USA > Oregon > Pioneer days of Oregon history, Vol. II > Part 6
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The book of mission records, in which the proceedings were recorded of the meeting of the mission board held at Whitman's September, 1842, wherein record was made of such proceedings, was left at Whitman's and was lost or de- stroyed at the time of the massacre.
CHAPTER XLIV
THE PEORIA PARTY-OR EMIGRATION OF 1839
AT an early day, about 1880, I took notes from Joseph Hol- man of his adventures in crossing the plains in 1839-40, for he was one of the nineteen men who left Peoria, Ill., bound for Oregon, in the spring of 1839, which was the first bona fide attempt at emigration for settlement that we have record of.
Mr. Holman was a much respected and well-known citi- zen, now many years deceased, whose friendship I enjoyed, and it is a pleasure to do justice to his memory. He was of English birth, came to America in 1836, resided in Peoria at the time when Rev. Jason Lee lectured there in the win- ter of 1837-38. That lecture was the inducement for this band of adventurers to make that attempt. Holman was a wagonmaker and knew William C. McKay-afterwards Dr. Mckay, grandson of Mrs. McLoughlin, who was then East at school and frequented his shop, telling of the beau- tiful Willamette, the Columbia River region, the salmon run, etc., that interested those who heard.
The company had a two-horse team and some loose horses as far as Independence, Mo., where they changed to saddle horses and pack animals, and went south toward Santa Fé, to Bent's Fort, on the south fork of the Platte, where there was good grass, and plenty of buffalo, that would hardly get out of their way. They lived on "meat straight"
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most of the time to the Columbia River, finally getting out of reach of the American bison.
On the south fork of Platte a war party of Sioux stole two of their horses, but that was all the trouble they had with Indians. They were well armed, while the Sioux had only bows and arrows. They left Independence the last day of May, stopped a month at Bent's Fort, and took a guide to Green River, where they wintered. They reached Brown's Hole the last of September, and found there Jo Meek, Doc Newell, and other free trappers and hunters of that time, with bands of Shoshones, all of whom said: "You should wait till spring," so they built cabins, and went back to Brown's Hole to find buffalo and dry the meat for winter use. They made saddles to exchange at Fort Hall for necessaries.
Some had turned back at Bent's Fort, a few stayed to trap there, several went to Sante Fé. Fletcher and Amos Cook, who after settled in Yamhill County, and Kilburn, who went to California in 1842, came through with Doc Newell to the Columbia. They found deep snows in the mountains and spread down blankets for their horses to walk on, as they also did on frozen creeks. When they were nearly starved they bought Indian dogs to eat ; their horses greedily ate young cotton-woods growing in the creeks. When in deep snows, near Fort Hall, they came across an old buffalo bull when they had had no food for three days.
They were three weeks at Fort Hall waiting for company, then had a pleasant journey to Walla Walla and The Dalles, reaching Vancouver the same day that forty missionaries arrived there by sea. Dr. McLoughlin was astonished to see four men who had crossed the continent alone, and sent
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them to the dairy to get something to eat. They were bare- headed and wore buckskins, but traded for clothes and wore a civilized look once more. Fletcher had some money, but they charged a discount to change it for British coin or goods.
Holman said they were the first who ever came to settle; that even the missionaries did not come to stay, as they did. Of the eighteen who left Peoria in 1839, five reached the Columbia and formed the first bona fide emigration.
Dr. William Geiger was a young physician, of Helvetia, N. Y., who offered his services to the Mission Board but was not accepted, so started in the spring of 1839 to cross the plains on his own account. He found a colony forming in Missouri, that purposed to go through to California; they agreed to work together, Geiger was to go to the Columbia, and within two years was to meet them in Cali- fornia and compare notes, then decide on location. He went to Fort Hall in company with Rev. J. S. Griffin and others, then with one Johnson, who later went to the Islands, pushed on to Whitman's, where they rested a few days, then took the Hudson's Bay Company's trail across the Cascades to the Clackamas. They seemed to have made this arduous journey with little difficulty, nor even any adventures of importance. They found in 1840 Squire Ebberts at Cham- poeg, and Tom Hubbard on French Prairie.
As Shepard, teacher at the mission, was ill, Geiger took the school for the winter, then was arranging to go at practical work with Cornelius Rodgers, but in the spring of 1840 Jason Lee returned with the reinforcement, and as their plans clashed, the mission bought out the claims of Geiger and Rodgers. Remembering the Missouri colony he
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went by sea to California, to find that passengers arriving were forbidden to land unless they could show passports. Oregon had no national official, so they took passage again, with others, for the Sandwich Islands, returning with pass- ports.
