CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE livTCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND GIVEN IN 1891 BY HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE Date Due Cornell University Library F 592 G65 olin 3 1924 028 907 529 The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://archive.org/details/cu31924028907529 The TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST (1803-1853) The TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST (1803-1853) A HISTORY OF ITS ACQUISITION AND SETTLEMENT BY CARDINAL GOODWIN, PH.D. PROFESSOR OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN MILLS COLLEGE D. APPLETON AND COMPANY NEW YORK : : 1922 : : LONDON At COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY D. APPLETON AND COMPANY ) ) "^ j/i Xi' I PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO HERBERT EUGENE BOLTON AND TO THE GROUP OF YOUNG SCHOLARS WHO OWE THEIR LOVE OF WESTERN HISTORY TO THE INSPIRA- TION AND TRAINING WHICH THEY RECEIVED FROM HIS INSTRUCTION PREFACE This volume covers the period of expansion in the United States which begins with the acquisition of Louisiana in 1803 and ends with the Gadsden Purchase fifty years later. During the last fifteen years a great deal has been done by State Historical Societies and by individual students to develop the local history of com- munities west of the Mississippi. While the work is incomplete, enough has been accomplished to justify one in attempting to give a general account of the acquisition and settlement of the country by the people of the United States. This work is the beginning of such a study. While the writer has made liberal use of the mono- graphic and other secondary works dealing with the Trans-Mississippi West, he has not confined his investi- gations to them. Frequently he has gone to the sources, and occasionally work in these primary materials has rewarded him with new information. Particularly is this true with investigations connected with such topics as explorations and commerce in the Southwest. The volume, too, will be found to contain a more complete account of the settlement of the country west of the Mississippi by citizens of the United States than has appeared formerly. Some of the information presented has been published in magazine articles. This is true of chapter one, parts of chapters two and three, prac- tically all of chapter eight, and a few paragraphs in chapter thirteen. The rest of the work is presented here for the first time. viii PREFACE There has been a growing interest in the western history of the United States during the last few years. Several colleges have introduced courses in the subject and the number is increasing. It is hoped that classes organized for such study will find this volume helpful. It will be of value also to the general reader who is interested in the expansion of the United States, and it should find a place as a reference work in the larger high schools of the country. C. G. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It is a pleasant task to acknowledge the kindness of those who have assisted me in this work. To all of them, whether mentioned by name or not, I desire to extend many thanks. The members of the staff of the Bancroft Library, Dr. Bolton, Dr. Priestley and Mr. Hill have been most courteous in placing at my disposal the valuable ma- terials contained in the Bancroft Collection. Dr. Owen C. Coy prepared two maps for me, one on Over- land Routes to the Pacific and another on Population. The map on Indian Land Cessions was drawn under my direction by my former student, Miss Esther Butters. My colleague, Mr. Roi Partridge of the Art Department of Mills College, gave advice in its prepa- ration. Miss Dorothy Deardorf, my assistant, has aided in verifying the references. Dr. Eugene C. Barker of the University of Texas read the two chapters on Texas, and his comments and suggestions have been most helpful. To Dr. Joseph Schafer, Superintendent of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, I am under obligation for a critical read- ing of the Oregon chapters and for verifying a copy of the map of Iowa and Wisconsin with the original in the Wisconsin Historical Society Collection. Dr. Clarence W. Alvord of the University of Minnesota read the entire manuscript and made helpful sugges- tions. X ACKNOWLEDGMENTS On many occasions during the last five years I have discussed the work with Professor Bolton. His remarkable enthusiasm and his broad grasp of the entire field of Western history have been unfailing sources of inspiration and help. I desire particularly to acknowledge my obligations to my wife. The manuscript has been twice type- written by her and she has assisted me in many other ways, including the drudgery of proofreading. C. G. CONTENTS CHAPTER PACE \/^- I. The Purchase of Louisiana i II. American Explorations West of the Mississippi, 1804-1822 32 III. The Settlement of the Louisiana Purchase AND the Adjustment of Boundaries to 182 i . 72 IV. The American Fur Trade and Commerce in the West 114 The American Occupation of Texas .... 150 iN\. Early Claims to Oregon 200 VII. Later Explorations West of the Mississippi . 226 VIII. Early American Settlement of Iowa and Minne- sota 246 vX^. The Settlement of the Oregon Country . . 275 1^/a. The Acquisition of Texas ■■''. 327 yKTT Oregon Diplomacy Through 1846 368 '■^'^11. The Settlement of the Great Salt Lake Basin 392 /XIII. The Settlement of California 423 i/XIV. The Mexican Cession 468 Index . 509 MAPS VAOINQ PAGE Indian Land Cessions west of the Mississippi (1804-1854) . 88 Map of Texas containing the latest Grants and Discoveries (1836) 176 Map showing the Dixon and McKnight route to the Pembina Settlements over which cattle were driven from Missouri (compiled from a tracing by C. V. Slater, B, C. E., for the State Historical Department of Iowa. The original, made by I. Judson in 1838, is in the Wisconsin Historical Society Collections) 248 Overland routes to the Pacific (1853) 442 Distribution of population west of the Mississippi (1850) . . 456 The United States showing the addition of Territory (1803- 1853) 504 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST CHAPTER I THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA The work of La Salle.— That part of the Trans-Mis- sissippi West included in the Louisiana purchase was claimed by France by right of discovery and settle- ment To the work of Robert Cavelier, better known as Sieur de la Salle, more than to that of any other man she is indebted for a basis for that claim. This inde- fatigable pathfinder had explored the Mississippi to its mouth in 1682. Returning to France in 1683 he won royal support and sailed from Rochelle in July of the year following with an adequate equipment for establishing a colony at the mouth of the Mississippi. The Spaniards captured one of his four vessels and he missed the mouth of the great river with the other three, finally coming to Matagorda Bay during the early part of 1685, far west of his intended destina- tion. Another vessel was soon lost by being grounded and La Salle landed his pioneers and built a fort which he called St. Louis. Disease, loss of tools, the hostil- ity of the Indians, the departure of Beaujeau with the better of the two remaining vessels, and the wrecking of the other a little later all combined to defeat the suc- cess of the enterprise. After vain efforts to find the mouth of the Mississippi, La Salle and a few surviv- ing followers started overland for Canada. But the leader was killed on the Brazos River ^ and his follow- ers scattered. 1 Bolton, Herbert E., "TTie Location of La Salle's Colony on the Gulf of Mexico," in the Mississippi Valley Historical Reviev), September, 1915. 2 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST French build fort on Gulf of Mexico.— Tlje work of La Salle had fired the imaginations of many of his countrymen and when the treaty of Ryswick was signed in 1697 Louis XIV was persuaded jto make an official undertaking of what had been supported orig- inally by private enterprise. Men were already at hand to execute La Salle's ambitious project. They were two sons of Charles le Moyne of Quebec. Pierre, who is known as the Sieur d'Iberville, was one and Jean Baptiste, called Bienville from his seigniory, was the other. These two courageous lead- ers, the latter a midshipman but eighteen years of age at the time, sailed from Brest in October, 1698, with a well-established company of two hundred soldiers and colonists. The Spanish garrison just established at Pensacola refused them permission to land and Iber- ville came to anchor off Ship Island eighteen miles southeast of the present Mississippi city. Here dur- ing the early part of 1699 the adventurers built a fort on the Back Bay of Biloxi. Explorations along lower Mississippi. — Iberville then turned his attention to exploring. With a party of about fifty men-at-arms in rowboats and canoes he made his way westward along the coast, finally reach- ing the mouth of the Mississippi, and proceeded up that river to the mouth of the Red. On the return the party divided. Bienville led some of the men over the route by which they had come and his older brother conducted the others through Iberville bayou and lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain, into the Bay St. Louis. It was while making his passage through here that Iberville received from the natives a note written fourteen years earlier by Chevalier de Tonti, La Salle's lieutenant. This confirmed Iberville in the be- lief that he had reached the country to which the at- tention of France had been drawn by La Salle. Before the middle of the year 1699 Iberville re- THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA 3 turned to France with the ships, leaving Sauvole in command at Biloxi with Bienville as his lieutenant. Upon a later visit to the colony, in 1702, he ordered the post removed to a twenty-seven mile Blufif on Mobile River, and eight years later, two years after the death of Iberville, Bienville moved once more, on account of floods, this time to the site of modern Mobile. English on the Mississippi. — During these years numerous exploring expeditions were made along the lower Mississippi. On one of them, in the summer of 1700, Iberville was accompanied by Pierre Charles le Sueur, an adventurer who had been on the upper Mississippi in search of furs, copper, lead, and col- ored earth several years earlier. A number of ex- plorations for mines were made at this time in Louisi- ana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, and Tennessee by various prospecting parties. Through the reports of leaders of some of these expeditions the French learned of the appearance of the English in the lower Mississippi. Le Sueur had found an English trader at the mouth of the Arkansas when on his way to the upper Missouri country, and in 1699 while descend- ing the river in small boats Bienville and his party came upon an English frigate of sixteen guns at a bend in the river eighteen miles below the present city of New Orleans, at a place called English Turn. Founding of New Orleans; division of Louisiana. — In February, 171 8, New Orleans was founded by Bienville, and immediately became not only the seat of government but the metropolis of the Louisiana province. Both Bienville and Sauvole had been fa- vorably impressed with the site in 1699 and had re- piorted it as a suitable location for a colony, but Iber- ville was afraid that a town established inland would be subject to Indian raids. Three years after New Orleans was founded Louisiana was divided into nine military districts called Mobile, Biloxi, Alabama, 4 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST New Orleans, Yazoo, Natchez, Arkansas, Illinois, and Natchitoches. The last of these was founded as a buffer colony against the hostile Spaniards. French inland expeditions and posts.— ^One of the motives which had actuated the French in founding Louisiana was the development of an oVerland com- merce with the Southwest. Texas was claimed by the Spaniards at this time, and frightened by La Salle's intrusion at Matagorda Bay, they had occupied parts of the territory and subsequently withdrawn. The same territory of Texas was claimed by the French because La Salle's ill-fated colony had been founded there. An expedition was sent into the country by Bienville in 1714 under the command of Louis Juch- ereau, better known as Sieur de St. Denis. Other ex- peditions were led into the Spanish territory of the Southwest, and in 1717 the French erected a fort at Natchitoches near the Red River and about seven leagues from an outpost built in Texas by the Span- iards. These expeditions were not confined to the South- west, however. As early as 1704 French Canadians were reported on the Missouri River. A little later expeditions among the Osage and Pawnee Indians were led by such traders as Du Tisne and Bourgmont.^ The appearance of the French in this region revived the interest of the Spanish. In 1720 they led a "retri- butive expedition" among the Missouri allies. This movement alarmed the French of the Illinois country and Fort Orleans was erected on the Missouri, prob- ably in the present county of Carroll on the north bank of the stream. Bourgmont built the fort and re- mained there for four years supported by a strong gar- rison. He then began to withdraw gradually and in ^Margry, Pierre, Decouvertes, et etablissements des FratiQuis dans L'Ouest et dans le Sud de I'Amerique Septentrionale {1614-iys^) Memoirs et Documents Originaux. 6 vols. Paris, 1888. VI. 313-313, 385-452. THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA 5 1725 or 1726 the remaining troops were slain by the Indians. Apparently there were expeditions led from the Illinois country into Trans-Mississippi Louisiana Ter- ritory in 1734. The one in 1739 was headed by Pierre and Paul Mallet, They reached Santa Fe and some of them returned by way of New Orleans. Here they delighted Bienville with an account of their explora- tions — explorations which had brought Frenchmen, perhaps for the first time, within sight of the Rocky Mountains.^ This was nearly four years before Chevalier Verendrye discovered the Bighorn Range farther north.* In the meantime French settlements were being ex- tended on the upper Mississippi in the Illinois coun- try. As early as the time of Marquette the Jesuits had operated in Indian villages along the Illinois River. The Seminary priests opened a mission of the Holy Family at Cahokia on the Mississippi some time in March, 1699. During the following year the Jesu- its removed their establishment to Kaskaskia. In 1718 Fort de Chartres was erected for the purpose of check- ing the encroachments of the English on the Ohio and the Mississippi. At St. Philippe and at Prairie du Rocher posts were erected in 1723 and 1733 respec- tively. The Arkansas post which was erected by Tonti in 1686 had been rebuilt by La Harpe in 1722, during the period of his explorations from New Orleans up the Mississippi to the Arkansas. Development of French Louisiana. — The Illinois country became noted for its agricultural products during the first half of the eighteenth century. Sup- ' "Voyages des Freres Mallet avec six autres Frangais, depuis la Riviere des Panimahas dans le Missouri jusqu'e Santa-Fe" (1739-1740), ibid., 455-ff. *A brief but critical study of the Verendrye explorations may be found in O. G. Libby, "Some Verendrye Enigmas," in the Mississippi Valley His- torical Review, September, 1916. 6 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST plies were sent in large quantities to Detroit, to Ohio posts, and to New Orleans and Mobile. From the two last-named places they were shipped to the West Indies and to Europe. During a winter, about 1746, when provisions were scarce at New Orleans, it is re- ported that the French in Illinois sent to the distressed people of that district about eight hundred thousand weight of flour. In exchange for their products the inhabitants of Illinois received direct from other French colonies and from Europe sugar, rice, indigo, cotton, manufactured tobacco, and similar luxuries. Education was neglected, Kaskaskia actually having no school at all until 18 17. The few schools which ex- isted were limited almost entirely to "informal private groups collected in various communities by migrating teachers; . . ." ^ The growth of Louisiana was not rapid. Time and again the life of the settlement was threatened by starvation and by Indian troubles, but was saved finally from both of these disasters by the arrival of the Indian trader and by the introduction of European plants. The cultivation of indigo was introduced about 1723, but it failed to attract popular favor and finally ceased to be a staple. In 175 1 the Jesuit fathers began the culture of sugar which for a few years following was used for making spirits. A cargo of sugar was shipped from the colony in 1765, but it did not prove a profit- able commodity of commerce at that time because it was crystallized so poorly that it leaked out of the hogshead before the shipment reached France. From then until 1794 sugar was cultivated only for distilla- tion purposes but during the latter year Bore, a planter, again tried cultivating it on a larger scale and sold his crop for twelve thousand dollars. The success of this 5 Alvord, Clarence W., The Illinois Country, l6ys-l8l8, Springfield, 1920; (Vol I of the Centennial History of Illinois), ch. x, and p. 455. See also Thwaites, R. G., "France in America," VII. Chapter V, in A, B. Hart (editor), The American Nation, A History, z% vols. N. Y. THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA 7 venture together with the introduction of cotton in 1795 improved the economic basis of Louisiana. Rice and tobacco had been introduced already, and fig trees from Provence and orange trees from Santo Domingo had become acclimated.* By 1802 the colony was ex- porting large quantities of cotton, sugar, and molasses; and smaller quantities of indigo, peltries, lumber, lead, corn, horses, cattle, and other articles were being shipped. These commodities and large supplies of naval stores were carried in American and Spanish ves- sels, the former outnumbering the latter nearly two to one. Louisiana transferred to Spain. — By secret treaty of November 3, 1762, Louisiana was ceded by France to Spain to compensate her for the loss of Florida. The territory which passed at this time from the French monarch to his cousin the king of Spain in- cluded the part of Louisiana west of the Mississippi River and the island on which New Orleans stands — an island extending along the eastern course of the river for about two hundred and thirty miles above its mouth. That part of Louisiana lying east of the Mis- sissippi with the exception of the island noted, was ac- knowledged to belong to Great Britain by the terms of the Treaty of Paris which ended the French and Indian war. France also guaranteed free navigation of the Mississippi to Great Britain. It was not until October, 1764, that the commandant learned of the cession and it was much later, March, 1766, before the first Spanish governor, Don Antonio de Ulloa, accom- panied by ninety soldiers, arrived to take command of the new province. Feeling ran high. Ulloa was unpopular and at the end of two years he was expelled by the French population. Charles III then sent ^Channing, Jeffersonian System, XII, Chapter IV., in The American Nation Series. See alio Thwaites, France in America, Chapter V, and Phelps, Louisiana, Boston (American Commonwealth Series), 199-200. 8 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WE^T Alexandre O'Reilly, a man made of tougher fiber. For over a year he ruled as special commissioner to es- tablish Spanish authority. Some of the rfebels were executed and others were imprisoned — acts for which that vigorous officer received the sobriquet of "The Bloody O'Reilly." Having restored order O'Reilly became more conciliatory and numerous old French officers, like Villiers and De Mezieres, were appointed to important positions. By the end of 1770 possession was taken again of the interior posts and the Spanish flag had been raised at all points, Ste. Genevieve being the last to haul down the tricolor.''^'-'^ " * Population and settlement. — The ceded district had a total population estimated at from eight thousand, two hundred and fifty to eleven thousand, five hundred, more than half of whom were colored. The principal settlements were scattered along the Mississippi and the lower Missouri, and along the Red River as far as Natchitoches. The most densely populated area, however, lay between Pointe Coupee (situated on the Mississippi below Red River) and New Orleans, where there were more than seven thousand inhabi- tants, approximately two-thirds of whom were colored. Other settlements in the lower district had been estab- lished at La Balize, Attakapa, Opelousas, Avoyelle, and Natchitoches. There were posts also farther up the Mississippi opposite Natchez and the Arkansas settlement, and still farther northward, near the Mis- souri, were St. Charles and Ste. Genevieve. Farther west there were slender trading posts, such as St. Louis, among the Cadodacho at the bend of the Red River and a similar station on the Osage, and Fort Cavagnol near the mouth of the Kansas. In the interior still farther beyond the pale of civilization, roamed many 7 Bolton, H. E., and Marshall, T. M., The Colonization of North America from 1493-1783, N. Y., 1920, 395-396. Thwaites, France in America Chan, ter XVIII. *' '-"^P THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA 9 renegade Frenchmen and half-breeds who under the name of hunters had become practical outlaws. One ofRcial wrote that the Arkansas River was the "asylum of the wickedest persons without doubt in all the Indies. They live so forgetful of the laws that it is easy to find persons who have not returned to Christian lands for ten, twenty, or thirty years, and who pass their scan- dalous lives in public concubinage with the captive Indian women who for their purpose they purchase among the heathen, loaning those of whom they tire to others of less power, that they may labor in their service; giving them no other wage than the promise of quieting their lascivious passions; in short they have no other rule than their own caprice, and the respect which they pay the boldest and most daring, who con- trol them." * Chief of these Arkansas outlaws at the time was Brindamur, who, being of gigantic frame and extraordinary strength, had made himself a petty king over those vagabonds and highwaymen. Prosperity of Louisiana under Spain. — Louisiana remained under Spanish rule for thirty-four years. During that time, contrary to the general conception, its prosperity was greater than it had ever been before. The population had increased to fifty thousand by 1803 as compared with about ten thousand at the end of the French regime. Gradually commerce was made freer and the restricted trade relations of Ulloa's time gave place to a more liberal policy. Furs were exempted from duty for a period of ten years for the purpose of encouraging their exportation. The fur trade was re- organized and greatly improved. Instead of follow- ing the time-honored custom of relying upon the mis- sion and the presidio for controlling the natives — a custom which was being followed at that time in Cali- fornia — Spain utilized the numerous French traders 8 Bolton (editor), Athanase de Meziires and the Louisiana-Texas Fron- tier, 1768-1780, 2, vols., Cleveland, 1914, I. 166. lo THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST who were already among the Louisiana tribes. A regular corps of licensed traders was installed; vaga- bonds, outlaws, and unlicensed tfaders were driven from the tribes, presents were distributed annually, and medals of merit were given to the friendly chiefs." * St. Louis was the principal center for the fur trade on the west side of the river and Kaskaskia on the east. Into the northern territory drained by the upper Mississippi and its tributaries and into the vast stretches toward the Spanish commercial center of Santa Fe, itinerant merchants found their way and carried on a lucrative trade with the Indians. French traders had reached the Mandan villages at the great bend of the Missouri by the close of the century. Here they met British agents who had come from posts located on the Assini- boine and the Saskatchewan farther north in Canada." AnglO'^Americans, the Spanish, and the Mississippi. — By the treaty of 1783 that part of Louisiana Terri- tory which had been ceded by France to Great Brit- ain was in turn recognized by the latter as a part of the newly-formed American nation. During and imme- diately following the Revolutionary War large num- bers of settlers crossed the Alleghanies and erected homes in Kentucky and in the territories to the north and to the south of that region. The sole outlet for the products of these western settlers was the Missis- sippi River. The national authorities were slow in realizing this, as a result of which there was much dis- content among the settlers of the West and they be- came involved in schemes which judged by modern standards were disloyal. At first filibustering expedi- tions against the Spanish were proposed. But this did not appear practicable and in 1788 George Rogers Clark and men like him appeared willing to join with Spain in developing the interior of the continent. At- " Ibid., 251. 