(Sandeam) of the Kalapuya Indians, who dwelt upon its banks. April 16,
1851, the federal commissioners made a treaty with the Santiam branch of
the tribe, whereby the latter ceded to the whites a large portion of
their lands. Their number at this time was a hundred and fifty-five.
Santiam River drains a considerable portion of Marion and Linn counties,
its North Fork forming the boundary between the two. The road up this
fork leads to Minto Pass; the South Fork formed the line for the
Willamette and Cascade Military Road. Palmer's use of the term "Santa
Anna" for this stream, in the two following paragraphs, would seem to
indicate his ignorance of the Indian origin of the term, and an idea
that it had been named for the Mexican general of that period.--ED.
[163] Joel P. Walker was a brother of Joseph R. Walker (see
note 46, _ante_, p. 70). Of Virginian birth he removed at an early age
to Tennessee, whence he went out under Andrew Jackson against the
Alabama Indians (1814), and later against the Florida Seminole. Some
time before 1822, he removed to Missouri, where he married, and engaged
in the early Santa Fé trade with Stephen Cooper (see our volume xix, p.
178, note 16). Walker removed with his family to Oregon in 1840--one of
the first families of settlers who came independent of the missionary
movement. Wilkes met him on the Willamette in 1841, when he expressed
his dissatisfaction with the climate and the conditions. See Wilkes's
_Exploring Expedition_, iv, p. 388. That same year he went overland to
California, where he worked for Captain Sutter, coming back to Oregon
some time before Palmer's visit, with a herd of cattle for sale. This
time he remained in Oregon several years, being chosen justice of the
peace for Yamhill County (about 1845). In 1848 he returned to
California, where he was a member from Napa of the constitutional
convention of 1849. In 1853 he removed to Sonoma County where he spent
the remainder of his life, dying sometime after 1878.--ED.
[164] For the Umpqua River see our volume vii, p. 231, note 82;
the fort is noted in Farnham's _Travels_, our volume xxix, p. 59, note
79.--ED.
[165] For Rogue River see _ibid._, p. 82, note 104. The
mountains lie directly north of the river valley in Coos and Curry
counties, Oregon. The first settlers in this valley came there in 1851.
See William V. Colvig, "Indian Wars of Southern Oregon," in _Oregon
Historical Quarterly_, iv, pp. 227-240.--ED.
[166] By the "Klamet" Mountains, Palmer refers to the chain
lying north of Klamath River valley, now usually spoken of as the
Siskiyou range. Klamath River is described in Farnham's _Travels_, our
volume xxix, p. 46, note 56. The trail into this region followed nearly
the route of the Southern Pacific Railway.--ED.
[167] The Indians of Southern Oregon had always been disposed
to molest white wayfarers. Witness the troubles of Jedidiah H. Smith in
1828, the massacre of the Turner family in 1835, and the attack on a
cattle train in 1837. After 1848, the passage of gold-seekers to and
from California intensified the difficulty, whereupon a long series of
contests ensued, resulting in open wars, in which Palmer bore an
important part. The war of 1853 was terminated by a treaty (September
10) secured by Generals Lane and Palmer; that of 1855 was more serious,
being participated in by regular troops as well as Oregon militia. For
Palmer's relation to these wars see preface to this volume.--ED.
[168] For Point Adams see our volume vi, p. 233, note 37. The
term Clatsop was given for an Indian tribe--_ibid._, p. 239, note 39.
Clatsop Plains were first visited in the winter of 1805-06 by members of
the Lewis and Clark expedition, who erected a cairn for the making of
salt, in the neighborhood of the present resort known as Seaside. The
settlement of this region was begun in 1840 by members of the Methodist
mission, reinforced by Solomon H. Smith and Calvin Tibbitts of the Wyeth
party, who had married daughters of the Clatsop chief Cobaway (Lewis and
Clark spelled it Comowool). J. W. Perry took up a farm in 1842, and
several members of the immigration of 1843 settled on the Clatsop
Plains. See "Pioneer Women of Clatsop County," in Oregon Pioneer
Association _Transactions_, 1897, pp. 77-84. These plains are composed
of a sandy loam well adapted for fruit and vegetables, but especially
suited to grazing, so that dairying is a leading industry of this
region.
