inferior courts of law, equity, and arbitration, as may, by law from
time to time be established. The supreme court shall consist of one
judge, who shall be elected by the House of Representatives, and hold
his office for four years, and until his successor is duly elected and
qualified. The supreme court, except in cases otherwise directed by this
compact, shall have appellate jurisdiction only, which shall be
co-extensive with this territory, and shall hold two sessions annually,
beginning on the first Mondays in June and September, and at such places
as by law may be directed. The supreme court shall have a general
superintending control over all inferior courts of law. It shall have
power to issue writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, quo warranto,
certiorari, and other original remedial writs, and hear and determine
the same. The supreme court shall have power to decide upon and annul
any laws contrary to the provisions of these articles of compact, and
whenever called upon by the House of Representatives, the supreme judge
shall give his opinion touching the validity of any pending measure. The
House of Representatives may, hereafter, provide by law for the supreme
court having original jurisdiction in criminal cases.
§ 9. All officers under this compact, shall take an oath, as follows, to
wit: I do solemnly swear, that I will support the Organic Laws of the
provisional Government of Oregon, so far as said Organic Laws are
consistent with my duties as a citizen of the United States, or a
subject of Great Britain,[229] and faithfully demean myself in office.
So help me God.
§ 10. Every free male descendant of a white man, inhabitant {185} of
this territory, of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, who shall
have been an inhabitant of this territory at the time of its
organization, shall be entitled to vote at the election of officers,
civil and military, and be eligible to any office in the territory,
provided, that all persons of the description entitled to vote by the
provisions of this section, who shall emigrate to this territory after
its organization, shall be entitled to the rights of citizens after
having resided six months in the territory.
§ 11. The election for all civil officers, provided for by this compact,
shall be held the first Monday in June annually.
ARTICLE III--LAND LAW
§ 1. Any person now holding, or hereafter wishing to establish a claim
to land in this territory, shall designate the extent of his claim by
natural boundaries, or by marks at the corners and upon the lines of
such claim, and have the extent and boundaries of said claim recorded in
the office of the territorial recorder, in a book to be kept by him for
that purpose, within twenty days from the time of making said claim:
provided, that those who shall be already in possession of land, shall
be allowed twelve months from the passage of this act to file a
description of his claim in the recorder's office: and provided further,
that the said claimant shall state in his record, the size, shape, and
locality of such claim, and give the names of the adjoining claimants;
and the recorder may require the applicant for such record to be made to
answer, on his oath, touching the facts.
§ 2. All claimants shall, within six months from the time of recording
their claims, make permanent improvements upon the same, by building or
enclosing, and also become an occupant upon said claim within one year
from the date of such record, or in case not occupied, the person
holding said claim shall pay into the treasury the sum of five dollars
annually, and in case of failure to occupy, or on failure of payment of
{186} the sum above stated, the claim shall be considered as abandoned:
provided, that no non-resident of this territory shall have the benefit
of this law: and, provided further, that any resident of this territory,
absent on private business for two years, may hold his claim by paying
five dollars annually to the treasury.
§ 3. No individual shall be allowed to hold a claim of more than one
square mile, or six hundred and forty acres, in a square or oblong form,
according to the natural situation of the premises. Nor shall any
individual be allowed to hold more than one claim at the same time. Any
person complying with the provisions of these ordinances, shall be
entitled to the same recourse against trespass as in other cases by law
provided.
§ 4. Partnerships of two or more persons shall be allowed to take up a
tract of land not exceeding six hundred and forty acres to each person
in said partnership, subject to all the provisions of the law; and
whenever such partnership is dissolved, the members shall each record
the particular parts of said tract as may be allotted to him: provided
that no member of said partnership shall hold a separate claim at the
time of the existence of said partnership.
§ 5. The boundary lines of all claims shall hereafter conform, as near
as may be, to the cardinal points.
§ 6. The officers elected at the general election, held on the first
Tuesday in June, 1845, shall be the officers to act under this organic
law, and their official acts, so far as they are in accordance with this
compact, are hereby declared valid and legal.