10 Thwaites, France in America, 292-293. THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA ii tracted by promise of large land grants many Ken- tuckians settled in Spanish territory west of the Mis- sissippi. Daniel Boone and his family moved there in 1799. When the Spanish autnorities during this perioa pro- posed to close the mouth of the Mississippi through a treaty to be signed by the confederate government the indignant wrath of men of the western country was so positive that negotiations were halted temporarily. Nothing definite was accomplished until the govern- ment under the constitution was put into operation. Then a treaty was signed at Madrid in 1795 by which citizens of the United States were given free naviga- tion of the Mississippi and the right to land their goods at New Orleans free of duty while awaiting trans-shipment. But during this period events were transpiring on the other side of the Atlantic which were to bring Louisiana again within the scope of European politics and finally into the possession of the United States. To these it will be necessary to turn our attention. France attempts to regain Louisiana. — ^The French government had tried to regain possession of Louisiana on several occasions befare the act of retrocession was carried out. Following the treaty of 1783 which ended the American Revolution, Vergennes wished to recover that territory, and Spain was willing to return it. France could not pay the price although it was no more than the amount necessary to reimburse Spain for the expense of the colony. Following the peace of Bale of July 22, 1795, the French Republic again tried to get possession of Louisiana and failed. She did succeed in procuring Spain's consent to cede the eastern part of Santo Domingo at this time as al- ready indicated, but the French did not ask for imme- diate possession because of the English superiority on the sea. Once more, in 1797, influenced by Carnot and 12 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST Barthelemy, the Directory offered the Spanish king a principality to be made by uniting the Duchy of Parma with three legations just taken from the Pope, the same to be given the king's son-in-law as the kingdom of Etruria, but Charles refused to be bribed even by the splendid position which this would have given his daughter. Still another attempt was made in 1798 but with no more success than had followed earlier efforts. Two years elapsed before the subject was proposed again to the authorities at Madrid. During this time Talleyrand spent some anxious days trying to recover what his mismanagement had lost. The storm of pro- test in America following the return of Monroe and Pinckney had not died down when Adams appointed new commissioners to Paris upon his own responsibil- ity. They arrived there in the spring of 1800 and on September 30 following, the treaty of Morfontaine was signed. This restored relations between France : and the United States. * Berthier's mission. — In the meantime Napoleon, then at the head of the French government, took the final step in the acquisition of territory for establish- ing his colonial system. He ordered Talleyrand to send a special messenger to the French minister at Madrid with powers for concluding a treaty with Spain by which she should retrocede Louisiana to France. The subject was pushed rapidly and success- fully at the Spanish court, but despite this Napoleon determined to send a special agent and General Ber- thier, a man who stood close to the First Consul in con- fidential matters, was selected for the mission. He left for Madrid during the last of August, 1800, carry- ing with him a letter of introduction from Bonaparte to the Spanish king and the project of a treaty of retro- cession which had been drawn by Talleyrand at the command of the First Consul, Certainly the project THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA 13 would not tend to allay uneasiness in the United States. The French Republic pledges itself to procure for the Duke of Parma in Italy an aggrandizement of territory to contain at least one million inhabitants; the Republic charges itself with procuring the consent of Austria and the other States interested, so that the Duke may be put into possession of his new territory at the coming peace between France and Austria. Spain on her side pledges herself to retrocede to the French Republic the colony of Louisiana with the same extent It actually has In the hands of Spain, and such as it should be according to the treaties subsequently passed between Spain and other States. Spain shall further join to this cession that of the two Floridas, eastern and western with their actual llmits.^^ Besides this Spain was to give to France six ships of war, and the provinces mentioned were to be deliv- ered to France whenever the territory promised for the Duke of Parma should be delivered by France to Spain. Mutual assistance was to be given against any person or persons who should threaten or attack them in consequence of executing their engagement. In the history of the United States — to quote again from Henry Adams — hardly any document, domestic or foreign, to be found in their archives has greater interest than this project; for from it the United States must trace whatever legal title they obtain to the vast region west of the Missis- sippi. The treaties which followed were made merely in pursuance of this engagement, with such variations as seemed good for the purpose of carrying out the central idea of restoring Louisiana to France.^^ Treaty of San Ildefonso. — The retrocession was not to be concluded without difficulties. The object of Berthier's mission had been published in a Paris news- ^^ Quoted in Henry Adams, History of the United States of America, 9 vols., N. Y., 1903-1904. I. 367. ^^ Ibid.. 367, 368. 14 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST paper and this reached the American minister at Madrid, who sought a denial from Urquijo, the French minister to Spain. The denial was not convincing. There was further difficulty. Louisiana had been de- manded by Alquier, but Berthier was told to require the Floridas and six ships of war in addition. Louisi- ana was French as we have seen and the Spanish king was willing to part with it for a kingdom in Italy, but he was not willing to part with the Floridas. So the final agreement provided that the prince-presumptive of Parma, who was the son-in-law and nephew of Don Carlos, should receive an Italian kingdom of at least a million inhabitants. Tuscany was the territory se- lected for the new monarch who was to be known as King of Etruria. In return Spain was to retrocede Louisiana to France. After the general peace, the king might also cede that part of west Florida which lay between the Mississippi and the Mobile. At San Ildefonso, on October i, 1800, the treaty of retrocession was signed. As has been indicated ^' this agreement undid the convention of 1800 signed on the preceding day by Joseph Bonaparte and the American ministers. Godoy versus Napoleon. — ^The First Consul's brother, Lucien, was sent as ambassador to Madrid to complete the details of the agreement. At the Span- ish capital Urquijo was dismissed, Godoy was called from retirement to take his place, and the struggle for the possession of Louisiana began. Lucien negotiated a new treaty closing the bargain in regard to Parma and Tuscany to which Godoy offered no opposition. The treaty provided that the Prince of Parma be cre- ated King of Etruria and that Louisiana should be retroceded at once to France. This was signed at Madrid on March 21, i8oi, and the young king and his consort were sent to Paris where they were hand- ^~. —— — — _ ^^ Channing, The Jeffersonian System, 59. THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA 15 somely entertained by Napoleon. A few months later the First Consul called upon the King of Spain for au- thority to take possession of Louisiana, but Godoy had determined that this should not be permitted. The excuse which the wily Spaniard used was that Napo- leon had not fulfilled his part of the agreement. The young king had been sent to Italy to take possession of his kingdom, but upon his arrival he found there was no royal authority to go with his royal title. The en- tire control was in the hands of the French, and no foreign power recognized the new kingdom. Napo- leon was vexed beyond measure at having his policy held up in this manner, but for about a year longer he permitted Godoy to hold Louisiana. While Godoy still defied him Napoleon turned to crush another opponent whom he detested even more than the Prince of Peace. This was Toussaint L'Ou- verture. Importance of Santo Domingo.— The island of Santo Domingo was chiefly Spanish, but its western end belonged to France by language as well as by his- tory. During the days of the Bourbons this small part of the island had been considered the most valuable of French possessions. Two thirds of the commercial interest of the Fre»ich nation centered there before the beginning of the French Revolution in 1789. More than seven hundred ocean-going vessels were employed in its carrying trade and its exports and imports com- bined were estimated at more than $140,000,000. The home market was supplied by it with sugar, coffee, cotton, and indigo. Many prominent Creole families in Paris received their incomes from this French pos- session and wielded considerable political influence in France, "while in the island itself, society enjoyed semi-Parisian ease and elegance, the natural product of an exaggerated slave system combined with the man- i6 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST ners, ideas, and amusements of a French proprietary caste." " Class distinction on the island.— Of the six hundred thousand people living on the island in 1789, approxi- mately five sixths were full-blooded negro slaves. About one half of the hundred thousand free citizens were mulattoes who were disqualified from holding of- fice because of negro blood. Between these and the forty or fifty thousand Creoles who held all the social and political privileges of the island there was con- siderable jealousy. Then too, the Creoles were rest- less under the despotic colonial system, claiming for themselves political rights which the home govern- ment refused to grant. So when the revolution began in France in 1789 the Creoles sympathized with the movement until the National Assembly supported the mulattoes. The Creoles then turned royalists. The civil war which began in the island produced a slave insurrection that resulted in unspeakable horrors being committed. Toussaint L'Ouverture. — For several years the strife continued and the confusion was increased by the entrance of the Spaniards and the English who hoped to effect a conquest of the island. The National Assembly abolished slavery on February 4, 1794, but at the time this rather increased the confusion. One of its greatest immediate results was that in April fol- lowing Toussaint L'Ouverture, who had been head of a royalist band in Spanish pay since the beginning of the outbreak, returned and took service under the Re- public. His grandfather had been a negro chief on the slave coast of Africa and had been brought to Santo Domingo as a slave. The French accepted Toussaint's services, but not until more than a year later was he commissioned brigadier-general by the National Convention. In May, 1797, he was made 1* Adams, History of the United States, I. 378, 379. THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA 17 General-in-Chief and was given military command over the whole colony. He rendered efficient service to the French nation and was liberally rewarded. Toussaint seeks independence and relations with United States. — In July, 1797, commissioners arrived in France from the United States. They had been sent for the purpose of settling disputes then existing between the two countries, but Talleyrand refused to negotiate with them unless they would pay him a bribe of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. In the middle of April, 1798, two of the commissioners ar- rived home thoroughly disgusted. The report of their reception in the French capital and of Talleyrand's demands were published in the United States soon after their arrival and resulted in the spread of a strong resentment against the French. On June 13, 1798, Congress passed an act suspending commercial relations with France and her dependencies. At that time Toussaint was absolute ruler of Santo Domingo, although he recognized a general allegiance to the French Republic. He knew that the act of Congress if strictly enforced would work a great hardship on the blacks of the island, and that French authority would be strengthened by whatever weakened him. He determined upon absolute independence from France with a view to seeking better relations with the United States, an action upon which the latter nation had counted. Toussaint's advance was encour- aged by the United States' Consul, and the former sent a special agent with a letter to the President giving complete assurance that if commercial intercourse were renewed between the United States and Santo Do- mingo he would do all within his power to protect it. Influenced by both political and economic reasons the President secured a new act from Congress which was approved February 9, 1799, and which was intended to satisfy Toussaint's request. i8 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST Having secured a reopening of the trade between the United States and Santa Domingo and having con- cluded a favorable treaty with England, L'Ouverture proceeded to carry out his intentions in regard to the establishment of independence. By the successful siege of Jacmel he captured and expelled his prin- cipal rival, Rigaud, in July, 1800. Following this almost immediately the French agent, Roume, was im- prisoned. Then came the seizure of the Spanish part of the island which had been ceded to France by the treaty of Bale in 1795, but which had not been actually transferred. In May, 1801, Toussaint gave a new con- stitution to Santo Domingo in which he assumed po- litical power for life and reserved the right of naming his successor. In the last act he had outstripped Na- poleon, and meanwhile, says Henry Adams, Bonapart? "chafed under the idea of being imitated by one whom he called a 'gilded African.' " " Napoleon versus Toussaint L'Ouverture. — Sum- moning his brother-in-law, Leclerc, to Paris in the fall of 1801, the First Consul placed him in command of an expedition of twenty-five thousand men who had been ordered to assemble at Brest to overthrow Tous- saint and reestablish slavery in the island of Santo Domingo. In the United States, in the meantime, the political revolution of 1800 had produced a change in the administration of that country, and Napoleon had concluded a temporary peace with England. Tous- saint was left to depend entirely upon his own re- sources. Even so he might have succeeded had his own men remained loyal, but the odds against him were great and on May i, 1802, he surrendered to Leclerc. Shortly afterwards another foe appeared on the island against which the French battled in vain. The yel- low fever broke out in the army. In September,] "Ibid., 380-387. THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA 19 1802, Leclerc wrote Napoleon that only four thou- sand of the twenty-eight thousand three hundred men sent to Santo Domingo remained fit for service. This was soon followed by news that Leclerc himself had succumbed to the horrible malady. Napoleon thinks of selling Louisiana. — These dis- asters, together with the growing difficulty of main- taining peace with England, were important factors in Napoleon's determining to dispose of Louisiana. This decision had been reached probably by October 28, 1802.^° Livingstone wrote to Jefferson on that day stating that he had had a conversation with Joseph Bonaparte and the latter had asked whether the United States would prefer Louisiana to the Floridas. But Livingstone had declared that his country had no desire to extend its boundaries across the Mississippi, so the plan for Louisiana was checked temporarily. Closing the Mississippi and its effect. — In the United States at this time complications were devel- oping which were to result in President Jefferson's sending a special envoy to France. The United States and Spain had agreed to a treaty in 1795 by which the boundaries between their territories were fixed, the free navigation of the Mississippi was guaranteed American citizens, and for a period of three years they were to deposit merchandise at New Orleans, with the privilege of exporting goods without paying duty. This privilege was to continue unless the king of Spain found it contrary to his interests. The Amer- icans enjoyed the right of deposit for seven years with- out interruption. " Before Congress met in December, 1802, the authorities in Washington received word through Governor Claiborne at Natchez that Don ^° T. M. Marshall, A History of the Western Boundary of the Louisiana Purchase, 18IQ-1841 (University of California Publications in History, 1914), 3. 4- ^Ubid., 6. 20 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST Juan Ventura Morales, Spanish Intendant, had arbi- trarily closed the port. This news created consterna- tion in the United States. The people of Kentucky and Tennessee talked of war when they learned that the Mississippi was closed to them, and the New Eng- land Federalists, overjoyed at the attitude which Jef- ferson's western followers assumed and anxious to force the President to make some rash move which would cause his friends of that section to forsake his leader- ship, did all they could to plunge the country into instant war. Never in all his long and varied career [says Channin^] did Jefferson's foxlike discretion stand him in better stead. Instead of following the public clamor, he calmly formulated a policy and carried it through to a most successful termina- tion." To calm public agitation was the first task he set for himself, the second was to regain the right of de- posit, and the third was to get possession of New Or- leans and the Gulf coast. To these things he at once turned his attention. Monroe's mission. — Despite the alarm expressed in his well-known letter to Livingstone dated April i8, 1802, at Washington, Jefferson's second annual mes- age to Congress the following December was written in a tone of calm indifference as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. He did state that the cession of Louisiana to France would make necessary a change in the foreign relations of the United States, but what the change would be he did not indicate. More than a month later the House went into executive session and General Samuel Smith moved to appropriate two million dollars, the same to be used to meet "any ex- penses in relation to the intercourse between the United ^* Channing, Jeffersonian System, 63. THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA 21 States and foreign nations." Jefferson nominated James Monroe minister extraordinary to France and Spain on the day the motion was put. Both motions passed and Jefferson wrote a letter of explanation to Monroe on January 13, 1803." The agitation of the public mind on occasion of the late supervision of our right of deposit at New Orleans [he said] is extreme. In the western country it is natural and grounded on honest motives. In the seaports it proceeds from a desire for war which increases the mercantile lot- tery; among the Federalists generally and especially those of Congress the object is to force us into war if possible, in order to derange our finances, or if this cannot be done, to attach the western country to them as their best friends, and thus get again into power. Remonstrances, memo- rials, etc., are now circulating through the whole of the western country and signed by the body of the people. The measures we have been pursuing being invisible do not sat- isfy their minds. Something sensible therefore was become necessary; and indeed our object of purchasing New Or- leans and the Floridas is a measure liable to assume so many shapes that no instructions could be squared to fit them, it was essential then to send a minister extraordinary to be joined with the ordinary one, with discretionary pow- ers, first however well impressed with all our views and therefore qualified to meet and modify to these every form of proposition which could come from the other party. British minister's comment. — ^The first part of Jef- ferson's programme was realized by this move. On the thirty-first of the same month Thornton, the British charge, wrote to Lord Hawkesbury that the country seemed satisfied with the action which had been taken, and reliable information had assui-ed the government at Washington that "the people of Kentucky will wait with patience the result of the steps which the execu- tive government may think it right to take, without re- i» Jefferson, Writings (Ford editor), VIII. 190. 22 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST curring, as was apprehended would be the case, to force, for the assertion of their claims. The Presi- dent regards this circumstance (with great justice, it appears to me) as the surest pledge of the continuance of his authority, and as the death-blow of the Federal party."'" In the same letter Thornton already had said that Jefferson had assured him that the United States would never abandon its claim to the free navi- gation of the Mississippi. While the President hoped that a peaceful settlement could be made, he thought it very probable that Monroe might cross the channel to converse with British ministers about the free navi- gation of the Mississippi, and if compelled to resort to war the United States would throw away the scab- bard. The French charg^ becomes uneasy. — ^The French charge, Pichon, was thoroughly aroused by what had been done. Again and again he appealed to Talley- rand. He declared that it would be impossible for a government to be more bitter than that of the United States "at the humiliating attitude in which our si- lence about Louisiana places them." Jefferson, he thought, would be forced through necessity to yield his scruples against a British alliance, and Pichon had no- ticed that the President was "redoubling his civilities and attentions to the British charge." Pichon had a conference with Madison at the latter's request which confirmed his deepest fears. New Orleans and West Florida were essential for the American settlements on the upper Mississippi and Mobile rivers, Madisoa informed him, and Monroe had been instructed to ob- tain all the territory east of the Mississippi at a price not to exceed two or three million dollars. Since New Orleans was of no value to the French they could sell it to the Americans and build another city on the op- 20 Quoted in Henry Adams, History of the United States, I. 436, 437., THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA 23 posite bank of the river. The true policy of France required her to make the Mississippi her boundary anyway, because "the United States had no interest in seeing circumstances rise which should eventually lead their population to extend itself to the right bank." If Napoleon was not convinced by these ar- guments, Madison intimated to Pichon, "it might hap- pen that the conduct of France would decide political combinations which, getting the upper hand of all these considerations, would tend to produce results no doubt disagreeable to the United States, but certainly still more so to France and her allies." " The right of deposit restored. — Briefly, every pos- sible thing was done to make France understand 'that the Mississippi must be kept open to the people of the United States. If France should force a war on the administration, Madison wrote Livingstone and Mon- roe in April, 1803, the two envoys were to invite Eng- land to form an alliance by which it should be agreed that neither party would make peace or a truce with- out the consent of the other. Before Madison had completed these instructions to the American repre- sentatives in France, however, the Spanish minister, the Marquis of Casa Yrujo, informed him that the Spanish government had sent a special messenger to notify the President that the right of deposit would be restored until another place could be selected or until some other arrangement could be made which would satisfy both parties. The Spanish minister was also instructed to thank the President for his friendly conduct during the time of recent excitement. So the second part of Jefferson's plans was realized. The third was not to be accomplished in its entirety for several years, but the attempt to realize it resulted in the Louisiana purchase — an incident which has been 21 Ibid., I. 4-37-439. 24 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST called rightly the greatest diplomatic success recorded in American history, and an event which ranks in historical importance next to the Declaration of In- dependence and the adoption of the Constitution.'^ Napoleon on the sale of Louisiana.— Monroe sailed from the United States on March 9, 1803, and arrived in Paris on April 12. Two days before he landed Napoleon called Marbois and another counselor to him and declared his intention of ceding Louisiana to the United States. I know the full value of Louisiana [he said vehemently] and I have been desirous of repairing the fault of the Frenjch negotiator who abandoned it in 1763. A few lines of a treaty have restored it to me, and I have scarcely recov- ered it when I must expect to lose it. But if it escapes from me, it shall one day cost dearer to those who oblige me to strip myself of it than to those to whom I wish to deliver it. The English have successfully taken from France, Canada, Cape Breton, New Foundland, Nova Sco- tia, and the richest portions of Asia. They are engaged in exciting troubles in Santo Domingo. They shall not have the Mississippi which they covet. Louisiana is nothing in comparison with their conquests in all parts of the globe, and yet the jealousy they feel at the restoration of this colony to the sovereignty of France, acquaints me with their wish to take possession of it, and it is thus that they will begin the war. They have twenty ships of war in the Gulf of Mexico, they sail over these seas as sovereigns! whilst our affairs in Santo Domingo have been growing worse every day since the death of Leclerc. The conquest of Louisiana would be easy, if they only took the trouble to make a descent there. I have not a moment to lose in putting it out of their reach. I know not whether they are not already there. It is their usual course, and if I had been in their place, I would not have waited. I wish, if there is still time, to take from them any idea that they may have of ever possessing that colony. I think of ceding 22 Ibid., II. 2, 3 and 48, 49. THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA 25 it to the United States. I can scarcely say that I cede it to them, for it is not yet in our possession. If, however, I leave the least time to our enemies, I shall only transmit an empty title to those republicans whose friendship I seek. They only ask of me one town in Louisiana, but I already consider the colony as entirely lost, and it appears to me that in the hands of this growing power, it will be more useful to the policy and even to the commerce of France, than if I should attempt to keep it.