Mr. Geiger then went to Captain Sutter's, on the Sacra- mento, who had a Mexican land grant of 200,000 acres, in- cluding the greater part of the upper Sacramento valley. As there was no sign of that Missouri colony, only a few having come through, he remained for nearly two years, helping Captain Sutter, earning nine leagues of land, about 60,000 acres, on the Feather and Yuba Rivers, where the richest gold mines were later discovered. As he was dis- gusted with Mexican social ideas, he sold back his land to Sutter and started East in the fall of 1842.
At Fort Hall he met an American company going to Oregon, with whom were Medorem Crawford and Dr. Elijah White, returning with his commission as Indian agent. So he changed his course, joined this party, went through to the Willamette, took up land near Forest Grove, where he resided when I went there to get his story some forty years later. I shall have occasion to mention Dr. Gei- ger again in the course of this work, but must say here that he was a man who commanded respect as a good citizen and skilful physician. No man at that time had made the jour- ney from the Western border with so little of really striking adventures as did he.
One of the earliest writers on Oregon, whose descriptions were read and are often quoted, was T. J. Farnham, one of the company organized at Peoria in 1839, stimulated to ac- tion by the fact that Jason Lee lectured at Peoria, when he
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was East in the winter of 1837-38, and left an Indian boy, who in his broken way told many stories of Oregon life, scenery, wild game, etc., that were told and retold, causing much interest.
This was the first organized movement to go to Oregon to locate permanently, and though it broke up on the way and drifted on in fragments, yet some who ventured then became prominent residents and helped create history, so deserve mention in this work. That company was organized to go to Oregon to raise the American flag, and that was the prevailing sentiment.
T. J. Farnham was elected as leader ; there were also the following named men, who became valuable citizens : Joseph Holman, Sidney Smith, Robert Shortess, R. L. Kilbourne, Francis Fletcher and Amos Cook. Shortess wrote concern- ing them that they organized in 1839 and started West about May 1st. There were in all nineteen persons ; they carried a flag that had the motto: "Oregon or the Grave !" Their expressed intention was to take possession of the country "In the Name of the United States," and drive out the Hudson's Bay Company, and Farnham expressed confidence that with his nineteen "dragoons" it could be done.
Shortess says they went the Santa Fé road, by advice of Sublette and others, had various adventures, quar- relled, part deserted them; then they fell in with a Santa Fé train, and so reached Bent's Fort, a trading station owned by three Bent brothers. Here division of property was made; then Farnham, Sidney Smith, O. A. Oakley, W. Blair and Joseph Holman went forward under guide of an Arkansas trapper. Shortess and eight others went north, to
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where Denver now is. At Brown's Hole they met Doc Newell and Jo Meek, mountaineers, and joined them to go to Fort Hall. On the way provisions got short and they travelled over snow-covered mountains, killed a wolf one day, and took it along to prevent starvation ; finally reached Fort Hall, a station of the Hudson's Bay Company. There Shortess was left alone to the tender mercies of that com- pany, that he had believed was so tyrannous and hostile to Americans ; he was therefore surprised to receive all possible kindness ; Ermatinger went out of his way to fix up an ex- pedition to send furs to Walla Walla, 500 miles, giv- ing Shortess a chance to earn his way as one of the escort. From Walla Walla he went to Whitman's mission and worked there until spring. On March 12th, he left for the Willamette, solitary and alone, meeting on the river an Indian chief who was going to The Dalles, where he was kindly received by Rev. Perkins. He met there Ben Wright and one Dutton, from Texas, who had crossed the plains the previous year, with whom he crossed the Cascades to the Willamette, reaching French Prairie the middle of April, 1840, where he stopped with Calvin Tibbetts and T. J. Hub- bard, who came with Wyeth in 1832.
Shortess describes the Willamette region at that time, the few settlers enjoying every comfort and plenty, and seem- ing content with their lot; the prairies with rich pasture, many groves of fine timber, and herds of cattle and horses ; fields of wheat that promised rich harvest ; mountain ranges in the distance and snowy peaks piercing the clouds.
Shortess was a man of considerable reading and had been a student of Latin and the English classics, so expressed him- self with eloquent feeling. He worked for James A. O'Neil
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at a dollar a day until the end of June, then went to work at the mission. He was a man who had little regard for religion and often spoke slightingly of the missions, as was the case with many of the borderers.