Cape Lookout, in Tillamook County, is a conspicuous headland. It was
first sighted by Heceta in 1775, and named by Captain Meares in 1789.
See our volume xxviii, p. 32, note 9; also our volume vii, p. 112, note
17. The point, however, which Palmer designates as Cape Lookout, is in
reality that called by the Lewis and Clark expedition "Clark's Point of
View," but now known as Tillamook Head.--ED.
[169] The Necanican River, called by Lewis and Clark the
Clatsop, has a roundabout course, as indicated by Palmer, and drains the
southern end of Clatsop Plains.--ED.
[170] Saddle Mountain, the highest point in Clatsop County,
shows three peaks as viewed from the Columbia, and takes this name from
its form. The aboriginal name was Swollalachost. Lewis and Clark found
it covered with snow during most of the winter season of 1805-06.--ED.
[171] For the Tillamook (Kilamook) Indians see our volume vi,
p. 258, note 67. Mount Rainier is noted in Farnham's _Travels_, our
volume xxix, p. 33, note 30.--ED.
[172] On Tillamook Rock, a large boulder in the ocean, opposite
Tillamook Head, a lighthouse was erected in 1879-81. It was a work of
much difficulty, the engineers narrowly escaping being washed into the
sea.--ED.
[173] Palmer probably obtained his information of these Indian
traditions from Celiast (or Helen) Smith, daughter of the Clatsop chief,
whose son Silas B. Smith has furnished much material for recent
historical works. This story of the wreck of the ship carrying beeswax,
differs slightly from the version given in Lyman, _History of Oregon_,
i, pp. 167-169. Lyman conjectures that it may have been the Spanish ship
"San Jose," carrying stores (1769) to San Diego, California, which was
never after heard from. Some of the cakes of wax found bore the letters
I. H. S.--ED.
[174] For Young's Bay see our volume vi, p. 259, note 69.
Skipanon is a small creek, a branch of which Clark crossed on a log
during his trip from Fort Clatsop to the seacoast. The site of Fort
Clatsop was definitely determined by Olin D. Wheeler in 1899 (see his
_Trail of Lewis and Clark_, ii, pp. 195, 198), and the Oregon Historical
Society in 1900 (see _Proceedings_ for 1900). The plan of the fort was
discovered by the present Editor among the Clark papers in 1904. See
_Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition_, iii, pp. 268,
298. The river upon which the fort was located was known by the native
name of Netul, now called Lewis and Clark River, a tributary of Young's
Bay west of Young's River.--ED.
[175] Young's River was called by Lewis and Clark
Kilhawanackkle, and is the largest stream in Clatsop County. The falls
are at the head of tidewater and flow over a black basalt cliff. The
eastern tributary is the Klaskanine River. See _Original Journals of the
Lewis and Clark Expedition_, iv, p. 137.--ED.
[176] For the history of this place see Franchère's _Narrative_
in our volume vi, and Ross's _Oregon Settlers_ in our volume vii. The
later history of Fort George is sketched in Farnham's _Travels_, our
volume xxix, p. 57, note 74.--ED.
[177] For Cape Disappointment and Baker's Bay see our volume
vi, pp. 233, 234, notes 36, 38. Chinook Point was the site of a populous
village of that tribe just west of Point Ellice, which is the
southernmost promontory between Gray's and Baker's Bay. Lewis and Clark
found the village deserted, but in early Astorian times it was
populated--see our volumes vi, p. 240; vii, p. 87.--ED.
[178] For Peter Skeen Ogden see our volume xxi, p. 314, note
99. The United States government has recently chosen this site for a
fort now (1906) in process of erection, to be known as Fort
Columbia.--ED.