^^ Marbois directed to sell Louisiana. — ^The discus- sion was continued into the night but no decision was reached. At daybreak on the following morning Na- poleon received word that England was hastening prep- arations for renewal of the war. Summoning Marbois to him he reiterated his intention of parting with Louisiana. It is not only New Orleans that I will cede. It is the whole colony without any reservation. I know the price of what I abandon, and I have sufficiently proved the impor- tance that I attach to this province, since my first diplomatic act with Spain had for its object the recovery of it. I renounce it with the greatest regret. ... I direct you to negotiate this affair with the envoys of the United States. Do not even await the arrival of Mr. Monroe; have an interview this very day with Mr. Livingstone ; but I require a great deal of money for this war, and I would not like to commence it with new contributions. ... If I should regulate my terms, according to the value of these vast regions to the United States, the indemnity would have no limits. I will be moderate in consideration of the necessity in which I am of making a sale. But keep this to yourself. I want fifty millions (francs), and for less than that sum I will not treat; I would rather make a desperate attempt to keep these fine countries.^* Negotiations begin. — Marbois did not see Living- stone on that day, but Talleyrand did. Livingstone had 28Barbe-Marbois, The History of Louisiana, 263, 264. 2*/j!i., 274. 275- 26 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST been in conference with Talleyrand for several weeks= trying to purchase the island of Orleans and West Flor- ida. On Monday, April 1 1, 1803, the day that Napo- leon had placed the negotiations in Marbois's charge,; Talleyrand asked Livingstone whether the United States would like the whole of Louisiana. Living- stone told him that the United States wanted only New Orleans and the Floridas, but that it might be to the interest of France to cede the country above the Ar- kansas River to his people in order to place a barrier between French territory and Canada^ Talleyrand re- plied that if they gave New Orleans, the rest would be of little value and he would like to know what the United States would give for the whole. To this Liv- ingstone refused to commit himself until he had had an opportunity to introduce Monroe. Livingstone and Marbois confer. — On the night of April 13, two days later, Livingstone had a conversa- tion with Marbois, the minister of the Treasury, which he considered so important that he thought it necessary to report it to Madison at once, while the impressions were strong upon his mind.^^ Until midnight the two men conversed. Marbois said that the .First Consul, > in a recent conference with him, had declared his readi- ness to part with the whole of the Louisiana territory to the United States provided that country would pay one hundred million francs and pay the claims of their own citizens. "Seeing, by my looks, that I was sur- prised at so extravagant a demand," wrote Living- stone, "he added that he considered the demand as ex- orbitant, and had told the First Consul that the^ thing was impossible ; that we had not the means of raising that. The First Consul told him that we might bor- row it. I now plainly saw the whole business : first 28 These letters are in the American State Papers, Foreign Relations H. 552-554- ' THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA 27 the Consul was disposed to sell; next, he distrusted Talleyrand, on account of the supposed intention to bribe, and meant to put the negotiations into the hands of Marbois, whose character for integrity is estab- lished." Livingstone assured Marbois that the United States was anxious to preserve peace with France; that his nation wished to remove the French inhabitants to the west side of the Mississippi ; that the United States would be perfectly satisfied with New Orleans and the Floridas, and had no disposition to extend across the river; that, of course, they would not give any great sum for the purchase; that Marbois was right in his idea of the extreme exorbitancy of the demand; and that the United States would be ready to purchase, pro- vided the sum was reduced to reasonable limits. Mar- bois then urged him to name the sum, but this Living- stone declined to do. The French minister, upon being urged to do so, then suggested as a fair price sixty million francs, in addition to which the United States should take upon itself the American claims to the amount of twenty million more. While Livingstone urged the exorbitance of this de- mand he took particular pains to inquire whether France would stipulate never to possess the Floridas and would promise to aid the United States to procure them. Being assured by Marbois that the French gov- ernment would do this, Livingstone closed the con- versation by promising to confer with Monroe, assur- ing Marbois that the American representatives would do every reasonable thing to remove any cause for dif- ference which might exist between the two countries. Thus, sir, you see a negotiation is fairly opened [he exulted in concluding his communication to Madisonj as to the quantum, I have yet made up no opinion. The field opened to us is infinitely larger than our instructions con- templated; the revenue increasing, and the land more than 28 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST adequate to sink the capital, should we even go the sum proposed by Marbois ; nay I persuade myself that the whole sum may be raised by the sale of the territory west of the Mississippi, with the right of sovereignty, to some power in Europe, whose vicinity we should not fear. _ I speak now without reflection and without having seen Mr. Monroe as it was midnight when I left the treasury, and is now three o'clock. It is so very important that you should be apprised that a negotiation is actually opened, even before Mr. Monroe has been presented, in order to calm the tumult which the news of war will renew, that I have lost no time in communicating it. We shall do all we can to cheapen the purchase; but my present sentiment is that we shall buy.^= Napoleon's proposal. — ^True to his promise Living- stone worked hard for a reduction in the price. A week was spent in haggling over this, and a fortnight passed after Monroe's arrival without anything more definite having been accomplished. On April 23 the First Consul drew up a "Project of a Secret Conven- tion" which was given by him to Marbois. For the purpose, among other things, of strengthening friendly! relations between the two nations the French Republic according to this document was to cede Louisiana to the United States; in consequence of which cession,] "Louisiana, its territory, and its proper dependencies" shall become part of the American Union, and shall form successively one or more states on the terms of the Federal Constitution." ^'^ French commerce in Louisiana was to be given all the rights of American commerce with permanent entrepdts at six points along the Mississippi together with a permanent right of navigation. The United States was also to assume all debts to American citizens under the treaty of Mon- fontaine and was to pay France one hundred million ^«Ibid., 554. 27 Quoted in Adams, United States, II. 40. THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA 29 francs. Armed with this document on the afternoon of April 27, Marbois held a conference with Living- stone and Monroe in the rooms of the latter. Too unwell himself to sit at the table Monroe reclined on a sofa throughout the discussion. A counter proposal. — The conversation was opened by Marbois who submitted Napoleon's project. After admitting that he thought it hard and unreasonable, he presented his own. The former demanded a total expense of one hundred and twenty million francs to the American government, the latter reduced the de- mand to eighty million. Livingstone was particularly anxious to settle this question of claims first and sepa- rately, but Monroe overruled him in this. The twen- ty-eighth of April was spent by the two American envoys in revising Marbois's project, and drawing up one of their own. On the following day they called upon the French minister and presented their pro- posal. In this they had suggested fifty millions as the amount to be given France, and twenty millions more on account of her debt to the citizens of the United States, But Marbois refused to proceed unless eighty million francs was accepted as the price, and the Amer- ican commissioners finally yielded. Marbois took the revised document for a conference with Napoleon on April 30. Monroe meets Napoleon. — On Sunday, May i, Monroe was conducted to the Palace of the Louvre and presented by Livingstone to the First Consul whom he found in a genial and inquisitive frame of mind. " 'You have been here fifteen days?' Napoleon asked. I told him I had. 'You speak French?' I replied, 'A little!' 'You had a good voyage?' 'Yes.' 'You came in a frigate?' 'No, in a merchant vessel charged for the purpose.' Then turning abruptly to the sub- ject in which Monroe and Livingstone were particu- larly interested he assured them that their affair should 30 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST be settled, and left them. After dinner the First Con- sul again came to Monroe and inquired whether the Federal city grew much. I told him it did. 'How many inhabitants has it?' '. , . in itself it contains two or three thousand inhabitants.' 'Well, Mr. Jefiferson, how old is he?' 'About sixty.' 'Is he married or sin- gle?' 'He is not married.' 'Then he is a garqon! 'No, he is a widower.' 'Has he children?' 'Yes, two daughters who are married.' 'Does he reside in the Federal city?' 'Generally.' 'Are the public build- ings there commodious, those for the Congress and President especially?' 'They are.' 'You Americans did brilliant things in the war with England, you will do the same again.' 'We shall I am persuaded always behave well when it shall be our lot to be in war.' 'You may probably be in war with them again.' I replied that I did not know, that that was an important ques- tion to decide when there would be an occasion for it," ^* and so the conversation ended. The treaty concluded. — On that same evening the two American envoys had a final discussion with Mar- bois. Some amendments were made to the treaty and a few minor changes were agreed upon. On May 2 the "treaty and convention for sixty millions of francs to France in the French language" was signed. The English copies were prepared and signed two or three days later. The convention affecting American claims was not signed, however, until about the eighth or ninth, and all these documents were antedated to April 30. But in the document thus agreed upon there was no attempt to define the boundaries of the property which changed hands. This subject was left for later diplomatic negotiations, and in the meantime Amer- ican explorers, fur traders, and settlers were crossing 28 Hamilton, Stanislaus Murray (Editor), The Writings of James Mon- roe, Including a Collection of His Public and Private Papers and Cor- respondence Nov) for the First Time Printed, 7 vols. New York i8og- 1903, IV. 13-16. THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA 31 the Mississippi to seek adventure and furs and to build homes in the Trans-Mississippi West. Bibliographical Notes The Louisiana Purchase : An account of the purchase of Louis- iana will be found in the general histories of the United States and in the difEerent lives of Jefferson. The most satisfactory sec- ondary accounts may be found in the following: Henry Adams, History of the United States of America (during the Administra- tions of Jefferson and Madison), 9 vols.. New York, 1903- 1904; Clarence W. Alvord, The Illinois Country, 1673-1818, Spring- field, 1920; Edward Channing, History of the Uniteei^tates (5 vols, completed), New York, 1907-1921, Vol. IV; Ij)i dians with the power of the United States if such ves^ sels could be used. Congress refuses to provide funds. — ^These plans, however, were not to be carried out. Cocke's opposi- tion developed strength and Congress finally refused to supply the necessary funds. As a "half-hearted apology to the public for its failure," says Chittenden, "a small side show was organized for the season of 1820 in the form of an expedition to the Rocky Moun- tains." This was placed under the command of Major Long. Major Long's expedition as substitute. — ^The meager equipment of his company when compared with the expedition he had conducted up the Missouri was indeed discouraging. In this change in the char- acter of the expedition at the head of which he had been placed may be found psychological reasons for the wholesale condemnation of the far western coun- try by Major Long. The reorganized expedition consisting of twenty men left the Missouri at Council Bluffs on June 6, 1820. At the Pawnee village on the Loup River they visited the Indians and employed two Frenchmen as guides and interpreters. Two days were spent among the Indians before the party resumed their westward journey. From the vicinity of Grand Island the route followed the north bank of the Platte to the forks 52 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST whence they crossed to the south bank of the South Fork. In Colorado.— The company had left the Indian vil- lages on June 13. On the thirtieth of that month they came within sight of the Rockies. They had hoped to celebrate the Fourth of July in the mountains, biit in this they were disappointed. On the fifth they camped on the present site of the city of Denver and on the sixth directly in front of the chasm through which issues the South Platte. Two days were spent here while a vain attempt was made to cross the first range and reach the Platte on the other side. How- ever, they did succeed in attaining an elevation from which they could distinguish the two forks of that river. On July 12 the camp was made a few mileS: south of Colorado Springs. From here James, the chronicler of the expedition, accompanied by two men, ascended Pike's Peak. This was probably the first time the top was reached by white men, and Long called the mountain James's Peak in honor of the achievement, but the name has not been accepted. The height of the mountain above the plain was properly estimated by Lieutenant Swift, but the height of the basal plains above sea level was inaccurately made so that an error of nearly three thousand feet in the de- termination of the elevation of the summit above sea level was the result. The observations for longitude and latitude here as elsewhere were erroneous. Expedition divides. — The party broke camp July 16 and moved southwest to the Arkansas, coming to that stream twelve or fifteen miles above the present city of Pueblo. On the following day four members of the party went up the river to the entrance of the Royal Gorge at Canon City, but they turned back baf- fled again by what seemed to them to be impassable barriers. Two days later, on the nineteenth, the whole expedition moved down the Arkansas. At the end of AMERICAN EXPLORATIONS 53 another two days camp was made a few miles above the later site of La Junta, Colorado. Following instruc- tions from the war department the party was divided in two and preparations were made for exploring the courses of both the Arkansas and the Red. Long com- manded 'the more important of the two divisions down the latter stream, while the former, having been ex- amined already by Pike, was explored by Captain Bell and his division. Long's division fails to find Red River. — Major Long's division left the Arkansas on July 24, crossed Purgatory Creek and the upper waters of the Cimarron River, and after six days came to a small tributary of the Canadian River. Nearly a week later they came to the last named stream near the present boundary of Texas and New Mexico. The members of the party believed that they had reached the Red River, and nat- urally so because they came upon the Canadian in the region where the Red was supposed to rise. But the stream deviated from the course which the Red was supposed to follow and the party became doubtful. They were not convinced of their error, however, until they arrived at the junction of the Arkansas and Cana- dian rivers. The journey down the latter stream had been made amidst almost constant suffering caused by exposure to violent storms and excessive heat, by lack of an adequate supply of food and water, by annoying attacks of wood ticks, and by occasional encounters with bands of unfriendly Kaskaia and Comanche In- dians. Despite these obstacles the party arrived at Fort Smith on September 13. This was the meeting place which had been previously determined upon, and Long found Bell's division awaiting him upon his ar- rival. Divisions meet at Fort Smith and descend Arkan- sas. — The commander of the Arkansas expedition had experienced difficulties and hardships scarcely less try- 54 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST ing than those encountered by Long. On a night in August (the thirteenth) three soldiers deserted, taking with them all the manuscripts which had been pre- pared by Dr. Say and Lieutenant Swift since leaving the Missouri. These contained notes on the animals examined, a journal of the expedition, considerable topographical data, besides information on the cus- toms, manners, history, and languages of the Indian. To add to their discouragement they went astray. This occurred soon after passing the Great Bend when they mistook the Ne-Ne-Seah for the Negracka or Salt Fork of the Arkansas. Other similar errors added to their bewilderment and for some time they did not know just how to reach the appointed rendezvous. But finally they met a band of friendly Osage Indians near the Verdigris River on September i who were able to give them information, and they reached Fort Smith on the ninth of the same month. The entire expedition descended the river to the Cherokee towns on Illinois Creek in Pope County, Ar- kansas. From here they proceeded overland to Cape Girardeau in Missouri. Two members of the party went from the Cherokee towns to Hot Springs, Arkan- sas, and returned to the Arkansas River at Little Rock whence they also crossed the country to Cape Girar- deau. Here all members of the expedition met on October 12, 1820, and a little later they were dis- banded." The Magee-Kearny expedition. — ^While Long and his party were exploring the country west of the Mis- souri another expedition was sent out from Council Blufifs in the opposite direction for the purpose of open- ing a road between that place and the military post on 21 James, Edwin, "An account of an Expedition from Pittsburg to the Rocky Mountains, 1819-1820" in Thwaites, Early Western Travels /wJ- 1840, Cleveland, 1905. XIV, XV, XVI, XVII. ' ' AMERICAN EXPLORATIONS 55 the Mississippi at the mouth of the St. Peters River. This was led by Captain Magee of the rifle regiment. Accompanying the party were Lieutenant- Colonel Morgan and Captain Kearny. It is to the latter that we are indebted for our knowledge of the undertaking. From Council Bluffs to Camp Cold Water.— The party required twenty-three days to make the trip. Leaving Camp Missouri on July 2, 1820, they followed a route leading in a general northeasterly direction, veering occasionally to the east or to the north, finally arriving at Camp Cold Water on July 25. "Our cir- cuitous and wavering route (which is to be attributed to the guide's advice . . .)," noted Kearny, "the im- mense prairies we have crossed; the want of timber which we for several days at a time experienced; the little water that in some parts was to be found; the high and precipitous mountains and hills which we have climbed over, render that road impracticable and almost impassable for more than very small bodies." " Unofficial explorers. — ^The explorations noted above were made directly or indirectly under the auspices of the government at Washington. They were official in character. There had been many Anglo-American explorers in the Trans-Mississippi, however, who had no official connection whatever with the government of the United States. Sometimes they were scientists like Bradbury and Brackenridge and Schoolcraft and Nuttall ; or again they might be adventurers or traders or both such as John Shaw and John Fonda and Jacob Fowler. All of these men completed explorations into the western country within the limits of the period under consideration. It becomes necessary, therefore, to turn from the official to the unofficial explorations, and the men whose names have just been mentioned 22 "Journal of Stephen Watts Kearny," Valentine M. Porter (editor), in Missouri Historical Society, Collections, III. 8 ff. A map of the route which Magee followed will be found in this volume. 56 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST will be considered in a somewhat dififerent order from that which is given above. Bradbury, Brackenridge, and Shaw were in the Trans-Mississippi West before the War of 1812. They followed chronologically Lewis and Clark, Dun- bar, Hunter, Sibley, Freeman, and Pike. Expeditions of Bradbury and Brackenridge.— John Bradbury, who was a naturalist and traveler, ar- rived in the United States in the summer of 1809, bear- ing a commission from the Botanical Society at Liver- pool to make an examination of plant life in America. The president of the society had provided Bradbury with a letter of introduction to Jefiferson as a result of which he visited Monticello. Following a brief visit Bradbury started for St. Louis, arriving there the last day of the year 1809, carrying with him a let- ter of commendation from Jefferson to Meriwether Lewis. St. Louis became the center from which the naturalist made a number of short excursions. He was planning to move south to the Arkansas country when he met Hunt, the leader of the overland Astorian expedition. He received an invitation to accompany the expedition and immediately decided to do so. The larger part of Bradbury's journal is occupied with a description of his tour with Hunt's party up the Mis- souri. He went by boat to the Arikara villages sev- eral hundred miles from St. Louis and then accompa* nied Ramsay Crooks to the fur-trading station among, the Mandans about two hundred miles farther up the river. Upon his return to the Arikara villages he found the members of his party busily engaged in pre- paring to continue their journey to the Pacific. Man- uel Lisa, in his second trip up the Missouri, had over- taken Hunt and with the former had come Henry M. Brackenridge, a friend of Bradbury's. Lisa and AMERICAN EXPLORATIONS 57 Brackenridge were about to return to St. Louis and Bradbury decided to accompany them." Bradbury had made his excursion into the West in the interest of science. Brackenridge was seeking merely pleasure and adventure. Colonel John Shaw, whose explorations covered an entirely different area, combined the experiences of the adventurer with those of the fur trader. Colonel John Shaw. — Colonel Shaw was one of the early pioneers of Wisconsin, a man whose integrity and honesty have been vouched for by some of his fellow countrymen. The editor of the Wisconsin His- torical Society Collections, Dr. Draper, through whose hands Colonel Shaw's narrative passed, tells us that it may be considered substantially correct. His account was written from memory when he was an old man and therefore allowance must be made for dates. But the internal evidence of that part of his narrative out- lined here, will indicate that his explorations were made not only before the War of 181 2, but pretty near the time he claims to have made them.^* Shaw's explorations. — Colonel Shaw says that he spent the winter of 1808 in St. Louis and its vicinity. During the following spring, accompanied by Peter Spear and William Miller, he set out from the extreme western settlement of Cape Girardeau County on the headwaters of the St. Francis River for the Pacific Ocean. He thinks his route was very near the thirty- seventh parallel, or perhaps a half degree south of it. He crossed a branch of the White River which he claims to have named the Current. Proceeding west- ward he came to the Black, afterwards called the Spring, which stream he followed to its source. Cross- es For an account of these expeditions see Thwaites, Early Western Tpavels, 174S-1846, 32 vols., Cleveland, 1904-1907, V, VI. 2* Col. John Shaw, "Personal Narrative," in the Wisconsin Historical Society, Collections, II. 197-232. 