DEC. 29, 1828.]

Occupancy of the Oregon River.

[H. of R.

strict conformity with the principle. Now, what would be the consequence, supposing the bill to pass, and thereby to give a social existence to that country? They had, from the Missouri to the salt water of the ocean, thirteen or fourteen hundred miles: and from the mouth of the Missouri to the head of navigation, say two thousand five hundred miles. There was then the rugged and almost impassable belt of the Rocky mountains; and nineteentwentieths of the space between the Missouri and the Pacific ocean, beyond the culturable prairies, which were not above two or three hundred miles, was a waste and sterile tract, no better than the desert of Zahara, the traversing of which, even during the best seasons, was attended with the extreme of difficulty and danger. After describing the tedious, laborious, and hazardous mode of navigating the river Oregon, which was not, he contended, navigable for more than three hundred miles, he observed that he had received a letter from Mr. Wilson P. Hunt, a gentleman who was well known to many of the members of that House, and who was perhaps as well acquainted with that country as any man in the Union, which gave a frightful account of the horrors attending his crossing the Rocky Mountains. Mr. Hunt and his companions suffered, from starvation, as much, perhaps, as human nature could endure. He related one instance, in particular, wherein, after famishing for several days, he had suddenly fallen in with an Indian encampment, and perceiving a half starved horse wandering near, directed one of his men to kill it; he had afterwards purchased the slaughtered animal from the Indians, for the extortionate price of a handful of bread; and finally, in continuing his route across the mountains, had been compelled to feed upon the hide, which his party carried with them, cut up into thongs. Such [Mr B. observed] were the hardships always to be encountered by those who crossed the Rocky Mountains from the source of the Missouri. Farther to the south, towards the Colorado, or near the Bonaventura, they could be crossed with comparatively little difficulty; in one place, he had been given to understand, there was to be met with merely a single mountain. The country west of the mountains merited, he must remark, more of their attention than his former allusions to its barrenness could possibly call forth. The principal part, in the vicinity of the mountains, was composed of rocky and stony ridges, interspersed occasionally with spots of ground, giving life to nothing but the spruce, the hemlock, and other trees of a similar description. The soil, where there was any, in the lower ground, was formed merely of the rotted pine leaves, and even that was swept away by the inundation which periodically covered the country on the banks of the river. To-day, the extremity of drought would prevail; to-morrow, all, except the hills, would be submerged in the floods.

States of the Union prior to the Revolution? It went even farther-it went, in point of fact, to sanction the policy of foreign colonization, as must be apparent to all who would take the trouble to investigate the matter. It had been maintained by many of their greatest and wisest men, that one paramount excellence of their unrivalled constitution was, that it could be extended to any limits and embrace any number of independent States, within the great scheme of social polity which is laid down. Now he fully subscribed to that opinion, provided there were one continuous population connecting the various States with each other; provided there were no great break intervening between the projected new territories and those already established: but, at the most distant extremity of the continent, it must be evident that the settlers, and the country itself, instead of being under the superintendence and guardianship of the General Government, would be entirely dependent upon the will of the individuals for whom such great and exclusive powers were asked. There was another very solid ground of objection to the proposed measure, which should not be lost sight of: the wild, the lawless, and the desperate part of the community-those whom society cast from her would, allured by the prospect of impunity for crime, and the hope of advancement where they were unknown, seek a refuge exempt from all salutary control, in the bosom of that wilderness, to the exclusion of peaceable, regular, and orderly settlers. He strenuously opposed the system of what he would term a half incorporation-the giving to individuals, or associations of individuals, vested rights in large districts of land, upon which, at any future period, Congress would be debarred from laying their hands; and all this, too, without any correlative obligation on the part of those to whom such munificent gifts were proposed to be made. He felt it his duty, also, to oppose equally the proposition which went to grant permission to the settlers to purchase lands of the Indians, and acquire, by that means, the right over the soil, &c. Such a course would be an overturning of the system which had been adopted and pursued, with respect to Indian lands, for more than forty years: it had always been left to the Federal Government to extinguish Indian titles, and the wisdom of such a policy was obvious, not only from the experience of that long period, but also from the very nature of the thing itself. He did not profess a deep knowledge of the laws of nations, and he therefore was not prepared to say in what light these associations were to be viewed; certainly it appeared to him, either as colonists (and from their distance, and the natural obstacles to an intercourse with them, he would say foreign colonists), or as a nation in miniature. But what was to be done after these settlers had obtained possession of the land, and erected their fort? Whether to defend themselves against the savages, or against a Russian oran English fleet, he could not say. Why, the President of the United States would be required to supply guns, arms, and munitions of war, and to commission the officers of their militia! Whereas the United States had no militia, except, peradventure, a few within the District of Columbia; all the other militia in the Union were local, and appertained to their respective States. He objected to the bill on that ground also. In direct connection with that scheme of proprietary government, came the consideration of the establishment of a territory under the protecting arm of the Government. Since the first cession of the Northwest territory by Virginia, the principle had been laid down, in the establishment of new territories, formed, as they all were, with a heterogeneous population, collected from all parts of the world, that the term necessary for them to remain before their admission into the Unioned the harbor. With respect to what had been said on a as States, was a period of probation, to teach them to govern themselves, previous to participating in the blessings of the Union. The practice had been invariably in