There were then in the country six men : William Cannon, an American, Joseph Gervais, Etienne Lucier, Antoine Re- voir, Michael Framboise, and Labonte, Canadian French, who were with the American Fur Company in 1812, all well-to-do farmers. His story shows the general good feel- ing of the Indians, and that every mission and Hudson's Bay Company station made welcome the wanderers, often furnishing work to those in need.
As to what became of the rest of the nineteen "Dragoons," who were to run the Hudson's Bay Company out of the country, the party having divided at the Rocky Mountains, Charles Gates left for New Mexico, Robert Moore wintered at St. Vrains, Oakley and Woods were dis- couraged by reports and returned East; Farnham took Smith and Blair as far as Walla Walla, when Blair struck for Lapwai, but afterwards went to California. Sol Smith found his way alone, having quarrelled with Farnham, and worked with Ewing Young at Chehalem, as will appear. Farnham didn't turn the Hudson's Bay Company out of Oregon, but accepted a suit of clothes and passage to the islands, went back home and wrote his book.
It seems that nine of the nineteen actually came through by various routes-Farnham, Shortess, Moore, Smith, Blair, Sol Smith, Holman, Kilbourne and Amos Cook.
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ALVIN T. SMITH, 1840
Following the Peoria party, came a small company from Quincy, Ill., one of whom was Alvin T. Smith, a well- known resident of Washington County. When working up the story of early times in the eighties I visited Mr. Smith at his home, Forest Grove, and obtained the following: In March, 1840, he started with others for the Occident, having heard Theron Baldwin lecture on the "American Indian," referring to the call from the Flatheads for re- ligious teachers. Mr. Smith was a carpenter, at Quincy ; with him were Revs. Harvey Clarke and P. B. Littlejohn, clergymen. Mr. Clarke could not overtake the brigade of the American Fur Company, that started in 1839, so late in the winter came to Quincy and induced Mr. Smith to join a company to plant an independent mission among the Oregon Indians ; as the American Board was short of funds, they proposed to be independent.
They were all newly married and started with their wives: and had two wagons. At Independence Henry Black joined: them ; he was a typical frontiersman and travelled for mere curiosity ; he had no missionary spirit and had lost no wan- dering Flatheads. They got along well and travelled to- gether to Whitman's mission.
At Hickory Grove they joined the American Fur Com- pany's spring brigade, with many mountain men who had carts and mules rigged tandem ; there were thirty-nine who stood guard. The following named came through to Ore- gon : Joel Walker, Pleasant Armstrong, George Davis, and Robert Moore ; Walker had a wife and three children, with a double and single wagon and three horses ; they had little
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patriotic fervor and knew nothing of British occupancy ; but intended to make it American territory, if it became necessary.
Following the brigade, they reached the rendezvous at Green River with no hindrance. There they found gathered whites, half-breeds and Indians, the mixed races usual to the fur trade. Several independent mountaineers escorted them to Fort Hall; one was Doc Newell, another Caleb Wilkins. All went pleasantly, except that the fur traders did not keep the Sabbath, but when past Fort Hall their little party laid by on Sunday while the others pushed forward.
One day, when two horses were missing, Wilkins asked some Indians who were in the company why they had driven them off? When one of them made a saucy reply, Wilkins knocked him down, then told him to go and find the horses, which, sure enough, he did. They brought the wagons to Fort Hall, gave one and the double harness to Bob Newell for acting as pilot, then packed baggage and supplies as they rode horseback themselves. There was a good trail from Boisé ; the ladies had side-saddles and pacing ponies, so got on nicely. They soon had Indian guides to Whit- man's station, that was reached in two days. It was late on the 14th of August that the jaded cavalcade sighted that haven.
They had left eastern civilization behind, but here was a waste spot redeemed from the wilderness ; after thousands of miles of deserts and plains, they found there the germs of civilization growing and blooming on sage plains of the Upper Columbia ; as Smith said, "Never a spot of earth had bloomed and become fragrant to captivate the senses with greater effect than this waste spot, so lately redeemed, pro-
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duced on us." They were hungry for something more akin to their souls than the savage hordes they had met. Here was a home consecrated to higher existence. Whitman made them heartily welcome.
Mr. Clarke went to Kamia; Littlejohn remained with Whitman; Smith stayed a year or so with Spaulding, at Lapwai, helping grow corn and fix up his grist and saw mills ; making a loom and reel for Mrs. Spaulding to use, and teach the Indian girls to weave cloth. They had sheep, saved the wool and soon made good cloth.