[179] Astoria, as an American town, began in 1846 with the
settlement of James Welch, who defied the Hudson's Bay Company officers
to drive him from the site. The post-office was begun in 1847, and a
custom house two years later. In 1856 a town government was established,
while twenty years later Astoria was incorporated as a city. Its
population is now about ten thousand, with good prospects for a large
growth in the near future.--ED.
[180] For James Birnie see our volume xxi, p. 361, note
130.--ED.
[181] Elbridge Trask came to Oregon in 1842, apparently a
sailor on an American vessel. He lived for a time at Clatsop Plains.
Probably his companion was Captain Alexander Duncan, commander of the
"Dryad," and a friend of James Birnie.--ED.
[182] For Tongue Point, which takes its name from its peculiar
shape, see our volume vi, p. 242, note 44. Gray's Bay is noted in volume
vii, p. 116, note 20.--ED.
[183] By Swan Bay, Palmer intends that stretch of the river
lying between Tongue and Catalamet points, which is more usually known
as Catalamet Bay. The river is the John Day (aboriginal name,
Kekemarke), which should not be confused with the larger stream of this
name in eastern Oregon. See our volume v, p. 181, note 104.--ED.
[184] For Catalamet Point see our volume vii, p. 116, note 20.
The old village of the Catalamet Indians which was located near the
present town of Knappa, was visited by Lewis and Clark on their outward
journey (1805); see _Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark
Expedition_, iii, p. 252. The stream was that now known as Tillasqua
Creek.--ED.
[185] This mill was erected by Henry Hunt, one of the emigrants
of 1843, for the purpose of preparing lumber for the Pacific market,
especially that of the Sandwich Islands. See letter of Tallmadge B. Wood
in _Oregon Historical Quarterly_, iii, pp. 394-398. Later, salmon
barrels were made at this place, the men employed at the task being the
only settlers between Astoria and Linnton on the Willamette; and
sometimes they were summoned to serve as a sheriff's posse. See Oregon
Pioneer Association _Transactions_, 1890, p. 73. Hunt's Mill Point is
marked on the federal land office map of 1897 as being opposite the
lower end of Puget Island.--ED.
[186] At Oak Point was made the first American settlement in
Oregon; see our volume xxi, pp. 261, 287, notes 74, 94. The stream on
the south side is the Clatskanie River, in Columbia County, Oregon,
flowing southwest and entering the river opposite Wallace Island. For
the origin of this word and its relation to the Klaskanine River see H.
S. Lyman, "Indian Names," in _Oregon Historical Quarterly_, i, p. 322.
The mill stream of the northern bank is Nequally Creek in Cowlitz
County, Washington.--ED.
[187] For a brief historical sketch of Fort Vancouver see our
volume xxi, p. 297, note 82.--ED.
[188] Colonel John McClure came to Oregon from New Orleans some
time before 1842. In 1843 he settled at Astoria, where he had a cabin on
the site of the first Astoria mill. He married a native woman, and his
portion of the early town was known as McClure's Astoria. He is
described as having been an old man in 1845, and he had died before
1867.--ED.
[189] The British ship of war "Modesté," Captain Baillie
commanding, first visited Fort Vancouver in July, 1844. Governor
McLoughlin was offered no protection at this time; but the situation
having grown more intense, the vessel was ordered to the Columbia in
October, 1845, and remained to protect British interests until April,
1847. The officers sought to conciliate the American pioneers, but there
was on the whole little intercourse between the two nationalities.
Theatrical entertainments were planned and given in the winter of
1845-46, and a ball arranged by these officers was the occasion of an
expression of a majority sentiment for the American cause. See Oregon
Pioneer Association _Transactions_, 1874, pp. 26, 27.--ED.
[190] For Fraser River and Vancouver Island see Farnham's
_Travels_, our volume xxix, pp. 43, 75, notes 52, 91.--ED.
