could bear in patience. I was assured by Mr. Frank Ermatinger, the
manager of the Company's store at Oregon City, as well as by others,
that Dr. McLoughlin had sustained a heavy individual loss by his charity
to the immigrants. I knew enough myself to be certain that these
statements were substantially true. Yet such was the humility of the
Doctor that he never, to my knowledge, mentioned or alluded to any
particular act of charity performed by him. I was intimate with him, and
he never mentioned them to me."
Col. J. W. Nesmith,[72] from whose address in 1876 I have already
quoted, in that address also said:[73] "Dr. John McLoughlin was a public
benefactor, and the time will come when the people of Oregon will do
themselves credit by erecting a statue to his memory.... Thus far
detraction and abuse have been his principal rewards."
Hon. Willard H. Rees, a pioneer of 1844, in his address before the
Oregon Pioneer Association, in 1879, said:[74] "Dr. McLoughlin, as
director of the affairs of the Hudson's Bay Company west of the Rocky
mountains, had more power over the Indians of the whole Northwest Coast,
which he judiciously exercised, than all other influences multiplied and
combined. He was a great and just man, having in no instance deceived
them, firm in maintaining the established rules regulating their
intercourse, making their supplies, so far as the Company was concerned,
strictly depend upon their own efforts and good conduct, always prompt
to redress the slightest infraction of good faith. This sound
undeviating policy made Dr. McLoughlin the most humane and successful
manager of the native tribes this country has ever known, while the
Indians both feared and respected him above all other men.... Dr.
McLoughlin was no ordinary personage. Nature had written in her most
legible hand preeminence in every lineament of his strong Scotch face,
combining in a marked degree all the native dignity of an intellectual
giant. He stood among his pioneer contemporaries like towering old
[Mount] Hood amid the evergreen heights that surround his mountain
home--a born leader of men. He would have achieved distinction in any of
the higher pursuits of life.... His benevolent work was confined to no
church, sect nor race of men, but was as broad as suffering humanity,
never refusing to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and provide for the
sick and toilworn immigrants and needy settlers who called for
assistance at his old Vancouver home. Many were the pioneer mothers and
their little ones, whose hearts were made glad through his timely
assistance, while destitute strangers, whom chance or misfortune had
thrown upon these, then, wild inhospitable shores, were not permitted to
suffer while he had power to relieve. Yet he was persecuted by men
claiming the knowledge of a Christian experience, defamed by designing
politicians, knowingly misrepresented in Washington as a British
intriguer, until he was unjustly deprived of the greater part of his
land claim. Thus, after a sorrowful experience of man's ingratitude to
man, he died an honored American citizen."
J. Quinn Thornton was one of the early Oregon pioneers. He came to
Oregon with the immigration of 1846. At the meeting of the Oregon
Pioneer Association in 1875, he furnished to that Association a history
of the Provisional Government of Oregon. In this history, speaking of
Dr. John McLoughlin, Thornton said:[75] "The late Dr. John McLoughlin
resided at Fort Vancouver, and he was Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay
Company west of the Rocky Mountains. He was a great man, upon whom God
had stamped a grandeur of character which few men possess and a nobility
which the patent of no earthly sovereign can confer.... As a Christian,
he was a devout Roman Catholic, yet, nevertheless, catholic in the
largest sense of that word.... He was a man of great goodness of heart,
too wise to do a really foolish thing, too noble and magnanimous to
condescend to meanness, and too forgiving to cherish resentments. The
writer, during the last years of Dr. McLoughlin's life, being his
professional adviser, had an opportunity such as no other man had, save
his confessor, of learning and studying him; and as a result of the
impressions, which daily intercourse of either a social or business
nature made upon the writer's mind, he hesitates not to say, that old,
white-headed John McLoughlin, when compared with other persons who have
figured in the early history of Oregon, is in sublimity of character, a
Mount Hood towering above the foot hills into the regions of eternal
snow and sunshine."
Col. J. K. Kelly was Lieutenant-Colonel of the First Regiment of Oregon
Mounted Volunteers in the Yakima Indian War of 1855. He was afterwards a
United States Senator from Oregon, and Chief Justice of the Oregon State
Supreme Court. In his address to the Oregon Pioneer Association in 1882,
speaking of Dr. McLoughlin, Col. Kelly said:[76] "Just and generous as
that law [Oregon Donation Land Law] was to the people of Oregon, yet
there was one blot upon it. I refer to the provisions contained in the
11th section of the act by which the donation claim of Dr. John
McLoughlin, known as the Oregon City claim, was taken from him and
placed at the disposal of the Legislative Assembly to be sold and the
proceeds applied to the endowment of an university. It was an act of
injustice to one of the best friends and greatest benefactors which the
early immigrants ever had. I do not propose to speak of the many
estimable and noble qualities of Dr. McLoughlin here. They have been
dwelt upon by others who have heretofore addressed the Pioneer
Association, and especially by Mr. Rees in 1879. I concur in everything
he said in praise of Dr. McLoughlin.