He then proceeded to speak of the insurmountable difficulties that attend the navigation of the Oregon river, as it opened into the ocean; of the disadvantages of its harbor; and of the danger incurred by vessels from the high, rocky, and iron-bound coast immediately contiguous to it. It was visited regularly by the monsoons; and most vessels passed by, for fear of being dashed to pieces in making the harbor, or being wind-bound when there. They preferred going many degrees farther to take in wood and fish, the only supplies the country produced. The very names described the place better than any words of his could. The North Cape of the harbor had been called Cape Disappointment by an English vessel, which, for a long time, attempted to get in, but in vain; and it was never afterwards discovered till the year 1793, when Captain Gray, of Boston, visited it, and enter

former day, by the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. FLOYD], as to the fertility of the country, the House must pardon him if he troubled them with a short statement of facts

H. OF R.]

Occupancy of the Oregon River.

[DEC. 29, 1828.

ing daily. But little property was now made in it, except incidentally, by great good fortune, in stumbling on particular spots which had not previously been visited by the hunters; and these, as every person at all conversant with the business must know, were " few and far between." He himself, though residing at a place which brought him immediately into contact with persons engaged in that pursuit, knew but one person who had made a fortune by it. He alluded to Gen. Ashley, of St. Louis; and even in that case, it was to be attributed solely to the superior enterprise and good fortune of that gentleman, and the sagacity which led him to take the best and least frequented routes. Gen. Ashley's party consists of about one hundred men, and from three to five hundred horses: he shapes his course three or four degrees south of the line usually followed, crosses the belt of mountains at a place where he meets but one or two inconsiderable mountains to oppose his progress, and, in three or four months, finds himself on the Salt Lake, west of the Rocky Mountains. He [Mr. BATES] then held in his hand a letter from that gentleman, which would give some idea of the research and enterprise necessary to render such pursuits successful and profitable. But to resume his argument as to the barren and inhospitable face of the country generally. It was precisely of the same description at the source of the Columbia river. He had received a letter on the subject, from a respectable gentleman who knew the country well; the authenticity of the information which it contained was indisputable, and, with their permission, he would read an extract from it. The following was the passage to which he begged to call their attention:

from the most indubitable authority. The party sent out to that place by that most respectable merchant, Mr. Astor, of New York, and to which party the gentleman, Mr. Hunt, whose letter he had occasion to cite, was attached, had tried to raise articles necessary for their subsistence and comfort; but, after three years, could only succeed in growing radishes, turnips, and a few other esculents of alike description. So much for the fertility of the soil, and the ample returns which it made for the labor of the agriculturist. Mr. B. then proceeded to draw a picture of the miserable condition of the wretched natives of the country. There was no game in the country, with the exception of, occasionally, an elk or a bear; the Indians could not depend upon the chase for subsistence; they had not even shoes in which to pursue it. They lived, he might say, upon the water, upon the fish which they caught in the river, and the roots and berries which they obtained in the woods. Their huts were in the ground, and their condition, altogether, was distressing and miserable beyond all conception. It was his firm belief that, if the settlement were to be made, and agriculture attempted on any scale, large or small, and with any means, they would not remain there two years; they could not endure the incessant rains of four months' duration; they would quit the country for California, or for that most delightful of all climates of the South, the Sandwich Islands, which would be but fifteen days' sail from there. In that manner would their exertions in the settlement be of no value to themselves, and their energies would be forever lost to their country. Suppose [said Mr. B.] for the sake of argument, the objects of the bill fully accomplished-suppose the paternal care of the Government had fostered the infant settlement into a vigorous maturity-could it be supposed that a brotherhood of affection, a community of feeling and of interests, would prevail between that distant and solitary member of the family, and those which remained firm and united together at home? Look at that territory, with habits, localities, and associations, altogether different from the rest of the Union. Look at its neighbors: On the South, the new republics of South America; on the North, Russia; the vast ocean in front; separated from those to whom it should be bound by the closest political ties, by an almost interminable desert. Look at these things, and then say, whether that territory could enjoy those blessings which the Constitution dispensed to every member of the American Union. The habits of the territory would be acquired by an intercourse with those republics of the South. Those republics, which were based upon an ancient, if not upon a solid foundation, would engross its commerce, and, in all probability, secure its alliance; and though he would not venture to predict that such would be the case, yet he feared that it would ultimately be the occasion of setting a formidable example of a disruption of When Lewis and Clark went on their celebrated exthe Union. He should not digress on points of honor, ploring expedition, they labored, of course, under every with respect to permitting either Russia or England to in- possible disadvantage: passing through an unknown counterfere in any arrangements with respect to the settle-try, where the foot of a white man had never before trod ; ment or other disposition of any part of the country in question. Such matters must, of course, operate on the minds of gentlemen, according to their different individual feelings. He must confess, that, with him, they weighed but little. A question had been raised of rather more importance that was, how would the proposed bill operate on commerce? And that question he would endeavor to answer in a few words. The British Northwest and Hudson Bay Companies had long been actively and indefatigably engaged in pursuing the fur trade, in the extensive regions of the West. The darkest recesses of the mountains were annually explored by their numerous agents; and the natural consequence of the unremitting pursuit of the game was, that it was, and long had been, rapidly thinning. He had been credibly informed, that the beaver trade, in particular, was diminish

