Of all the names and titles given to, or bestowed upon Dr. John McLoughlin, the one I like best is "Father of Oregon;" for he was, and is truly, the Father of Oregon. And it enables every old, true Oregon pioneer, and every son and daughter of every Oregon pioneer, and his and her descendants, to the remotest generations, to speak of Dr. John McLoughlin with affection and love, with respect and veneration as "Our Father." In the past the fervent prayers of these grateful pioneers were made in his praise and that his tribulations might end and persecutions of him might cease. Their tears consecrated his martyrdom and his memory. Today the hearts of the survivors and of the descendants of these pioneers quicken at thoughts of what he was and what he did; and their eyes moisten in recalling what he suffered and what he endured in the making of Oregon. Of all the men whose lives and deeds are essential parts of the history of the Oregon Country, Dr. John McLoughlin stands supremely first--there is no second. In contemplating him all others sink into comparative insignificance. You may search the whole world, and all its histories from the beginning of civilization to today, and you will find no nobler, no grander man than Dr. John McLoughlin. His life and character illustrate the kinship of man to God. He was God-like in his great fatherhood, in his great strength, in his great power, and in the exercise of his strength and of his power; he was Christ-like in his gentleness, in his tenderness, in his loving-kindness, and in his humanity. ILLUSTRATIVE DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THE TEXT DOCUMENT A _Article 3 of the Convention between the United States of America and Great Britain, signed at London, October 20, 1818._ "It is agreed that any country that may be claimed by either party on the north-west coast of America, westward of the Stony Mountains, shall, together with its harbors, bays, and creeks, and the navigation of all rivers within the same, be free and open for the term of ten years from the date of the signature of the present convention, to the vessels, citizens, and subjects, of the two powers; it being well understood that this agreement is not to be construed to the prejudice of any claim which either of the two high contracting parties may have to any part of the said country, nor shall it be taken to affect the claims of any other power or state to any part of the said country; the only object of the high contracting parties, in that respect, being to prevent disputes and differences among themselves." DOCUMENT B _Convention between the United States of America and Great Britain, signed at London, August 6, 1827._