58 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST ing to the main fork of the White River he then made his way to the prairie country. He continued west- ward, he thought, beyond the headwaters of all the tributaries of the Mississippi except the Missouri and Arkansas rivers, a distance of about eight hundred miles or more. When within the vicinity of the Rocky Mountains, he met three traders who were the survivors of a company of fifteen that had been trad- ing among the Indians. They told him that a band of warriors was on the plains at no great distance and urged him to turn back. But disregarding their ad- vice he continued his journey until within sight of the Indians. Convinced that discretion was the better part of valor he then decided to retrace his steps. The autumn of 1809, the year 18 10, and the winter of 1810 to 181 1 were spent by Shaw in hunting in east- ern Kansas and western Missouri and Arkansas. Dur- ing this period he collected "fifty beaver and otter skins, and eight hundred gallons of bear oil." These were carried to the headwaters of the White River, transported in rudely constructed boats down that stream to the Mississippi, and thence to New Orleans. These products would have brought him between two and three thousand dollars, he thought, if he had been able to ship them to Europe, but the "Embargo" ^° was in force, he said, and he was compelled to sell his com- modities for thirty-six dollars. On his return he passed through the Chickasaw and the Choctaw country to Colbert's Ferry on the Ten- nessee, thence to Vincennes, and finally to St. Louis. He was in the vicinity of New Madrid when the earth- quakes occurred there, he claims, on Decemberji4, 181 1, and February 7, 181 2. Soon after this he went to Prairie du Chien and made Wisconsin his home during the remainder of a long and useful life. 2= This was of course impossible if we accept the dates which he hat given. AMERICAN EXPLORATIONS 59 Expedition of Henry Schoolcraft. — ^The exploring expedition led by Henry Schoolcraft covered the period from November 6, 181 8, to Fjsbruary 4, 18 19. His object was to "traverse the plains and mountain elevations west of the Mississippi, which had once echoed the tramp of the squadrons of De Soto — to range over hills and through rugged defiles, which he had once searched in the hope of finding mines of gold and silver rivaling those of Mexico and Peru. . . ." " The route. — The members of the little company or- ganized and began their explorations into the West from the frontier village of Potosi in the present county of Washington, Missouri. They traveled in a "west- south-west" direction until they passed successively the Big and Little Fork of the White River. Continuing in the same general direction they terminated their westward movement near the headwaters of the White River in north-western Arkansas. Schoolcraft deter- mined to descend this stream. He purchased a large canoe from some hunters who had established them- selves at Beaver Creek in the solitude of the Ozarks. Selecting from their packs such things as were con- sidered essential and loading the canoe with necessary provisions the company began the descent of the stream. This was January 9, 1819. Schoolcraft was intoxicated with the new method of travel. "The very change from traversing weary plains and prairies and ascending steep cliffs, was exhilarating and delight- ful." Then, too, the stream and the country through which it flowed drew hearty commendations of ap- proval from the young explorer. The White River was "one of the most beautiful and enchanting streams, and by far the most transparent, which discharge their waters into the Mississippi. To a width and depth 28 Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe, Scenes and Adventures in the Semi-Alpine Region of the Ozark Mountains of Missouri and Arkansas, ^^RJOUS TRIBES 2f- MAYI8 laai *- ^y^MUOV/S TRIBES 5S _ JUNE 3 ia.31 \tf^RIOUS TRJBES J!r_ JUNE 10 1831 VARIOUS TRIBES S8- JULY laiB^l VAR10U3 TRIBES so_ A.UG.1 lesi VARIOU-S TRIBfiS ■SI _ v».UG.lciie51 V/VRIOU3 TR1&BS ^l-r _^"o EoiBSl N^aj^ous TRIBES S3. -«AIG.!?1851 V/^RIOUS TRJABS 34. SEPT-') 1851 ^^^RIous TFisEs 35- SEPT.iaia51 V>^10U5 TRIBE3 Sis. ocT.ft 1851 WMtious TRIBES S7 . JSTOV. 4 1351 ^vfsmava TmBKs as. JAN.J 18i2 SAIM LOUIS T^EY S' - JAJa.7 1852 CI£G\;£N09 40. SEPT,101Bi5 R.O0UE SEPT.l? 1853 41 . vr^9UA.' E vnjtud stati 1. NOV- 3 leot 2- NOV. 10 1808 GR-.&L1TTLC 05ACE 3- KIOV. 10 18 08 GK.S. LITTLE OSAGC AUG. 4 1824 SAUK.&.FOX. 4- Auo.2 4iaia S -NOV-IS 1824 QU/SPAW RESERVE li -SErT-JJlBia GK-a-LITTLE OSAGE y. JAN.141846 KANSAS RESERVE ]0_ JULV-IJIOJO SAUK S POX 12.JUl-V15ia30 SA\JK.iPO>C lS-SEPr,Zl 1^32 ,17.dUl^r 1 1645 CADDO 16- JULYS? 1837 17.SCPT!;11B4? 8taux 20-ocr. si.iea? 6Auiv&rox 21- OCT. 11 1842 r SAUK.bFOX THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE 89 the Mississippi as you are disposed to part with. Should you have anything to say on this subject now or at any future time, we shall be always ready to listen to you." In 1808 efforts were made to induce the Choc- taws to, remove west of the Mississippi, but these at- tempts failed. A little later, probably as a result of the influence of Colonel Meigs, the Cherokees ex- pressed a desire to go and permission was secured for the migration of all those who cared to move. They were to receive land in the Trans-Mississippi West equal to the amount they surrendered in the East. With the inauguration of Madison, however, interest in Cherokee emigration lapsed. The government failed to provide the funds which had been promised and the Cherokees, thrown on their own resources, went or remained as they chose, A few of them went, but they had no definite tract assigned them west of the Mississippi at that time, and they wandered about or settled down whenever and wherever they could find room.^' The treaty of 1817. — On July 8, 1817, a treaty was made whereby the United States agreed to cede the Cherokees as much land west of the Mississippi as they had given up east of that stream. The tract assigned under Article 5 of the treaty was between the Arkan- sas and White rivers. The eastern line began at Point Remove on the upper bank of the Arkansas and ran northeastward to the White River. The western lim- its were not defined. In fact they could not be until the amount of land to which the Cherokees were en- titled had been determined. Removal of Indians from Arkansas Territory. — When Schoolcraft descended the White River in Jan- uary, 1820, he found considerable uneasiness and dis- content among the white settlers on account of this ^'ij/id., 255. 356- 90 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST treaty.'" Homes had been built and farms inclosed Within the ceded tract and the occupants of these were not sure whether they would be permitted to retain them. The constant friction between the settlers and the Indians resulted in appeals to the government and further Indian removals.'^ The Quapaws had sur- rendered their lands south of the Arkansas on August 4, 1824. By 1825 the Choctaws had been compelled to retire west of the Arkansas line. In that same year negotiations were begun with the Cherokees which con- tinued for three years. In 182B they were moved still farther west much to the delight of the settler. Settlement of Missouri Territory 1812-1820. — The outbreak of war between the United States and Eng- land in 181 2 checked temporarily the westward move- ment of the American people, but immediately follow- ing that event came an outburst of renewed interest in westward migration. From thirty to fifty wagons crossed the Mississippi daily at St. Louis, the majority of them coming from Tennessee and Kentucky. The Indian title to land in the Boonslick country was ex- tinguished in 1 8 14, and the country north and west of the Osage River was named Howard County in 1816. A year later a county seat was established at Franklin. The growth of this town was like that of many others along the frontier. Within a year after it was laid out it contained one hundred and fifty houses and a population of eight hundred or a thousand people, and the price of lots rose from fifty to six hundred dollars. The town was built on low bottom land and as a re- sult was entirely washed away by the floods of the Missouri before 1830, but its disappearance marks the 20 Schoolcraft, Adventures in the Ozark Mountains, 130. 21 Abel, History of Indian Consolidation West of' the Mississippi, 367- 369. An excellent brief summary of Indian migrations and treaties with the Indians of the South will be found in the introductory chapter of Roy Gittinger, The Formation of the State of Oklahoma (University of Califor- nia Publications, 1917). THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE 91 beginning of the rapid growth of Boonville which had been founded in 18 19. The few people who were liv- ing in what became Cooper County had crossed the river during the war to seek protection in the forts there, but when peace was concluded they returned to the south bank of the Missouri and with new im- migrants formed extensive settlements in that section. The thirty families residing on the left bank of the Missouri above Cote sans Dessein, a settlement two miles below the mouth of the Osage River, increased to eight hundred by the arrival of immigrants during the next three years. In 18 17 Chariton did not exist; two years later it was a community of five hundred peo- ple. Even farther west, immigrants pushed their way into Carroll and Clay counties and opened up farms. While the settlers along the Missouri multiplied, pioneers began to make their way up the tributaries of that stream and to seek out the more desirable places in the valleys and uplands in other parts of the terri- tory. When Long made his expedition in 18 19 settle- ments had been made and industries established along Gasconade and the country within the present bound- aries of Maries County had been occupied. Up the White River came immigrants from the country to the south to build homes where Springfield now stands. Modern Forsyth, a little farther south, had already been occupied. In the vicinity of the present town of Van Buren in Carter County, other homes were built at about the same time. As the new settlements in- creased in numbers the older farms became larger and more prosperous so that by 1820 cornfields of several hundred acres might be found growing in sections which had been practically unoccupied three or four years earlier.^^ '^Houck, History of Missouri, III. 150-160; Violette, History of Mis- souri, 74-8 1. 92 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST Southern part.— Meanwhile the southern part of the territory was receiving immigrants from eastern states. The settlements were made in the fertile valleys of streams in various parts of the territory. Some from Kentucky came down the Ohio and the Missis- sippi to the mouth of the White, and followed up that stream to Poke Bayou, later Batesville, in what became Independence County, Arkansas, while others drove herds of cattle overland to the same place as early as 1810. During the preceding year homes were built on the banks of the Washita near the present site of Arkadelphia. As early as 1812, salt was manufactured in the vicinity and by that same year steamboats were plying between Blakleytown, the early name for Ark- adelphia, and New Orleans. Descendants of Daniel Boone, the children of Flanders Callaway and his wife, Gemima Boone, settled here as early as 18 16. Blakley- town thus became one of the earliest settlements in that part of Arkansas Territory. The people had settled in sufficient numbers to justify the formation of Clark County in 18 19 and in the same year a newspaper, the Arkansas Weekly Gazette, began to appear. Before 1 8 16 pioneers had occupied land in the southeastera part of the territory and in 1818 Hempstead County was organized there. By 1820 seven hundred and thir- ty-two miles of post roads existed in the territory, more than five hundred and eighty-two miles of which were used for delivery of mails.^' Summary of Population of Missouri Territory 1820. — ^The United States census reports show that in 1810 what is now Missouri had a population of 19,783; the territory which became Arkansas contained 1,062, 23 See the following articles in the Arkansas Historical Association, Re- ports: C. H. Brough, "The Industrial History of Arkansas"; L. S. Butler, "History of Clark County"; I. J. H. Shinn, "Early Arkansas Newspapers"; all in I ; A. H. Carrigan, "Reminiscences of Hempstead County," II ■ N. B. Williams, "The Post Offices in Early Arkansas," III ; Robert Neil, "Remi- niscences of Independence County," III. THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE 93 Ten years later the southern territory had increased to 14,255, while Missouri had passed the 65,000 mark. While the population of the northern part of the Ter- ritory of Missouri was increasing more than three hun- dred per cent, that of the southern part had grown over twelve hundred per cent. A large number of the im- migrants came from Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Carolinas, many bringing their slaves with them. Missouri seeks statehood. — Such a growth would obviously, sooner or later, afJect the attitude of the peo- ple toward the existing government. It will be remem- bered that Upper Louisiana had been raised to a terri- tory of the second rank in 1812, and that the name had been changed to Missouri. In April, 1816, it was made a territory of the highest order, but the population was rapidly reaching that stage when the territorial form of government would no longer satisfy the peo- ple. During the latter part of 1817 the inhabitants of Missouri began to draw up petitions to Congress pray- ing for admission to statehood and these were placed before the national legislature early in 181 8. In April of that year a bill authorizing the people of Missouri to form a state constitution was introduced, but failed to pass. In November following, the territorial legis- lature drafted a memorial to Congress requesting ad- mission into the Union and at the same time another was presented from the people in what is now Arkan- sas requesting a division of the territory. The petitions were referred to committees and a bill to enable the people of Missouri to form a state constitution was re- ported. After a delay of a month it was taken up by the Committee of the Whole. It was at this time that James Tallmadge of New York proposed an amend- ment making the admission of Missouri subject to two conditions : the further introduction of slaves into Mis- souri should be forbidden, and all children born of 94 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST slave parents after the admission of the state into the Union should be free after they had attained the age of twenty-five years. Tallmadge Amendment.— Tallmadge exercised great tact in submitting his amendment. He explained his motive carefully, hoping that if he failed to disarm opposition at least the slaveholders would oppose him with moderation. His amendment, he explained, af- fected only the newly acquired territory beyond the Mississippi. He knew that the subject was a delicate one and he had learned from southern gentlemen of the difficulties and dangers of having free negroes mingle with slaves. For this reason he had no desire to meddle with slavery in the slaveholding states. He would not even advocate the prohibition of slavery in the territory of Alabama because "surrounded as it was by slaveholding states, and with only imaginary lines of division, the intercourse between slaves and free blacks could not be prevented, and a servile war might be the result.^* Amendment denounced. — These conciliatory ex- pressions were spoken in vain. Tallmadge had scarcely taken his seat when his proposed amendment was assailed vigorously by southern leaders. It was declared to be unconstitutional because Congress, it was said, had no right to place restrictions on any state as a condition of its admission to the Union. Furthermore, according to the terms of the treaty of purchase, Con- gress was pledged to form Louisiana into states and admit them into the Union on the same footing with the original states, and Missouri would not be on the same footing with the original states if forced to abol- ish slavery as a condition of admission. The amend- ment was declared to be unwise because it would re- serve Missouri to free state men alone and close it to ^* Annals of Congress, 1818-1819, »203- THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE 95 southern emigrants. This restriction on emigration would reduce the number of prospective land pur- chasers to just that extent, and this in turn would re- sult in a fall in the price of public lands and a corres- ponding decrease in the amount of the public revenue. Feelings waxed hot and not infrequently invectives took the place of arguments. The delegate from Mis- souri, Scott, bade the supporters of the amendment to beware the "Ides of March" and the fate of Caesar and Rome. Cobb of Georgia declared that Tallmadge and his supporters would dissolve the Union if they persisted, and looking at the former he continued, "You have kindled a fire which all the waters of the ocean cannot put out, which seas of blood can only extin- guish." "^ Livermore of New York was told by Cols- ton of Virginia "that he was no better than Arbuthnot or Ambrister, and deserved no* better fate." These arguments and denunciations failed to intimi- date the proponents of the bill. The Tallmadge amend- ment was accepted by the committee and passed by the House, but it 'was stricken out in the Senate. The House would not accept it in this form and the meas- ure was lost. Arkansas made Territory. — ^The petition from the people in the southern part of the territory, submitted at the same time as the memorial from the northern part, was followed by the introduction of a bill creating the Territory of Arkansas. This came before the Com- mittee of the Whole on February 17, 1819. Taylor proposed an amendment for it similar to the one Tall- madge had suggested for Missouri. This also pro- duced a sharp struggle in which Clay accused its ad- vocates of "Negrophobia." A representative of North Carolina wanted to know whether the South was to be deprived of all territory west of the Mississippi and "^Ibid., 1819-1820, 1204. 96 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST the people of Arkansas of "the natural and constitu^ tional right of legislating for themselves" by imposing on them a condition they would not accept. This ar- gument is interesting as a distinct avowal of the doc- trine later known as "squatter sovereignty." Appar- ently it was effective. Taylor made several vain efforts to have his amendment accepted, but the majority were against him. Finally he moved that slavery should not thereafter be introduced into any of the territories north of 36° and 30' north latitude. The House was not ready for this, and Taylor consented to with- draw the amendment. The bill met no opposition in the Senate and was passed and signed by Monroe be- fore Congress adjourned on March 4, 1819. On December 6, 18 19, the sixteenth Congress met and Clay was again elected Speaker of the House. During the interval between March and December the people of the country North and South had been tak- ing a keener interest in the slavery question. In the former section the antislavery sentiment grew stronger and more outspoken; in the latter the defense of the institution became more vigorous and less apologetic. In both sections numerous public gatherings gave voice to emphatic opinions in unmistakable language." Under such circumstances the admission of Missouri became the great question of the hour. Missouri Compromise. — On January 6, 1820, a bill was introduced in the Senate providing for the admis- sion of Maine, which was a part of Massachusetts, and of Missouri. The latter was to have slavery. The House had already passed a bill to admit Maine sep- arately but they were coupled together in the Senate for the avowed purpose of compelling northern senators to vote for the admission of Missouri with slavery by 28 For a summary of some of these see McMaster, History of the Pto- fie of the United States, IV. 576-579 ; Schurz, Henry Clay, I. 176, 177. THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE 97 making the admission of Maine contingent upon that of the former. The bill was carried in the Senate on February 16 by a majority of two. On the 17th a new amendment was proposed by Thomas of Illinois forbidding the introduction of slavery into any part of the remainder of the Louisiana territory north of 36° 30' north latitude, which was Missouri's southern boundary. In this amended form the bill passed the Senate on the same day. Bill passes. — ^The House in the meantime was acri- moniously discussing a bill which proposed to admit Missouri on condition that the further introduction of slavery should be prohibited. In the midst of the con- tentions, on February 19, the Maine-Missouri bill with the Thomas amendment came before that body, and a few days later it voted overwhelmingly against the amendment. Then by a small majority the House passed a bill providing for the admission of Missouri with an antislavery provision. But the Senate would not recede from its position and both bodies agreed to refer the matter to a joint committee. The report of the committee contained these recommendations: (i) that the Senate should abandon the plan to pass the Maine and Missouri bills in one, and that Maine should be admitted into the Union; (2) that the House should give up the attempt to exclude slavery from Missouri ; and (3) that both Houses should agree to pass the Senate bill which permitted slavery in Missouri but excluded it from the rest of the territory ceded by France to the United States north of 36° and 30'. The report of the joint committee was accepted and Mis- souri was permitted to form a constitution without be- ing compelled to exclude slavery from her boundaries. When he learned that the Missouri Compromise Bill had passed both Houses of Congress, Monroe called a meeting of his Cabinet and requested their opinion in writing on two questions. First, had Con- 98 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST gress a constitutional right to prohibit slavery in a territory? Second, did the section of the Missouri bill which forbade slavery in the territory west of the Mis- sissippi and north of the parallel 36° and sc/ apply to the territories of the United States only, or was it binding also on the states formed out of the territories? Adams, Calhoun, Crawford, and Wirt answered the first in the affirmative, but the second provoked a lively discussion. Adams believed it binding on the states as well as the territories. Calhoun, Crawford, and Wirt, on the other hand, maintained that the injunction ap- plied only to territorial conditions. At the suggestion of Calhoun the second question was changed so that it read, "Is the eighth section of the Missouri bill con- sistent with the Constitution ?" The two questions were answered affirmatively in writing by the secretaries a few days later, and the bill was signed. Missouri Constitution. — ^When the people of Mis- souri learned that Congress had authorized them to draw up a state constitution, arrangements were made to call a convention for that purpose. The issue in the election of delegates to the convention, it was thought, would be whether or not the state should place any restrictions upon slavery. As they had followed the discussion in Congress over the advisability of plac- ing restrictions on the state with regard to slavery, the people of Missouri appeared to have been unanimous in their opposition to such restriction. But without the least inconsistency they might feel justified in plac- ing such limitations on that institution as they should choose. Public sentiment at the time the Missouri question was pending in Congress appeared to indicate that the people would be somewhat divided on the sub- ject of state restriction. However, no delegates were elected to the convention who favored having the state place any restrictions on slavery, and in only five of the fifteen counties was there an issue made of the ques- THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE 99 ^idn. In fact not more than a thousand votes were cast in favor of "state restrictionist delegates" out of a total of from seven to eleven thousand." There can be little doubt, therefore, but that the people of Missouri were in favor of maintaining slavery. The forty-one delegates chosen met in the Mansion House Hotel in St. Louis on June 12, 1820, and imme- diately organized. A little over a month was spent in framing a constitution. It was put into effect at once without submitting it to the people. This arbitrary method was followed by the convention because the people were apparently indifferent toward a referen- dum; because they "wanted an immediate state govern- ment without further delay;" because "the delegates possessed the confidence of the constituents;" because "the constitution was generally acceptable ;" and finally because "the convention itself was undoubtedly op- posed to such a course." '^ Constitution before Congress. — ^The constitution which had been framed was placed before Congress in November following. Unfortunately it contained two provisions which were to stir up all the old feel- ings and animosities, and produce new strife in the national legislature. Had the state constitution done nothing more than establish slavery and provide for its protection, all might have been well, but it went much further. It forbade the state legislature ever to pass a law emancipating slaves without the consent of the masters, and it instructed that same body to forbid free negroes or mulattoes to enter the state on any pretext whatever. When the antislavery members of Congress read the latter provision in Missouri's con- stitution, they reminded proslavery members that there were states where negroes were free men and citizens. ^^Violette, History of Missouri, ii6; Houck, History of Missouri, IIL 243-348; Shoemaker, Missouri's Struggle for Statehood. 