Chapter VIII: Part 8

Thurston, in this speech, took up the Shortess petition and read numerous parts of it. He said in reference to the phrase that the petitioners hoped that Dr. McLoughlin never would own his land claim, that that is "just what the land bill provides for." Referring to the assertion in the Shortess petition that Dr. McLoughlin "says the land is his, and every person building without his permission is held as a trespasser," Thurston said: "What do you think of this, Mr. Speaker? An Englishman holding an _American citizen_ a trespasser for settling on American soil, where the American Government had invited him! This, sir, was before the treaty [of 1846] and before the Provisional Government was formed, and when one American citizen had as good a right to settle there as another, and all a better right than Dr. McLoughlin. Yet this barefaced Jesuit has the effrontery to pretend he did not hold that claim by dint of threats." Thurston does not explain how the American Government invited the immigrants prior to 1847 to settle in Oregon. The truth is that the American settlers who left the East prior to 1849 went on their own initiative. They were neither invited nor helped nor protected by the Government, until after the establishment of the Territorial Government in 1849. Under the Conventions of joint-occupancy Dr. McLoughlin had the same rights, up to the Treaty of 1846, as a British subject, that any citizen of the United States had--no more, no less. This, Thurston as a lawyer, knew.

After quoting further from the Shortess petition, Thurston said: "Now, Mr. Speaker, all this was before the Provisional Government was in operation--before the treaty, when no man had any right to meddle with the soil. Who can contemplate the helpless condition of these few and feeble American citizens, at that time and place, struggling for life, and for subsistence, thus kicked and buffeted round at the mercy of one of the most powerful corporations on earth, headed by a man whose intrigues must have furnished Eugene Sue with a clue to his 'Wandering Jew,'--who, I say, sir, can thus contemplate our flesh, and blood, and kindred, with their land, their houses, their all, thus posted up, and declared subject to _any_ disposition this unfeeling man might make of them without shedding tears of pity for their distress.... Now, sir, just turn to my correspondence in letters one and two, where he tells you, if a man settled where the company did not allow him to, he paid the _forfeiture with his life_, or from _necessity_ was compelled to yield. And here, again, the names of Wait and Thornton rise up before me, and while reading their laudations of McLoughlin, I can think of nothing but two Jews lauding Judas Iscariot....

"This petition is signed by many persons, many of whom I know, who are now living in Oregon. I can bear unqualified testimony to their character in society, to their honor and to their veracity. I undertake to say, that not a word is uttered in it but the truth, and it is susceptible of any reasonable proof. I know the gentleman who wrote the original, whom to know is to respect, to listen to, to believe. He is a gentleman of the highest standing in Oregon, of some twelve or fourteen years' residence, and who would be universally believed on any subject on which he would presume to speak. That gentleman informs me that every word of it is true to the letter.... If in the mouth of two or three witnesses all things are established, then surely sixty-five men are good evidence of the facts stated in the petition to which their names were attached, and, then, you and the country can judge whether this man McLoughlin, by whom all the abuses here complained of were dictated, is entitled to receive gratuities of the American Government for such rascalities, or whether the people of Oregon owe him a debt of gratitude which they refuse to pay."

Thurston set forth the letter of Dr. McLoughlin to Robert Shortess, dated at Vancouver, April 13, 1843, in which Dr. McLoughlin wrote: "I am informed that you have circulated a petition for signatures, complaining of me, and of the Hudson's Bay Company. I hope you will, in common fairness, give me a copy of the petition, with the names of those who signed it, that I may know what is said against us, and who those _are_ who think they have cause of complaint against us." Thurston said: "The _names_ must be given, and for what? I will not say whether as a sure guide to the tomahawk of the Indian, or as a precursor to death by combined and grinding oppression--I leave this to the witnesses who have already spoken. But could you read in the records of heaven the deeds of this power in Oregon, while you would admire the consummate skill with which they were conducted, your whole moral nature would be shocked by the baseness of the design, and the means for their accomplishment."

Thurston in this speech, without giving names, gave excerpts from a number of letters he had received, sustaining his actions against Dr. McLoughlin in the Donation Land Bill. Shameful as Thurston's actions were against Dr. McLoughlin, Thurston had reason to believe that his actions were sustained and approved by leaders and members of the party which had elected him. Those who thus abetted Thurston in his misstatements and actions against Dr. McLoughlin were as culpable as Thurston was--they became his accessories. Some of these afterwards were ashamed of their actions against Dr. McLoughlin. Their repentances, although late, are commendable.

DOCUMENT O

_Correspondence of S. R. Thurston, Nathaniel J. Wyeth, Robert C.
Winthrop and Dr. John McLoughlin, published in the "Oregon Spectator,"
April 3, 1851._

"Chicopee, Mass., Nov. 16, 1850."

"Capt. Nath. J. Wyeth:

"My Dear Sir--You will excuse me, I am sure, when I assure you
I am from Oregon, and her delegate to the Congress of the
United States, for addressing you for a purpose of interest to
the country to which I belong.

"I desire you to give me as correct a description as you can at
this late period, of the manner in which you and your party,
and your enterprise in Oregon, were treated by the Hudson's Bay
Company, and particularly by Doc. John McLoughlin, then its
Chief Factor. This Dr. McLoughlin has, since you left the
country, rendered his name odious among the people of Oregon,
by his endeavors to prevent the settlement of the country, and
to cripple its growth.

"Now that he wants a few favors of our Government, he pretends
that he has been the long tried friend of Americans and
American enterprise west of the mountains. Your early reply
will be highly appreciated, both for its information, and your
relation to my country.