"It was my good fortune to know him well during the last six years of
his life, years which were embittered by what he considered an act of
ingratitude after he had done so many acts of personal kindness to the
early immigrants in their time of need. That Dr. McLoughlin was unjustly
treated in this matter, few, if any, will deny. And I am very sure that
a large majority of the people, in Oregon, at that time, condemned the
act which took away his property, and tended to becloud his fame. And
yet no act was ever done by the Territorial Government to assert its
right to the Oregon City claim during the life of Dr. McLoughlin; and in
1862, five years after his death, the State of Oregon confirmed the
title to his devisees upon the payment of the merely nominal
consideration of $1,000 into the university fund. And so five years
after he was laid in his grave an act of tardy justice was done at last
to the memory of the grand old pioneer." It was largely through Col.
Kelly's influence and actions that this act was passed in favor of Dr.
McLoughlin's devisees.
Horace S. Lyman was a son of Rev. Horace Lyman, a Congregational
minister who came to Oregon in 1849, and who founded the First
Congregational Church of Portland in June, 1851. Horace S. Lyman grew up
in Oregon and from his own knowledge, from personal association with
pioneer missionaries and others, and from reading, he became well
acquainted with the history of Oregon. He was the author of a "History
of Oregon" published in 1903. His associate editors were Mr. Harvey W.
Scott, Judge Charles B. Bellinger, and Prof. Frederic G. Young. In the
fourth volume of this history, page 381, it is said: "Whether the
justice of history, and the recognition of after times, when personal
interests and partizan spites are dissipated, and a character like that
of McLoughlin stands forth as one of the best ever produced under the
British flag, and one of the best ever given to America, should be
regarded as compensation for the injustice and sufferings of a life
darkened in old age, may not be determined. Yet the historian must ever
assert that a character worthy of perpetual commemoration and
admiration, illuminating, by humanity and Christian doctrine, the dark
chapters of wilderness life from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and
setting a star of hope over the barracks of a mercenary trading company,
is worth all personal sacrifice. It is of such acts that great history
consists. Even to the Doctor himself, going down in old age and poverty,
and doubting whether his family would have a support, and believing that
he had better have been shot as a beast than to have so suffered, we may
hope that it was but 'a light affliction, compared with the perpetual
consciousness of a life of peace and good will sustained in a period
menaced by war."
As I have said, my uncle, Daniel S. Holman, was one of the immigrants of
1843. He was then about twenty-one years old. He will be eighty-five
years old the fifteenth of November, 1907. He lives at McMinnville,
Oregon, strong in mind and body. When I was honored by being selected to
deliver the address, I wrote him asking for his opinion of Dr. John
McLoughlin, for I knew his feelings. He wrote me August 7, 1905. In this
letter he said: "I received yours requesting me to tell you of some of
the kind acts of Doctor McLoughlin. It would take more time than I have
to speak of all the very good things that he did, but I can say that he
did all that was in his power to do to help the starving, wornout and
poverty stricken [immigrants] that came to Oregon. For the first three
or four years after I came if he had not helped us we could not have
lived in Oregon. At the time we came he sent his boats to The Dalles,
free of cost, to help all that could not help themselves to go down the
river. He also sent food and clothing to the destitute and gave it to
them. He also furnished seed grain to everyone who wanted, and waited
for his pay until they raised wheat to pay. The fact is there never was
a better man than he was. He did more than any other man did to settle
Oregon. History says Doctor Whitman was the man who saved Oregon to the
United States, but that is not true. It was Dr. John McLoughlin of the
Hudson's Bay Company. So says every man that is a man, that came to
Oregon up to 1849. He furnished the entire immigration with food and
clothing for the first year after we came. The people did not have money
to live on and so he fed and clothed us all. Some never paid him but
some did pay the good old man."
