Copyright 2000, 2001 - Janine M. Bork
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Union County, OR AGHP
CHAPTER XV.
(1838 - 1846.)
Political Mission of Hudson's Bay Company in Oregon, to Strengthen British Claim - Their Establishments - Gradual Abandonment of Posts, and Contraction of Operations - The Puget Sound Agricultural Company - Its Objects and Plan of Operations.
BY ITS admirable system of trade and Indian policy, the Hudson's Bay Company absorbed the wealth of the region, and acquired dominion over the country and its population. It constituted the great agency whereby Great Britain aimed to perpetuate its power in Northwest America, and to obtain supremacy in Pacific commerce. One of the conditions upon which the license of trade had been granted was that English laws, and the jurisdiction of the English courts, should be extended over all parts of North America not yet organized into civil or provincial governments. By the treaty of 1919, between the United States and Great Britain, it had been provided that neither government would do any act to acquire or mature claim, or that any act by either, or the citizens or subjects of either, could prejudice the claim of the other; but that the citizens of both nations should, for the term of ten years, freely enter and trade in the territory without molestation. The presence of the company with such a duty imposed by the British government to extend fourteen years beyond the time when such Joint-Occupancy Treaty should expire by its express terms, exhibits too palpably the animus of the British government to acquire Oregon; and that Great Britain relied upon her grantees to contribute tot he defeat of the claim of the United States; to exalt and perfect British right to the territory, by acts of occupancy and settlement.
In 1837, as the time of expiration of the license was approaching, the Hudson's Bay Company petitioned for its renewal, with increased privileges. The first license had merely conferred the right of exclusive trade. The company now asked for a grant of the land for settlement. It was urged that the efficient services of the company in excluding American traders from the territory entitled them to favorable consideration. The violation of the spirit as well as the letter of the Joint-Occupancy conventions of 1818 and 1827 was boastfully cited as worthy of reward. Sir J.H. Pelly, chief officer of the company's affairs in England, thus presents the petition:
"When your lordships come to consider the very hazardous nature of the trade, requiring a degree of enterprise almost unknown to any other business, together with the heavy losses to which the parties interested therein were subjected for a lng series of years, from the want of protection and support which they had a right to expect from her Majesty's government, I feel sure that your lordships will join me in opinion that the profits now arising from the business are no more than a fair return for the capital employed, and the services of the Hudson's Bay Company rendered the mother country in securing to it a branch of commerce which they are at present wresting out of the
hands of the foreigners, subjects of Russia and of the United States of America, but which the company would have been unable to prosecute had they not been protected by the license of exclusive trade they now hold.
"The company now occupy the country between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific, by six permanent establishments on the coast, sixteen in the interior country, six armed vessels, one of them a steam vessel. Their principal establishment and depot for the trade of the coast and interior is situated ninety miles from the Pacific on the northern banks of the Columbia river, and called Vancouver, in honor of that celebrated navigator. In the neighborhood they have large pasture and grain farms, affording most abundantly every species of agricultural produce, and maintaining large herds of stock of every description; these have been gradually established; and it is the intention of the company still further, not only to augment and increase them, to establish an export trade in wool, tallow, hides and other agricultural produce, but to encourage the settlement of their retired servants and other emigrants under their protection. The soil, climate and other circumstances of the country are as much adapted to agricultural pursuits as any other spot in America; and with care and protection the British dominion may not only be preserved in this country, which it has been so much the wish of Russia and America to occupy to the exclusion of British subjects, but British interest and British influence may be maintained as paramount in this interesting part of the coast of the Pacific."
* * * * *
"Your lordships will perceive that much has already been done by the Hudson's Bay Company, resulting from the privileges they enjoy; but that much more, involving great outlay of money and heavy responsibility, will soon be required to be done, in order to complete the operations they have in hand, and to give effect to the measures they have in contemplation, which may hereafter become important to Great Britain in a national point of view; and that, without the extension of the term of license the company now hold, they could not feel justified, with a due regard to the interests of the numerous parties connected with the business, in following up several of the extensive and expensive arrangements before mentioned, which are now in progress."
Sir George Simpson, governor of the company's affairs in America, adds his testimony:
"Previous to 1821, the business of the Columbia department was very limited; but it has since been greatly extended at much expense, and I am sorry to state, at a considerable sacrifice of life among the company's officers and servants, owing to the fierce, treacherous and blood-thirsty character of the population and the dangers of the navigation. It now comprehends twenty-two trading establishments, besides several migratory, hunting and trading expeditions, and six armed vessels on the northwest coast. The fur trade is the principal branch of business at present in the country situated between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean.