"I am, sir, yours very truly,
"S. R. THURSTON."

"Cambridge, Nov. 21, 1850."

"Hon. Sam'l R. Thurston:

"Dear Sir--Your favor of the 16th inst., was received on the
19th. The first time I visited the Columbia, in the autumn of
1832, I reached Vancouver with a disorganized party of ten
persons, the remnant of twenty-four who left the States. Wholly
worn out and disheartened, we were received cordially, and
liberally supplied, and there the party broke up. I returned to
the States in the Spring of 1833 with one man. One of the
party, Mr. John Ball, remained and planted wheat on the
Willamette, a little above Camp du Sable, having been supplied
with seed and implements from Vancouver, then under the charge
of John McLoughlin, Esq., and this gentleman I believe to have
been the first American who planted wheat in Oregon. I returned
to the country in the autumn of 1834, with a large party and
more means, having on the way built Fort Hall, and there met a
brig which I sent around the Horn. In the winter and spring of
1835, I planted wheat on the Willamette and on Wappatoo Island.

"The suffering and distressed of the early American visitors
and settlers on the Columbia were always treated by Hudson's
Bay Company's agents, and particularly so by John McLoughlin,
Esq., with consideration and kindness, more particularly the
Methodist Missionaries, whom I brought out in the autumn of
1834. He supplied them with the means of transportation, seeds,
implements of agriculture and building, cattle and food for a
long time.

"I sincerely regret that the gentleman, as you state, has
become odious to his neighbors in his old age.

"I am your ob't serv't,
"NATH. J. WYETH."

"Cambridge, Nov. 28, 1850."

"Hon. Robert C. Winthrop:

"Dear Sir--I have received a letter from Sam'l R. Thurston, of
which the following is a portion:

"'I desire you to give me as correct a description as you can
at this late period, of the manner in which you and your party,
and your enterprise in Oregon, were treated by the Hudson's
Bay Company west of the Rocky mountains, and particularly by
Dr. John McLoughlin, then its Chief Factor. This Dr. McLoughlin
has since you left the country, rendered his name odious among
the people of Oregon, by his endeavors to prevent the
settlement of the country and cripple its growth. Now that he
wants a few favors of our Government, he pretends that he has
been the long-tried friend of Americans and American enterprise
west of the mountains.'

"I have written Mr. Thurston, in reply to the above extract,
that myself and parties were kindly received, and were treated
well in all respects by J. McLoughlin, Esq., and the officers
of the Hudson's Bay Co.; but from the tenor of his letter, I
have no confidence that my testimony will be presented before
any committee to whom may be referred any subjects touching the
interests of said John McLoughlin, Esq.

"The very honorable treatment received by me from Mr.
McLoughlin during the years inclusive from 1832 to 1836, during
which time there were no other Americans on the Lower Columbia,
except myself and parties, calls on me to state the facts.

"The purpose of this letter is to ask the favor of you to
inform me what matter is pending, in which Mr. McLoughlin's
interests are involved, and before whom, and if you will
present a memorial from me on the matters stated in Mr.
Thurston's letter as above.

"Respectfully and truly your ob't servant,
"NATH. J. WYETH."

"Washington, Dec. 28, 1850."

"Dear Sir--I took the earliest opportunity to enquire of Mr.
Thurston what there was pending before Congress or the
Executive, in which Mr. McLoughlin's character or interest were
concerned. He would tell me nothing, nor am I aware of
anything.

"Respectfully your ob't serv't,
"R. C. WINTHROP."
"To. N. J. Wyeth, Esq."

"John McLoughlin, Esq.:

"Dear Sir--On the 19th of December, 1850, I received a letter
from Sam'l R. Thurston, delegate from Oregon, of which see copy
No. 1, and by same mail an Oregon newspaper containing a
communication over your signature, the letter [latter], I
think, addressed in your handwriting.

"From the tenor of Mr. Thurston's letter, I presumed he wanted
my testimony for some purpose not friendly to yourself. I
answered his letter as per copy No. 2, but doubting if my
testimony, except it suited his views, would be presented, and
being ignorant of his intentions, I wrote the Hon. R. C.
Winthrop, late Speaker of the House of Representatives, and at
present a member of the Senate of the United States, as per
copy, [No. 3] and received from him a reply as per copy [No.
4].

"Should you wish such services as I can render in this part of
the United States, I shall be pleased to give them in return
for the many good things you did years since, and if my
testimony as regards your efficient and friendly actions
towards me and the other earliest Americans who settled in
Oregon, will be of use in placing you before the Oregon people
in the dignified position of a benefactor, it will be
cheerfully rendered.

"I am, with much respect, yours truly,
"NATH. J. WYETH."

