes of the Rocky Mountains during the summer. He however believed that a line of posts such as proposed would be of great bene- fit to the whole stretch of country to be traversed; and that the route ordinarily pursued by the fur- traders would be the most practicable line, for various reasons, including its directions, and its being per- pendicular to a line of defences on the frontiers of Arkansas, Missouri, and Iowa. Three posts were con- sidered to be sufficient to "prepare the way for the peaceable settlement of the fertile valleys west of the Rocky Mountains;" one at the junction of the north and south forks of the Platte, and another at the con- fluence of the Laramie branch of that river. The third might be either at the junction of Wind River and Popoagie, the principal sources of the Big Horn, or at the confluence of Horse Creek, called by travel- lers the Seedskeeder, with the Colorado. And to these, the secretary thought, the stations for the present might be limited. "Under their shelter the rich and fertile valleys west of the mountains may be settled and cultivated by a population which would pour forth its numbers to the shores of the Pacific as soon as the question of boundary shall be definitively settled." 29
Such was the not very intelligent report of the secretary of war in 1840. It is doubtful if he, or any of those persons, citizens or others, who talked of a road or a line of forts to the Pacific, at all compre- hended the fact that when the Rocky Mountains were reached there remained the hardest, if not the most dangerous, part of the route, or that a colony
29 26th Cong., 1st Sess., Sen. Doc. 231.
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REPORTS RECEIVED.
transported to the western base of the Rocky Moun- tains would be hopelessly removed from a source of supplies on either side of the continent for at least half the year.
Soon after the resolution above referred to had been reported to the senate, Linn was placed in possession of Farnham's letter to the secretary of war, with the petition which accompanied it, and which was drawn up during his visit to the Willamette Valley, complaining of the introduction of English emigrants by the Hudson's Bay Company, the pre- tended recent extension of the laws of Canada over the inhabitants of Oregon, and exhibiting alarm lest the company entertained hostile intentions toward American settlers. Acting upon this information, Linn introduced, on the 28th of April, a bill to extend a portion of the laws of the United States over the territory of Oregon. On the 24th of May, on his motion, the Oregon resolutions were made the special order of the day for a fortnight thence; but by the advice of other senators, were posponed for the time, lest their consideration by the senate at this juncture should prejudice the adjustment of important ques- tions then pending between the United States and Great Britain.30 In the mean time, Captain Spauld- ing's report had reached Washington, and although the same cause for silence existed, on the 8th of Jan- uary, 1841, Linn brought the topic, of which he was now the acknowledged apostle in the senate, to the attention of that body, by moving a joint resolution to authorize the adoption of measures for the occupa- tion and settlement of the Oregon Territory, and for extending certain portions of the laws of the United States over it. The resolution was referred, as before, to a select committee of which Linn was chairman, who reported it to the senate, without amendment,
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