23 Shoemaker, Missour'is Struggle for Statehood. loo THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST This clause in the state constitution was therefore a violation of that other clause in the Constitution of the United States which gave to the citizens of each state "all the privileges and immunities of citizens of the sev- eral states." For this reason Missouri ought not to be admitted into the Union until this palpable discrimina- tion should be eliminated. Throughout the months that followed and amidst scenes of tense excitement the question was fought back and forth. On February 14, 1 82 1, while the discussion was still under way the time came to count the electoral votes, Monroe having been reelected President during the preceding autumn. Some members of the Senate said that the Missouri electoral votes should be counted while others claimed they should not. Clay persuaded the contenders to agree to a compromise according to which it was de- termined that if the votes of Missouri were counted Monroe would have two hundred and thirty-one votes; if not, he had two hundred and twenty-eight, and in either case he was elected President. Missouri question settled. — Congress then turned its attention once mo^e to the state constitution of Mis- souri. As the end of the session approached the excite- ment rose and spread and the question seemed no nearer its solution. In both Houses some efiforts were made to find a basis of agreement, but energies in this direc- tion were spent in vain. Finally, as a last resort. Clay moved the appointment of a committee to confer with a similar committee to be chosen by the Senate to de- termine whether or not it would be expedient to make arrangements for the admission of Missouri into the Union. This suggestion was accepted and committees were appointed by both Houses. On February 38, the report was ready. In substance the joint committee recommended that Missouri be admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original states providing her legislature would give a solemn pledge that the THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE loi constitution of the state should not be so construed as to authorize the passage of a law by which any citizen of any state of the Union should be excluded from the enjoyment of any privileges to which he was entitled under the Constitution. The report was accepted by the Senate and then by the House, and the struggle over Missouri ended. On June 26, 1821, the Missouri legislature complied with the conditions, and on Au- gust 10 following, Monroe declared Missouri admitted into the Union. Attempts of American Envoys to fix boundaries in 1803. — During the years from 1803 to 1821 while set- tlers were moving into the Trans-Mississippi West and while territorial governments were organized and states were admitted into the Union, the diplomatic agents of the national government were endeavoring to fix definite boundaries to the country purchased from France. At the time the treaty of cession was con- cluded in 1803, the attempt made by the American en- voys to settle the question resulted in failure. Ber- thier's original treaty of retrocession contained the following words : "Louisiana with the same extent that it now has in the hands of Spain, and that it had when France possessed it, and such as it should be after the treaties subsequently entered into between Spain and other States." To the United States these words were ambiguous, but they were embodied in the treaty of cession. At first the American commissioners insisted upon having the boundaries defined and their request was submitted to the First Consul by Marbois. Na- poleon's reply was a refusal and a suggestion that it might be good policy to put an obscurity in the docu- ment if one did not already exist. The boundary which he had defined in his instructions to Victor were inten- tionally concealed. Livingstone sought information on the subject from Talleyrand. "What are the eastern bounds of Louisiana?" "I do not know," Talleyrand 102 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST replied. "You must take it as we received it." "But," Livingstone urged, "what did you mean to take?" "I do not know," reiterated the wily Frenchman. "Then you mean that we shall construe it our own way?" "I can give no direction. You have made a noble bargain for yourselves, and I suppose you will make the most of it." '" The American determined that he would. The boundaries which Napoleon intended to take. — In commenting on the transference of Louisiana from Spain to the United States through the medium of France, Professor Channing remarks that the whole transaction was "so absolutely opposed to legal and his- torical hypotheses that it seems quite useless to argue the matter on such grounds." Napoleon had no legal or moral right to sell Louisiana. He sold it and the United States came into possession of it simply because the Corsican had the Spanish monarchy absolutely in his power. "Whatever he meant to take possession of under the name of Louisiana, he intended to hand over to us and handed over to us. In taking Louisiana we were the accomplices of the greatest highwayman of modern history, and the goods which we received were those which he compelled his unwilling victim to dis- gorge." ■"> Jefferson's idea. — ^Within a few weeks after the news of the purchase came to Jefferson he began an in- vestigation to determine the limits of the territory. He had a valuable collection of books on America and from these he prepared an historical memoir on the boundaries of Louisiana.^^ In this he urged that be- cause of the explorations and settlements made by La 2» Henry Adams, United States. II. 43, 44. For a critidsm of the presentation of these instructions by Adams, see Marshall's A History of the Western Boundary of the Louisiana Purchase, jSiq-iSai, e. »• Channing, The Jeffersonian System, 79. »i Thomas JeflEerson, The Limits and Bounds of Louisiana in Documenli Relating to the Purchase and Exploration of Louisiana. Houghton, Mifflin, and Co., 1904, 37. THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE 103 Salle and Iberville, France had possession of the coast from St. Bernard Bay to Mobile, and that this, accord- ing to the principle sanctioned by international law, gave them possession of the sources of any rivers which might empty their waters into the Gulf of Mexico be- tween these points. According to Jefferson the Span- ish frontier in La Salle's time was the Panuco, but France had considered the rightful boundary to be the Rio Grande which was half way between the Panuco and St. Bernard Bay, This contention was strength- ened, according to Jefferson, by the fact that the French Commissioner had stated that his instructions were to take possession of the Rio Grande. Jefferson had started with the idea that the territory acquired was confined to the western waters of the Mis- sissippi Valley, but as he studied the subject his con- ception changed, expanding until it included West Florida, Texas, and the Oregon country, "a view which was to be the basis of a large part of American diplo- macy for nearly, half a century.'"" The acquisition of Louisiana by the United States did not please Spain because it removed the buffer be- tween the United States and Mexico. From the begin- ning, therefore, the Spanish government showed an un- friendly attitude toward the American. At first the former attempted to prevent the latter from occupying the territory, but this plan gradually gave place to an- other which was intended to confine the Louisiana Pur- chase to as narrow bounds as possible. The movement to restrict began early in 1804 and it was not confined to diplomatic negotiations. Both nations took part in equipping expeditions to protect the border lands of the disputed territory. The difficult task which Spain set for herself was to save the Floridas, Texas, and the '^ Marshall, T. M., A History of the Western Boundary of the Louisiana Purchase, 1819-1841, Berkeley, 19x4, 13, 14. I04 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST Oregon country. In January, 1805, American repre- sentatives at Madrid opened negotiations, claiming in their first note that Louisiana extended from the Rio Grande to the Perdido— a contention which was forth- with denied by the Spanish authorities. Into the de- tails of these early contentions — contentions which mark the beginning of the boundary question— it is unnecessary to go. The whole subject has been admir- ably treated elsewhere.*" Reopened in 1817. — In January, 1816, were begun the final negotiations which culminated in the treaty of 1 8 19. The Americans began, as they had in 1805, by contending that Louisiana extended from the Per- dido to the Rio Grande. This evoked a general denial from the Spanish as it had done on a former occasion. Negotiations were interrupted when the King decided to transfer them from Madrid to Washington. In the latter place the boundary question was again opened in January, 1817. Delay followed delay until shortly after Adams was appointed Secretary of State under Monroe's administration. During the latter part of 1817 De Onis informed the State Department that he was ready to pursue negotiations until their final ter- mination. After some preliminary diplomatic fencing, De Onis presented a historical review of the western boundary. Spain, he said, had owned all of the Gulf region and the Calif ornias by right of discovery and ex- ploration, and Texas and New Mexico by right of settlement. Texas, he claimed, extended to the Mis- sissippi, and the French when they had gone west of that river had done so with the permission or sufferance of the Spanish governors. Through right of priority, he asserted, Spain owned as far as the Missouri and the pretensions of the French concerning the size of the Crozat grant he considered ridiculous; pointing out 38 Ibid. THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE 105 that the French had been permitted to occupy Natchi- toches, and when they had violated their trading priv- ileges the Spanish officers had made an arrangement providing that the Arroyo Hondo should remain the dividing line until the issue was settled by the sov- ereigns. Since the boundary had never been deter- mined formally a temporary one was suggested by De Onis, following the line of the Mermento and Arroyo Hondo, passing between Natchitoches and Adaes and extending across the Red toward the Missouri River. The exact boundaries were to be fixed later by a joint commission. That is, Spain was ready to yield a large part of the present state of Louisiana and lands along the western side of the Mississippi River. Dickering. — To this Adams replied that the United States would accept the line of the Colorado from its mouth to its source and thence to the northern bounds of Louisiana, or his government would consent to leave the upper part of the boundary for future arrangement. The Spanish minister, after dryly commenting that he supposed the Colorado of Natchitoches and not that of Texas was meant, since the latter was still farther within the bounds of Spanish territory, proposed to cede the Floridas to the United States and to establish the boundary in one of the mouths of the Mississippi. If there were objections to this, he proposed "that the state of possession in 1763 form the basis, and that the- western line be established between the Calcasieu and the Mermento, thence the Arroyo Hondo till it crossed the Red River between Natchitoches and Adaes, thence northward to a point to be fixed by Commis- sioners." " It was evident from that time on that Spain would cede the Floridas but that she would not cede Texas. '*Ibid., S4- See Adams, Memoirs, IV. 7; Richardson, Messages and. Papers of the Presidents, II. 14; State Papers^ Foreign Relations, IV. 450-460. io6 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST So negotiations took a different course. Adams reas- serted the claims of the United States to territory as far as the Rio Grande to be sure, but these demands grad- ually gave way to others which sought compensation in the Oregon country. Proposals and counter proposals followed one another throughout 1817 and 181 8. In reply to one of these suggestions made by De Onis Adams offered the following as a substitute. Adams's Offer.— Beginning at the mouth of the river Sabine, on the Gulf of Mexico, following the course of said river to the twenty-second degree of latitude, the eastern bank and all the islands in said river to belong to the United States, and the western bank to Spain ; thence, due north, to the northernmost part of the thirty-third degree of nortK latitude, and until it strikes the Rio Roxo, or Red River; thence, following the course of the said river, to its source, touching the chain of the Snow Mountains, in latitude thirty-seven degrees, twenty-five minutes north, longitudi; one hundred and six degrees fifteen minutes west, or there- abouts, as marked on Melish's map; thence to the summit of the said mountains, and following the chain of the same to the forty-first parallel of latitude ; thence following the said parallel of latitude forty-one degrees, to the South Sea. The northern bank of the said Red River, and all the islands therein, to belong to the United States, and the southern bank of the same to Spain. *° Results at end of 1818. — ^To this De Onis replied that his government would accept the Sabine if the Hne above the Red River should run due north until it reached the Mississippi and followed along the course of that stream to its source. At this point, however, Spain broke ofif negotiations until satisfaction could be obtained for the invasion of Florida by Jackson. Adams then took advantage of the situation to with- *^ American State Papers, Foreign Relations, IV. 530, 531. See (dft Marshall, A History of the Western Boundary of the Louisiana Purchase, S8. THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE 107 draw the proposal he had made, and declared once more the right of the United States to all territory to the Rio Grande. De Onis replied by declaring that all former oflFers made by his government were likewise withdrawn. So the year 181 8 ended without any settle- ment of the boundary question. Early in 18 19 negotiations were resumed and a set- tlement was soon agreed upon. In January of that year De Onis informed Adams that he had received instructions in regard to running the line to the Pa- cific, and shortly afterwards declared that the King would accept a boundary extending from the source of the Missouri westward to the Columbia and along the middle of that stream to the Pacific Ocean. Adams refused to accept this, but on February 6, 18 19, sub- mitted the following which ysras the basis for the final settlement:*' Basis for final settlement. — Beginning at the mouth of the river Sabine, on the Gulf of Mexico; following the course of said river to the thirty-second degree of latitude, the eastern bank and all the islands in the river to belong to the United States, and the western bank to Spain; thence due north to the northernmost point of the bend, between longitude one hundred one and one hundred two degrees; thence by the shortest line, to the southernmost point of the bend of the river Arkansas, between the same degrees of longitude one hundred one and one hundred two degrees; thence following the course of the river Arkansas, to its source, in latitude forty-one degrees north; thence follow- ing the same parallel of latitude forty-one degrees to the South Sea. The northern banks and all the islands in the said Red and Arkansas rivers, on the said boundary line, to belong to the United States, and their southern banks to Spain; the whole being as laid down in Melish's map of the United States, published at Philadelphia, improved to the first of January, 18 18. But, if the source of the Arkansas -- . ■■ , ... , — ^^ American State Papers, Foreign Relations, IV, 617. io8 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST River should fall south ot north of latitude forty-one de- grees, then the line from the said source shall run due north or south, as the case may be, till it meets the said parallel of latitude, and thence, as aforesaid, to the South Sea. And it is further agreed that no Spanish settlement shall be made on any part of the said Red or Arkansas rivers, nor on any of the waters flowing into the same, nor any east of the chain of the Snow Mountains, between the latitudes thirty-one and forty-one degrees inclusively; and that the navigation of said rivers shall belong exclusively to the United States forever. The French minister, De Neuville, when Adams conferred with him in regard to the project, pointed out that De Onis would never accept the provisions, particularly those contained in the last sentence. Adams replied that he would abandon the disagreeable exclusions, provided the Spaniard would accept the rest of the treaty, and would "refer the matter to the President with a recommendation that if De Onis ac- cepted the line of the forty-first degree, the United States would agree to the hundredth meridian." " A counter proposal. — Three days after Adams com- municated the above project to De Onis the latter sub- mitted a counter proposal. In this he accepted the lower part of the line offered by Adams, but suggested that it leave the Red River at the hundredth meridian and along this degree of longitude north to the Arkan- sas, thence along the middle of that stream to the forty- second degree of north latitude, then west along that parallel to the source of the Multnomah, thence along the course of that river to the forty-third parallel, and west to the ocean. All the islands were to belong to the United States, but such parts of the rivers as con- stituted their frontiers were to be open to the free navi-; gation of both countries. 8' Marshall, Western Boundary of Louisiana^ 62, THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE 109 The western boundary fixed. — Adams declared that De Onis struggled long and violently before he finally agreed to accept the hundredth meridian from the Red River to the Arkansas, and latitude forty- two from the source of the Arkansas to the South Sea. 'Even then "he insisted upon having the middle of all the rivers for the boundary, and not, as I proposed, the western and southern banks."'* On this point, however, Adams refused to yield. De Onis finally gave way, and on February 22, 18 19, the treaty was signed. Two days later it was unanimously approved by the Senate. Ac- cording to the last article ratifications were to be ex- changed within six months or sooner if possible. As finally fixed the western boundary of Louisiana was to follow the Sabine from its mouth along the western ; bank of the river to the thirty-second parallel; "thence, by a line due north, to the degree of latitude where it strikes the Rio Roxo of Natchitoches, or Red River," then along that stream westward to the one hundredth meridian, which degree of longitude it fol- lowed north to the southern bank of the Arkansas; thence along the southern bank of that stream to the source of the river and north or south as the case might be to the forty-second parallel along which parallel the line continued to the Pacific Ocean.'" The treaty of 18 19 gave the United States the Floridas; it gave to the United States Spain's claim to the Oregon country ; and it fixed the western bound- ary of the Louisiana territory. The northern limits of that vast region had been determined during the pre- ceding year by a treaty concluded between the United States and England. The treaty of 18 18, therefore, deserves a cursory examination. '* Adams's Memoirs, IV. ^^ American State Papers, Foreign Relations, IV. 623, Article 3. The treaty is also in Treaties and Conventions concluded betiveen the United States of America and other Poviers since July 4, 1776. Washington, 1889, 1016-1021. no THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST Early attempts to settle northern boundary of Louisiana.— By the treaty of 1783 the northern bound- ary of the United States was to be a line running due west from the extreme northwest corner of the Lake of the Woods to the Mississippi, which at that time was supposed to rise in what is now Canada. The possibility of drawing such a line soon became doubtful, so the treaty of 1794 called for a joint survey of the Missis- sippi from one degree below the Falls of St. Anthony to the source or to the sources of that river, and the estab- lishment of a new line if necessary. This survey was not made, however, and when in 1803 Rufus King con- cluded a convention it was provided that the shortest line from the northwest corner of the Lake of the Woods to the Mississippi should constitute the bound- ary. This convention was not ratified, and its rejec- tion was fortunate because the interest of the United States in the Northwest was increased considerably a few months later through the purchase of Louisiana. In 1806 when the next treaty was drawn up with Great Britain the question was considered seriously once more. England expressed a desire to adopt the forty- ninth parallel from the Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains, but the American representatives, in doubt as to whether the forty-ninth parallel would touch the lake, suggested a substitute line beginning at the most northwestern point of the Lake, thence due north or due south until it touched the forty-ninth parallel, and then along that degree of latitude to the mountains. Nothing came of these proposals, however, and the question was still unsettled when the peace commissioners met at Ghent following the close of the second war for independence. Subject discussed at Ghent.— When the subject was raised at that time both the United States and England brought forward the line which had been of- fered by their respective envoys in 1806, but the Brit- THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE m ish bfifer was accompanied by a new condition which provided that her subjects should be permitted to cross the territories of the United States to the Mississippi and enjoy the free navigation of that river to the Gulf of Mexico. The United States would not accept this proposal and as the English representatives refused to separate the boundary question from the use of the Mississippi by British subjects, no conclusion could be reached. Convention o£ i8i8. — On November 19, 18 17, Rich- ard Rush embarked at Annapolis as envoy extraordi- nary and minister plenipotentiary from the United States to the court of St. James. His instructions bade him conclude a commercial treaty to take the place of the convention of July, 1815. He had not been in England long, however, before his instructions were modified and he was directed to ask a settlement of numerous old grievances which were becoming serious. Among these were the fishing rights of American sea- men, the demand for the indemnity for slaves carried off by British officers at the end of the war, our title to the little settlement at the mouth of the Columbia River and the settlement of the boundary line from the Lake of the Woods westward. If Great Britain Should agree to negotiate Albert Gallatin, the American min- ister in France, was to join Rush in England imme- diately. England consented and on August 27 Gallatin and Rush met the British commissioners, Frederick John Robinson and Henry Goulburn, and formally opened a conference which on October 20 following , closed with the signing of the Convention of 1818,*° The Convention was ratified and proclaimed on Jan- uary 30, 1 8 19. Article two of that document, the only one bearing on the subject of the boundary, was as fol- lows^ *" McMaster, J. B., A_ U'utory of the People of the United States, IV. ♦fi8-474- 112 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST Article XL— It is agreed that a line drawn from the most northwestern point of the Lake of the Woods, along the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude, or, if the said point shall not be in the forty-ninth parallel of north lati- tude, then that a line be drawn from the said point north or south as the case may be, until the said line shall intersect the said parallel of north latitude, and from the point of such intersection due west along and with the said parallel shall be the line of demarcation between the territories of the United States, and those of His Britannic Majesty, and that the said line shall form the northern boundaries of the said territories of the United States, and the southern boundary of the territories of His Britannic Majesty, from the Lake of the Woods to the Stony Mountains.