§ 7. Amendments to this instrument may be proposed by the House of
Representatives, two-thirds of the members concurring therein; which
amendments shall be made public in all parts of Oregon, and be read at
the polls at the next succeeding general election, and a concurrence of
two-thirds of all {187} the members elected at said election, may pass
said amendments, and they shall become a part of this compact.
* * * * *
CERTIFICATE
I, John E. Long,[230] secretary of Oregon territory, do hereby certify,
that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the original law, as
passed by the representatives of the people of Oregon, on the fifth day
of July, A. D. 1845, and submitted to the people on the twenty-sixth day
of the same month, and by them adopted and now on file in my office.
J. E. LONG, _Secretary_.
N. B. At the December Session, 1845, of the House of Representatives,
two-thirds of the members concurring therein, the following amendments
to the Organic Law were proposed, to wit: Strike out in the 4th section
of said law, the words "or more." Also, to amend the land law so as to
"permit claimants to hold six hundred acres in the prairie, and forty
acres in the timber, though said tracts do not join."
ARDENT SPIRITS
AN ACT to prevent the introduction, sale, and distillation of ardent
spirits in Oregon.
§ 1. _Be it enacted by the House of Representatives of Oregon
Territory_, That if any person shall hereafter import or introduce any
ardent spirits into Oregon, with intent to sell, barter, give, or trade
the same, and shall offer the same for sale, trade, barter, or gift, he
shall be fined the sum of fifty dollars for each and every such offence,
which may be recovered by indictment, or by trial before a justice of
the peace, without the form of pleading.
§ 2. That if any person shall hereafter sell, barter, give, or trade any
ardent spirits of any kind whatever, directly or indirectly, to any
person within Oregon, he shall forfeit and pay {188} the sum of twenty
dollars for each and every such sale, trade, barter, or gift, to be
recovered by indictment in the county court, or before a justice of the
peace, without the form of pleading.
§ 3. That if any person shall hereafter establish or carry on any
manufactory or distillery of ardent spirits in Oregon, he shall be
subject to be indicted before the county court, as for a nuisance, and
if convicted, he shall be fined the sum of one hundred dollars; and the
court shall issue an order to the sheriff, directing him to seize and
destroy the distilling apparatus, which order the sheriff shall execute.
§ 4. Whenever it shall come to the knowledge of any officer of this
government, or any private citizen, that any kind of spirituous liquors
are being distilled or manufactured in Oregon, they are hereby
authorised and required to proceed to the place where such illicit
manufacture is known to exist, and seize the distilling apparatus, and
deliver the same to the nearest district judge or justice of the peace,
whose duty it shall be immediately to issue his warrant, and cause the
house and premises of the person against whom such warrant shall be
issued to be further searched; and in case any kind of spirituous
liquors are found in or about said premises, or any implements or
apparatus that have the appearance of having been used or constructed
for the purpose of manufacturing any kind of spirituous liquors, the
officer who shall have been duly authorised to execute said warrant,
shall seize all such apparatus, implements, and spirituous liquors, and
deliver the same to the judge or justice of the peace who issued the
said warrant; said officer shall also arrest the person or persons in or
about whose premises such apparatus, implements, or spirituous liquors
are found, and conduct him or them to said judge or justice of the
peace, whose duty it shall be to proceed against such criminal or
criminals, and dispose of the articles seized, according to law.
§ 5. All fines and penalties imposed under this act, shall go, {189}
one-half to the informant and witnesses, and the other half to the
officers engaged in arresting and trying the criminal or criminals; and
it shall be the duty of all officers into whose hands such fines and
penalties may come, to pay over as directed in this section.
§ 6. This act shall not be so construed as to prevent any practising
physician from selling such liquors for medicine, not to exceed half a
pint at one time.
§ 7. That it shall be the duty of the secretary to publish this act in
the first newspaper printed in Oregon.
* * * * *
CERTIFICATE
I, John E. Long, Secretary of Oregon, do hereby certify, that the
foregoing act on ardent spirits, is truly and correctly revised by me.
J. E. LONG, _Secretary_.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Oregon Territory, which under the treaty of 1818 was held
in joint occupation by the United States and Great Britain, had been
brought into prominence by the presidential campaign of 1844, and the
belligerent message of President Polk at his inauguration in March,
1845. Emigration thither for the year 1845 exceeded that of any previous
season and consisted of nearly three thousand persons, largely from
Missouri and the frontier states of the Old Northwest.--ED.