And he added a postscript to say that his wife thought he had not said
enough about Dr. John McLoughlin. She has been my uncle's loving and
faithful help-mate for more than fifty-nine years. She is a pioneer of
1846. She, too, is still strong, mentally and physically. My uncle said
in the postscript: "I can say that I am sure no man could have done
better than he did to us all. In the fall of 1845 I went out to meet the
immigrants and was gone from home six or eight weeks without a change of
clothing. I got back to Vancouver where the Doctor then lived. I was as
ragged as I could be. I went to his office and told him I wanted some
clothing, but had no money. He gave me an order to his son to let me
have whatever I wanted in the store. He treated others as he did me. In
1848 he let every one who wanted to go to the mines have all they
needed, on time, to go to California. Some never paid him. Have you
anyone in Portland that would help any and all such men off to the mines
on such chances of getting their pay? I don't think there is such a man
in Oregon, or any other place. You can't say too much in his praise."
Joseph Watt, a pioneer of 1844, from whose "Recollections of Dr. John
McLoughlin" I have already quoted, also said, in said
_Recollections_:[77] "The next I saw of the Doctor was in Oregon City,
he having stayed at Fort Vancouver until all the immigrants for that
year [1844] had arrived. He was building a large flouring mill, at that
time nearing its completion. He already had a saw mill in full blast,
also was building a dwelling house, preparing to move to that place,
which he did in the following spring. From that time to his death he was
a prominent figure in Oregon City. Nothing pleased him better than to
talk with the settlers, learn how they were getting along, their
prospects, of their ability to live, and to help others. He was anxious
that every one should be well and kept busy. He could not endure
idleness or waste. Over-reaching, or, what we Americans call 'sharp
practice,' he had no patience with whatever. As far as he was concerned
all transactions were fair, straight-forward and honorable. Those who
knew him best never thought of disputing his word or his declared
intentions, although there were some high in authority who did this in
after years, apparently for selfish motives; and through their
representations, caused the U. S. Government to do an act of great
injustice. But I am proud to be able to say that all, or nearly all of
the first settlers, did not endorse the action, and never rested until
the wrong was adjusted as nearly as it was possible to do so.... It
appeared by common consent that he was practically the first governor of
the great North Pacific Coast. No man ever fulfilled that trust better
than Dr. John McLoughlin. He was always anxious over the Indian problem.
No one understood the Indian character better than he did. All the
Indians knew him as the great 'White Chief,' and believed whatever he
said could be depended on; that he was not their enemy, but was strictly
just with them in every thing;--could punish or reward, as he thought
best, and no trouble grew out of it. But with the settlers the case was
different.... Dr. McLoughlin! Kind, large-hearted Dr. John McLoughlin!
One of nature's noblemen, who never feared to do his duty to his God,
his country, his fellow-men and himself, even in the wilderness. The
pioneers of this great North-West feel that they owe Dr. John McLoughlin
a debt of gratitude above all price, and that they and their posterity
will cherish his memory by a suitable monument placed on the highest
pinnacle of fame within the State of Oregon."
Archbishop F. N. Blanchet came to Oregon in 1838 as Vicar-General of the
Roman Catholic Church in Oregon. He was consecrated as Archbishop in
Quebec in 1845. In his "Historical Sketches of the Catholic Church in
Oregon" (published in 1878), from which I have already quoted, he also
said of Dr. McLoughlin (pp. 8 and 9): "He was one of 'nature's noblemen'
in every sphere of life. Of commanding presence, strict integrity, sound
judgment, and correct principles of justice, no man was better qualified
for the position he occupied as the father and friend of both the
Indians and the whites who then jointly occupied the Pacific northwest.
Dr. McLoughlin was the arbiter to whom both whites and Indians looked
for the settlement of their differences, and the friend from whom they
sought relief in all their difficulties.... Under the impartial
supervision of this good and great man the business of the Hudson Bay
Company prospered amazingly; he perpetuated peace between the Indians
and the employes of the Company.... He also extended assistance to every
immigrant whose necessities required it, and his good deeds have
enshrined his name amidst the most honored of the pioneers of the
Pacific Coast." And on page 71 Archbishop Blanchet said: "Dr. John
McLoughlin was the father of the orphans and servants of the H. B. Co.;
the father of the French-Canadian colonies of Cowlitz and Wallamette
Valley; of all the American immigrants; and a great benefactor of the
Catholic Church."