"Mr. Thurston writes to Mr. Wyeth, 'That Dr. McLoughlin has,
since you left the country, rendered his name odious to the
people of Oregon.' (That I have rendered my name odious to the
people of Oregon, is what I do not know.) And 'By his endeavors
to prevent the settlement of the country, and to cripple its
growth.' I say I never endeavored to prevent the settlement of
the country, or to cripple its growth, but the reverse. If the
whole country had been my own private property, I could not
have exerted myself more strenuously than I did to introduce
civilization, and promote its settlement. 'Now that he wants a
few favors of our Government, he pretends that he has been the
long tried friend of Americans and American enterprise west of
the mountains.' Mr. Wyeth states how I acted towards him and
his companions, the first Americans that I saw on this side of
the mountains. Those that came since, know if Mr. Thurston
represents my conduct correctly or not. As to my wanting a few
favors, I am not aware that I asked for any favors. I was
invited by the promises held out in Linn's bill, to become an
American citizen of this territory. I accepted the invitation
and fulfilled the obligations in good faith, and after doing
more, as I believe will be admitted, to settle the country and
relieve the immigrants in their distresses, than any other man
in it, part of my claim, which had been jumped, Mr. Thurston,
the delegate from this territory, persuades Congress to donate
Judge Bryant, and the remainder is reserved. I make no
comment--the act speaks for itself, but merely observe, if I
had no claim to Abernethy Island, why did Mr. Thurston get
Congress to interfere, and what had Judge Bryant done for the
territory to entitle him to the favor of our delegate? Mr.
Thurston is exerting the influence of his official situation to
get Congress to depart from its usual course, and to interfere
on a point in dispute, and donate that island to Abernethy, his
heirs and assigns, alias Judge Bryant, his heirs and assigns.

"Yours respectfully,
"JNO. MCLOUGHLIN."

With this correspondence was published the following letter from Doctor McLoughlin to the Editor of the _Oregon Spectator_: "I handed the following letters to the Editor of the _Statesman_, and he refused to publish them, unless as an advertisement." This last letter is quoted to show that the letters set forth in this Document O are authentic. The first number of the _Oregon Statesman_ was published March 28, 1851.[69]

DOCUMENT P

_Letter from Rev. Vincent Snelling to Dr. John McLoughlin of March 9,
1852._

The original of the following letter is now in the possession of the Oregon Historical Society, from which this copy is made. Rev. Vincent Snelling was the first Baptist minister who came to Oregon.

"Oregon City, 9th March, 1852."

"Mr. John McLoughlin, Esq.,

"Dear Sir:

"Having learned that you intend shortly to visit Washington
City, and knowing that you have been misrepresented by our
Delegate from this country,--and wishing as an honest man, and
a friend to truth and justice, to contribute something toward
the correction of those misrepresentations, I submit to your
acceptance and disposal the following:

"I arrived in Oregon in the fall of 1844 and have been an
observer of your treatment of and conduct to the American
immigrants. I know that you have saved our people from
suffering by hunger and I believe from savage cruelty also. I
know you sent your boats to convey them down the Columbia
river, free of charge, and that you also sent them provisions
when they were in a state of starvation, and that you directed
them to be distributed among the immigrants, to those that were
destitute of money equally with those that had. Nor did your
kindness stop there, as many of us lost nearly all we possessed
by the time we arrived in the valley. You continued your favors
by letting us have both food and raiment for the year, seed
wheat, and charging no more than the same number of bushels the
next harvest, plows and cattle to plow with. To conclude I do
affirm that your conduct ever since I have known you has been
such as to justify the opinion that you were friendly to the
settlement of the country by Americans. I judge the tree [by]
its fruit; you have done more for the American settlers than
all the men that were in it, at that time.

"With sincere wishes that you may obtain your rights,

"I subscribe myself yours,
"VINCENT SNELLING,
"Ord. Minister Gospel, Baptist."

DOCUMENT Q

_Excerpts from "The Hudson's Bay Company and Vancouver's Island" by
James Edward Fitzgerald, published in London in 1849; and excerpt from
"Ten Years in Oregon" by Rev. Daniel Lee and Rev. J. H. Frost, published
in New York in 1844._

In order to show some of the unjustifiable abuse of Dr. McLoughlin from British sources, I here insert an excerpt from pp. 13-18, inclusive, of "The Hudson's Bay Company and Vancouver's Island" by J. E. Fitzgerald. He says: "Dr. M'Loughlin was formerly an Agent in the North West Fur Company of Montreal; he was one of the most enterprising and active in conducting the war between that Association and the Hudson's Bay Company. In the year 1821, when the rival companies united, Dr. M'Loughlin became a factor of the Hudson's Bay Company. But his allegiance does not appear to have been disposed of along with his interests; and his sympathy with anything other than British, seems to have done justice to his birth and education, which were those of a French Canadian.

"This gentleman was appointed Governor of all the country west of the Rocky Mountains; and is accused, by those who have been in that country, of having uniformly encouraged the emigration of settlers from the United States, and of having discouraged that of British subjects.

"While the Company in this country were asserting that their settlements on the Columbia River were giving validity to the claim of Great Britain to the Oregon territory, it appears, that their chief officer on the spot was doing all in his power to facilitate the operations of those, whose whole object it was to annihilate that claim altogether.

"There is one story told, about which it is right that the truth should be ascertained. It is said that a number of half-breeds from the Red River settlement were, in the year 1841, induced by the Company's officers to undertake a journey entirely across the continent, with the object of becoming settlers on the Columbia River.

"It appears that a number went, but on arriving in the country, so far from finding any of the promised encouragement, the treatment they received from Dr. M'Loughlin was such, that, after having been nearly starved under the paternal care of that gentleman, they all went over to the American settlement on the Wallamette valley.

"These emigrants became citizens of the United States, and it is further said, were the first to memorialize Congress to extend the power of the United States over the Oregon territory.

"For the truth of these statements we do not of course vouch. But we do say they demand inquiry.

"Dr. M'Loughlin's policy was so manifestly American, that it is openly canvassed in a book written by Mr. Dunn, one of the servants of the Company, and written for the purpose of praising their system and policy.