"On the banks of the Columbia river, however, where the soil and climate are favorable to cultivation, we are directing our attention to agriculture on a large scale; and there is every prospect that we shall soon be able to establish important branches of export trade from thence in the articles of wool, tallow, hides, tobacco, and grain of various kinds.
"The country situated between
the northern bank of the Columbia river, which empties into the Pacific,
in latitude forty-six degrees, twenty minutes, and the southern bank of
Fraser river, which empties itself into the Gulf of Georgia, in latitude
forty-nine degrees, is remarkable for the salubrity of its climate and
excellence of its soil, and
possesses, within the Strait of Juan de Fuca, some of the finest harbors in the world, being protected from the weight of the Pacific by Vancouver's and other islands. To the southward of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, situated in latitude forty-eight degrees, thirty-seven seconds, there is no good harbor nearer than the Bay of San Francisco, in latitude thirty-seven degrees, forty-eight seconds, as the broad, shifting bar off the mouth of the Columbia, and the tortuous channel through it, renders the entrance of the river very dangerous to navigation even to vessels of very small draught of water.
"The possession of that country to Great Britain may become an object of very great importance; and we are strengthening that claim to it (independent of the claims of prior discovery and occupation for the purpose of Indian trade) by forming the nucleus of a colony through the establishment of farms, and the settlement of some of our retired officers and servants as agriculturists."
In the protracted controversy between the United States and Great Britain, the vast importance of the company's interests which had grown up in Oregon by their presence for a quarter of a century, fostered and encouraged by the British government, as the element whereby British claim was to be ripened into British title, occasioned the great delay, in fact, was the material cause of difficulty. The British government struggled to secure to the company indemnity from any loss which it would be compelled to sustain by withdrawal form Oregon, and at the same time transfer to the United States the liability to compensate the company for its able services in attempting to defeat the United States' territorial claim to Oregon. The British government's championship of the company's services well-nigh embroiled the two nations in war. For the sake of peace, the Untied States accepted the terms of the Treaty of Limits of June 15, 1846; - the United States surrendered claim to territory spanned by five degrees and forty minutes of latitude, between the Rocky Mountains and Pacific Ocean; yielded all claim to Vancouver Island; shared with Great Britain the navigation of the Strait of Juan de Fuca; consented to respecting such possessory rights as the Hudson's Bay Company might assert; bound the nation to purchase the farms and lands of the Puget Sound Agricultural Company, or confirm them to that so-called company; and granted to the Hudson's Bay Company the right of free navigation of the Columbia river, from the forty-ninth parallel to the Pacific Ocean. True, the treaty was made to settle differences between two nations; as such it but partially fixed the northern boundary of the United States claim to Oregon. Beyond that it was a mere transfer by the British government to the United States of the duty to protect the interests of the Hudson's Bay and Puget Sound Agricultural Companies in what was left of Oregon, south of the forty-ninth parallel. Justice to the Hudson's Bay Company compels the avowal, that they executed their policy so ably, that the Americanization of Oregon had been rendered almost impracticable, the territorial claim of the United States almost defeated.
The extent of that company's
operations, and how far it really absorbed the territory, will be better
understood by an exhibit of its establishments. At the date of the treaty
(June 15, 1846), there were in Oregon, south of the boundary, nine forts
and several establishments for trading and farming. In the location of
those forts, the company's officers exhibited great judgment and sagacity.
They had seized and occupied all the advantageous positions, embracing
within their field of operations almost the entire country, well adapted
to hold the native tribes in subjection, to assure facilities for the concentration
of trade, and ready access to every portion of the territory.
Fort Vancouver (the site of the present city of Vancouver, and the United States military depot) was established in 1824 by Dr. John McLoughlin, manager of the Hudson's Bay Company trade on the Pacific coast. The post was inclosed in a stockade, two hundred yards by one hundred and seventy-five yards, defended by bastions at the southeast and northwest angles, on which bastions were mounted heavy guns. In the inclosure were the residence of the chief executive officer, two buildings occupied by clerks, a row of buildings for residences of families, five large two-story houses, with a number of offices. The original site stood upon high ground a half mile back from the river. Outside was a huge warehouse, and a salmon house on the banks of the Columbia river. Near the fort was a village of cabins affording dwellings to numerous Kanakas, Canadians and servants of the company. A grist-mill was erected in 1836, and the company also established a saw-mill, which was prevented from running at high stages of water. Several tracts of land were occupied and cultivated by servants.