In September, 1841, Mr. Smith went to the Willamette valley and located the land claim where this interview was had forty-four years later, in 1885. Mr. Clarke and Mr. Littlefield, with their families, soon followed and took land near by; but the latter eventually returned East. Many pleasant incidents of that journey furnished a fund of anecdote to last their lifetimes, and there was no unpleasant jar or clash of interests to disturb pleasant memories. They started with seventeen head of good cattle, but had to leave them, as they got footsore, but they were exchanged at Fort Hall for Mexican stock to be delivered in Oregon.
Ermatinger made a number of good trades with the emi- grants of 1840, some of which were not much to his credit, as he deceived people to get advantage of them. It was rather tough on men who had come so far and had dared so much, and who put faith in his word, so took his assurance that the eight mules they had would be worthless in the lower country and exchanged them for small Indian ponies of little worth anywhere, to have him afterwards send those same mules to Vancouver and prove more valuable than many such ponies.
·
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This was one instance of ill-doing, but against it is the fact that usually the agents of the Hudson's Bay Company treated emigrants with generous kindness.
This closes the narrative of the various efforts to cross the continent to Oregon in the years 1839 and 1840.
CHAPTER XLV
SETTLERS IN OREGON UP TO 1842
W. H. Gray's history gives a list of arrivals in Oregon up to and including the year 1840, after which date the stream of emigration was continuous. He was at pains to be accurate, and was so, with a few omissions. With as- sistance of Bancroft's work and other sources, I make the following list. Colonel Nesmith told of DeLoar, who lived near Champoeg, said to have come with Lewis and Clark in 1805, and entered the Hudson's Bay service later. W. H. Rees told of Philip Degie, a Canadian, who came with the explorers, lived on French Prairie and died in 1847, aged one hundred and eight years. It is thought they were the same persons.
Thomas Mckay arrived on the Tonquin, had a farm at Scappoose, wife a native Chinook woman; was father of Alexander, John, William, and Donald, all well known later.
Settlers on French Prairie were Joseph Gervais, who came with Wilson G. Hunt, in 1812, located on French Prairie, where town is named for him; married a Chinook woman ; also Michael Framboise came on Tonquin. Lewis La Bonte came with Hunt in 1812, wife was a Chinook. Etienne Lucier came with Hunt, claimed to be first settler, wife a native.
William Cannon, from Pennsylvania, came 1812, lived awhile at Vancouver. Antoine Revoir and Du Bruil were Canadians.
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T. J. Hubbard came with Wyeth, lived and died where town is named for him on French Prairie.
James O'Neil, a Wyeth man, located west of the Willa- mette. Burdett, Greely, Ball, St. Clair, Whittier, and Brock, who came with Wyeth, left the country. Turnbull died at Vancouver.
In 1834 there came with Hall J. Kelley from California, Ewing Young, who became famous, as we shall see. Also, John McCarty, Webly Hawkshurst, Lawrence Carmichael, Joseph Gale, John Howard, Brandywine and George Win- slow, colored.
Hawkshurst ended his days at good age, on his farm near Salem, on Mill Creek. He was an excellent man.
Joseph Gale located on the Tualatin, and was a feature in forming the Provisional Government. His last home was in Grande Ronde valley.
John Howard was one of the fifty-two who voted to organize the Provisional Government in 1843, at Champoeg. He was elected a major at the first election. Elijah Ezekiel is only reported to have worked at the mission. Nothing more is known. Carmichael was one of the Cattle Com- pany that went to California for cattle. There is no later mention of Brandywine, nor of Winslow.
In 1834 came the mission ship with Jason Lee and his first company.
In 1835 came Rev. Parker, overland, sent to see the coun- try by the American Board of Missions.
In 1836 there came across the plains Revs. Whitman, Spaulding and W. H. Gray, and their wives, missionaries of the American Board.
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In 1837 came the Methodist reinforcement for the Meth- odist mission.
In 1837 Daniel Miller, John Woodworth, Saunders and an Irishman came from California. Turner was killed by accident in California.
Dr. Bailey was a young physician, born in England, well educated, and is well known in Oregon history.
Gay was a young Englishman who took part in the form- ation of the Provisional Government.
In 1838 came Rev. Elkanah Walker and wife ; Rev. Cush- ing Eells and wife; Rev. A. B. Smith and wife; and Mrs. Mary A. Gray, of the American Board.