"Sir Edward Belcher also alludes to this policy. He says,--'Some few years since, the Company determined on forming settlements on the rich lands situated on the Wallamatte and other rivers, and for providing for their retired servants by allotting them farms, and further aiding them by supplies of cattle &c. That on the Wallamatte was a field too inviting for missionary enthusiasm to overlook; but instead of selecting a British subject to afford them spiritual assistance, recourse was had to Americans--a course pregnant with evil consequences, and particularly in the political squabble pending, as will be seen by the result. No sooner had the American and his allies fairly squatted,--(which they deem taking possession of the country) than they invited their brethren to join them, and called on the American Government for laws and protection.'

"A great deal of importance is attached to the account given by Commodore Wilkes, U. S. N., of the operations of the Hudson's Bay Company on the north-west coast; and it is inferred that testimony, coming from such a quarter, is doubly in favour of the Company.

"Nothing, indeed, can be higher than the terms in which Captain Wilkes speaks of the Hudson's Bay Company's chief factor, Dr. M'Loughlin, and of the welcome he met, and the hospitality he experienced during his stay upon the coast.

"Captain Wilkes was far too sensible and discriminating a man, not to see, plainly enough, whose game Dr. M'Loughlin was playing. But there is something strange, if we turn from the perusal of Captain Wilkes' narrative, and the description of the facilities which were ever afforded him, to the following passage from Sir Edward Belcher's voyage:

"The difference of the reception which a frigate of the United States Navy met with, from that which one of Her Majesty's ships experienced, is a most suspicious fact, as suggesting the animus of the Company's agents upon the north-west coast. Sir Edward Belcher says: 'The attention of the Chief to myself, and those immediately about me, particularly in sending down fresh supplies, previous to my arrival, I feel fully grateful for; but I cannot conceal my disappointment at the want of accommodation exhibited towards the crews of the vessels under my command, in a British possession.'

"We certainly were not distressed, nor was it imperatively necessary that fresh beef and vegetables should be supplied, or I should have made a formal demand. But as regarded those who might come after, and not improbably myself among the number, I inquired in direct terms what facilities Her Majesty's ships of war might expect, in the event of touching at this port for bullocks, flour, vegetables, &c. I certainly was extremely surprised at the reply, that 'they were not in a condition to supply.'... The American policy of the Hudson's Bay Company would seem from the above facts, to be more than a matter of suspicion.

"It is very easy to say, these are idle tales; they are tales--but such tales, that Parliament ought to make a searching investigation into their truth.... It is certain that Dr. McLoughlin has now left the Hudson's Bay Company, and has become _nominally_, what he seems to have been for years, _really_--an _American citizen_, living in the midst of an American population, which he collected around him, upon soil, to which he knew that his own country had, all along, laid claim."

Sir Edward Belcher's exploring expedition was at Fort Vancouver in August, 1839. He insisted that the crews of his vessels should be supplied with fresh beef. Dr. McLoughlin was not then at Fort Vancouver. Probably he had not returned from his trip to England in 1838-9. Mr. Douglas, who was in charge, refused Belcher's request because the supply of cattle was not sufficient for that purpose. Fresh beef was supplied to Sir Edward Belcher and his officers.

Commodore Wilkes and his exploring expedition were on the Oregon Coast in 1841. He did not ask for his crews to be supplied with provisions. He was grateful for the kind treatment of himself, his officers and men, by Dr. McLoughlin and other officers of the Hudson's Bay Company. Sir Edward Belcher, it seems, was not grateful.[70]

In relation to the Red River immigrants, who arrived in 1841, the statement of Fitzgerald is mostly untrue. These settlers came to Oregon in 1841 under the auspices of the Hudson's Bay Company and settled on Nisqually Plains, near Puget Sound. These plains are almost sterile, being an enormous bed of very fine gravel mixed with some soil at the surface. It is easy to understand how these settlers were disappointed in living by themselves on the Nisqually Plains, when they could come to the Willamette Valley with its fertile soil and be near the settlers in the Willamette Valley. It must be borne in mind that when these Red River settlers went to the Willamette Valley, they were practically as much dependent on the Hudson's Bay Company and Dr. McLoughlin, as though they had stayed on the Nisqually Plains.

Rev. Daniel Lee and Rev. J. H. Frost wrote a book entitled "Ten Years in Oregon," which was printed in New York in 1844. On page 216 of that work they say of these settlers from Red River: "They went to Nesqually, on Pugit's Sound; but, after spending a year, it was found that the land was of a very inferior quality, and that they could not subsist upon it. Thus, after having subjected themselves to many hardships, and privations, and losses, for almost two years, they had yet to remove to the Walamet Valley, as promising to remunerate them for their future toil, and make them forget the past. Accordingly most of them removed and settled in the Walamet in 1841-2."

DOCUMENT R

_Note on authorship of "History of Oregon" in Bancroft's Works; and
sources of information for this monograph._

Hubert Howe Bancroft obtained a fine collection of books and pamphlets relating to early Oregon and a great deal of other information before the "History of Oregon," in his Works, was written. A great many Oregon pioneers were personally interviewed and their statements reduced to writing. He also borrowed, on a promise to return, a great many private papers and other documents, including letters and copies of letters from the heirs of Dr. McLoughlin and from other Oregon pioneers and heirs of pioneers, which he has not yet returned, although he borrowed these papers and documents more than twenty years ago. Said "History of Oregon" is largely supplemented by foot-notes taken from this information obtained, or caused to be obtained by Bancroft. The defense of Dr. McLoughlin to the report of Capt. Warre and Lieut. Vavasour, was afterwards returned to Dr. McLoughlin by James Douglas, to whom it was sent by Sir George Simpson. It was among the papers loaned to Bancroft.