It will be remembered that Rev. Daniel Lee was a Methodist missionary,
who came to Oregon in 1834. He worked faithfully and earnestly for about
ten years when he returned to the Eastern States. He continued in the
ministry and died about 1895. His son, Rev. William H. Lee, is the
Pastor of the People's Mission Church at Colorado Springs. He was in
Portland in 1905. In answer to the inquiry of Mr. G. H. Himes, Assistant
Secretary of the Oregon Historical Society, Rev. William H. Lee wrote
the following letter at his home, July 31, 1905, to Mr. Himes: "As the
son of a pioneer Oregon Missionary I wish to add my tribute of respect
to the memory of Dr. John McLoughlin. For 10 years my father Rev. Daniel
Lee labored in missionary work in Oregon and during all these years John
McLoughlin was his friend. When my Father and Mother were united in
marriage it was within the hospitable walls of Ft. Vancouver and we
treasure a marriage certificate signed by John McLoughlin as one of the
witnesses. Many times have I heard my Father and Mother speak of the
kindness of Dr. John McLoughlin. And one of the most pleasant memories
of my recent visit to Portland was the privilege I had of stopping in
Oregon City and placing some flowers on the grave of my Father and
Mother's friend."
The well known writer, S. A. Clarke, who was an Oregon immigrant of
1850, published a two volume work in 1903, entitled: "Pioneer Days of
Oregon History." In this work (vol. 1, pp. 214, 215) Mr. Clarke says of
Dr. McLoughlin: "It was because of his loyalty to humanity and his
kindness to Americans that he lost his high official station and was
left almost heartbroken in his old age. We can afford to hold up in
contrast those who profited by his bounty and left him to pay the bill;
also those--be they Missionaries or who--that tried to rob him of his
land claim, with the nobler minded man--John McLoughlin--who did so much
and lost so much for humanity, and never expressed regret."
Mr. Clarke in this work (vol. 1, p. 226) narrates the following
incident, which was told to him by Dr. William C. McKay, who was a
grandson of Mrs. Dr. John McLoughlin. It will be remembered that her
first husband was Alexander McKay, who was killed in the capture of the
Tonquin in 1811. "In 1843 William Beagle and family reached Vancouver
destitute, and he had the typhus fever. McLoughlin heard of it and told
Dr. Barclay there was a sick and destitute family at the landing; to fix
up a house for them, make them comfortable and attend to the sick.
"Dr. W. C. McKay had just returned from the States where he pursued
medical studies. So the doctor invited him to assist in taking care of
his patients. There was the mother and several children, who had all
they needed for two months, until Beagle got better, when he went to
Governor McLoughlin and asked what his bill was. 'Tut, tut, tut! bill,
bill, bill! Take care of yourself, sir! That is the bill!" Beagle
pleaded that even the doctor couldn't afford to take care of his family
and treat them so long without pay. 'Tut, tut, tut,' was the reply. 'You
do the best you can for some other man who is in trouble, and that will
pay me.'
"He sent them up the Willamette, free of charge, sold them supplies that
were necessary until Beagle could earn money, and was finally paid for
them in full. This is but one instance in the many where the kindness
and generosity of Dr. McLoughlin was manifested toward Americans who
reached Vancouver sick and impoverished and received his generous and
kindly care."
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See Document A at end of volume.
[2] See Document B.
[3] See Document C.
[4] Report of Naval Agent W. A. Slocum to the Secretary of State, March
26, 1837.
[5] Dunn's _History of the Oregon Territory_, p. 143.
[6] Wilkes's _Narrative_, iv, p. 327.
[7] See Document C.
[8] John Dunn was an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company. He came from
England to Fort Vancouver, in 1830, by sea. He returned to England in
1839 or 1840. The first edition of his history was published in London
in 1844.
[9] Belcher's _Narrative of a Voyage Round the World_, vol. i, p. 296.
[10] As to the high regard which Wyeth retained through his life for Dr.
McLoughlin, see Document O.
[11] See Document D.
[12] Rev. Gustavus Hines, _History of Oregon_, p. 16.
[13] Dr. H. K. Hines, _Missionary History_, p. 90.
[14] Rev. Gustavus Hines, _History of the Oregon Missions_, pp. 31, 32;
Dr. H. K. Hines, _Missionary History_, p. 156.
[15] Lee and Frost's _Ten Years in Oregon_, pp. 225, 226.
[16] See Documents E and F.
[17] _Transactions_, Oregon Pioneer Association for 1875, p. 45.
[18] _History of Oregon_ by Rev. H. K. Hines, D.D., pp. 166, 167.
[19] Gray's _History of Oregon_, pp. 268, 269.
[20] "Narrative of Dr. McLoughlin" published in the _Quarterly_ of the
Oregon Historical Society, June, 1900.
[21] Address of Medorum Crawford, in 1881. See _Transactions_ of the
Oregon Pioneer Association for 1881, p. 14.
[22] See _Quarterly_ of the Oregon Historical Society, Vol. 3, pp.