[2] Blue River, in central Indiana, flowing through Rush and
Shelby counties, is part of the White River system.--ED.
[3] For a note on the founding of Indianapolis see our volume
ix, p. 190, note 100.--ED.
[4] Mount Meridian is a small village in Jefferson township,
Putnam County, Indiana. It was laid out in 1833 and at first named
Carthage.--ED.
[5] For St. Charles see our volume v, p. 39, note 9.--ED.
[6] By the term "Lute creek," Palmer intends Loutre River,
rising in northeast Callaway County, and flowing south and southwest
through Montgomery County into the Missouri, at Loutre Island. See our
volume v, p. 47, note 19.--ED.
[7] Williamsburgh, a village in the township of Nine Mile
Prairie, Callaway County, was laid out in 1836. For Fulton see our
volume xxi, p. 131, note 7.--ED.
[8] Columbia and Rocheport are noted in our volume xxi, p. 133,
note 8; Boonville, _ibid._, p. 89, note 59. Palmer probably crossed the
Missouri at Boonville. Townsend went by a similar route from St. Louis
to Boonville. See his _Narrative_ in our volume xxi, pp. 125-134.--ED.
[9] Marshall was in 1839 set off as the county seat of Saline,
and in 1900 had a population of 5086. It was named in honor of the chief
justice of the United States, who died shortly before the incorporation
of the town.--ED.
[10] For Independence see our volume xix, p. 189, note 34.
Gregg gives a much fuller description of this town as an outfitting
place, than does our present author; _ibid._, pp. 188-192.--ED.
[11] On the bounds of this territory, see our volume xxi, p.
50, note 31.--ED.
[12] Walkarusa Creek rises in several branches in Wabaunsee
County, and flows east through Shawnee and Douglas into Kansas River.
The crossing of the Oregon Trail was almost directly south of Lawrence.
The trail thence followed the divide between the creek and river to
about the present site of Topeka. During the Free Soil troubles in
Kansas, a bloodless campaign (1855) along this creek toward Lawrence was
known as the "Walkarusa War."
Kansas River is noted in our volume xiv, p. 174, note 140.--ED.
[13] For the Kansa Indians see our volume v, p. 67, note 37;
also our volume xxviii, p. 140, note 84. Wyeth notes their village in
his _Oregon_, our volume xxi, pp. 48, 49.--ED.
[14] For this stream see De Smet's _Letters_ in our volume
xxvii, p. 197, note 74.--ED.
[15] This was probably a local publication of the journal or
notes of William Gilpin, who went to Oregon with Frémont's party in
1843. Gilpin was a Pennsylvanian, appointed cadet at West Point in 1834.
Two years later he became lieutenant in the 2nd dragoons, and saw
frontier service, resigning from the army in 1838. He accompanied
Frémont as far as the Dalles of the Columbia, and passed the winter of
1843-44 in the Willamette valley, returning overland to the states in
1844. As an intelligent observer his reports on the Oregon country were
much sought (see _Niles' Register_, lxvii, p. 161). Gilpin afterwards
served in the Mexican War, and earnestly urged the building of a Pacific
railway. In 1861 he was appointed first territorial governor of
Colorado, in recognition of "his services as an explorer of the Great
West," and lived until 1894.--ED.
[16] Stephen Hall Meek was a brother of Colonel Joseph Meek so
well known as an Oregon pioneer (see our volume xxviii, p. 290, note
171). Stephen began his career as a trapper under Captain Bonneville in
1832, and accompanied Joseph Walker to California in 1833-34. He was in
the Willamette valley in 1841, where he purchased of Dr. John McLoughlin
the first lot sold on the site of Oregon City. In 1842 he guided the
emigrant caravan from Fort Laramie. His unfortunate experience in
attempting a "cut off" with a party of emigrants in 1845 (related _post_
by Palmer), discredited his abilities as a guide. At the time of the
gold excitement (1848-49) he returned to California, where he made his
later home in Siskiyou County.--ED.
[17] Little is known of Dr. Presley Welch save as related by
Palmer--that he was from Indiana, was chosen captain of the caravan, and
was without authority after the formation of the independent companies.