While Bancroft was a handy man in collecting materials, he wisely employed Frances Fuller Victor, Oregon's best and greatest historian, to write the "History of Oregon" for his Works. It was largely, if not wholly, written by her. This applies particularly to that part of the history up to and including the year 1850. For years she had been a careful student of Oregon history. She had access to all the data collected by Bancroft.

In 1871 Mrs. Victor published "The River of the West" which sets forth many of the facts about Dr. McLoughlin, his land claim, and the actions of the missionaries and the conspirators against him, which are contained in this address and in the "History of Oregon" in Bancroft's Works. Volume one of the latter history was published in 1886, and volume two was published in 1888.

In writing this monograph on Dr. McLoughlin I have found _The River of the West_ and Bancroft's _History of Oregon_ of some use, especially where the information was taken from the documents so borrowed by Bancroft. But I have obtained most of my facts from original sources. Wherever it was possible I have consulted Oregon newspapers and books and pamphlets written by persons who took part in the events described, or which were written contemporaneous therewith, and letters written by pioneers.

The Oregon Historical Society has a number of original letters, files of early Oregon newspapers, and other documents relating to events in early Oregon. Many of these I have examined and taken copies of. In this I have been greatly aided by Mr. George H. Himes, for years the efficient Assistant Secretary of the Oregon Historical Society, and Secretary of the Oregon Pioneer Association. I have also obtained copies from two issues of the _Oregon Spectator_ in the possession of the University of Oregon, through the courtesy of Prof. Frederic G. Young.

DOCUMENT S

_Excerpts from opinions of contemporaries of Dr. McLoughlin._

In addition to opinions of Dr. McLoughlin set forth in the address, I here set forth excerpts from other opinions, given by some of his contemporaries. I have selected these out of many high opinions and eulogies upon Dr. McLoughlin.

Judge Matthew P. Deady, in an address before the Oregon Pioneer Association, in 1876, said:[71] "Dr. John McLoughlin was Chief Factor of the Company [Hudson's Bay Company] west of the Rocky mountains, from 1824 to 1845, when he resigned the position and settled at Oregon City, where he died in 1857, full of years and honor.... Although, as an officer of the Company, his duty and interest required that he should prefer it to the American immigrant or missionary, yet at the call of humanity, he always forgot all special interests, and was ever ready to help and succor the needy and unfortunate of whatever creed or clime.

"Had he but turned his back upon the early missionary or settler and left them to shift for themselves, the occupation of the country by Americans would have been seriously retarded, and attended with much greater hardship and suffering than it was. For at least a quarter of a century McLoughlin was a grand and potent figure in the affairs of the Pacific slope.... But he has long since gone to his rest. Peace to his ashes! Yet the good deeds done in the body are a lasting monument to his memory, and shall in due time cause his name to be written in letters of gold in Oregon history."

Governor Peter H. Burnett, from whose "Recollections and Opinions of An Old Pioneer," I have already quoted, also said in that book (pp. 143, 144): "Dr. John McLoughlin was one of the greatest and most noble philanthropists I ever knew. He was a man of superior ability, just in all his dealings, and a faithful Christian. I never knew a man of the world who was more admirable. I never heard him utter a vicious sentiment, or applaud a wrongful act. His views and acts were formed upon the model of the Christian gentleman. He was a superior business man, and a profound judge of human nature.... In his position of Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay Company he had grievous responsibilities imposed upon him. He stood between the absent directors and stockholders of the Company and the present suffering immigrants. He witnessed their sufferings; they did not. He was unjustly blamed by many of both parties. It was not the business of the Company to deal upon credit; and the manager of its affairs in Oregon was suddenly thrown into a new and very embarrassing position. How to act, so as to secure the approbation of the directors and stockholders in England, and at the same time not to disregard the most urgent calls of humanity, was indeed the great difficulty. No possible line of conduct could have escaped censure.

"To be placed in such a position was a misfortune which only a good man could bear in patience. I was assured by Mr. Frank Ermatinger, the manager of the Company's store at Oregon City, as well as by others, that Dr. McLoughlin had sustained a heavy individual loss by his charity to the immigrants. I knew enough myself to be certain that these statements were substantially true. Yet such was the humility of the Doctor that he never, to my knowledge, mentioned or alluded to any particular act of charity performed by him. I was intimate with him, and he never mentioned them to me."

Col. J. W. Nesmith,[72] from whose address in 1876 I have already quoted, in that address also said:[73] "Dr. John McLoughlin was a public benefactor, and the time will come when the people of Oregon will do themselves credit by erecting a statue to his memory.... Thus far detraction and abuse have been his principal rewards."

Hon. Willard H. Rees, a pioneer of 1844, in his address before the Oregon Pioneer Association, in 1879, said:[74] "Dr. McLoughlin, as director of the affairs of the Hudson's Bay Company west of the Rocky mountains, had more power over the Indians of the whole Northwest Coast, which he judiciously exercised, than all other influences multiplied and combined. He was a great and just man, having in no instance deceived them, firm in maintaining the established rules regulating their intercourse, making their supplies, so far as the Company was concerned, strictly depend upon their own efforts and good conduct, always prompt to redress the slightest infraction of good faith. This sound undeviating policy made Dr. McLoughlin the most humane and successful manager of the native tribes this country has ever known, while the Indians both feared and respected him above all other men.... Dr. McLoughlin was no ordinary personage. Nature had written in her most legible hand preeminence in every lineament of his strong Scotch face, combining in a marked degree all the native dignity of an intellectual giant. He stood among his pioneer contemporaries like towering old [Mount] Hood amid the evergreen heights that surround his mountain home--a born leader of men. He would have achieved distinction in any of the higher pursuits of life.... His benevolent work was confined to no church, sect nor race of men, but was as broad as suffering humanity, never refusing to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and provide for the sick and toilworn immigrants and needy settlers who called for assistance at his old Vancouver home. Many were the pioneer mothers and their little ones, whose hearts were made glad through his timely assistance, while destitute strangers, whom chance or misfortune had thrown upon these, then, wild inhospitable shores, were not permitted to suffer while he had power to relieve. Yet he was persecuted by men claiming the knowledge of a Christian experience, defamed by designing politicians, knowingly misrepresented in Washington as a British intriguer, until he was unjustly deprived of the greater part of his land claim. Thus, after a sorrowful experience of man's ingratitude to man, he died an honored American citizen."

