locality. In the same year, Weir, with nine others, crossed the Rocky Mountains and trapped down the Columbia river, wintering a short distance above the cascades of that river. He and his party, with others, trapped down the Columbia to its mouth in 1810, returning the same year to the Missouri. They found the Indians all friendly on the Columbia, and subsisted chiefly on fish, which came up the river in large quantities. On his return, Weir was enthusiastic in his praises of the country bordering on the lower Columbia, and frequently referred to its large timber, fertile soil, genial climate, abundance of game, fish and other natural resources, with the beautiful appearance of the land, soil, etc., and freely expressed the opinion that "some day it would be one of the finest countries in the world."

CHAPTER XIII.

ADVERSE OPINIONS ABOUT PUGET SOUND COUNTRY-THE ASTOR EXPEDITION.

Although the way into the heart of the Oregon country had been opened up, by water, through the discovery by Captain Gray of the Columbia river, and overland by Captains Lewis and Clark in 1804-05-06, yet many years must come and go before there was any actual settlement in this country, according to American ideas. The fur companies, English and American, during these years were its only occupants. All these companies looked upon American settlers as intruders, whose presence was not desired and whose attempts at home seeking should be discouraged in every possible way. It was a part of their policy to report the whole country then included under the name of Oregon as a barren waste, as an inhospitable desert, and, where the timber grew, that the trees were of such size and numbers as to form an insuperable obstacle to cultivation. Reports of this character were industriously circulated throughout the United States, and were implicitly believed by even intelligent men on other subjects, and were repeatedly urged in the halls of Congress as an argument, ad hominem, which constituted an all sufficient reply to the petitions of Hall J. Kelly and others, who persistently advocated active measures to secure this territory to the American Union. The ignorance which prevailed throughout the United States on these subjects, during the first half of the nineteenth century, and within the memory of many men now living, is surprising. As late as 1850, many disparaging and incorrect statements were published as to the fertility of the soil, the salubrity of the climate, the accessibility of the country and its natural resources. These accounts would have been ridiculous had they not been untruthful, unjust and injurious to the interests of the country at large, and to those emigrants who desired to make homes for themselves and their children in this, at that time, far off region. Members of Congress asserted in their respective Houses,

that the country was not worth fighting for, that its possession, if secured,' would entail needless, useless and large expenditures for its retention and government, and that the expansion of the Republic in that distant and inaccessible region would endanger its very existence. In some instances, "the wish was father to the thought " and many of the men in and out of Congress who opposed any action on the part of the United States government looking to the acquisition of Oregon, did so because they knew that slavery never could exist in that country and they were opposed to the further increase of the number of "Free States " in northern latitudes. But the march of events continues, and those who place obstacles in its way, men and obstacles together, are brushed aside by its onward and irresistible sweep. In this place space will not permit of any detailed account of the conflicts and competition of fur companies for the trade of the northwest coast, and the extensive region, lying thence in an easterly direction to the summits of the Rocky Mountains. A few, only, of the more prominent events can be noticed. Prior to the year 1818, this wide expanse of valuable fur-bearing territory was occupied by the Northwestern Fur Company of Montreal, which for many years was a powerful rival of the Hudson's Bay Company. The strife and competition between these two companies entailed serious losses to both, and after negotiations had been carried on for some time, a harmonious arrangement was entered into, for the consolidation of the two under the name of the Hudson's Bay Company, that being the older of the two and controlling the greater amount of territory. This consolidation was effected in the year 1821, and thereafter the Hudson's Bay Company occupied and controlled all the trading posts in the Oregon country. In the meantime several companies were organized in the States to participate in the dangers, explorations and profits of the fur trading business.

United

Prominent among men organizing these companies, was John Jacob Astor, One of the world's great masters of trade and transportation, who came from Germany to America in the winter of 1783-4, and, while yet a young man, saw the great possibilities of the fur trade, and engaged in it with almost immediate and long continued success. In the year 1809, he caused to be incorporated, by the state of New York, the American Fur Company with a capital of $1,000,000, which he himself furnished. In spite of the competition of St. Louis and Canadian companies, he very nearly succeeded in monopolizing the fur trade in that part of the then Northwest Territory lying south of the Great Lakes. The successful return of the Lewis and Clark expedition revealed to him the possibilities of a chain of trading posts westward to the mouth of the Columbia river, thence to China and the East Indies, and thence with cargoes of tea, silks, spices, etc., in exchange for his furs back to London and New York, thus tracing in his operations the circumference of

the globe. This fascinating scheme would no doubt have been successful, had it not been interfered with by the war of 1812, between England and the United States. However, for the purpose of carrying out his plans in this direction, he and his associates, some of whom were unfortunately connected with the Northwestern Fur Company of Montreal, organized in 1810, the Pacific Fur Company. One party, with some of the partners, was sent on board a sailing vessel to the mouth of the Columbia river around the Horn, and another overland, and the two were to establish a post at that point to be called Astoria. During the war of 1812, the resident partners sold the post with all goods and chattels for $80,500 to the Northwest Fur Company of Montreal. The name of the place was changed to Fort George, and it remained in possession of the British until 1818, at which time, in accordance with the terms of the Treaty of 1814, by which all places taken during the war were to be restored, Astoria was at last returned to its rightful owners. This was not done, however, until the United States government had insisted upon its rights in the premises, when the place was given up. In consequence of the consolidation effected between the Hudson's Bay Company and the Northwest Company, the former assumed control of all the trading posts on the northwest coast that had been formerly held or established by the rival company. In 1823 Dr. John McLaughlin was appointed to take charge of the Columbia river district, which then included what was known as the Oregon country, and all the posts within its limits. The Hudson's Bay Company was still doing business at Fort George, or Astoria, at the mouth of the Columbia, but a new and more convenient station for the headquarters of the district was deemed desirable or necessary. The hope was strongly entertained at that time by the company, that the Columbia river would eventually be made the boundary line between the possessions of Great Britain and the United States on the northwest coast and all operations were conducted with that end in view, and everything was done that could be done to bring about that result. The north bank of the Columbia was carefully surveyed from Astoria to the Cascades, a distance of about one hundred and fifty miles, to find an eligible location. It was finally determined that the present site of the city of Vancouver, Washington, or its vicinity, would be suitable, for the new post, and it was accordingly erected there and named after Admiral Vancouver, who had explored the waters of Puget Sound some thirty-three years before. Here the necessary buildings, fortifications, block-houses, warehouses for goods, with shops and all the other structures required for the transaction of a large business, and for the care of all the various officers and employes who were required for the conduct of its operations, were erected. This post was established in 1825, and to it came the numerous bands of trappers, hunters, halfbreeds and Indians employed by the company west of the Rocky