Fort Vancouver was the headquarters of the Columbia district, which included all the territory west of the Rocky Mountains. The returns from all the posts in Oregon were made to this point; and from here all accounts were transmitted for settlement. The chief factors were located at this post, and a very large business was transacted.
Fort Colvile, next in importance to Fort Vancouver, located on the east bank of the Columbia river, south of Clark's Fork, latitude forty-eight degrees, thirty-nine minutes north, was established in 1825. The stockade was about seventy yards square, within which were the residence of the chief factor, four storehouses, several small cabins, a cattle yard, hay sheds, a number of huts occupied by servants, and three buildings used for warehouses. There was a cattle coral nine miles distant, on the Schlowskan river, and a grist-mill three miles from the fort, on the same stream. An extensive farm in the vicinity raised a sufficiency of wheat to supply the northern inland posts with flour. At one time a chief factor was assigned to its management. here were concentrated the furs and peltries previous to transmission to Canada; and from this point the inland northern forts were supplied. Shortly after the treaty, this post ceased to be of importance.
Fort Okanagon was established by Mr. Astor's company in 1811, and passed into the hands of the North West Company in the transfer by the Pacific Fur Company. It came into the possession of the Hudson's Bay Company by assignment of the North West Company. It possessed many advantages of position, and afforded a stopping-place for the annual brigades on their passage to and from Fort Vancouver.
Fort Kootenais, upon McGillivray's river, southeast of Flatbow Lake, was a small post, in charge of a Canadian, who acted as trader, with but two or three men under him. This establishment never was of much importance, except in the scheme of the occupancy of the country. To the southeast was a trading-post among the Flathead Indians, not of sufficient extent or importance to be classed as a fort.
Fort Walla Walla, on the
Columbia river, near its junction with the Walla Walla, was originally
called Fort Nez Perce. It was established in 1818 by Peter Skeen Ogden,
then a North West trader. He was attacked by Indians of the Walla Walla
tribe, on the ground where the old fort stands, and obliged to retreat
to the island near the fort, where he made a successful defense and completely
repulsed the savages. As a trading-post, it was entitled to but little
consideration. It was important, however, as a stopping-place for trains,
and for keeping the Indians in check. It consisted of an inclosure of pickets
some two hundred feet square, with a platform inside, from which the pickets
could be overlooked. At the northeast and southwest corners were bastions.
The buildings, four
in number, were built of logs and mud, one story high, used as residences of employés. Up the Walla Walla river twenty miles were a farm and dairy, where some twenty acres were cultivated. A dam had been erected, but it had disappeared early after the treaty. The country some little distance back was appropriated for grazing, but immediately adjacent to the fort was a complete desert of drifting sand, on which nothing appeared to vegetate except wild sage.
Fort Hall, established by Captain Nathaniel J. Wyeth of Boston, in 1834 (who was forced to abandon it and sell out to the company), was located at the head of Snake river. It was built of clay, with a large sally-post fronting the Port Neuf, with walls extending towards the banks of Snake river. A block-house is at one of the angles; and the buildings within the inclosure are against the side walls. A main building was occupied by the officers in charge; and several cabins furnished residences for employés. It derived its great importance from being on the great emigrant trail; and, by its proximity to Great Salt Lake, it was rendered valuable as a trading post.
Fort Boise, established by the company to compete with Fort Hall, is located on the east bank of Snake river, near the mouth of the Owyhee. The entrance fronts on Snake river; and block-houses were placed at the corners for purposes of defense. The walls were of clay, as also the one-story buildings, used as residences and storerooms within the inclosure. After Wyeth's abandonment of the country, it possessed no importance except as a stopping-place.
Fort Umpqua, on the south bank of the river of that name, was established in 1832 by John McLeod, a chief trader, and Michael de Framboise. It was the principal post south of the Columbia, and was located about forty miles from the Pacific Ocean, three miles below the mouth of Elk river, on a plain comprising upwards of two hundred acres of land, of which forty were under cultivation. Its trade was principally with the coast indians, in beaver and seal furs. The buildings were log huts, four in number, inclosed within pickets twelve feet high, with bastions at two of the angles. The Indians in the vicinity were very troublesome, and on more than one occasion attacked it. In 1839, this fort was besieged for a number of hours; but, after several Indians had been severely wounded, they retreated. It was in charge of a Frenchman, who, with some friendly Indians, successfully resisted the attack. The post was of little importance, being a mere trading station.
