"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._