J. Quinn Thornton was one of the early Oregon pioneers. He came to Oregon with the immigration of 1846. At the meeting of the Oregon Pioneer Association in 1875, he furnished to that Association a history of the Provisional Government of Oregon. In this history, speaking of Dr. John McLoughlin, Thornton said:[75] "The late Dr. John McLoughlin resided at Fort Vancouver, and he was Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay Company west of the Rocky Mountains. He was a great man, upon whom God had stamped a grandeur of character which few men possess and a nobility which the patent of no earthly sovereign can confer.... As a Christian, he was a devout Roman Catholic, yet, nevertheless, catholic in the largest sense of that word.... He was a man of great goodness of heart, too wise to do a really foolish thing, too noble and magnanimous to condescend to meanness, and too forgiving to cherish resentments. The writer, during the last years of Dr. McLoughlin's life, being his professional adviser, had an opportunity such as no other man had, save his confessor, of learning and studying him; and as a result of the impressions, which daily intercourse of either a social or business nature made upon the writer's mind, he hesitates not to say, that old, white-headed John McLoughlin, when compared with other persons who have figured in the early history of Oregon, is in sublimity of character, a Mount Hood towering above the foot hills into the regions of eternal snow and sunshine."

Col. J. K. Kelly was Lieutenant-Colonel of the First Regiment of Oregon Mounted Volunteers in the Yakima Indian War of 1855. He was afterwards a United States Senator from Oregon, and Chief Justice of the Oregon State Supreme Court. In his address to the Oregon Pioneer Association in 1882, speaking of Dr. McLoughlin, Col. Kelly said:[76] "Just and generous as that law [Oregon Donation Land Law] was to the people of Oregon, yet there was one blot upon it. I refer to the provisions contained in the 11th section of the act by which the donation claim of Dr. John McLoughlin, known as the Oregon City claim, was taken from him and placed at the disposal of the Legislative Assembly to be sold and the proceeds applied to the endowment of an university. It was an act of injustice to one of the best friends and greatest benefactors which the early immigrants ever had. I do not propose to speak of the many estimable and noble qualities of Dr. McLoughlin here. They have been dwelt upon by others who have heretofore addressed the Pioneer Association, and especially by Mr. Rees in 1879. I concur in everything he said in praise of Dr. McLoughlin.

"It was my good fortune to know him well during the last six years of his life, years which were embittered by what he considered an act of ingratitude after he had done so many acts of personal kindness to the early immigrants in their time of need. That Dr. McLoughlin was unjustly treated in this matter, few, if any, will deny. And I am very sure that a large majority of the people, in Oregon, at that time, condemned the act which took away his property, and tended to becloud his fame. And yet no act was ever done by the Territorial Government to assert its right to the Oregon City claim during the life of Dr. McLoughlin; and in 1862, five years after his death, the State of Oregon confirmed the title to his devisees upon the payment of the merely nominal consideration of $1,000 into the university fund. And so five years after he was laid in his grave an act of tardy justice was done at last to the memory of the grand old pioneer." It was largely through Col. Kelly's influence and actions that this act was passed in favor of Dr. McLoughlin's devisees.

Horace S. Lyman was a son of Rev. Horace Lyman, a Congregational minister who came to Oregon in 1849, and who founded the First Congregational Church of Portland in June, 1851. Horace S. Lyman grew up in Oregon and from his own knowledge, from personal association with pioneer missionaries and others, and from reading, he became well acquainted with the history of Oregon. He was the author of a "History of Oregon" published in 1903. His associate editors were Mr. Harvey W. Scott, Judge Charles B. Bellinger, and Prof. Frederic G. Young. In the fourth volume of this history, page 381, it is said: "Whether the justice of history, and the recognition of after times, when personal interests and partizan spites are dissipated, and a character like that of McLoughlin stands forth as one of the best ever produced under the British flag, and one of the best ever given to America, should be regarded as compensation for the injustice and sufferings of a life darkened in old age, may not be determined. Yet the historian must ever assert that a character worthy of perpetual commemoration and admiration, illuminating, by humanity and Christian doctrine, the dark chapters of wilderness life from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and setting a star of hope over the barracks of a mercenary trading company, is worth all personal sacrifice. It is of such acts that great history consists. Even to the Doctor himself, going down in old age and poverty, and doubting whether his family would have a support, and believing that he had better have been shot as a beast than to have so suffered, we may hope that it was but 'a light affliction, compared with the perpetual consciousness of a life of peace and good will sustained in a period menaced by war."