H. H. Bancroft (_History of Oregon_, i, p. 612) notes that he was
candidate for governor in 1846. George H. Himes, assistant secretary of
the Oregon Historical Society, writes to the Editor: "In all my efforts
to make a roll of Pioneers by years, I have not so far been able to find
anything about Dr. Welch; hence I conclude he either left the country at
an early date or died soon after his arrival here."--ED.
[18] For this stream see our volume xxi, p. 149, note 20.
Townsend also describes the same Kansa village, _ibid._, pp. 148,
149.--ED.
[19] The Big Vermillion is now known as the Black Vermillion,
an eastern tributary of the Big Blue, in Marshall County, Kansas. The
usual crossing was near the site of the present town of Bigelow. Bee
Creek is a small stream in Marshall County. The Big Blue is noted in our
volume xiv, p. 185, note 154; also in our volume xxi, p. 142, note
15.--ED.
[20] For a biographical note on Colonel Stephen W. Kearny see
our volume xvii, p. 12, note 4. In the summer of 1845 the general of the
army ordered Kearny to take five companies of dragoons and proceed from
Fort Leavenworth via the Oregon Trail to South Pass, returning by way of
the Arkansas and the Santa Fé Trail. The object was both to impress the
Indians, and to report upon the feasibility of an advanced military post
near Fort Laramie. Leaving their encampment May 18, they were upon the
Little Blue by the twenty-sixth of the month. See report in _Senate
Docs._, 29 Cong., 1 sess., 1, pp. 210-213. This was the first regular
military campaign into the land of the Great West, and strongly
impressed the Indians of that region. Kearny's recommendations were
against the establishment of a post because of the difficulty of
supplying it--advising instead, a biennial or triennial campaign similar
to his own.--ED.
[21] By the "Republican Fork of Blue River" Palmer intends the
stream known usually as the Little Blue. Republican River, farther west,
is an important branch of Kansas River, and for a portion of its course
nearly parallels the Little Blue. The Oregon Trail, however, followed
the latter stream, and the distances given by Palmer preclude the
possibility of a detour via the Republican River. The name of this
stream, as well as that applied by Palmer to the Little Blue, is derived
from the tribe of Republican Pawnee, for which see our volume xiv, p.
233, note 179.--ED.
[22] There were two routes across from the head of Little Blue
River to the Platte. The first left the trail near the site of Leroy,
Nebraska, and came in to the Platte about twenty miles below Grand
Island; the second continued farther west, about ten miles, then crossed
northwest to the Platte near the site of Fort Kearney. See military map
of Nebraska and Dakota, prepared in 1855-57 by Lieutenant G. K. Warren
of the topographical engineer corps. For the Platte River see our volume
xiv, p. 219, note 170.--ED.
[23] For this tribe, see our volume vi, p. 61, note 17; also
our volume xv, pp. 143-165; and xxviii, p. 149, note 94.--ED.
[24] Thomas Fulton Stephens joined the Oregon caravan from
Illinois. The year after his arrival in Oregon he took up donation land
near the site of Portland and erected thereon a saw-mill. His death
occurred in 1884.--ED.
[25] John Foster was born in Ohio in 1822, removed to Missouri
in early life, and in 1897 was still residing in Oregon.--ED.
[26] Orville Risley was born in New York state about 1807. In
early life he removed to Ohio, where he joined the Oregon emigrants of
1845. Upon reaching the Willamette valley he took up land in Clackamas
County, and later was a merchant at Lafayette. In his last years he
resided principally at Portland, where he was known as Judge Risley,
from having once held the office of justice of the peace. His death
occurred at his Clackamas farm in 1884.--ED.
[27] For the fords of the South Platte see our volume xxi, p.
173, note 27.--ED.
[28] Ash Hollow, called by Frémont Coulée des Frênes, was a
well known landmark, where the Oregon Trail crossed the North Platte. It
is now known as Ash Creek, in Deuel County, Nebraska.--ED.
[29] Spring Creek was probably the one now known as Rush,
formed by springs issuing in Cheyenne County, Nebraska. The second creek
was that now entitled Pumpkinseed. In the days of trail-travelling it
was called Gonneville, from a trapper who had been killed thereon. The
Solitary Tower is on its bank--a huge mass of indurated clay, more
frequently known as the Court House or the Castle.--ED.
