Such an ambassador could not fail of a hearing, and conferences were held both with the President, John Tyler, and the Secretary of State, Daniel Webster. Dr. Whitman emphasized the value of the country, and what was more significant, the possibility of reaching it by wagon. Any abandonment, however, of the Oregon cause beyond a reasonable compromise, seems scarcely possible to one who has traced the government’s relation to the question from the beginning. And even such a compromise would seem uncalled for, when the northwestern boundary question stood by itself freed from other objects. Some of the friends and associates of Dr. Whitman, however, are authority for the statement that some such sacrifice was in contemplation and had practically been made before his appearance in Washington. If the evidence that comes to light confirms the advocacy of such a policy by Mr. Webster, it would have been a surprise to every one, and would have met a storm of opposition when made public, and could hardly have been ratified, in view of the fact that popular interest had never been greater, presidential support never more hopeful, and the records and traditions regarding the boundary line had never considered seriously any settlement below the forty-ninth degree of latitude. Upon his return west in 1843, Mr. Whitman wrote to the Secretary of War an account of his journey, and the emigration that had gone west that year. It was the first large emigration, numbering about one thousand people, and had been guided through the mountains by Dr. Whitman, making the entire journey by wagon. Accompanying this letter was the draft of a bill providing for the establishment of forts at various points along the route for the protection of further emigration. This seems to have been done in accordance with an understanding, reached during his stay at Washington, and marks the policy of the government until the end was reached.