As I have said, my uncle, Daniel S. Holman, was one of the immigrants of 1843. He was then about twenty-one years old. He will be eighty-five years old the fifteenth of November, 1907. He lives at McMinnville, Oregon, strong in mind and body. When I was honored by being selected to deliver the address, I wrote him asking for his opinion of Dr. John McLoughlin, for I knew his feelings. He wrote me August 7, 1905. In this letter he said: "I received yours requesting me to tell you of some of the kind acts of Doctor McLoughlin. It would take more time than I have to speak of all the very good things that he did, but I can say that he did all that was in his power to do to help the starving, wornout and poverty stricken [immigrants] that came to Oregon. For the first three or four years after I came if he had not helped us we could not have lived in Oregon. At the time we came he sent his boats to The Dalles, free of cost, to help all that could not help themselves to go down the river. He also sent food and clothing to the destitute and gave it to them. He also furnished seed grain to everyone who wanted, and waited for his pay until they raised wheat to pay. The fact is there never was a better man than he was. He did more than any other man did to settle Oregon. History says Doctor Whitman was the man who saved Oregon to the United States, but that is not true. It was Dr. John McLoughlin of the Hudson's Bay Company. So says every man that is a man, that came to Oregon up to 1849. He furnished the entire immigration with food and clothing for the first year after we came. The people did not have money to live on and so he fed and clothed us all. Some never paid him but some did pay the good old man."

And he added a postscript to say that his wife thought he had not said enough about Dr. John McLoughlin. She has been my uncle's loving and faithful help-mate for more than fifty-nine years. She is a pioneer of 1846. She, too, is still strong, mentally and physically. My uncle said in the postscript: "I can say that I am sure no man could have done better than he did to us all. In the fall of 1845 I went out to meet the immigrants and was gone from home six or eight weeks without a change of clothing. I got back to Vancouver where the Doctor then lived. I was as ragged as I could be. I went to his office and told him I wanted some clothing, but had no money. He gave me an order to his son to let me have whatever I wanted in the store. He treated others as he did me. In 1848 he let every one who wanted to go to the mines have all they needed, on time, to go to California. Some never paid him. Have you anyone in Portland that would help any and all such men off to the mines on such chances of getting their pay? I don't think there is such a man in Oregon, or any other place. You can't say too much in his praise."

Joseph Watt, a pioneer of 1844, from whose "Recollections of Dr. John McLoughlin" I have already quoted, also said, in said _Recollections_:[77] "The next I saw of the Doctor was in Oregon City, he having stayed at Fort Vancouver until all the immigrants for that year [1844] had arrived. He was building a large flouring mill, at that time nearing its completion. He already had a saw mill in full blast, also was building a dwelling house, preparing to move to that place, which he did in the following spring. From that time to his death he was a prominent figure in Oregon City. Nothing pleased him better than to talk with the settlers, learn how they were getting along, their prospects, of their ability to live, and to help others. He was anxious that every one should be well and kept busy. He could not endure idleness or waste. Over-reaching, or, what we Americans call 'sharp practice,' he had no patience with whatever. As far as he was concerned all transactions were fair, straight-forward and honorable. Those who knew him best never thought of disputing his word or his declared intentions, although there were some high in authority who did this in after years, apparently for selfish motives; and through their representations, caused the U. S. Government to do an act of great injustice. But I am proud to be able to say that all, or nearly all of the first settlers, did not endorse the action, and never rested until the wrong was adjusted as nearly as it was possible to do so.... It appeared by common consent that he was practically the first governor of the great North Pacific Coast. No man ever fulfilled that trust better than Dr. John McLoughlin. He was always anxious over the Indian problem. No one understood the Indian character better than he did. All the Indians knew him as the great 'White Chief,' and believed whatever he said could be depended on; that he was not their enemy, but was strictly just with them in every thing;--could punish or reward, as he thought best, and no trouble grew out of it. But with the settlers the case was different.... Dr. McLoughlin! Kind, large-hearted Dr. John McLoughlin! One of nature's noblemen, who never feared to do his duty to his God, his country, his fellow-men and himself, even in the wilderness. The pioneers of this great North-West feel that they owe Dr. John McLoughlin a debt of gratitude above all price, and that they and their posterity will cherish his memory by a suitable monument placed on the highest pinnacle of fame within the State of Oregon."

Archbishop F. N. Blanchet came to Oregon in 1838 as Vicar-General of the Roman Catholic Church in Oregon. He was consecrated as Archbishop in Quebec in 1845. In his "Historical Sketches of the Catholic Church in Oregon" (published in 1878), from which I have already quoted, he also said of Dr. McLoughlin (pp. 8 and 9): "He was one of 'nature's noblemen' in every sphere of life. Of commanding presence, strict integrity, sound judgment, and correct principles of justice, no man was better qualified for the position he occupied as the father and friend of both the Indians and the whites who then jointly occupied the Pacific northwest. Dr. McLoughlin was the arbiter to whom both whites and Indians looked for the settlement of their differences, and the friend from whom they sought relief in all their difficulties.... Under the impartial supervision of this good and great man the business of the Hudson Bay Company prospered amazingly; he perpetuated peace between the Indians and the employes of the Company.... He also extended assistance to every immigrant whose necessities required it, and his good deeds have enshrined his name amidst the most honored of the pioneers of the Pacific Coast." And on page 71 Archbishop Blanchet said: "Dr. John McLoughlin was the father of the orphans and servants of the H. B. Co.; the father of the French-Canadian colonies of Cowlitz and Wallamette Valley; of all the American immigrants; and a great benefactor of the Catholic Church."