The other possessions of the company, occupied or claimed at the time of the treaty, were a house and granary at Champoeg, on the Willamette river, an acre of ground below the falls of the Willamette, six hundred and forty acres of land on Sauvies Island, with a house, dairy and farm. This was the Wapato island of Lewis and Clark, and was occupied by Captain Wyeth of Boston, in 1834-5, as a fishing and trading station. he sold to the company, when unable to succeed against their competition. A granary and five acres of land were occupied near the mouth of the Cowlitz river, a tract of land upon Cape Disappointment (1), and a small establishment near Chinook.
Fort Nisqually, the only post in the Puget Sound region, was established in 1833 by Lieutenant Kittson, of the voltigeurs, then acting as a clerk in the company's service. There was a large warehouse on the banks of the Sound, near the mouth of the
(1) Cape
Disappointment, at the mouth of the Columbia river, was taken as a claim
by an American named Wheeler. Peter S. Ogden, Esq., chief factor of the
Hudson's Bay Company, under instructions from England, obtained possession
by buying out Wheeler, and himself in February, 1848, entered the claim
under the land laws of the Oregon Provisional government. The instructions
were issued from England just subsequent to the abrupt termination (August
30, 1845) of negotiations on the Oregon boundary between Sir R. Pakenham
and Mr. Buchanan, the United States Secretary of State. The taking of this
claim was for no other purpose than military occupancy of the mouth of
the Columbia river. It has no value as a trading point. There were but
few Indians in its vicinity; and the stations of Fort George (Astoria)
and the Chinook were both near at hand. Nor could it ever be claimed, even
if the license of trade permitted such charter of establishment, that it
had any utility for agricultural purposes. Yet the Hudson's Bay Company,
having seized this point for aggressive hostility to the United States,
claimed the sum of $14,600, for the occupancy of little over four months,
without improvements, except merely enough to indicate possession.
Sisqualichew creek, erected in 1840. The fort stood upon the table land about three-quarters of a mile from the Sound, on the south side of the creek. Outside of the inclosure, the creek is dammed and admirably adapted for the washing of sheep. The post consisted of a number of buildings within a stockade, with bastions at two of its angles. Outbuildings were erected near, a barn, blacksmith shop and cabins, used by the servants for residences.
This post derives its importance from commanding the tracts in the vicinity, which constituted the largest portion of the lands and farms of the Puget Sound Agricultural Company.
Before referring tot he establishments in the name of the Puget Sound Agricultural Company, it is proper to notice that company and its formation. A prospectus signed by Wm. F. Tolmie, Forbes Barclay and Geo. B. Roberts exhibits the intention of the proposers, the plan upon which it was to be formed, its objects and purposes. The preamble recites that the soil and climate of the country on the Columbia river, particularly the district situated between the headwaters of the Cowlitz river and Puget Sound, is considered highly favorable for raising flocks and herds, with a view of producing wool, hides and tallow, and the cultivation of agricultural produce. The association was to be under the protection and auspices of the Hudson's Bay Company. Its operations were to be confined to the country west of the Rocky Mountains. The capital stock of the company, L200,000 was divided into 2,000 shares. During the pendency of negotiations as to the title of Oregon, the management of the business ws to be conducted solely by agents resident in England; and John Henry Pelly, Andrew Colvile and George Simpson were named. The first general meeting of stockholders was to be held in London, December, 1840, and within said month in every year afterwards on fourteen days' notice, published in two newspapers printed in London or Middlesex county. The Puget Sound Company were to purchase, of the Hudson's Bay Company, their stock of sheep, cattle, horses and implements of husbandry. The three agents in London selected managing agents in the district, and fixed their salaries; but any agent so appointed was placed under the superintendence of the officers of the Hudson's Bay Company managing the fur trade in the district. The London agents were to execute a bond to the Hudson's Bay Company, conditioned that neither the Puget Sound Agricultural Company, nor any persons in their employ, nor by them taken into the district, should directly or indirectly trade in furs and peltries while in the employ or under agreement with the Puget Sound Agricultural Company, and in making such agreement with employés, that the employé should observe the above conditions. The agents were to retain authority to dismiss such employé, and remove him out of the district, to the point where his services were engaged; and that all such employés were subject to the conditions, restrictions and regulations of the Hudson's Bay Company.
Whenever the Crown of Great Britain became possessed of the sovereignty of any part of said district, application was then to be made for an act of incorporation. In the meantime, a deed of settlement was to be executed by the London agents, properly defining the duties of officers and agents, and for the successful carrying on of the business of the company.
