VARIOUS CONDITIONS IN OREGON COUNTRY Political conditions Oregon City -- formerly the Willamette Falls provided the Provisional Capitol and only town replaced both Champoeg and Chemeketa as the political center of the Willamette Valley Economic conditions hard times in Oregon Country farmers produced an abundance of wheat however, shortages of goods, cash, and a market for wheat impaired growth credit system made merchants a vital figure business run on barter and credit businessmen were the object of envy, resentment, and suspicion Hudson's Bay Company offered the best prices and variety for goods coins drained off into Company strongboxes the little remaining went to American merchants Social conditions settlement North of the Columbia River was slow Hudson’s Bay Company’s Puget Sound Agricultural Company controlled best land Willamette Valley was attractive it was reported to new-comers that the land North of the Columbia was poor and that the population there the crudest element of the frontier Business conditions Francis W. Pettygrove arrived on the ship Fama at Oregon City -- 1843 with brother-in-law Philip Foster brought a shipment of goods valued at $1,146.05 for sale water falls powered the mills at Oregon City ferry connected with roads to Yamhill and Tualatin Valleys SERIES OF GREAT EPIDEMICS Swept through the Northwest (between the years [1829 and 1832] and peaking in [1833]) which had a devastating effect on the native people within a brief period of time, the native population was greatly diminished loss of life was particularly heavy along the lower Columbia River with families and even entire villages wiped out by pestilence These epidemics came in the form of white man’s diseases such as malaria (cold sick), smallpox, measles, cholera, influenza, fevers, and venereal diseases 1830-1839 P. 1 possibly or even probably brought by sailing ships’ crews of vessels harbored on the Columbia River because of ignorance, unsanitary habits, and unusual practices in treating illness natives became easy prey to the devastation Many Indians blamed Captain Dominis and the crew of the American brig Owyhee in particular which anchored off Deer Island in the Columbia River -- (February 1829) and loaded cargo for months soon after she arrived, an epidemic of Malaria-like fever broke out among the Indians which began the devastation of the Chinook people HUDSON’S BAY COMPANY’S COLUMBIA DISTRICT Also known as the Pacific Northwest by Americans ranged from 42º north to 54º north from Pacific Ocean to Rocky Mountains and was divided by Columbia River British unofficially claimed everything north of the Columbia River they were also reluctant to allow Americans south of the River HUDSON’S BAY COMPANY CONTROLS THE ECONOMY From the 1830s to 1850 Hudson’s Bay Company maintained the standard of exchange in the Northwest imperial English bushel (seventy pounds) served as the standard Fort Vancouver was home of five hundred to seven hundred residents it was most the important community on the entire Pacific coast HUDSON’S BAY COMPANY EARLY CATTLE FARMING Cattle was purchased and allowed to multiply 700 head of cattle grazed on lands adjacent to Fort Vancouver up from 200 head the year before BOSTON MERCHANTS SEND A TRADING SHIP TO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST Boston merchants owned the brig whose cargo consisted of trading merchandise Captain William Henry McNeill sailed the brig Llama from Boston 12,000 miles around Cape Horn to the Pacific Northwest on a fur trading expedition -- 1830 Hudson’s Bay Company purchased the Lama and its cargo and retained McNeill as captain but in order to work for the company, McNeill was required to become a British citizen HALL JACKSON KELLEY -- AUTHOR AND PUBLICIST Boston author who published a very influential book: A Geographical Sketch of that Part of North America called Oregon -- 1830 1830-1839 P. 2 book is more famous for its effects in stirring migration than its factual accuracy contained an exaggerated account of the wonders of the west (despite the fact it would be five years before he actually got to the Pacific Northwest,) Kelley wrote: “When improved and embellished by the white man, Oregon will become the loveliest and most envied country on earth. Oregon cannot be outdone whether in wheat, oats, rye, barley, buckwheat, peas, beans, potatoes, turnips, cabbages, onions, parsnips, carrots, beets, currants, gooseberries, strawberries, apples, peaches, pears, or fat and healthy babies.” Kelley described the Pacific Northwest as a place where “mountains are high and rough [but where also] the air is more salubrious and the country better furnished with natural facilities for application of labour.”1 he urged his readers to go to the Pacific Northwest: “The settlement of the Oregon country, would