Mountains. Here, also, once a year, came a ship from England laden with supplies, which carried back a return cargo of furs, peltries, and, later on, lumber, fish and other products of this extensive region. Here Dr. John McLaughlin presided over the affairs of the company, and conducted its operations with singular ability and success, notwithstanding the trying and difficult circumstances under which he was placed, until the year 1846, when he retired to his chosen home in the Willamette valley. He was one of nature's noblemen. Entering the service of the Northwest Company early in the century, he had made his way westward as far as Fort Chipwjan, the principal post of the Athabasca district, in 1808, and during those years, he had mastered, with Scotch industry and perseverance, all the details of the fur trading business. When the Northwestern and the Hudson's Bay companies were consolidated, he was continued in the employ of the latter, and in 1823 was assigned to the charge of its posts west of the Rocky Mountains, of which the chief was Vancouver, after its establishment. He was great in heart, in mind and body, and combined with the elements of a remarkably strong character, a kindly disposition which enabled him to temper mercy with justice, and to administer his trust in such a way that he won, as he deserved, the respect and regard of all parties, friends and enemies, whites and Indians and all with whom he came in contact. Probably no man in America having business or official relations with the Indians ever secured their confidence and trust more fully, or inspired them more thoroughly with fear of his power, or respect for his administration of justice than did Dr. McLaughlin, among the Indian tribes throughout his jurisdiction. Prior to his assignment to the control of this district, the lives of the company's employes and others were not safe anywhere within its limits, but after he had been in charge for a short time, men could travel with impunity throughout its length and breadth, and the Indians quickly learned that if a crime of any kind were committed the perpetrator would be hunted out of the most fastnesses in the mountains or elsewhere and brought to the bar of justice for trial, and, if convicted, to swift and severe punishment. Hundreds of immigrants coming to the country in a destitute condition, were supplied with provisions, clothing, cows, horses and farming implements, and given their own time in which to pay for these advances. Some were never paid for, but this generous treatment was continued by Dr. McLaughlin as long as he was in charge of the district. Even settlers going north of the Columbia river against the wishes of the company and its agents, were given orders on Fort Nisqually for supplies on the same terms. Farming operations on quite an extensive scale were begun at Fort Vancouver for the first time in the history of fur trading in the northwest. Prior to this time supplies of all kinds were imported from England and California, or the Sandwich Islands,

but the thrifty genius of Dr. McLaughlin saw, at an early date, the capacity of the country agriculturally and horticulturally, and deemed it the part of prudence to engage in farming and stock-raising to secure supplies for his large army of employes instead of importing them. Cattle, sheep, horses and hogs were brought from California to stock the farms at Vancouver, on the Cowlitz, and at Fort Nisqually. The last named place was established in 1833, by Archibald McDonald. It was on the line of travel between Forts Vancouver and Langley, and near the head of navigation on Puget Sound. It was located on a piece of table-land about three-quarters of a mile from the Sound, some four miles northeast of the Nisqually river. Near it were extensive tracts of open prairie land, gravel plains, etc., which were well adapted for raising sheep and other kinds of stock. It proved to be a convenient place for supplying several posts along the coast and in the Russian possessions, where they had contracts for furnishing supplies of beef, mutton, pork, etc. Hence Fort Nisqually became more of a commercial than a fur trading establishment.

In the year 1837 Simon Plomondeau and Fanicant, two old employes of the Hudson's Bay Company, went to the Cowlitz prairie, by the advice of Dr. McLaughlin, and engaged in farming. McLaughlin furnished them with animals for work and instructed the Indians not to disturb them.

In 1839 Douglass, Work and Ross, also employes of the company, went to the same locality on the Cowlitz river, and measured off four thousand acres of land, made a map of it, and a farm was opened up very soon after. A number of people were employed, the amount under cultivation was increased from year to year, until in 1846 there were fifteen hundred acres under cultivation. On this land were eleven barns and about one thousand cattle, two thousand sheep, two hundred horses, and one hundred hogs. A sawmill was begun, but burned before it was finished. This farm was occupied by the English until 1853-4, when American settlers came in such numbers that they virtually took possession of the land with its improvements, and finally the English were crowded out altogether. The farm in 1845 was in charge of Charles Forrest, who was succeeded in 1847 by George R. Roberts, and he by H. N. Peers and William Sinclair. E. L. Finch, J. H. Pierson, William Lemon, George Holsapple, and Jackson Barton among others settled upon the English company's land, claiming under the donation law of Congress. These men were ordered off by the agent in charge, but they refused to go. At both the Cowlitz and the Nisqually farms many cattle, sheep, hogs and horses were kept by the proprietors, for local and commercial uses, before the country was finally evacuated by the Hudson's Bay Company. For a variety of reasons, it was deemed advisable by certain stockholders of the Hudson's Bay Company to organize what was called the