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The early immigrants to Oregon were not mendicants nor
tramps. It is true some of them were of a roving disposition; probably a few
were of the improvident class. Most of them were forceful, strong men and
women, physically and mentally; strong also in their Americanism, and filled
with the racial instinct to follow the western course of Empire. They came
to Oregon as home-builders. Many of them had their lineage from the pioneers
who first settled the Atlantic Coast, particularly the southern part of it.
Descendants of these pioneers had crossed the mountains and were the hardy
and courageous pioneers of Kentucky and Tennessee, in the early, perilous,
and heroic days of Daniel Boone, John Sevier, George Rogers Clark, and James
Robertson. The ancestors of some of these Oregon immigrants had taken part
in the great war of the American Revolution on the Atlantic Coast, and had
then assisted in upbuilding civilization in the Middle West. These
forefathers had won the Middle West. These immigrants came to win Oregon.
The grandfathers and fathers of some of them had taken part in the war of
1812, and in the later Indian wars. A few of these immigrants were veterans
of the war of 1812 and of these Indian wars. There were immigrants who had
taken active part in the troubles with the Mormons and had assisted in
driving them out of Western Missouri. It was of this stock that parts of
Missouri, and especially the western part of that state, had been then
largely peopled, and many of these Oregon immigrants had settled' there
temporarily before coming to Oregon. A great majority of the immigrants to
Oregon from 1843 to 1846, inclusive, and of some of the later immigrants,
were from the Southern States. They, and their ancestors for many
generations, had been born and brought up in the South. Most of them had the
good qualities and were of the high type of American citizenship
characteristic of the white people of the South. They were mostly plain
people, but they and their ancestry were of good class. Theirs was an
inheritance of indomitable will, high courage, and noble purposes. Their
ancestors had conquered, settled, and up-builded the country from the
seaboards of Virginia and the Carolinas to the Mississippi River. Oregon was
another land to conquer, to settle, and to upbuild. There were also in these
early immigrations a number of men and women, descendants of
the sturdy peoples who settled in New England, and in other Northern States.
There were a few men who were attracted to Oregon by the love of adventure
incident to the journey and to the settlement of a new country. There were
also a few men, born outside of the United States, who allied themselves
with the Americans, and became identified with the Americans in Oregon, and
subsequently were admitted as citizens of the United States.
The places these immigrants left to come to Oregon,
although some of these places were comparatively new, were mostly
over-supplied with unsold agricultural products - unsalable for want of
markets. The early books and pamphlets on Oregon and the stirring speeches
of Oregon enthusiasts, who had never been to Oregon, pictured Oregon as the
traditional land of plenty and of "milk and honey." There was, too, an
abiding faith in the future, a certain improvidence born of strong manhood
and womanhood. They were filled with confidence in their ability to conquer
all troubles and overcome all difficulties. They did not think of failure -
they intended to succeed. Then, too, the journey was longer and more arduous
than they had anticipated. Their greatest dangers and troubles were after
they had entered the Oregon Country and reached the Columbia River. All east
of that river, with its hardships, was comfortable compared with the
troubles and dangers to come. They did not come seeking, nor did they seek
charity or alms. The true, honest, brave-hearted immigrants wished to pay
for what they obtained, and did as soon as they were able to do so.
They were met by conditions which they could not, or did not, foresee. Dr.
John McLoughlin, with his great, manly prescience, appreciated all this. He
sold provisions and clothing to those who could pay; equally, he sold on
credit, to those who could not, without references, without collaterals. He
understood the quality of most of these pioneers-he was unfortunately in
error as to some of them. It was not charity on the part of Dr. McLoughlin,
it was the exercise of that great quality, which he possessed in an
extraordinary degree - humanity.
I regret to say that a few of
these early immigrants, at times, without cause, were rude to Dr. McLoughlin
and abusive of his Company, and of his Country. Some of these did not care -
others had been prejudiced by false information, which they had read or
heard before they left their homes, or on the way to Oregon. Some, I still
more regret to say, accepted the credit extended to them by Dr. McLoughlin,
and never paid. But the payment to the Hudson's Bay Company of these bad
debts was assumed by Dr. McLoughlin.; The aggregate amount is not definitely
known, for Dr. McLoughlin suffered, in many ways, in silence. But it was a
very large sum. Those who paid in full could not requite his kindness to
them. j/The real Oregon pioneers are these overland immigrants who came to
Oregon prior to 1847. The immigrants of 1846 were a long way on their
journey to Oregon when the Boundary Treaty was made. They left on their
journey early in May, 1846. This treaty was signed at Washington, June 15,
1846. The proclamation by the President of the Treaty and of its
ratification by the two countries is dated August 5, 1846. The immigrants of
1846 did not know that the Treaty had been made, signed, or confirmed until
after their arrival in Oregon. The news that the Treaty had been signed came
by a sailing vessel, and did not reach Oregon until November, 1846. The
distance traveled by the immigrants to Oregon, from the rendezvous at
Independence, Missouri, to Oregon City, was about two thousand miles. The
usual time in making this journey was between five and six months. Ox-teams
were used almost exclusively. It was thought that the use of horses for
teams was impracticable. It was feared there would be insufficient food for
such horses, on the way, as the numbers would be large. It would be
necessary to keep these horses shod for pulling the heavily loaded wagons.