[191] For Puget's Sound see _ibid._, p. 90, note 108. The first
road over the Cascades was built in 1853, from Olympia to Walla
Walla.--ED.
[192] For Gray's Harbor see our volume vi, p. 256, note 64; the
Chehalis River is described in Farnham's _Travels_, our volume xxix, p.
81, note 103.--ED.
[193] For the Cowlitz settlement see our volume xxvii, p. 386,
note 203.--ED.
[194] Much has been written on the provisional government of
Oregon, which was shadowed forth in the action of 1841, and actually
established July 5, 1843. Consult J. Quinn Thornton, "History of the
Provisional Government," in Oregon Pioneer Association _Transactions_,
1874, pp. 43-96; J. Henry Brown, _Political History of Oregon_
(Portland, 1892); James R. Robertson, "Genesis of Political Authority in
Oregon," in _Oregon Historical Quarterly_, i, pp. 1-59; and H. W. Scott,
"Formation and Administration of the Provisional Government of Oregon,"
_ibid._, ii, pp. 95-118. Palmer's brief synopsis is a summary of the
revised organic law, drafted by a committee appointed by the legislature
in June, 1845, endorsed by popular vote on July 26, and put in operation
August 5 (see appendix to the present volume). This government continued
until February 16, 1849, when it was superseded by the territorial
government provided by Congress under act approved August 14, 1848. The
code of Iowa laws appears to have been adopted because of the existence
of a copy of Iowa statutes in the country. See F. I. Herriott,
"Transplanting Iowa's Laws to Oregon," in _Oregon Historical Quarterly_,
v, pp. 139-150.--ED.
[195] The legislature of 1843 erected four districts for the
purpose of local government--_i. e._, Tualatin (read for Quality),
Yamhill, Champoeg (read for Shampoic), and Clackamas. That of 1845
changed the title to counties and created four more--Clatsop, Polk,
Vancouver, and Lewis. Palmer gives their location properly.--ED.
[196] For the location of Spaulding's mission see our volume
xxviii, p. 338, note 215.
William Craig was a mountain man who came to Oregon in 1842. He married
among the Nez Percés, and established a farm just east of the Lapwai
mission, where he had great influence with this tribe. In 1855 his land
was reserved to him by treaty, the Nez Percés "having expressed in
council a desire that William Craig should continue to live with them,
having uniformly shown himself their friend." In 1856 he was made
lieutenant-colonel of Washington volunteers, and in 1857-59, Indian
agent at Walla Walla.--ED.
[197] For the beginnings of Portland see note 136, _ante_, p.
166.
Francis W. Pettygrove was born in Calais, Maine, in 1812. Having engaged
in mercantile business he carried a cargo of goods valued at $15,000 to
Oregon by sea, establishing a store at Oregon City (1843). It was due to
his wish that the newly-founded town near the mouth of the Willamette
received the name of Portland. In 1848 Pettygrove sold his interest in
the Portland town site, going to California, where he speculated in land
at Benicia. In 1851 he was one of the founders of Port Townsend, in
Washington.--ED.
[198] The town of Linnton was founded in 1843 by M. M. McCarver
and Peter H. Burnett, emigrants of that year, who supposed they had
chosen a site that would be the head of ship navigation. They spent the
first spring cutting the road to Tualatin Plains; but not finding
Linnton a profitable speculation, they removed to the Plains and began
farming. The town has continued to exist until the present, its
population in 1900 being 384.--ED.
[199] The stream is the Washougal River of Clarke County,
Washington whose source is not as far north as Mount St. Helens, but
near Saddle Peak in Skamania County. A number of the immigrants of 1844
stopped here and established winter quarters, going on the next year to
settle at Puget Sound. Chief among these was Colonel Michael T. Simmons,
this title being bestowed because he was second in command of the
caravan of 1844. Born in Kentucky in 1814, he had in 1840 removed to
Missouri where he built and ran a saw mill, which he sold to obtain his
outfit for the Oregon journey. He explored the Puget Sound region in the
spring of 1845, settling at Tumwater, where he died in 1867. Simmons is
known as the father of Washington; he was sub-Indian agent for several
years, and much concerned in building up the settlement.--ED.