*^ The Convention of 1818 with England and the "Treaty of Amity, Settlement and Limits" conclucied with Spain on February 22, 1819, and ratified two years later, fixed the limits of the Louisiana Purchase. Bibliographical Notes Settlement: Material on the settlement of the Trans-Mississippi West is widely scattered and provokingly meager. Bits of informa- tion may be found in the local histories, in the body and in the edi- torial notes of the various editions of journals of explorers, and in the historical society publications. The most valuable of these for the period covered by this chapter are the following: Charles Gay- arre, History of Louisiana, 4 vols., New York, 1866. (The first two volumes — French Domination — are bound in one. Later edi- tions published in New Orleans, 1885 and 1903) ; Louis Houck, History of Missouri, from the Earliest Explorations . . . until the Admission of the State into the Union, 3 vols., Chicago, 1908; Frangois-Xavier Martin, History of Louisiana from the Earliest Period, 2 vols., New Orleans, 1827; J. W. Monettette, History of the Discovery and Settlement of the Valley of IJiTT^ississippi, 2 vols., New York, 1846; John Hugh Reynolds, Makers of Arkansas (Stories of the States series) , New York, 1905 ; James A. Robertson *i Treaties and Conventions concluded befween the United States of America and the other Powers since July 4, ijj6, Washington, 1889, 415- 418. See also Richard Rush, Memoranda of a Residence at the Court of London, Philadelphia, 1833, 368-374. THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE 113 (editor), Louisiana under the Rule of Spain, France, and the United States, 1785-1807, 2 vols., Cleveland, 191 1 (contains contemporary accounts by Paul AUiot and others, and a bibliography) ; Reuben Gold Thwaites, Daniel Boone, New York, 1902; Eugene Morrow Violette, A History of Missouri, New York, 19 18 (contains brief lists of good references at end of each chapter). Certain volumes in Thwaites (editor), Early Western Travels, 1748-1846, 32 vols., Cleveland, 1904-1907 (particularly the journals of Brackenridge, Bradbury, S. H. Long, and Nuttall), contain information on the early settlement of Missouri iand Arkansas. Henry Rowe School- craft, Scenes and Adventures in the Semi-Alpine Region of the Ozark Mountains of Missouri and Arkansas Which Were First Traversed by De Soto in 1341, Philadelphia, 1853. Washington Irving, A Tour of the Prairies, London, 1835. The various edi- tions of the Lewis and Clark expedition, particularly those edited by Elliott Coues and R. G. Thwaites, contain considerable infor- mation. Elliott Coues (editor), The Expeditions of Zebulon Mont- gomery Pike to Headwaters of the Mississippi River, through Louis- iana Territory, and in New Spain, During the Years 1805-1806- 1807, 3 vols.. New York, 1895, is valuable. Arkansas Historical Society Publications; Missouri Historical Society Collections (St. Louis, 1880- ) ; and the Missouri Historical Review (Colum- bia, Mo., 1906), are good. Boundaries : Thomas Maitland Marshall, A History of the West- ern Boundary of the Louisiana Purchase, 1819-1841 (1914), is a scholarly treatment of the subject, and contains an excellent bibli- ography. CHAPTER IV THE AMERICAN FUR TRADE AND COMMERCE IN THE WEST Period covered. — ^When Lewis and Clark were near- ly home from their journey across the continent they met parties of traders who were making their way to that mountain country from which the explorers had just come. This was in 1806. Thirty-seven years later, James Bridger, a member of the fur trading fraternity, built a post on a tributary of the Green River for the convenience of emigrants, the first trading post built for this purpose west of the Mississippi. These two incidents, the return of Lewis and Clark and the con- struction of Fort Bridger, have been taken by a writer on the American fur trade as marking the time limits of the fur trading era in the country west of the Missis- sippi, Importance of the trade. — It was during this period that the American trader and trapper "traced the streams to their sources, scaled the mountain passes, and explored a boundless expanse of territory. . . ." They were the men who first explored the routes which have since been used as the avenues of commerce and travel in the Trans-Mississippi West. They were the pathfinders of the West, and not those later official explorers whom posterity so recognizes. No feature of western geography was ever discovered by government explorers after 184O. Everything was already known and had been for a decade. It is true that many features, like the Yellowstone wonderland, with which these restless rovers were familiar, were afterward forgotten 114 FUR TRADE AND COMMERCE 115 and were rediscovered in later years; but there has never been a time until very recently when the geography of the West was so thoroughly understood as it was by the trader and trapper from 1830 to 1840.^ St. Louis as fur trading center. — St. Louis was the center from which traders went into the remote West in search of furs and they came to St. Louis again to dispose of the season's catch. The city's location de- termined its importance in the fur trading industry. Situated on the Mississippi near the mouth of the Mis- souri it commanded the waters along whose banks lay the buffalo plains and the beaver meadows, and it was the center for all water transportation in this section. From this emporium packs were sent down the .Missis- sippi to the fur merchants at New Orleans and thence by sea to the eastern markets, or they were forwarded over one of the more direct northern routes. In the latter case they might pass up the Ohio or by way of the Illinois and Chicago rivers to Lake Michigan, and thence either by water or across country to Detroit, from there to Black Rock near Buffalo, and then over- land to New York. Sometimes Lake Michigan was reached by way of the Mississippi, Wisconsin, and Fox rivers. In the spring and fall the wharves at St. Louis were crowded with vessels. There was the keel boat of the licensed trader with gewgaws for traffic with the Indian, there was the flat-bottom scow or Mackinaw with its load of beaver and buffalo skins, and there also was the dugout canoe of the free trapper who had pad- dled in from some mountain meadow or prairie stream with his season's catch of furs, robes, tallow and buffalo meat. Effect of report of Lewis and Clark. — A favor- able report made by Lewis and Clark quickened interest among the fur traders of St. Louis and im- ^ Chittenden, The History of the American Fur Trade in the Far /Test, ;• 9- ii6 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST mediate preparations were made to traffic on the upper Missouri. The first important expedition was fitted out by the Spaniard, Manuel Lisa, whose experience on the Osage had given him an intimate knowledgelof the Indian character and customs. With a keel boat laden with goods he left St. Louis in the spring of 1807, ascended the Missouri, and built a post at the mouth of the Bighorn. The winter spent in trading with the Indians proved a profitable one, and Lisa returned to St. Louis the following year, probably in August. St. Louis Missouri Fur Company formed. — ^The re- ports which he brought back in regard to the resources of the upper Missouri aroused considerable general in- terest among St. Louis traders, and led to the forma- tion of a company which included practically all the prominent business men of the city. The organization was generally known as the Missouri Fur Company, but it was incorporated under the name of the St. Louis Missouri Fur Company. It began its career in the spring of 1809 under most favorable circumstances. Included among its members were the ablest traders of the West, and its field of operation embraced the entire watershed of the Missouri above the mouth-of the Platte. The territory indicated was rich in the re- sources of the chase and the success of the undertaking seemed assured. One obstacle was feared, the hostility of the Indians, but the company had provided a force considered sufficiently strong to repell any attacks,?and it was hoped that the good will of the Indians might be gained by a liberal extension of trade among themf Disasters of the first expedition. — The first expedi- tion of the company, numbering about one hundred and fifty men and carrying a quantity of merchandise suffi- cient to supply five or six posts and to equip several, small outfits, left St. Louis in the spring of 1809. The ^"Journal of James H Bradley" in the Montana Historical Sod^ Contributions .(1896), 11. i4£-i49. « FUR TRADE AND COMMERCE 117 winter was spent ia the country of the Crow Indians, probably at the mouth of the Bighorn, where a profit- able trading and trapping business was conducted. In the spring of 18 10 a strong party set out for the head- waters of the Missouri. Arriving at the Three Forks they began at once the construction of a post on a strip of land between the Jefferson and Madison rivers about two miles above their confluence. The country was ex- ceptionally rich in beaver, and the trappers had been sent out into the surrounding country immediately fol- lowing the arrival of the party. For a while it looked as if the success of the expedition would exceed the ex- pectations of the most sanguine members of the party. The daily catch was large and the company expected to take three hundred packs of beaver from Three Forks the first year. All of this optimism was quickly changed by the persistent and destructive attacks of the Blackf eet Indians. Men were killed, guns, ammunition, furs, and traps were stolen, and horses were driven off. After plans to win the Blackfeet had failed and further raids had resulted in the loss of additional lives it was consid- ered advisable to abandon the post at Three Forks. Henry, who was a stockholder in the company, objected to withdrawing entirely from the country, and in the fall of i8io moved southward across the Continental Divide and established himself on the north fork of the Snake River, a stream which has been known since that time as Henry Fork. Near the mouth of the Teton or Pierre River in southeastern Idaho, he constructed a temporary post consisting of a few log houses, which was probably the first American trading post ever built in the valley of the Columbia or west of the Continental Divide, Reasons for failure of first organization. — Again, iiowever, disappointment awaited the traders. Game ,Was scarce and the winter was particularly severe, so that the spring of 181 1 brought little but further dis^ ii8 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST couragement as a reward for all efforts. The party broke up into small groups and abandoned the under- taking. This ended the project upon which the com- pany had relied mainly and it failed to realize the profits which had been anticipated. It had failed be- cause of undercapitalization and poor management. Had the company agreed to admit John Jacob Astor, perhaps the only man who could have assisted them through the misfortunes of these early years and who had desired to take part in the enterprise, things might have been different. End o£ Missouri Fur Company. — The St. Louis Missouri Fur Company had been formed March 9, 1809, and the articles of association provided for a term of three years. On January 24, 18 12, it was reorganized and its property sold to the new company. The capi- tal pf the new organization was fixed at fifty thousand dollars, twenty-seven thousand dollars of which were taken in the funds and property of the old company. The balance was raised by subscription. Immediately after the reorganization plans were perfected for re- newing operations on the upper Missouri. The ex- peditions sent out in 18 12 were all disappointing and apparently another reorganization occurred the follow- ing year. If so, Lisa completely dominated the new company. In fact it is referred to frequently as "Man- uel Lisa and Company." During the years of the war he had concentrated his establishments around Council Bluffs where he built the trading post. Fort Lisa. The War of 1 81 2 absorbed the interest of the people during this period, and Lisa seems to have been the only active trader on the Missouri. Further reorganization took place in 1814, 1817, and 1819. After the reorganisa- tion in 1 8 19, plans were developed again for opening trade on the upper Missouri. In the fall of 1821 Fort Benton was built at the mouth of the Bighorn on the site of the post formerly constructed there by Lisa. FUR TRADE AND COMMERCE 119 This was the last post erected by the company. It con- tinued its changing career a few years longer and passed out of existence. For approximately twenty-five years the Missouri Fur Company had existed under one name or another, and was the most important company that operated from St. Louis during the first quarter of the nineteenth century. In the meantime one of the world's greatest dealers in furs had initiated plans for conducting business in the Trans-Mississippi West. This was John Jacob As- tor. John Jacob Astor. — ^Astor was a foreigner by birth. He was born in the village of Waldorf near Heidel- burg in 1763. He went to London at the age of sixteen or seventeen where he was employed with his brother in the manufacture and sale of musical instruments, A few years later he determined to come to America and in the spring of 1784 he arrived in Baltimore, His interest in the fur trade had been aroused while on ship- board and he turned' his attention to it immediately. Taking with him a small stock of goods which he had brought over from London, he went to New York and exchanged them for furs. These he sold in England during the summer at a handsome profit. Meanwhile he informed himself on the prospects of the business both in America and in Europe, and upon his return to New York toward the end of 1784, he became actively engaged in the business of the fur trade. He showed an exceptional grasp of the possibilities of the industry from the beginning, and by the end of the century he had become the leading fur merchant in the United States and had amassed a fortune of half a million dol- lars. Astor's early interest in Trans-Mississippi West. — The very nature of Astor's business gave him a keen interest in the Louisiana purchase and in the expedition of Lewis and Clark. The report of the latter indicated I20 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST that the new acquisition was rich in furs, and Astot began to lay plans for extending the business into the country west of the Mississippi. Unable to procure anything more than tacit encouragement from the United States government, he determined to operate alone. He secured a charter from the state of New York creating the American Fur Company in the spring of 1808, This general title apparently was chosen to in- clude all his operations. According to his general plan a central post was to be established near the mouth of the Columbia (which evidently he considered a part of the territory of the United States) from which trade was to be carried into all parts of the interior. The post would receive its supplies from a ship sent out annually from New York. This vessel would collect the furs at the post, dispose of them in China, and return with goods for the home market. From this Pacific post As- tor hoped to develop also a coastwise trade which would enable him to supply the Russians farther north. The Northwest Company would be unable to compete with him in the ocean trade because the British East India Company had a monopoly there, and he would have an advantage in overland communication because connec- tion with St. Louis, which was to be the important sta- tio'n in the middle west, could be maintained more easily by way of the Missouri than could a line across the con- tinent overland from Montreal. Pacific Fur Company. — With these general plans in mind Astor immediately prepared to carry them out. The particular division of the American Fur Company devoted to this enterprise was called the Pacific Fur Company. In order to prevent competition Astor had invited the Northwest Company to join him in the undertaking, but this concern declined his oflfer and made immediate preparations to forestall him on the Columbia. Nevertheless, Astor organized his Pacific company largely with men from the British organiza- FUR TRADE AND COMMERCE 121 tion. In June, 18 10, the articles of the Pacific Fur Com- pany were signed. Astor provided the funds up to four hundred thousand dollars, and agreed to bear all losses during the first five years. Hi,?: associates, who were given fifty of the hundred shares of stock into which the company was divided, were to contribute their services. While the agreement was to cover a period of twenty years it might be dissolved within a period of five if found unprofitable. Expedition by sea. — ^The perfected plans called for the organization of two expeditions, one to go to the mouth of the Columbia by sea and the other to cross the plains and the mountains by the route of the Lewis and Clark expedition. The ship chosen for the under- taking, the Tonquin, a vessel of two hundred and ninety tons, sailed from New York in September, 18 10. She was accompanied for some distance by an American naval vessel to protect her against search by a British cruiser. Sailing by way of the Falkland and Hawaiian Islands, the Tonquin came to the Columbia during the latter part of March. After considerable delay and the loss of eight men, the little vessel anchored safely within the mouth of the Columbia. Some time was spent in choosing a site for a post. At last a selection was made on the south side of the bay, the effects brought out by the Tonquin were landed, a trading post con- structed, and the establishment christened Astoria. Meanwhile the Tonquin sailed north to open trade with the natives along the coast, an expedition from which she never returned.^ Overland expedition. — ^The overland expedition was headed by W. P. Hunt. With a large party and ade- quate supplies Hunt left St. Louis on March 12, 181 1. ^For accounts of the destruction of the Tonquin see Franchere, "Narra- tive" in Thwaite's Western Travels, VI. 288-294; Irving, Astoria, Chapter XI (author's revised ed.) ; Alexander Ross, "Oregon Settlers," Chapter IX, in Thwaites, Western Travels, VII. 122 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST On April 2, Lisa with a small party also left St. Loms to learn what had become of Andrew Henry and to bring down the winter's cache for the Missouri Fur Company. Lisa wanted the protection which Hunt's larger party might give in passing through the hostile country of the Sioux, and drove himself and his men mercilessly in an attempt to overtake Astor's expedi- tion. Although Lisa made a record keel-boat trip up the Missouri he did not overtake Hunt until June 2, after the dangers he feared had been passed.* Ten days later the combined parties arrived at the Arikara vil- lages. Hunt had intended to ascend the Missouri River some distance farther, but information he had received from men who had joined his party en route induced him to change his plans. The dangers involved in at- tempting to pass through the country of the Blackfeet Indians were too great and he determined to make the most of the journey to the Columbia by land. This division necessitated a change in equipment. Accord- ingly Hunt traded some of his supplies and his boats to Lisa for horses and acquired others from the Indians. The reorganized expedition consisting of about sixty odd men and over a hundred horses started west during the early days of August. The route. — The route lay along the northern border of the Black Hills and across the desolate wastes be- yond the Bighorn Mountains. On August 30, the party arrived at the foot of this range and spent two days with a band of Crow Indians in the beautiful valleys of the foothills. Upon resuming the journey much difficulty was experienced in finding a passage through the mountains until they accepted the guidance of the Crow Indians for a distance. They came to the Wind River * Brackenridge, H. M., "Journal of a Voyage up the River Missouri" in Thwaites, Western Travels, VI. Chapters I-V, gives an account of this famous race. FUR TRADE AND COMMERCE 123 just above the canyon where its lower course becomes known as the Bighorn on September 9, and followed up the stream for a distance of eighty miles. On September 15 and 16 they crossed the Wind River Mountains, probably in the vicinity of Union Pass, into the upper valley of the Green River, A little more than a week was spent here laying in a supply of meat and resting the horses, and then they crossed the divide between the Green and Snake rivers, and followed the Hoback tributary of the latter to its junction with the Snake. At this point a strong desire seized members of the party to abandon the horses and continue the westward journey by water, but investigation proved that such an attempt would be unwise. On October 8, they arrived at the deserted post which had been built by Henry a few years earlier. Again there was a clamor among the men to leave the horses and trust themselves to the river, and this time Hunt made the mistake of yielding to these entreaties. Within ten days fifteen canoes were built and loaded and, having left their horses in charge of two Snake Indians, they embarked upon the rapid current of the Snake River. The arrival at Astoria. — ^The delight which came from the experience of the first day was soon followed by gloomy forebodings. The true character of this treacherous mountain stream began to reveal itself, and after the loss of some goods and one life the party was compelled to abandon the canoes. The journey down the river and across the mountains was fraught with days of painful toil and intense suffering from hunger and thirst. The party had divided, one follow- ing the left bank of the stream and the other the right. On one or two occasions meager supplies of horse flesh were sent across the river from one division of the ex- pedition to the other, but they were soon widely sepa- rated and each made its way alone, the general direction being down the Snake and Columbia rivers. One divi- 124 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST sion reached Astoria January i8, 1812, and the other, led by Hunt, arrived at the same place the fifteenth of the following month/ End of the enterprise.— The post at Astoria had been completed when Hunt and his companions ar- rived at the mouth of the Columbia. Early in May following the second ship sent out by Astor, the Beaver, anchored in the river. She brought an abundant cargo, clerks, employees, and a number of Sandwich Island- ers. Plans were made for opening trade with the Rus- sians by sea and for extending the trade still farther into the interior. The success of the enterprise seemed as- sured when all was changed by the outbreak of war be- tween the United States and Great Britain on June 18. News of this incident reached Astoria early in 1813. On the last day of the following November a British war vessel, the Raccoon, of twenty-six guns, commanded by Captain Black, appeared before Astoria. The post, however, had been sold to the Northwest Com- pany, and the crestfallen captain could but vent his disappointment on the character of the fort which he had been sent half way round the world to capture. "Is this the fort about which I have heard so much talk- ing?" he inquired contemptuously. "Damn me, but I'd batter it down in two hours with a four pounder 1" Since there was no occasion for battering it down the disgusted captain landed with a retinue of oncers, took formal possession of the post, and rechristened it Fort George in honor of his king. This marked the end of the Pacific Fur Company and of Astor's operations in the Far Northwest. His plans had been well laid and had his government supported him in the enterprise " Somewhat different accounts are given by Gabriel Franchere "Narra- tive" in Thwaites, Western Traavaca River broke up in December, and the inhabi- ants sought refuge in Gonzales. Henceforth the col- '•ny grew rapidly. More than one hundred families 176 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST arrived during the next three years, and in 1832 the town tract, containing four square leagues, was surveyed." About the time De Witt secured his concession an- other large grant was made to a representative of a Stock Company of Nashville, Tennessee. In 1830 Robertson became interested in the enterprise, and De Witt and Robertson counties in modern Texas indicate roughly the regions in which these two empresarios carried on their operations. By 1832 "dozens" of grants "were secured by men who proposed to bring in many thousand families." Three additional concessions were obtained by Austin, and one more in conjunction with a partner, Samuel M. Williams. The map of Texas, from the Sabine to the Nueces, was covered with claims of empresarios during this period "as if it had been a gold mining region and they the prospectors. Ere long it was difficult to find room for another," ^^ Other concessions and population of Texas. — It must not be concluded, however, that crowds of immi- grants came from the United States to occupy these grants. Even with the most restricted boundaries ever assigned it, Texas covers extensive territory, and it would require many thousands of people to make a showing on its surface. Altogether eight contracts were entered into by the state authorities under the coloniza- tion act of 1825, which provided for introducing twenty-nine hundred families. While these contracts were substantially carried out in so far as the number of families was concerned, there were many more which were not carried out with any degree of success Austin's was of course the most important. De Witt's lying west of Austin's has been noted. De Leon's coi ony, settled by Mexic ans, was adjacent to the coas'. 22 Rather, Ethel Zivley, "De Witt's Colony" in Texas State Hi.torlt*',; Association Quarterly, VIII. loi, i03. 