Many horses were brought which were used for riding, rounding-up cattle, and
in hunting. There were practical difficulties in caring for, and feeding
horses at night. Horses had to be "staked" at night, cattle would graze at
large. Horses were liable to be stampeded and be lost or be stolen by the
Indians. Oxen were much cheaper than horses. It would require at least four
horses to a wagon. It was desirable to have cows to furnish milk on the way,
especially for the children. Good cattle were scarce in Oregon and it was
desirable to take cows and bulls for breeding purposes, and other cattle for
beef. Many of these immigrants brought cattle with them in addition to their
ox-teams. These cattle and ox-teams could not travel as fast as horses and
the speed of the latter necessarily would be kept to that of the ox-teams.
Should oxen be lost or die, their places could be taken by cattle or even by
cows. This was not infrequently done.
These early immigrants all
came to, or started for Oregon, overland, in the time of joint-occupancy.
They were not encouraged, helped, nor protected by the Government in coming
to Oregon. There were no United States troops in the Oregon Country, or near
the immigrant trail prior to 1849. The Cayuse Indian war of 1847-8 was
carried on by the Oregon Provisional Government alone, without assistance
from the United States Government. This war was fought wholly by volunteers
from the Willamette Valley. The coming of these early immigrants assisted to
hold Oregon for the United States, and greatly contributed to the settlement
of the Oregon Question. They relied on themselves but they believed that
their Country would protect its own in Oregon. Their rights and courage
could not be ignored. There was no one man who saved Oregon. If any persons
saved Oregon, they were these immigrants from 1843 to and including 1846.
There is not a true American who does not take pride in the daring of these
pioneers and in what they accomplished in coming to Oregon. Whatever some of
them may have lacked, in certain qualities, and in spite of the bad
treatment, by some of them, of Dr. McLoughlin, the patriotism and courage of
most of them were of the highest types. This great movement of immigrants to
Oregon from 1843 to 1846, inclusive, may not, even now, be thoroughly
understood nor explained but it is fully appreciated. With all its dangers
and hardships, with all its mystery and simplicity, and its commonplaces, it
stands today one of the most daring colonizing movements for, and the most
remarkable, interesting, and romantic story of the settlement and upbuilding
of any part of the continents of the two Americas.
It must be borne in mind that
all these aids by Dr. McLoughlin to the immigrants of 1843, an(* succeeding
years, were after some of the Methodist missionaries had attempted to take
his land claim, and succeeded in part. The history of these transactions I
shall presently relate. And did the secular department of the Methodist
Mission assist these early pioneers in any way similar to what was done by
Dr. McLoughlin? If so, I have found no trace nor record of it. Undoubtedly
Methodist missionaries, individually, did many kindly acts to destitute
immigrants. Had Dr. McLoughlin acted with the supineness of the Methodist
Mission toward the immigrants of 1843, 1844, and 1845, and especially that
of 1843, the consequences would have been terrible. Leaving out the
probability of massacres by the Indians, many immigrants would have died
from starvation, exposure and lack of clothing along the Columbia River, or
after their arrival in the Willamette Valley. It is true Fort Vancouver
might have been captured and destroyed. That would have given no permanent
relief. That would probably have been the beginning of a war between the
United States and Great Britain. Even without a war the settlement of Oregon
would have been delayed for many years. And all of the Oregon Country north
of the Columbia River might have been lost to the United States.
Sir George Simpson, the
Governor in Chief of the Hudson's Bay Company, severely criticized Dr.
McLoughlin for his assistance to the immigrants. There was an acrimonious
correspondence between them on the subject. As I am informed, it was in this
correspondence, which I have not seen, that Dr. McLoughlin had written the
Hudson's Bay Company that he had furnished these supplies to the immigrants,
saying that, as a man of common humanity, it was not possible for him to do
otherwise than as he did; that he had only done what anyone truly a man
would have done. That it was then insisted by Governor Simpson that Dr.
McLoughlin should no longer assist any needy immigrants, or help any other
immigrants. To this Dr. McLoughlin made the noble reply, "Gentlemen, if such
is your order, I will serve you no longer." This reply was made by Dr.
McLoughlin - the only question is as to the exact time and place it was
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