The quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society, Vol. 1, No. 2, June, 1900Oregon Historical Society
History
The quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society, Vol. 1, No. 2, June, 1900
Oregon Historical Society
Oregon -- History -- Periodicals
and laymen, men, women and children, for the Methodist Mission, and a
large supply of goods with which the Methodist Mission opened a sale
shop. In 1841 the American exploring squadron, under Capt. Wilkes,
surveyed the Columbia River from the entrance to the Cascades, and sent
a party across land from Puget Sound to Colville and Walla Walla, and
another from Vancouver to California. At same time the Thomas Perkins,
Capt. Varney, of Boston, entered Columbia River for the purpose of
trade. She was the second vessel that came for that object since the
May Dacre in 1834. The first was the Maryland in 1840, Capt. Couch, of
Boston, who came to endeavor to establish a salmon fishery, but did
not succeed. The Thomas Perkins had a quantity of liquor, and as this
was an article which, after a great deal of difficulty, we had been
able to suppress in the trade, to prevent its being again introduced, I
bought up Varney's goods and liquor, and it was still, spring 1846, in
store at Vancouver. Spring 1842 the Americans invited the Canadians to
unite with them and organize a temporary government, but the Canadians,
apprehensive it might interfere with their allegiance, declined, and
the project, which originated with the mission, failed. This spring
the Chenamus, Capt. Couch, came from Boston. Capt. Couch opened a
store at Oregon City and left a Mr. Wilson to do his business when he
sailed in the fall for Boston. The ——, Capt. Chapman, of Boston, came
also, who traded for a cargo of salmon, sailed in the fall, but never
returned. In the spring the Rev. Father Desmit of the Society of Jesus
came to Vancouver from the Flat Head Country where the year before he
had established a mission from St. Louis. He came for supplies, which
he purchased, and with which he returned to his mission. In August,
the Rev. Messrs. Langlois and Bolduc [?] came by sea. The month of
September 137 men, women and children arrived from the states. They
came with their wagons to Fort Hall, and from thence packed their
effects on horses and drove their cattle. They passed, without visiting
Vancouver, from The Dalles to the Wallamette over the Cascades by the
road which the Methodist Mission had opened to drive cattle from the
Wallamette to that place. Dr. White who had formerly been a member of
the Methodist Mission, but disagreeing with them had left them in 1840,
came with these immigrants. He gave himself out, at a meeting which
he called for the purpose, as being appointed Sub-Indian Agent by the
American government for Oregon Territory. But of course the officers
of the Hudson's Bay Company did not acknowledge his authority, and the
immigrants brought the printed copy of a bill brought into the Senate
of the United States by Dr. Linn, in which it was proposed to donate
640 acres of land to every white male inhabitant, the same to a male
descendant of a white man, 320 to a wife, and 160 to a child under 18
years old. This year my difficulties began with the Methodist Mission,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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