[200] For this landmark see our volume xxi, p. 346, note 120.--ED.
[201] For the Cascades see our volume xxviii, p. 371, note 233.--ED.
[202] This is an alternate name for Deschutes River, for which
see _ante_, p. 119, note 102.--ED.
[203] For this fort see our volume xxi, p. 278, note 73. The
chief of the Wallawalla was Peupeumoxmox, or Yellow Serpent. He early
came under missionary influence, and sent one of his sons to the
Willamette to be educated under Methodist influences. This young man was
christened Elijah Hedding, for a bishop of the church. He remained with
the missionaries for over six years and acquired a command of English.
In the autumn of 1844 a number of Cayuse, Nez Percé, and Wallawalla
chiefs decided to visit the California settlements in order to trade for
cattle. From Sutter's fort they made a raid into the interior, capturing
some horses from a band of thieves. These animals were claimed by the
Spanish and American settlers while the Indians maintained that they
were their own property. In the course of the dispute Elijah was shot
and killed. The Oregon Indians were greatly exasperated by this
incident, threatening to raise a war-party against California, or to
make reprisal upon any or all whites. The affair was quieted by the
Hudson's Bay agent and the missionaries, but was undoubtedly one of the
causes of the Whitman massacre. Yellow Serpent took no part in this
latter event, but was active in the war of 1855, in which he perished
while a hostage in the hands of the whites.
John Augustus Sutter was a German-Swiss born in 1803. After serving in
the Franco-Swiss guards (1823-24) he came to America (1834) and embarked
in the Santa Fé trade (1835-37). In 1838 he started for California,
going via Oregon, the Sandwich Islands, and Alaska. Arriving in San
Francisco Bay (1839) he secured from the Mexican government a concession
on the Sacramento River, where he built a fort (1842-44) and named his
possessions New Helvetia. In 1841 Sutter bought the Russian
establishment known as Ross (see our volume xviii, p. 283, note 121),
whose materials he used in fitting up his own fort. Sutter was friendly
to the American cause, and received emigrants with hospitality. He aided
Frémont in the revolt against Mexican authority. In 1848 gold was
discovered upon his property. He profited but little by this event,
however, and became so poor that he was pensioned by the California
legislature. About 1865 he went East to live, dying in Washington, D.
C., in 1880. H. H. Bancroft secured from Sutter, by means of interviews,
a detailed narrative of his career, and the manuscript is now in the
Bancroft Library, purchased for the University of California in November
1905.--ED.
[204] Ellis (or Ellice) was the son of Bloody Chief. Having
been educated by the Hudson's Bay Company, he had acquired much
influence with his tribe. In 1842, being then about thirty-two years
old, he was, at the instigation of Dr. Elijah White, Indian sub-agent,
chosen head chief of the Nez Percés, and ruled with considerable tact
and wisdom, being favorable to the whites. During the Cayuse War of
1848, Ellis was reported as hunting in the buffalo country; later, it
was stated that having gone with sixty braves to the mountains for elk,
they all perished from an epidemic of measles. Lawyer was chosen as
head-chief in Ellis's place.--ED.
[205] For the location of Whitman's mission, see our volume
xxviii, p. 333, note 210.--ED.
[206] For the Blue Mountains see our volume xxi, p. 273, note
71. The stream was probably Touchet River, the largest affluent of the
Walla Walla. Rising in the Blue Mountains in Columbia County,
Washington, it flows northwest to Dayton, then turns southwest and
south, debouching into the Walla Walla at the present town of
Touchet.--ED.
[207] For this stream see Farnham's _Travels_ in our volume
xxix, p. 79, note 98.--ED.