James Conner and native wife came from the Rocky Mountains, also Richard Williams.
In 1838 Rev. F. N. Blanchet and Rev. Modeste Demers located Catholic missions.
In 1839 Rev. J. S. Griffin, independent missionary, set- tled on Tualatin Plains ; also Asahel Munger and wife. Munger became deranged and committed suicide.
E. O. Hall came that year with the first printing press, from the Sandwich Islands.
The same year the Peoria party, and others who came with Farnham, crossed the plains: Farnham, Sidney W. Smith, Mr. Lawson, Ben Wright, Dr. William Geiger, Mr. Keizer, John E. Pickernell and A. T. Smith, who spent a long life on Tualatin Plains. Ben Wright must have been the same who became the celebrated Indian fighter of Cali- fornia twenty years later.
In 1839, Captain John H. Couch came with the brig Maryland, from Newburyport, Mass., and located his land claim at North Portland.
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G. W. LeBreton came with the Maryland and was active in pioneer annals, until killed in an affray with the Indian Cock Stock.
William Johnson, an English sailor, took up his land claim south of Portland.
Richard Eakin, English by birth, married an Indian woman, had his home on the Willamette a few miles south of Salem, had a large family and was a good citizen.
In 1840 came the Lausanne, with the great Methodist reinforcement, whose story is told in full.
This year Robert Moore, Amos Cook, Francis Fletcher and Joseph Holman, of the Peoria party, reached Oregon and located permanently.
Rev. Harvey Clarke and wife this year settled on Tualatin Plains, where he lived a useful life and laid the foundation for Pacific University.
In 1840 the following-named Rocky Mountain men aban- doned hunting life to make homes in the Willamette valley.
Jo Meek, Caleb Wilkins, Doc Newell, W. M. Doty [or Doughty ], John Larrison, with whom lived Baptiste De- Guerre, Philip Thompson, and G. W. Ebberts.
In 1842 William Craig, Russell Osborn, Dick Mccrary, followed them.
This brings the list of arrivals and settlers down to the time when heavy emigrations commenced, in 1843, and will serve to afford an idea of what existed in Oregon at that time.
It is also true that many connected with the Hudson's Bay Company eventually made homes and became perma- nent settlers, but this refers only to American settlers, as. stated.
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Robert Shortess came about 1840, and appears in the early annals of the Provisional Government, but did not re- main in public life. About this time, the Hudson's Bay Com- pany encouraged emigration from the Red River country, of Canada, to Puget Sound, in the interest of the Puget Sound Agricultural Association ; but they were disappointed in the Nesqually country and removed to the Willamette valley.
Emigrants of 1842 who remained as permanent settlers were: Pleasant Armstrong, of Yamhill, Hugh Burns, of Willamette Falls, Medorem Crawford, of Yamhill, David Carter, Portland Heights, J. L. Morrison, Portland, John and James Force, settled at Salem, S. W. Moss, Oregon City, J. W. Perry, Clatsop, J. R. Robb, Portland, Thomas Shadden, Yamhill, Darling Smith, Tualatin, F. W. Petty- grove, Portland, and later settled Port Townsend, Puget Sound; Elbridge Trask, Russell Osborn and William Craig.
CHAPTER XLVI
EMIGRATION OF 1842
THE first emigration that came in actual volume was that of 1842. Before that various companies had crossed the plains, as the Astor Expedition, mission parties, L. J. Wyetlı, Hall J. Kelley and Ewing Young and others, but there was no organized effort to create settlement, though various individuals had remained, taken up land and were citizens. This first emigration originated, as I shall show, with that eccentric genius Dr. Elijah White, who was re- turning to Oregon in an official capacity and made up the company of one hundred and twelve persons who came across that year.
One of the bright minds of the early time was Medorem Crawford, who came that year, and told the story of it in his address before the pioneers of Yamhill, at McMinn- ville, June 14, 1881. This he sent me, with annotations, after it was published. In the spring of 1842 Dr. Elijah White, an old acquaintance of his family, visited his home, in the State of New York, and told them of Oregon, its soil, climate and scenery, so Medorem, then scarce more than a boy, decided to go with him. March 17th, in company with Dr. White, Nathaniel Crocker, John and Alexander McKay, he left home for the first time. By stage and steamboat, via Seneca Lake, Lake Erie, and the Ohio, Mis- sissippi and Missouri Rivers, they reached Independence May 1st, the extreme frontier at that time and the resort
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