The navigation of Columbia river, from the Great Falls, with the exception of two portages, is, on the whole, good; but the country, by land, for one hundred and fifty or two hundred miles, is impassable for mules or horses. It is annually inundated by the melting of the snows from the mountains, and is entirely barren. There is no game nor vegetables, with the exception of hemlock, spruce, and a little moss, On the whole, nothing about the river is desirable, but its navigation and the harbor at its mouth."

Such [observed Mr B.] were the views entertained of it by an eye-witness, fully competent, by experience and knowledge, to form a correct judgment in such matters. He farther thought, that if a settlement was determined upon, the best site for it was about one hundred miles south of the Columbia river. Mr. B. repeated that such information was of a nature to be implicitly relied upon. It was sought after and obtained by the gentleman referred to. with a view to actual profit; it was not merely theoretical or speculative, but practical, and intended to be acted upon at a future period.

with no guide but conjecture; exposed to the attacks of savage and hostile tribes; and aided only by men, who with a few exceptions, were no better qualified for the arduous service in which they were engaged, than so many soldiers of the United States' army would be. Those distinguished travellers gave a most deplorable account of the whole country; an account fully concurring with what he had been saying upon the subject. Lewis and Clarke say that the only good land they saw was at a place they call the Wapatoo Valley; and that it was enough to sustain about forty thousand agriculturists! The whole plan was wild and impracticable. They might, indeed, build a fort for the purpose of self defence, but those within it would have nothing to defend but themselves. The bill proposed the small sum of fifty thousand dollars for that purpose: now, that sum would not purchase the

bark from off the logs necessary to construct it, and pay for the transportation of that bark to Missouri. Fifty men, it was true, might build the fort; but three or four hundred would be required for it: for less than that number could not defend it against the attack of two Russian frigates. In the year 1819, it would, no doubt, be recollected, that an expedition was sent to build a fort on Yellowstone River. Men were taken out, he believed, at an expense of near five hundred dollars per man; and that undertaking, which resulted in a complete failure, cost the nation, he understood, nearly half a million of dollars! And yet it was seriously proposed to build a fort on the coast of the Pacific ocean, at the very western edge of the American continent, for fifty thousand dollars, only one-tenth part of the sum thrown away upon the other. If it were considered necessary to fortify the mouth of Columbia River, it would be necessary to enlist a peculiar kind of men for the service there. He meant the boatmen on their rivers and lakes; men who would never think of asking for salt or for bread, when a thousand miles in the depth of the wilderness, and who conceived themselves fortunate when they could feast on a piece of hard venison, or a fat dog.

[H. OF R.

repeated his protest against the establishment of a foreign colony: for such, he contended, would be the proposed settlement. The very country itself, in which it was to be located, was a disputed country; and though he fully agreed with the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. FLOYD] as to the justice of the United States' claims to it, yet the fact was, that the right to it was a subject of dispute between America and the British Government. Great Britain, it was well known, never conceded a single point which she could possibly maintain; and would gentlemen, he must ask, risk the chance of a long and sanguinary war, for the sake of making an experiment on the hemlock forests of the Columbia coasts? In private life, he knew that, if a man desired to vindicate his own rights, it was sometimes necessary to cavil about the ninth part of a hair; and perhaps the case might be the same with respect to nations: however that might be, he could not repress the utterance of his solemn wish, that the base of the Rocky Mountains were an ocean bounding the United States, instead of the vast wilderness which extended beyond them.