[30] For a note on Chimney Rock consult De Smet's _Letters_ in
our volume xxvii, p. 219, note 89. See also engraving in Frémont's
"Exploring Tour," _Senate Docs._, 28 Cong., 2 sess., 174, p. 38.--ED.
[31] This story is told with variations by many writers,
notably Washington Irving in his _Rocky Mountains_ (Philadelphia, 1837),
i, pp. 45, 46. The event appears to have occurred about 1830. The range
of bluffs, about nine hundred yards in length, still retains the name.
It is situated on the western borders of Nebraska, in a county of the
same name.--ED.
[32] The usual habitat of the Dakota or Sioux was along the
Missouri River or eastward. The Teton Sioux were in the habit of
wandering westward for summer hunts, and this was probably a band of the
Oglala or Brulé Teton, who frequently were encountered in this region.
For the Teton subdivisions see our volume xxii, p. 326, note 287.--ED.
[33] The succession of trading posts on the Laramie branch of
Platte River is somewhat confusing, due to differences in nomenclature.
Consult our volume xxi, p. 181, note 30. The fort here described appears
to be the new Fort Laramie (which must thus have been built in 1845, not
1846). Alexander Culbertson, who was at one time in command for the
American Fur Company, says that this post cost $10,000, and was the best
built stronghold in the company's possession. Fort John was the old
American Fur Company's post. How a rival company had secured it, seems a
mystery; possibly Palmer has confused it with Fort Platte, which Frémont
notes in 1842 at the mouth of the Laramie, belonging to Sybille, Adams,
and Company. See his "Exploring Tour" (cited in note 30, _ante_), p.
35.--ED.
[34] Since the above was written, the North American Fur
Company has purchased Fort John, and demolished it.--PALMER.
[35] The trail lay back from the river, for some distance above
Fort Laramie. Big Spring was frequently known as Warm Spring, and the
coulée, in Laramie County, Wyoming, still retains the name of Warm
Spring Cañon.--ED.
[36] On the general use of the term Black Hills see our volume
xxiii, p. 244, note 204. The stream called Fourche Amère (bitter fork)
by Frémont is now known simply as Cottonwood Creek.--ED.
[37] Retaining the same name, Horseshoe Creek is a considerable
wooded stream in western Laramie County, Wyoming.--ED.
[38] This is now known as Lower Platte Cañon, and is traversed
by the Wyoming branch of the Colorado and Southern Railway.--ED.
[39] Big Timber Creek was called La Fourche Boisée by Frémont;
more frequently it was known by the name it still retains--La Bonté
Creek, in Converse County, Wyoming. The cut-off recommended by Palmer
would be by way of Elkhorn Creek and an affluent of La Bonté.--ED.
[40] Deer Creek is the largest southern affluent of the Platte,
between the Laramie and the Sweetwater. It is well-timbered, and its
mouth was a familiar camping place on the Oregon Trail. It is in the
western part of Converse County, Wyoming, about 770 miles from the
starting point at Independence.--ED.
[41] The best ford in this stretch of the river; it averaged
only about three feet in depth at the ordinary stage of water, and its
width varied from eight hundred to fifteen hundred feet. It was a little
above the present town of Casper, Wyoming.--ED.
[42] The Mineral Spring was usually called Red Spring, near
Poison Spider Creek, and shows traces of petroleum. For a description of
Red Buttes see our volume xxi, p. 183.--ED.
[43] For Independence Rock and Sweetwater River see our volume
xxi, p. 53, notes 33, 34.--ED.
[44] For this gap, or cañon, see De Smet's _Letters_ in our
volume xxvii, p. 241, note 113.--ED.
[45] The Wind River Mountains are noted in our volume xxi, p.
184, note 35. The trail along the Sweetwater is for the most part over a
rough, undulating prairie, but at times the hills force the road close
to the river valley. At one place, about thirty-six miles above the
river's mouth, the route grows rugged and crosses the river three times.
This was usually known as the Three Crossings, and is probably the
stretch that Palmer calls the Narrows.--ED.