It will be remembered that Rev. Daniel Lee was a Methodist missionary, who came to Oregon in 1834. He worked faithfully and earnestly for about ten years when he returned to the Eastern States. He continued in the ministry and died about 1895. His son, Rev. William H. Lee, is the Pastor of the People's Mission Church at Colorado Springs. He was in Portland in 1905. In answer to the inquiry of Mr. G. H. Himes, Assistant Secretary of the Oregon Historical Society, Rev. William H. Lee wrote the following letter at his home, July 31, 1905, to Mr. Himes: "As the son of a pioneer Oregon Missionary I wish to add my tribute of respect to the memory of Dr. John McLoughlin. For 10 years my father Rev. Daniel Lee labored in missionary work in Oregon and during all these years John McLoughlin was his friend. When my Father and Mother were united in marriage it was within the hospitable walls of Ft. Vancouver and we treasure a marriage certificate signed by John McLoughlin as one of the witnesses. Many times have I heard my Father and Mother speak of the kindness of Dr. John McLoughlin. And one of the most pleasant memories of my recent visit to Portland was the privilege I had of stopping in Oregon City and placing some flowers on the grave of my Father and Mother's friend."

The well known writer, S. A. Clarke, who was an Oregon immigrant of 1850, published a two volume work in 1903, entitled: "Pioneer Days of Oregon History." In this work (vol. 1, pp. 214, 215) Mr. Clarke says of Dr. McLoughlin: "It was because of his loyalty to humanity and his kindness to Americans that he lost his high official station and was left almost heartbroken in his old age. We can afford to hold up in contrast those who profited by his bounty and left him to pay the bill; also those--be they Missionaries or who--that tried to rob him of his land claim, with the nobler minded man--John McLoughlin--who did so much and lost so much for humanity, and never expressed regret."

Mr. Clarke in this work (vol. 1, p. 226) narrates the following incident, which was told to him by Dr. William C. McKay, who was a grandson of Mrs. Dr. John McLoughlin. It will be remembered that her first husband was Alexander McKay, who was killed in the capture of the Tonquin in 1811. "In 1843 William Beagle and family reached Vancouver destitute, and he had the typhus fever. McLoughlin heard of it and told Dr. Barclay there was a sick and destitute family at the landing; to fix up a house for them, make them comfortable and attend to the sick.

"Dr. W. C. McKay had just returned from the States where he pursued medical studies. So the doctor invited him to assist in taking care of his patients. There was the mother and several children, who had all they needed for two months, until Beagle got better, when he went to Governor McLoughlin and asked what his bill was. 'Tut, tut, tut! bill, bill, bill! Take care of yourself, sir! That is the bill!" Beagle pleaded that even the doctor couldn't afford to take care of his family and treat them so long without pay. 'Tut, tut, tut,' was the reply. 'You do the best you can for some other man who is in trouble, and that will pay me.'

"He sent them up the Willamette, free of charge, sold them supplies that were necessary until Beagle could earn money, and was finally paid for them in full. This is but one instance in the many where the kindness and generosity of Dr. McLoughlin was manifested toward Americans who reached Vancouver sick and impoverished and received his generous and kindly care."

FOOTNOTES:

[1] See Document A at end of volume.

[2] See Document B.

[3] See Document C.

[4] Report of Naval Agent W. A. Slocum to the Secretary of State, March 26, 1837.

[5] Dunn's _History of the Oregon Territory_, p. 143.

[6] Wilkes's _Narrative_, iv, p. 327.

[7] See Document C.

[8] John Dunn was an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company. He came from England to Fort Vancouver, in 1830, by sea. He returned to England in 1839 or 1840. The first edition of his history was published in London in 1844.

[9] Belcher's _Narrative of a Voyage Round the World_, vol. i, p. 296.

[10] As to the high regard which Wyeth retained through his life for Dr. McLoughlin, see Document O.

[11] See Document D.

[12] Rev. Gustavus Hines, _History of Oregon_, p. 16.

[13] Dr. H. K. Hines, _Missionary History_, p. 90.

[14] Rev. Gustavus Hines, _History of the Oregon Missions_, pp. 31, 32; Dr. H. K. Hines, _Missionary History_, p. 156.

[15] Lee and Frost's _Ten Years in Oregon_, pp. 225, 226.

[16] See Documents E and F.

[17] _Transactions_, Oregon Pioneer Association for 1875, p. 45.

[18] _History of Oregon_ by Rev. H. K. Hines, D.D., pp. 166, 167.

[19] Gray's _History of Oregon_, pp. 268, 269.

[20] "Narrative of Dr. McLoughlin" published in the _Quarterly_ of the Oregon Historical Society, June, 1900.

[21] Address of Medorum Crawford, in 1881. See _Transactions_ of the Oregon Pioneer Association for 1881, p. 14.

[22] See _Quarterly_ of the Oregon Historical Society, Vol. 3, pp. 398-426.

[23] Wilkes, _History of Oregon_, p. 95.

[24] See Theodore Roosevelt's _Winning of the West_.

[25] _Oregon Spectator_, November 12, 1846.

[26] A full summary will be found in Vol. 1, pp. 501-505, _History of Oregon_, Bancroft's Works.

[27] See Document R.

[28] See Document C.

[29] Vol. 1, pp. 504, 505, _History of Oregon_, Bancroft's Works.

[30] Vol. 1, p. 31, _History of Oregon_, Bancroft's Works, from manuscript of Jesse Applegate.

[31] See Document L.

[32] White's _Ten Years in Oregon_, p. 200.

[33] Rev. Dr. H. K. Hines, _Missionary History_, p. 354.

[34] See Document L.