To speak of the profit derived from these barren regions. They received furs to the amount of two or three hundred thousand dollars annually: that trade, to be sure, might give life and activity to a little town of five or six thousand inhabitants, St. Louis, which was the principal seat of it. But, was a trade of that confined extent worth incurring the heavy expenses attending a settlement, even if no other part of the question were taken into consideration? Was it worth paying for? Was it worth fighting for? Was it, in fact, hardly worth caring for? [Mr. B. continued.] If they wished to proceed with prudence and circumspection, they would send out a party of exploration. An hundred good riflemen might traverse the continent, from the Russian settlements, in latitude 57° 40' to California. No arms could compete with theirs; no savage valor, however desperate, could withstand their disciplined bravery. Let them collect a mass of information on the country, and the available advantages it held forth to settlers; and let Congress afterwards arrange, digest, and act upon that information. He would answer for it that such a course of proceeding would produce more practical good effects, and cost much less, than the premature erection of a fort, and establishment of a territorial government. The very name of the place appeared to him expressive of its poverty and sterility. He knew but little of the Spanish language, but had been informed, and thought the conjecture probable, that the river de

They must not, he said, expect bread in their rations; for every pound of bread-stuff in their settlement must come from California, or even further south. He wished it to be observed, also, that the little trade that existed there, was not on the coast, but in the upper part of the country, among the spurs and branches of the Rocky Mountains, where, and where alone, the furs were found. There was still another objection, which, in his opinion, ought to have great local weight. The trade in furs, in particular of the sea furs, was principally carried on with China and the East Indies. A considerable portion of the land furs found a market in Europe. Now, if a place of deposit and shipment were established in the mouth of the Columbia River, the whole of the furs from the Rocky Mountains would travel in that direction; and the long and fructifying stream of commerce which flowed through the United States, leaving such a rich alluvium behind it, would be diverted into another and an opposite channel. He had no hesitation in saying, that not a single beaver skin would be brought from the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi. Reverting to his former argument, concerning the difficulty, nay, almost the impracticability of the communication between Missouri and the coast of the Pacific, across the Rocky Mountains, he observed that even Boston was much nearer the mouth of the Columbia River, in point of facility of commercial intercourse, either by doub-rives its name from an herb, resembling penny royal, or, ling Cape Horn, or by crossing the Isthmus, provided the permission of the Spanish republics could be obtained for the better course. It was not nearer, certainly, for the transmission, if he might so call it, of men; but a man, with a stout heart, and a good rifle on his shoulder, might go to any place where there was animated nature, and find a subsistence.

There was at that present time a gentleman in the city, whose personal knowledge on the subject was great, and who agreed with him [Mr. BATES] in almost all his views of the question. He was particularly well acquainted with the seaboard of that country, and had emphatically described to him the horrors of that barren desert, and the disastrous effects of those heavy and continued rains to which he had before alluded, as beyond the possible endurance of the settlers. That gentleman had remarked, that the winds, loaded with the accumulated vapors of 20,000 miles of ocean, drove the clouds against the rocky steeps of the coast; and he had often, from the sea, seen them, through the vista of the river, bursting, when past the first barrier of mountains, falling in torrents, and overflowing the country. After some farther observations with respect to the difference of climate of the American and Asiatic coasts in the same parallel of latitude, 57°, Mr. B. VOL. V.-17

perhaps, approaching as nearly hyssop, growing near the coast, and called in Spanish oregano. From this fact it was rational to suppose, that it had been visited by the Spaniards at an early period of their adventurous career of discovery, and abandoned as not worth the trouble of settling. He thanked the Committee for their attention; and, in concluding, begged them to pause before sanctioning an expenditure, for a purpose perhaps dangerous, certainly useless.

Mr. POLK rose, he said, chiefly for the purpose of calling the attention of the Committee to the existing treaties between the United States and Great Britain; and particularly to the convention of the 20th of October, 1818, and of the 6th of August, 1827: and if, on examination of them, it shall be found that we cannot pass this bill, either in its original shape, or according to the amendments proposed, then there is an end to this discussion. Gentlemen who had participated in this debate had confined themselves to the expediency of the measure, and have had no reference to the present state of our negotiations in reference to the preliminary question of title to the country.

The third article of the convention of the 20th of October, 1818, contains this agreement between the two countries: "It is agreed that any country that may be claimed