398-426.
[23] Wilkes, _History of Oregon_, p. 95.
[24] See Theodore Roosevelt's _Winning of the West_.
[25] _Oregon Spectator_, November 12, 1846.
[26] A full summary will be found in Vol. 1, pp. 501-505, _History of
Oregon_, Bancroft's Works.
[27] See Document R.
[28] See Document C.
[29] Vol. 1, pp. 504, 505, _History of Oregon_, Bancroft's Works.
[30] Vol. 1, p. 31, _History of Oregon_, Bancroft's Works, from
manuscript of Jesse Applegate.
[31] See Document L.
[32] White's _Ten Years in Oregon_, p. 200.
[33] Rev. Dr. H. K. Hines, _Missionary History_, p. 354.
[34] See Document L.
[35] Vol. 1, p. 204, _History of Oregon_, Bancroft's Works. See also
Document L.
[36] This proclamation is set forth in full in Document I.
[37] This agreement is set forth in full in Document J.
[38] Vol. 1, p. 253, _History of the Pacific Northwest_, by Elwood
Evans; _The River of the West_, by Frances Fuller Victor, pp. 360, 361;
Vol. 1, pp. 224, 225, _History of Oregon_, Bancroft's Works.
[39] Vol. 1, p. 207, _History of Oregon_, Bancroft's Works; Vol. 1, p.
243, Elwood Evans's _History of the Pacific Northwest_. See also
Document H.
[40] See Document H, which is a true copy of all the Shortess petition
as printed in 1844 by order of the United States Senate.
[41] See Document N.
[42] See Document K.
[43] Set forth in Document J.
[44] _Congressional Globe_, Vol. 21, Part Second, p. 1079, first Session
of 31st Congress.
[45] This letter of Dr. McLoughlin is set forth in full in Document L.
See also letter of William J. Berry, Document M.
[46] See Document N, where excerpts from this speech are set forth.
[47] White's _Ten Years in Oregon_, pp. 220, 221.
[48] _Oregon Spectator_, August 22 and 29, 1850.
[49] _Oregon Spectator_, September 26, 1850.
[50] _Oregon Spectator_, November 7, 1850.
[51] _Western Star_ (Milwaukee, Oregon) February 20, and March 13, 1851.
[52] Attention is called to the correspondence of S. R. Thurston,
Nathaniel J. Wyeth, R. C. Winthrop and Dr. McLoughlin, which is set
forth in Document O.
[53] See Document P.
[54] _House Journal_, 1853-54, P. 165.
[55] See Document Q.
[56] _Transactions_ of the Oregon Pioneer Association for 1887, p. 16.
[57] _Transactions_ of the Oregon Pioneer Association for 1888, p. 134.
[58] _Transactions_ of the Oregon Pioneer Association for 1888, pp. 135,
136.
[59] For further opinions of contemporaries of Dr. McLoughlin, see
Document S.
[60] Greenhow's _History of Oregon and California_, pp. 323-325, 467-476
(second edition, 1845); Martin's _Hudson Bay Territories and Vancouver's
Island_, pp. 151-165; Bryce's _The Remarkable History of the Hudson's
Bay Company_, Chapters XXIV to XXIX.
[61] This copy of the Shortess petition is made from the United States
Senate Document as printed by its order of February 7, 1844. It is
Senate Document 105, 28th Congress, 1st Session. One copy of this
original Senate Document is in the possession of Milton W. Smith, Esq.,
of Portland, Oregon. By his courtesy the foregoing copy was made from
said Senate Document. The purported copy of the Shortess petition in
Gray's _History of Oregon_ and in Brown's _Political History of Oregon_
are not true copies.
[62] See Document N.
[63] Bernard's Heirs v. Ashley's Heirs, 18 _Howard_ (U. S. Supreme
Court) 43; Hot Spring Cases, 2 _Otto_ (U. S. Supreme Court) 698, 706.
[64] Rev. Gustavus Hines, _History of Oregon_, Chapter x.
[65] See Document J.
[66] Mrs. Frances F. Victor, _The River of the West_, pp. 359, 360;
_History of Oregon_, Bancroft's Works, Vol. I, p. 223.
[67] See Document L, where this injunction by Thurston, written on the
copy of his letter, is set forth in full.
[68] Hall v. Russell, 101 _U. S._, 503.
[69] This correspondence was also published in full in the _Western
Star_ (published at Milwaukee, Oregon), in its issue of April 10, 1851.
[70] See Document F.
[71] _Transactions_ of the Oregon Pioneer Association for 1876, p. 18.