conduce to a freer intercourse, and a more extensive and lucrative trade with the East Indias.”2 Kelley published a second pamphlet: A Manual of the Oregon Expedition -- (1831) WILLIAM SUBLETTE’S EXPEDITION TO THE WIND RIVER Smith, Jackson, & Sublette Mountain Men led by Captain William Sublette conducted a successful hunt along the Wind River --Winter 1829-1830 Captain Sublette, Moses “Black” Harris and others of the fur-trading party returned to St. Louis -- February 1830 HUDSON’S BAY COMPANY SHIPPING Annual supply ships arrived at Fort Vancouver -- usually in March of each year delivered cargo for next season’s trade It was a disaster when a ship was wrecked like the William and Ann (1829) Isabella (1830) losses seriously affected trade by reducing outfits and disrupted schedule of trade with company outposts and lowered employee morale SUPPLYING THE WIND RIVER RENDEZVOUS Partnership of Smith, Jackson & Sublette was formed by Jedediah Smith, and David Jackson and three Sublet Brothers led by William, along with Milton, and Andrew two heavy wagons left St. Louis -- April 10, 1830 Followed Platte and Sweetwater rivers ten 5-mule teams pulled two heavy wagons carrying eighteen hundred pounds each accompanied by twelve head oxen and milk cows 1 Oscar Osburn Winther, The Great Northwest, P. 120. 2 Oscar Osburn Winther, The Great Northwest, P. 120. 1830-1839 P. 3 buffalo provide food for the party AMERICAN FUR COMPANY WESTERN DEPARTMENT John Jacob Astor had appointed Pierre Chouteau as the director of the department his mission was to directly compete with Smith, Jackson & Sublette in providing supplies to trappers at the Wind River Rendezvous Two pack caravans were organized by Chouteau to search out the Rendezvous of 1830 one led by Lucien Fontenelle and Andrew Drips second was under Kenneth McKenzie Fontenelle and Drips set out from St. Louis in search of the 1830 Rendezvous Lucien Fontenelle at age thirty was the temperamental and hard-drinking son of a New Orleans French plantation owner Andrew Drips at forty-one had emigrated from Ireland as a child had matured into a plainspoken man of decisive action who combined stability with good judgment At the same time, Kenneth McKenzie launched his mule caravan from Fort Union under the leadership of William H. Vanderburgh Vanderburgh had been educated at, but not graduated from, West Point Army military academy he enjoyed wide respect and as an accomplished trader and leader of men CHRISTIAN EDUCATION FOR INDIANS Five more Indian boys went to the Red River settlement (Winnipeg, Manitoba) -- 1830 began their Christian education at the Northwest Mission of the Church of England where they joined Spokane Garry and Kootenai Pelly during this time, Pelly fell off a horse and was killed (next year they were joined by a sixth Indian youth -- [1831]) INDIAN REMOVAL ACT U.S. Government plan to relocate the remaining 200,000 Indians East of the Mississippi to receive new “homelands” in the region West of the Mississippi River Indian Removal Act was passed by Congress -- May 28, 1830 whites were anxious to get control of Eastern Indian land missionaries who served these people favored the removal of natives believed Indians would not be civilized even if they lived close to whites because of the degrading influence of such things as liquor Eastern Indians were sent Westward across the Mississippi River 1830-1839 P. 4 which caused great distress among the Native Americans newspapers recited stories of the Indian’s suffering which produced a great wave of sympathy for the displaced natives Roman Catholic Church authorized their missionaries to stay with the deported Indians Catholic and Protestant missionaries followed some tribes West laboring among the people they had known East of the Mississippi River however some missionaries worked among native groups not known to them before they preached Christianity and taught children to read and write induced natives to farm and live in permanent houses like the whites sometimes the government employed missionaries as teachers or Indian Agents NATURALIST DAVID DOUGLAS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST AGAIN Returned for a second time to the Northwest (after an absence of three years) -- June 1830 continued his scientific (if sometimes inaccurate) study of native plants After arriving at Fort Vancouver, Douglas investigated the Willamette Valley traveling down the Umpqua and McKenzie rivers and along Pacific Northwest coast he proceeded overland to Monterrey, California in addition to his botanical work, he found the people of California to be very pleasant EWING YOUNG TRAPPING IN CALIFORNIA Seized an opportunity to make himself useful to the Mexican authorities in California and thus smooth the way for the sale of his furs in San Francisco