[208] See Appendix.--PALMER.
[209] For the history of the printing press in use at this
mission, see our volume xxviii, p. 333, note 211. The first book in the
Nez Percé language was a little compilation of texts, consisting of
eight pages. The translation of Matthew was printed at Lapwai; that of
John was later published by the American Bible Society.--ED.
[210] For this mission and its missionaries see our volume
xxvii, p. 367, note 187. The farmer at Lapwai mission was Isaac N.
Gilbert, who was born in New York (1818). He early emigrated to
Illinois, and came to Oregon with the party of 1844. Late in 1846 he
proceeded to the Willamette valley, and settled near Salem, where he was
county clerk and surveyor, dying in 1879. See Oregon Pioneer Association
_Transactions_, 1878, pp. 82, 83.--ED.
[211] For these missions see De Smet's reports in our volumes
xxvii, p. 365, note 184; xxix, p. 178, note 73.--ED.
[212] For this landmark see our volume xxviii, p. 324, note
204.--ED.
[213] For the Crow Indians see our volume v, p. 226, note
121.--ED.
[214] Mike's Head is probably a popular name for the rush of
the Equisetum species, known as "horsetail." The creek is known by the
French form of this plant--à la Prêle; it is a tributary of the Platte,
in Converse County, Wyoming.--ED.
[215] Hiram Smith was born in New York, early emigrated to
Ohio, and crossed the Plains with the party of 1845. Having returned
with Palmer he remained in the states until 1851, coming again to Oregon
with a large drove of cattle and horses. He settled at Portland, and
became wealthy and influential. He crossed again to the states,
returning in 1862--in all, making six journeys of this character. He
died in San Francisco in 1870.--ED.
[216] The Oregon immigration of 1846 was not as large as that
of the previous year. Apparently reliable estimates make the number
about two thousand that finally reached that territory. For a
description of these emigrants see Francis Parkman, _The Oregon Trail_
(Boston, 1849, and later editions), chapters i, vi, vii. See also an
itinerary of the journey by J. Quinn Thornton, _Oregon and California_
(New York, 1849). Among the California emigrants of this year were the
ill-fated Donner party, many of whom perished in the Sierras.--ED.
[217] Probably this was Fabritus R. Smith, a native of
Rochester, New York (1819). Settling at Salem, Oregon, he was in the
state legislature of 1876, and still living at Salem in 1896.--ED.
[218] This unfortunate victim of the Pawnee Indians was Edward
Trimble of Henry County, Iowa. See another account of his death in
_Niles' Register_, lxx, p. 341.--ED.
[219] On this return journey, Palmer took the St. Joseph Trail,
which branched off from the usual Oregon Trail near the Little Blue, and
followed the valley of the Great Nemaha through the Iowa, Sauk, and Fox
reservation to the Missouri opposite St. Joseph. An excellent map of
Nebraska and Kansas, presumably issued in 1854, but lacking name of
place or publisher, plainly indicates this road. For the removal of
these Indians to the reservation in northeast Kansas and southeast
Nebraska see our volume xxviii, pp. 141, 145, notes 87, 89. The agency
was known as the Great Nemaha; it was situated near the mission begun
(1837) by the Presbyterians under the direction of Rev. S. M. Irvin. He
crossed from Missouri with the Indians, and established his mission
twenty-six miles west of St. Joseph, not far from the site of the
present Highland, Doniphan County, Kansas. At the time of Palmer's
visit, Irvin was being assisted by William Hamilton, and a mission
school was in course of establishment.--ED.
[220] For St. Joseph see our volume xxii, p. 257, note 210.
This was not a mission site, but a trading post. The first church built
(1845) was the Presbyterian, under the care of Rev. T. S. Reeve.--ED.
[221] For a contemporary notice of Palmer's arrival in St.
Louis, see _Niles' Register_, lxx, pp. 341, 416.--ED.