2' Garrison, Texas, 155. THE OCCUPATION OF TEXAS 177 southwest of Austin's, with Victoria as its capital. Robertson's was above the San Antonio road, northwest of Austin's; while McMullen and McGloin's Irish colony, with St. Patrick (San Patricio) for its capital, extended from the ten league coast reserve along the Nueces and Frio toward the northwest. A more impor- tant enterprise was formed in New York. This organ- ization was known as the Galveston Bay and Texas Land Company. Its object was to establish settlers in Texas. The Company did not receive recognition from the government until about 1834, but in 1834 and in 1835 it settled approximately five hundred families in eastern Texas with Nocogdoches as the center. The result of the whole empresario movement was to bring in many settlers besides those who came to Austin's colony. In fact there were large numbers of families as well as individuals who came unattached to any particular grant or colony. No effective attempt was made to guard the eastern frontier against unauthor- ized settlers. It was possible for any one desiring to do so to cross the Sabine and feel perfectly sure that inconvenient questions would not be asked. Hundreds of thousands of unoccupied acres were open to any man who cared to construct his home on them, "and many a squatter built his hut and raised corn and chickens and hogs and children without any point of law upon his side except the nine points of possession." " Below the old San Antonio Road, including Austin's colony and the section east of the Sabine, the country filled up rapidly. An estimate made in 1827 placed the popula- tion of Texas, exclusive of Indians, at ten thousand. In 1830 the number had increased to probably twelve or fifteen thousand. Character of Settlers. — ^The people were similar in character to the early population of any of the states ** Rives, United Stales and Mexico, I. 149, 178 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST in the Mississippi valley. Native Americans came from all parts of the United States, but the majority were from Kentucky and Tennessee. Ireland and Ger- many had considerable representation also in Texas, but the people from these countries soon fused with the native stock. Some of the immigrants came by water while others journeyed overland. The former embarked at ports along the Atlantic while the latter came from Natchi- toches in Louisiana, crossing the Sabine generally at Gaines's Ferry or coming through southwestern Ar- kansas. Either overland route brought them through long stretches of uninhabited country where it was necessary to make camp every night. There was no wagon road of any kind until after 1822, but there is a recorded instance of a family traveling by wagon from Illinois to Austin's colony as early as 1824,^° and Austin's sister accompanied her husband from Mis- souri to San Felipe using wagons and a carriage a few years later. It did not take long to open well-marked routes into this great country of the Southwest. An emigrant train. — A traveler who passed over one of these routes a few years before the outbreak of the Civil War has left a vivid picture of the slow- moving emigrant trains jolting along over root-pro- jecting, rut-gouged roads. "Before you come upon them you hear, ringing through the woods, the fierce cries and blows with which they urge on their jaded cattle. Then the strag- glers appear, lean dogs or fainting negroes, ragged and spiritless," followed soon by the white covers of the wagons from the backs of which may be seen, as the traveler approaches, the faces of tired children, black and white, and "behind them further in, the old people and young mothers, whose turn it is to ride. ... As 25 Texas State Historical Association Quarterly, IV. 93. THE OCCUPATION OF TEXAS 179 you get by, the white mother and babies, and the tall, frequently ill-humored master, on horseback, or walk- ing with his gun, urging up the black driver and his oxen. 4-8 a scout ahead, is a brother, or an intelligent slave, with the best gun, on the lookout for a deer or a turkey. . . . The masters are plainly dressed, often in homespun, keeping their eyes about them, noticing the soil, sometimes making a remark on the crops by the roadside; but, generally, dogged, surly, and silent. The women are silent, too, frequently walking to relieve the teams, and weary, haggard, mud bedraggled, for- lorn, and disconsolate, yet hopeful and careful. The negroes, mud-incrusted, wrapped in old blankets or gunnybags, sufifering from cold, plod on, aimless, hope- less, thoughtless, more indifferent than the ox to all about them." '° The slaves were coming into Texas in larger num- bers when this description was written than they had formerly. In 1830 there were perhaps a thousand slaves out of a total population of twenty thousand, and for several years thereafter the number of slaves was relatively small. Many colonists had none, some had a few, and one man is said to have had a hundred. Growing anxiety of Mexican officials. — Mexican officials watched the increase of Anglo-Americans in Texas with more or less anxiety. Although the United States had nominally surrendered all claims to Texas by the treaty of 18 19, there were some leaders of public opinion there who apparently never quite gave up the idea of acquiring this part of the South- west. Negotiations were attempted at various times, as pointed out in another chapter of this volume, with a view to securing the territory. Such efforts aroused the suspicion of Mexico. Austin was aware of Mexi- ^' Olmstead, Frederick Law, A Journey through Texas; or, a Saddle- Trip on the Southwestern Frontier, •with a Statistical Appendix, New York, 1857, 55-57. i8o THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST can sensitiveness in this regard, and during the early years of the immigration movement he used his influ- ence among the settlers to prevent misunderstandings and jealousies from marring the harmonious relations existing then between the American settler and the Mexican authorities. But as the number of settlers multiplied the difficulties of this task increased accord- ingly, until it became impossible. The so-called Fredonian rebellion served to remind the Mexicans of the long-standing jealousy of their people toward the Americans of the northern republic, of their reasons for doubting the United States, and of the difficulties that were developing with the rapid growth of American settlers in Texas. A proper un- derstanding of the movement which led to the Texas revolution of 1836 requires a brief account of the Fre- donian uprising and the action taken by Mexico as a result. Fredonian uprising. — In April, 1825, Hayden Edwards obtained permission to establish a colony in Eastern Texas. His concession included Nacogdoches. This grant was not obtained from the national govern- ment as was Austin's, but from the state of Coahuila and Texas ; and the powers given Edwards were by no means as extensive as were those permitted Austin. The former was to respect the titles of original owners, to use the Spanish language in official documents and to study it in the schools when they should be established, to keep undesirable characters out of the territory, and to make proper arrangements for the exercise of the Catholic faith. After one hundred families had been introduced a commissioner was to be sent by the government who should put them in possession of the land. Edwards had no authority to pass on the claims of previous set- tlers, but he assumed this responsibility and soon found himself in trouble. Further opposition was stirred up by levying a small fee per acre, just as Austin had done. THE OCCUPATION OF TEXAS i8 151 For various reasons a sufficient opposing force was raised against him to gain the attention of officials, and a letter to the Governor which that official deemed discourteous resulted in Edward's grant being canceled. The political authorities gave as their reason for this action improper exactions of the empresario from the colonists. Apparently Edwards had been tactless in many ways. In fact Austin had written him frankly that some of his acts were not based on any authority given him un- der his cpntract.^^ But his enemies were not entirely guiltless. Edwards believed that he had been unjustly deprived of what rightfully belonged to him and he determined to fight for his claims — or at least his brother Benjamin did for him, since Hayden was in the United States at the time. On December i6, 1826, Edwards rode into Nacog- doches at the head of fifteen men and proclaimed an independent republic. He took possession of the old stone fort and organized a government under the name of Fredonia. Although treaties were concluded with the Indians and efforts were made to stir up a general uprising among the Anglo-Americans in Texas and to procure assistance from citizens of the United States, the whole affair met with little encouragement. In fact there was considerable opposition to it among the Anglo-American settlers in Texas, particularly in Austin's colony, so much so that a considerable force from the latter joined the Mexican troops that marched against the revolutionists, and the Fredonian uprising was soon stamped out. Significance of the uprising. — Perhaps the principal significance of the Fredonian uprising was to be found ^^ See Austin's letter to Colonel Hayden Edwards in A Comprehensive History of Texas, I. 510-12. A number of other letters written by Austin, Edwards, and others, together with a brief account of the Fredonian war will be found in ibid., 506-534. See also Garrison, Texas, Chapter XV. i82 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI :WEST in the determination of the American settlers, with Austin at their head, to put down disorder and sustain the Mexican government It was not their regard for Mexico which actuated them, but they were a property owning and consequently conservative class, and de- sired to avoid trouble. Furthermore they were not seeking independence, and apparently they did not then expect or desire annexation to the United States. To them, therefore, the uprising was doubtless of lit- tle consequence. Law o£ April 6, 1830.— This, however, was not the attitude taken by the Mexican authorities. They con- sidered the uprising a sign of the times and felt that it would occur again on a larger scale unless something was done to check the Anglo-American movement into Texas. The result was that Mexico inaugurated a pol- icy, inconspicuously and indirectly, through which she hoped to substitute Mexican for Anglo-American oc- cupation of Texas in the future. It will be remem- bered that article seven of the general colonization law of 1824 provided that the general congress was not to prohibit the entrance of individuals from other nations until after 1840, "unless imperious circumstances should compel it to do so with respect to the individuals of some particular nation." The Fredonian uprising was undoubtedly a factor in bringing Mexico to the conclusion that the "imperious circumstances" had arisen which compelled her to place restrictions on "the individuals of some particular nation." As a result, on April 6, 1830, Mexico passed a law forbid- ding, under any pretext whatever, the entrance of for- eigners along her northern border unless they were provided with passports from Mexican agents. The act provided further that citizens from adjacent for- eign countries should be forbidden to settle as colon- ists in the frontier states and territories of Mexico; THE OCCUPATION OF TEXAS 183 and that the colonization contracts that had not been fulfilled and which would conflict with the provisions of the law should be suspended. The settlement of Mexicans in Texas was encouraged by the act, but no attempt was to be made to interfere with the colonists already established. Loose interpretation of the law. — ^The law was inter- preted very loosely. Within three months after its pro- mulgation fifty-four families landed at Lavaca on their way to De Witt's colony. The alcalde reported the ar- rival to his superior at Bexar, and suggested that it might be advisable to let them enter. This official reported the matter to the Governor, endorsing the alcalde's recommendation on the ground that the fam- ilies had come under a legal contract and at great expense to themselves. The fact that the contract un- der which they came had been annulled should be over- looked in this instance. The Governor adopted this view and permitted colonists to settle temporarily while he consulted General Teran on the subject. It may have been as a result of this consultation that Teran wrote the vice-consul of Mexico at New Orleans to refuse passports to all North Americans except those en route for Austin's and De Witt's colonies.^^ Its general effect. — Therefore the law of April 6, 1830, did not interfere with the actual admission of settlers into Austin's or De Witt's colonies. Indeed it did not apply to them. They-were established colonies.^' But the law undoubtedly interfered with the Anglo- American movement into Texas by revealing the atti- tude Mexico had begun to assume toward that move- ^* Texas State Historical Association Quarterly, VIII. 140, 141. See also ibid., 138-144. 2° For some reason a colony was considered established -when one hundred families were settled in it. Dr. Baker suggests that perhaps this was due to the clause in the colonization law, which provided that empresarios were to receive no premium land until they had settled at least one hundred families. i84 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST ment, and De Witt's colony suffered with the rest. In a report made to the government by the ayuntamiento of Gonzales with a view to securing a renewal of De Witt's contract, the claim was made that the law of April 6 had practically put a stop to all immigration to the colony, and that many who had come and had received certificates never received titles to the land because of the operation of the law. Colonization law of April 28, 1832. — The Mexican authorities soon found a more practical way of keep- ing the people from the republic of the north out of Texas. The empresario contracts, according to the colonization law of Coahuila and Texas, were to be valid for a period of six years only from the day on which they were issued. These contracts, in some in- stances, were expiring, and the greater part of the land covered by them was still unoccupied. This land would revert to Mexico, and she could redistribute it without offense to the colonists already in Texas. A new colonization law was enacted therefore, April 28, 1832, offering special protection and aid to Mexicans ^ho should occupy vacant lands in Texas, "and en- [exicans, or with foreigners whose entrance was not :ouraging any empresario promising to colonize with prohibited by the law of April 6, 1830." °° Steps were taken immediately to carry out the policy enacted by the laws of 1830 and 1832 by ordering all the alcaldes of the department of Bexar and all the military commanders of the coast and of the frontier to prevent immigrants from entering Texas, and by en- couraging Mexican colonization of Texas lands. Growing friction between Americans and Mexi- cans. — Among both the Anglo-Americans in Texas and the Mexican officials relations were becoming in- creasingly strained as time passed. The persistent efforts of the United Stat es to acquire Texas and what '">lbid., 141. THE OCCUPATION OF TEXAS 185 was believed by Mexican authorities to be a secret un- derstanding between the colonists and the Indians, which made the former comparatively immune from Indian attacks, together with the Fredonian uprising, were incidents which played with growing irritation upon the official sensitiveness of Mexican rulers. To the Americans, on the other hand, it had become evi- dent that Mexico had determined upon a policy of re- striction and control utterly at variance to that under which they had been invited to enter Texas. The laws of 1830 and 1832, the military occupation of Texas under Teran for the purpose of enforcing these laws, the closing of certain Texas ports, and the attempt at the strict collection of duties gave ample proof of this policy. These were some of the things which were driving the two opposing factions to an inevitable con- flict. The American uprising of 1832. — By the summer of 1832 further self-restraint among the less conserva- tive colonists became impossible. Vessels, loaded with goods and with armed men on board and others on shore to cooperate, began to pass in and out of the mouth of the Brazos River in open defiance of the customs officials. In May, 1832, John Davis Bradburn, a ty- rannical Kentuckian whom Teran left in command of Anahuac at the head of Galveston Bay, put under martial law the ten league strip along the coast, which had been originally reserved from colonization, and a little later arrested William B. Travis and other prom- inent men of the colony and placed them in close con- finement for alleged insubordination. The colonists rose and under the command of Frank W. Johnson marched against Anahuac. The leader of the Amer- ican contingent from Brazoria, John Austin, was sent back home to get some cannon which were there and transport them by water to Anahuac. These were to i86 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST be used in capturing Bradburn's fort. The Mexican officer who had command at Velasco at the mouth of the Brazos refused to let the schooner which carried the guns pass out. It therefore became necessary to attack the post. The assault was conducted both from the river and by land. After determined resistance by about one hundred and twenty-five Mexicans, Velasco was captured by approximately one hundred Americans on June 27. Meanwhile the Mexican offi- cials had been persuaded to remove Bradburn and to release Travis and his companions. This ended the trouble in that section temporarily.^^ Participants in uprising side with Santa Anna in civil war. — Of course this rising against Bradburn would have to be explained to the Mexican authori- ties. American ingenuity was equal to the occasion. In the preceding January Santa Anna had begun a strug- gle against the tyrannical government headed by Bus- tamante, and was proclaiming himself the special champion of the constitution and laws of Mexico. The Americans probably desired the overthrow of Busta- mante any way, and the circumstances rendered this support of Santa Anna easy. As a result, while they were at Turtle Bayou near Anahuac, in the midst of operations against the latter place, they expressed their attitude in the Turtle Bayou resolutions. In these they declared their approval of "the firm and manly resistance which is made by the highly talented and distinguished chieftain General Santa Anna" and pledged their "lives and fortunes in the support . . . of the distinguished leader who is now so gallantly fighting in defense of civil liberty." '' When the Mexi- '1 Garrison, Texas, 176, 177 ; Riyes, United States and Mexico, I. zoi- 204. '2 "The Disturbances at Anahuac," in the Texas State Historical Associa- tion Quarterly, XIV, 287. See also Ibid., XIV, 44; Rives, United States and Mexico, I. 210. THE OCCUPATION OF TEXAS 187 can troops appeared to investigate the action of the Americans, the latter presented these resolutions to the leader who belonged to the Santa Anna party. These seemed to free the revolutionists from any charge of disloyalty in so far as Santa Anna was concerned. But the Americans did not stop here. In order that there might be a more complete understanding of this atti- tude a gathering of the ayuntamientos of the colony passed a series of resolutions in favor of Santa Anna, and insisted upon the preservation of the constitution and the rights of the states. In December, 1832, Busta- mante abdicated and Santa Anna came into temporary control of the government. Call and work of Convention of 1832. — On August 22, 1832, as a result of the general unsettled conditions, a convention of the people of Texas was called by the first and second alcaldes of the San Felipe district, and met at San Felipe on October i. About fifty-six dele- gates assembled representing practically all the Eng- lish-speaking districts except Goliad. Representatives from the latter place arrived after the convention had adjourned, and gave their unreserved approval to all that had been done. Many subjects were discussed and an agreement was reached on several of them. It was determined to pe- tition for the free introduction for three years of such articles as provisions, machinery, tools, cotton bagging, clothing, shoes and hats, powder, lead, and shot, house- hold furniture, medicines, and books. The members of the convention disclaimed any desire for indepen- dence from Mexico in most positive terms, but earn- estly petitioned for the repeal of the law of April 6, 1830, preventing Americans from entering Texas. They asked for separate statehood, for a land grant for educational purposes, for a recognition of land titles between the San Jacinto and the Sabine, and for i88 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI W*EST the establishment of new ayuntamientos in that section. Provision was made for the management of custom- houses which had been closed by the withdrawal of troops from Texas, until the general government could again take charge of them, but the convention was op- posed to interfering with the schedule of duties. Finally the convention appointed a central committee whose duty it was to correspond with subordinate local com- mittees for the purpose of keeping in touch with the colonial interests in general, fostering closer union among the colonists, and warning them of approaching danger. The committee was also empowered to call another general convention.^* Convention of 1833. — ^This it did very soon. The election for the new convention was held March i, 1833, and the delegates met at San Felipe again on April I, the day on which Santa Anna and Gomez Farias were inaugurated as President and Vice-Presi- dent of Mexico. The convention was in session for thirteen days. During this period it adopted a tentative constitution for the proposed new state, a resolution condemning the African slave trade, and an address to the Mexican Congress. The last was a respectfully phrased document, clear and straightforward in tone, presenting the earnest desire of the people of Texas to be separated from Coahuila and formed into an in- dependent state." Work of Convention rejected by Mexico. — Austin was chosen to submit the petition to the authorities in Mexico, but his mission was to be a failure. There were at least two reasons why the petition would be rejected. In the first place the federal constitution adopted October 4, 1824, five months later than the law "^Gammel, Lavis of Texas, I. 477-503; Brown, John H., History of Texas, from 1685 to i8q3, 2 vols., St. Louis, 1893, I. 197-213. 3* The constitution is in Edward, History of Texas, 196-205, and the "Texan Memorial" is in Yoakum, History of Texas, I. 469-482. THE OCCUPATION OF TEXAS 189 which united Coahuila and Texas, provided that a new state could be formed out of part of an existing one only by the approval of three-fourths of the vote of each house of Congress, ratified by three-fourths of the state legislature. In the second place the fed- eral authorities of the new regime were not disposed to modify the legislation of the Bustamante govern- ment in regard to Texas. The tariff and slavery laws were retained, and no assurance was given in regard to continued freedom from military control. No con- sideration whatever was given to the idea of separate statehood. The points of view of the people of Texas and of Mexico were entirely different. The proposal of a separate state for Texas seemed most desirable to the people of that frontier community, but to the au- thorities in the capital this was not the case. It was not clear to them that Mexico would be benefited by erecting a strongly organized state inhabited almost entirely by vigorous foreigners who spoke a different language and who, by their traditions, were hostile to ideals and aspirations of the Mexican people. There- ' fore the Mexican officials concluded that the time had not come for organizing a separate state in Texas. However, they promised to recommend to the legisla- ture of Coahuila and Texas the passage of several laws for the relief of the colonists. Austin was successful in only one respect. He was able to persuade Con- gress to repeal the provisions of the law of April 6, 1830, which forbade emigrants from the United States to enter Texas. With this concession Austin left Mex- ico on December 10, 1833.^® He had gone as far as Saltillo on his journey home when orders for his arrest came from the federal au- thorities, and he was brought back to Mexico and *s Rives, United States and Mexico, I. 216-25. Cf. Garrison, Texas, Chapter XVI. I90 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST imprisoned. The principal reason for his arrest seems to have been an injudicious letter which he admitted he had written to the people of Bexar advising them to form a state government without waiting for Con- gress to act. Whatever the charges may have been, they were never pressed, and Austin was released after eight months' imprisonment. On one pretext or an- other he was detained in Mexico several months longer, at last arriving in Texas by way of New Orleans, Sep- tember I, 1835. War party gains strength. — In the meantime Texas was drifting rapidly toward war with Mexico. While some changes for the better had been made, such as the establishment of new municipalities, increasing the representation allotted Texas in the state legislature, and granting permission to use English in transacting public business, these concessions made to the inhabi- tants of Texas were not enough to remove either the cause of complaint or the prevalent distrust of the in- tentions of the Mexican government. By 1835 excite- ment in Texas was running high. In spite of the ef- forts of a large majority of the Texans to prevent any hostile demonstrations, the war party developed under vigorous and determined leaders and became increas- ingly difficult to restrain. The feeling grew tense. Under these circumstances some show of violence was to be expected, and it soon came. Mexicein troops expelled from Anahuac. — In Jan- uary, 1835, the Mexican officials had attempted to resume the collection of duties in Texas. In order to facilitate the work Captain Antonio Tenario, with a few troops, was sent to support the collector at Ana- huac. He had experienced some difficulties in dis- charging the duties of his office when reports came of Santa Anna's usurpation in Coahuila, The people in the department of the Brazos determined to have a THE OCCUPATION OF TEXAS 191 general meeting at San Felipe to consider the depress- ing conditions. On the day before the meeting some one stopped a government courier who was leaving a conciliatory circular from General Cos to the people of Texas. No objection could be offered to this of course. But the same messenger, it was discovered, also carried private letters addressed to the command- ing officer at Anahuac, one from General Cos and an- other from Colonel Ugartechea, pledging, at an early date, sufficient reenforcements to enable him to regu- late matters in that section. The content of these let- ters produced great excitement among the people gath- ered at San Felipe, but the conservative party was in the majority and decided to do nothing. The minority determined that some action should be taken. They held a secret meeting at which resolutions were passed "recommending that, in connection with the general defense of the country against military sway, the troops of Anahuac should be disarmed and ordered to leave Texas." *" William B. Travis was instructed to collect a force for the purpose of putting this recommendation into effect. With about thirty men from San Felipe and ^arrisburg, Travis sailed across Galveston Bay on June 29, 1835. Captain Tenario evacuated the fort without waiting for an attack, and on the following morning he surrendered with his forty men. The Mexicans agreed to leave the country at once and not to serve against the people of Texas again. Travis and his party returned across the bay and reached Harrisburg in time to participate in a Fourth of July celebration." The action taken by Travis was gen- erally condemned, but events followed one another so '* Travis to Henry Smith, July 6, 1835, in Texas State Historical As- sociation Quarterly, II. 24. *' For an interesting description of this event, written by one who was present, see the "Reminiscences" of Mrs. Harris in Texas State His- torical Association Quarterly, IV. 125. 