The Puget Sound Agricultural
Company was a mere copartnership on the joint-stock principle, consisting
of parties interested in the Hudson's Bay Company. Its purpose was to seize
and occupy lands for agricultural purposes, intending to obtain a grant,
in the event of Great Britain obtaining sovereignty of the Oregon country.
As the Hudson's
Bay Company could not lawfully acquire lands, it was an artifice to evade such disability. Great Britain never did acquire title to the lands recited in the preamble; and the Puget Sound Agricultural Company, as a consequence, failed ever to acquire a legal existence, enabling it to own lands and alienate them. Their title was but a mere occupancy, terminating on the dissolution of the partnership by the withdrawal or death of any of the copartners or shareholders. The treaty, by the language it uses, may recognize title. Surely it never conferred it. But, as the United States has since purchased the claims, further comment is useless.
We pause to consider, nay, to admire, the vast influence which that remarkable organization wielded in international affairs, carrying the two great empires of the world to the verge of war; a war which must have proved destructive tot he best interests of civilization and humanity. It had the power to force its recognition as one of the conditions of peace; to exact that "the farms, lands and other property of every description belonging to the Puget Sound Agricultural Company, on the north side of the Columbia river, shall be confirmed to the said company. In case, however, the situation of those lands and farms should be considered by the United States to be of public and political importance, and the United States government should signify a desire to obtain possession of the whole, or any part thereof, the property so required shall be transferred to the government, at a proper valuation, to be agreed upon between the parties."
The language made use of recognizes the fee to be in the company, subject only to the reserved right by the United States to purchase the land at the price agreed upon between the parties, when such property of the company may be deemed as useful for public and political objects.
Of the two thousand shares, six hundred and forty were never sold; and the holders paid but ten per centum upon the stock. While California was a Mexican province, on consent of the government of Mexico, the company imported five thousand sheep from California, three thousand of which were brought to Oregon overland, and two thousand by sea. The sheep stocked the Nisqually and Cowlitz farms.
Under the treaty of 1846, the Puget Sound Agricultural Company, so called, asserted claim to the following tracts of land:
"First. The tract of land at Nisqually, extending along the shores of Puget Sound from the Nisqually river, on the one side, to the Puyallup on the other, and back to the Cascade Range of mountains, containing not less than two hundred and sixty-one square miles, or one hundred and sixty-seven thousand and forty acres; of which said tract of land a portion is improved and under cultivation for farming and agriculture; and the remaining portion thereof was occupied and used by the company for grazing and pasturage of their cattle, horses and sheep, and for cutting wood and timber thereon, and for other purposes connected with their business; together with Fort Nisqually, bastions, houses, stores, barns, shops and outbuildings, with the fencing and inclosures at the main posts and establishments, and the houses, barns, outbuildings, fencing and inclosures at other points on the said land.
"Secondly. The farm at Cowlitz
river known as the Cowlitz, consisting of three thousand five hundred and
seventy-two acres, more or less, of which upwards of fifteen hundred acres
are improved and under cultivation for farming and agricultural purposes;
and the remaining portion s used for cattle and sheep ranges and pasturage,
and for other
purposes connected with the business of said company; the establishment and buildings of the Cowlitz farm, consisting of dwelling-houses, saw-mills, stores, granaries, barns, stables, sheds and piggeries, and of a great extent of fencing and inclosures.
"Thirdly. The company also owned and possessed livestock, consisting of three thousand one hundred head of neat cattle, three hundred and fifty horses, and five thousand three hundred sheep, of the value of twenty-five thousand pounds sterling, which were pastured and fed on the said lands before and at the time of the conclusion of the treaty of the 15th of June, 1846."
The above claims are recited
in the language of the memorial of the Puget Sound Agricultural Company,
to the Joint Commission provided by the Convention between the United States
and Great Britain of March 3, 1864, to award compensation for the possessory
rights of the Hudson's Bay Company, and the lands, farms and property of
the Puget Sound Agricultural Company, under the treaty of June 15, 1846,
known as the Treaty of Limits. It fixed a northern boundary of the United
States upon the northwest coast. It then incorporated provisions whereby
the United States obligated itself to purchase south of the boundary the
very territory the treaty had conceded belonged to the United States. No
territorial claims were to have been acquired under the Joint-Occupancy
Treaties of 1818 and 1827, by virtue of which the Hudson's Bay Company
secured a presence in Oregon. And yet five millions of dollars were asked
by this company, for occupancy of this territory to the exclusion of citizens
of the United States for about a quarter of a century.