192 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST rapidly during the next few weeks that the aggressive ness of the incident was soon forgotten. Fight between the San Felipe and the Correo.— Rumors fairly jostled one another in the minds of the people during this period. It was said that Mexican troops were being sent against the Texans, and that other evil designs were being formulated. Mexican liberals who sought refuge in the country helped to increase the agitation. Numerous meetings of the col- onists were held throughout Anglo-American Texas, and the discussion which took place was ill-tempered and unrestrained.'^ In the early fall another act of violence occurred which served to bring matters to an issue. The American schooner San Felipe, inward bound from New Orleans, fell in with the Mexican Correo off the mouth of the Brazos River. The fight which followed lasted for three-quarters of an hour, and the Correo drew off. The American vessel then entered the river and landed her passengers, among whom was Stephen F. Austin. Effect on Austirj. — Austin was returning home after an absence of more than two years. He had left Mexico full of hope, and he carried with him mes- sages f rorh Santa Anna and other influential men in that country all of whom expressed warm friendship for Texas. He had "fully hoped to have found Texas at peace and in tranquillity," but found it in" commotion — all disorganized, all in anarchy, and threatened with immediate hostilities. This state of things is deeply to be lamented." '" The sea fight had made a profound impression on him. It has been said by some of his contemporaries that he "walked the beach all night, his mind oppressed with the gravity of the situation, fore- casting the troubles ahead to Texas." *" He went to the 88 Garrison, Texas, i88. 3' Yoakum, History of Texas, I. 357. *" Comprehensive History of Texas, 1. 500. THE OCCUPATION OF TEXAS 193 home of his brother-in-law, James F. Perry, about ten miles above the mouth of the Brazos, where a deputa- tion of citizens called and invited him to a banquet to be given in his honor at Brazoria. The object seems to have been to have as many as possible assemble for the purpose of hearing Austin's views on existing con- ditions, and to have his advice. Public sentiment had reached the point where it would probably have been impossible for him to restrain the people much longer, while a word of encouragement was sure to produce war. In the address delivered on September 8 in which be spoke for an hour before more than a thousand peo- ple, he set forth his views, and concluded with the following words : Austin's Address September 8, 1835. — The crisis is such as to bring it home to the judgment of every man that something must be done, and that without delay. The question will perhaps be asked, What are we to do? I have already indicated my opinion. Let all personalities or divisions or excitements, or passions, or violence be banished from among us. Let a general consultation of the people of Texas be convened as speedily as possible to be composed of the best, the most calm, and intelligent, and firm men in the country, and let them decide what representation ought to be made to the general govern- ment, and what ought to be done in the future. With these explanatory remarks I will give a toast, "The constitutional rights and security and peace of Texas — they ought to be maintained; and jeopardized, as they now are, they demand a general consultation of the people." " The people hesitated no longer. The peace party— of which Austin himself had formerly been a mem- ber — ^was completely demoralized. A few days later Austin was placed on the committee of vigilance and *i Part of the address is given in Comprehensive History of Texas, I. 501-505. 194 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST safety at San Felipe, and became in a way the director of the revolutionary movement. This position he con- tinued to hold until, at his own suggestion, a central committee was formed composed of one member from each of the local committees of public safety. The appointment of this council released Austin so that he could offer his services to the army. Outbreak of the revolution. — ^The consultation which Austin recommended had been proposed already for October 15 by the municipality of Columbia. Be- fore that date hostilities had begun. The people of Gonzales had a cannon which had been given them four years earlier as a defense against the Indians, The commander of the Mexican troops at Bexar, Col- onel Ugartechea, demanded that it be surrendered. The demand was refused and an attempt to take it re- sulted in a conflict in which the Americans were vic- torious. This was October 2, 1835. ^^ the follow- ing day the federal authorities issued a decree abolish- ing state legislatures in Mexico and substituting there- for a department council. All state officers were made responsible to the central authorities in Mexico City. Principles involved. — ^When news of what had been done reached Texas it created no surprise. Austin had said in his address on September 8 that Mexico intended to destroy the federal constitution of 1824 and estab- lish a consolidated government by converting the states into provinces. Knowledge of what had been done simply strengthened the determination of the people to repel further aggressions. At this time the struggle was for the "constitutional principles on which the Mexican Federal Republic had been organized; and when this failed because of the complete triumph of Santa Anna in the Mexican states up to the Rio Grande, it became necessarily a struggle for independence." " *2 Garrison, Texas, 189. THE OCCUPATION OF TEXAS 195 The growth toward independence was gradual. It will be remembered that a central council had been formed as a temporary head of the government. This body was directing affairs of state at the time when the consultation assembled on October 16. When the con- sultation adjourned on the following day to meet again November i, members of that body recognized the de facto government by continuing the council. When the consultation came together again on the day ap- pointed, the general council surrendered its authority. A committee of twelve was appointed, with John A. Wharton as chairman, to prepare a declaration of the causes which had compelled the Texans to take up arms; and a similar body headed by Henry Millard "to draw up and submit a plan or system of provisional government." *^ There was considerable discussion over the form of declaration. Even at this time there were some who were in favor of declaring independence from Mexico. The conservatives won the day, and the declaration was for adherence to the federal constitution of 1824. The ordinance providing a provisional government, com- pleted on November 13, was "the earliest specimen of Anglo-Saxon law ever enforced in Texas." ** It pro- vided for a governor, a lieutenant-governor, a council which was to be composed of one member from each municipality represented in the consultation, a judi- ciary, and a commander in chief. With its work com- pleted, the consultation adjourned to meet at Wash- ington March i, 1836. Declaration of Independence. — On the appointed day the consultation or convention met in the little town on the banks of the Brazos. It was a time that tried men's souls. Travis and his brave companions *' Quoted in Yoakum, History of Texas, II. la. **Ibid.. 13. 196 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST had dedicated themselves to a heroic destiny" and even Santa Anna's followers were establishing more completely the conditions which meant death to the men of Alamo. But the members of this convention did not hesitate. The citizens of Texas had been thrown upon their own resources and upon the help of their friends in the United States. Even the most hesitating conservatives began to consider a declaration of inde- pendence as the only alternative. Austin, "whose moral stature and want of fitness for revolutionary leadership were made equally conspicuous by the cri- sis," had already declared himself in favor of such action." Constitution, adopted for Republic of Texas. — ^As a result of this unmistakable sentiment, immediately fol- lowing the organization on March i, a committee was appointed to draft a declaration of independence. The committee reported on the next day and the report was accepted unanimously. In the notable words of the more famous declaration of 1776, the convention ended forever the political connection between Texas and Mexico. Two days later Sam Houston was appointed commander in chief of the army. On March 16 a constitution drawn largely from the Constitution of the United States and constitutions of some of the south- western states was submitted by its committee to the convention. There were to be a president, a vice-presi- dent, a senate and a house of representatives, a su- preme court, and such inferior courts as might be es- tablished by congress. The English common law, a bill of rights, and permission for slavery were adopted. Arrangements were made for a provisional govern- ment to control affairs in the state until such time as the work of the convention could be approved by the *5See William B. Travis's letter, "To the People of Texas and all Americans in the world," quoted in Garrison, Texas, 207. ^^Ibid., zii. THE OCCUPATION OF TEXAS 197 people and ofBcers elected to assume the responsibili- ties provided by the constitution. On March 17 the convention adjourned. Defeat of Santa Anna. — ^A month and four days later, April 21, 1836, the battle of San Jacinto was fought, in which Santa Anna was completely defeated and captured. Two months later he secured his re- lease by signing treaties according to which he and the other Mexican generals in Texas agreed to with- draw all their troops and to endeavor to secure the in- dependence of the country with boundaries no farther south than the Rio Grande. The agreement reached at this time proved to be the actual achievement of Texan independence. To be sure the Mexican Con- gress repudiated it and fully intended to reconquer the country, but she was too much disturbed by inter- nal struggles to carry out her plans. Growth in population. — In the meantime Texas was growing in population and wealth. In spite of the restrictions placed by the law of April 6, 1830, Mex- ico soon gave up her efforts to guard the frontier and even during the three and a half years that the law was in force immigrants came in large numbers. But the mere existence of the law regardless of its enforce- ment discouraged the best class of settlers from coming into the country. The peaceable and industrious — and there were many such who kept abreast of the west- ward moving frontier — would hesitate to take their families into Texas in violation of the law. "On the other hand the door was left wide open to 'adventurers, malefactors, and the dregs of the people' who had noth- ing to lose. The result, therefore, of passing this law and not enforcing it effectually was, as is usually the case when prohibitive laws are unsupported by an hon- est and efficient police, that conditions were aggravated ; for while immigration from the United States was not checked, the conservative element was replaced by the 198 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST adventurous." " The immigration which came as a re- sult of the strained relations and final war with Mex- ico resulted in introducing many desirable citizens from the United States. The Anglo-American popula- tion in 1836 has been estimated at about thirty thousand. By 1850 this number had increased to two hundred and twelve thousand. Growth in wealth. — The increase in wealth came with the increase in population. Farmers extended the area of their land under cultivation, improved the character and type of their buildings, increased the number of their live stock and of their slaves. The cot- ton exported from Austin's colony alone in 1833 amounted to nearly two million pounds, and there were in operation thirty cotton gins, several water mills, and two sawmills. As long as goods could be imported from New Orleans free of duty there was no real need for manufactures. There were well-stocked stores of merchandise at San Felipe and at Brazoria in which the clothing and necessaries of life were so attractively priced that Mexicans came from as far as Monclova to do their trading. This prosperity extended to all the settlements as far as Nacogdoches. Bibliographical Notes Stephen F. Austin and the Colonization of Texas : Material on Austin and on the American occupation of Texas may be found in the following: Hubert Howe Bancroft, History of the North Mex- ican States and Texas, 2 vols., San Francisco, 1 883-1 889, II; John Henry Brown, History of Texas from 1685 to 1892, 2 vols., St. Louis, 1892-1893, I; Henry Stuart Foote, Texas and the Texans; or. Advance of the Anglo-Americans to the Southwest ; Including a History of Leading Events in Mexico^ from the Conquest by Fernando Cortes to the Termination of the Texan Revolution, 2 vols., Philadelphia, 1841, I; H. P. N. Gammel, Laws of Texas, (Vol. I, 1898), Austin; William Kennedy, Texas: The Rise, Prog- ress, and Prospects of the Republic of Texas, 2 vols., London, 1841, I ; N. Doran Maillard, The History of the Republic of Texas from " Rives, United States and Mexico, I. 232. THE OCCUPATION OF TEXAS 199 the Discovery of the Country to the Present Time; and the Causes of their Separation from the Republic of Mexico, London, 1842; Joseph M, White, A New Collection of Laws, Charters, and Local Ordinances of the Governments of Great Britain, France, and Spain, Relating to the Concessions of Land in their Respective Colonies/ together with the Laws of Mexico and Texas on the Same Subject to which is Prefixed Judge Johnson's Translation of Azo and Man- uel's Institutes of the Civil Laws of Spain, 2 vols., Philadelphia, 1839, I, 559-586; Dudley G. Wooten (editor), A Comprehensive Histpry of Texas, 2 vols., Dallas, 1898, reprints the greater part of Yoakum; H. Yoakum, History of Texas, from its First Settle- ment in 1685, to its Annexation to the United States in 1846, 2 vols., New York, 1856. More recent accounts may be found in Katharine Coman, Eco- nomic Beginnings of the Far West: How We Won the Land beyond the Mhsissippi, 2 vols., New York, 1912, II, Part III, chapter 4; George P. Garrison, Texas: a Contest of Civilizations (American Conunonwealth Series, Boston, 1903 ; J. B. McMaster, History of the People of the United States from the Revolution to the Civil War, 8 vols.. New York, 1883-1913; and George L. Rives, The United States and Mexico, 1821-1848, 2 vols., New York, 1913. The Texas State Historical Association, Quarterly, and its successor, the Southwestern Historical Quarterly, contain numerous valuable articles on Austin and the American colonization of Texas. (Austin, 1897- .) The Independence of Texas is treated in most of the above works and in the following : Henry Bruce, Life of General Houston (Makers of America Series), New York, 1891 ; W. C. Crane, Life and Select Literary Remains of Sam Houston and the War of Inde- pendence in Texas, Boston, 1893 ; Thomas J. Green, Journal of the Texan Expedition against Mier; Subsequent Imprisonment of the author; his Sufferings and final Escape from the Castle of Perote, with Reflections upon the Present Political and Probable Future Relations of Texas, Mexico, and the United States, New York, 1845. For additional material see the bibliographies cited in the various works above, particularly in Bancroft, Coman, and Rives; Chan- ning. Hart, and Turner, Guide; J. N. Lamed, Literature of American History; a Bibliographical Guide; and C. W. Raines, A Bibliography of Texas: Being a Descriptive List of Books, Pam- phlets, and Documents Relating to Texas in Print and Manuscript since 1536, Including a Complete Collection of the Laws; with an Introductory Essay on the Materials of Early Texas History. Austin, 1896. CHAPTER VI EARLY CLAIMS TO OREGON Five different nations have laid claims to the terri- tory included in the Pacific Northwest. These are France, Spain, Russia, England, and the United States. The claims made by the first three may be dismissed briefly, while those made by the last two require a some- what more extended examination. Claims of nations to Oregon country. — Such vague and shadowy pretensions as France professed were based on the voyages made by her seamen into that re- gion during the period from 1763 to 1779, and on her possession of the Louisiana territory prior to the former date and after 1800. These claims were surrendered to the United States with Louisiana in 1803. Spain's claims were also based on explorations made by her seamen, but they too were unsatisfactory. Such as they were, however, they came into the hands of the Ameri- can nation by the terms of the Florida treaty of 1819. Russia rested her contentions on the work of her daring seaman, Vitus Bering, and on the operation of Russian fur merchants who, in 1799, came together to form the Russian- American Fur Company. The charter granted to this company gave it the entire use and control of the Pacific coast of North America from Bering Strait to the fifty-fifth parallel, and it was also authorized to ex- plore any additional territory which was not already under the control of some other nation. Under this provision the company pushed its way into remote re- gions and by the end of twenty years it claimed the northwest coast from Bering Strait southward beyond the mouth of the Columbia River. By 18 16 the Rus- sians had begun to extend their settlements as far south- ward as California. EARLY CLAIMS TO OREGON 201 Negotiations between United States and Russia. — This incident aroused the interest of the United States and that interest was intensified by an edict published at the command of the Emperor Alexander in 1821. In this document the Russian Czar declared that the pursuits of commerce, fishing, etc., along the whole west coast of America, north of the fifty-first parallel were reserved exclusively for the Russians and foreigners were forbidden, under heavy penalty, from approaching within a hundred miles of the coast, ex- cept when extreme necessity required them to do so. In February, 1822, the decree was forwarded to the United States through the Russian minister at Wash- ington, Chevalier de Poletica. This brought a note of surprise from Adams, the American Secretary of State, who demanded to know on what grounds Russia claimed so much territory on the west coast of North America. The Russian minister replied that the claims were based on explorations made by the Czar's subjects. He declared that these claims extended south to the forty-ninth parallel. The reason for selecting the fifty-first degree of latitude as the southern limits of Russian possessions was the assumption that this line was midway between the mouth of the Columbia, where the United States citizens had established them- selves, and the Russian settlement of Sitka. Adams maintained in his reply that citizens of the United States had navigated those seas "from the period of the existence of the United States as an independent nation . . . and the right to navigate them was part of that independence, as also the right of their citi- zens to trade, even in arms and munitions of war, with the aboriginal natives of the northwest coast of Amer- ica, who were not under the territorial jurisdiction of other nations." * In the charter of the Russian- Amer- * Greenhow, Robert, History of Oregon and California, New York, '^4S> 332-335. The uiase and the correspondence between the Russian 202 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST ican Fur Company, Adams continued, the fifty-fifth parallel had been indicated as the southern boundary of Russian claims. This had been recognized as the southern limit of Russian explorations in 1799. Since that time they had made no discoveries south of that line on the coast claimed by them. Adams therefore denied all Russian claims to territory south of the fifty- fifth parallel. Further correspondence on the subject failed to convince either party. England, Russia, the United States, and the Mon- roe Doctrine. — ^The correspondence, together with the decree of the Russian emperor, was placed before the Congress of the United States, and in the following yeaf (1823) the officials in Washington began negotiations directly with St. Petersburg for the purpose of settling all disputed questions regarding the Pacific Northwest. At the same time similar negotiations were under way at St. Petersburg between the governments of Russia and England. The latter also had protested against the claims and principles advanced in the ukase of 1821. These circumstances led the United States to feel that a joint convention of the three nations should be con- cluded as soon as possible. Accordingly the United States representatives in London and in St. Petersburg were directed to propose that during the next ten years the following plan of settlement be accepted by the three governments : the Russians to agree to make no settlements south ojf the fifty-fifth parallel; the British to confine their settlements to the territory lying be- tween the fifty-first and the fifty-fifth degrees of lati- tude ; while the United States would agree to keep her citizens south of the fifty-first parallel. Both England and Russia declined to accept the pro-. posal made by the United States. This was due to the I and American governments regarding it may be found among the paperi accompanying Monroe's message to Congress, April 17, 1822. EARLY CLAIMS TO OREGON 203 action taken by President Monroe.^ In his message to Congress in December, 1823, he referred to the nego- tiations that had been conducted in regard to the north- west coast, and declared that "the occasion had been judged proper for asserting, as a principle in which the rights and interests of the United States are involved, that the American continents, by the free and indepen- dent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered subjects for colon- ization by any European power." England and Russia protested against this attitude expressed by the United States. The latter was not so persistent in her objec- tions as the former, and with her the United States con- cluded a treaty compromise more quickly. Treaty with Russia. — The treaty with Russia was signed at St. Petersburg on April 5, 1824. According to this document the two countries mutually agreed that their citizens should be free to navigate and fish in any part of the Pacific Ocean or to trade with the natives in those parts not occupied by citizens of the re- spective countries. The United States further agreed that it would not permit its citizens to establish settle- ments north of latitude fifty-four degrees and forty minutes, and the Russians promised to confine their colonizing activities to the north of that line, but it was understood "that during a term of ten years, counting from the signature of the present convention, the ships of both powers, or which belong to their citizens or subjects respectively, may reciprocally frequent, with- out any hindrance whatever, the interior seas, gulfs, harbors, and creeks" of the coast north or south of the above parallel. Summary of conditions in 1824. — The situation in 1824, then, may be summarized briefly as follows: Whatever claim France may have had to the Pacific Northwest was surrendered to the United States by the treaty of 1803. By the terms of the Florida pur- ^ Ibid., 336. 204 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST chase and the settlement of Louisiana's western boun- dary, Spain transferred to the American nation her claims to the Pacific territory north of its forty-second parallel. And according to the terms of the treaty of April 5, 1824, Russia surrendered to the United States her claims to the territory south of latitude fifty- four degrees and forty minutes. It remains therefore to trace the negotiations between the United States and England. In the present chapter these will be carried to 1828, leaving the diplomatic negotiations which resulted in a final division of the territory for consideration in another chapter. To do this it will be necessary to point out briefly the basis for the claims of the respective nations to the Oregon country. Early English voyages in the Northwest. — Dur- ing the period from 1577 to 1580 Sir Francis Drake made his famous voyage into the Pacific in search of Spanish treasure. Coming in by way of the Strait of Magellan he followed the Pacific coast northward, probably as far as the forty-third parallel of latitude, While landed at "a fair and good bay, within thirty- eight degrees" north latitude, he took possession of the country in the name of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, calling the region New Albion. In 1776 the Parlia- ment of Great Britain ofifered a reward of twenty thousand pounds to any English officer who should discover between the Atlantic and the Pacific a sea passage north of the fifty-second parallel.' Captain James Cook had just returned to England from his second voyage of navigation and was induced by the English government to undertake the search for the coveted passage. He made his way into the Pacific and up the western coast of the Americas, at last drop- ping anchor in a large bay in latitude forty-nine de- grees, thirty-three minutes north. At first he felt sure 3 McElroy, Robert McNutt, Winning of the Far West, New York iom 108, 109. ' EARLY CLAIMS TO OREGON 205 that the country had already been visited by Europeans, but more careful study convinced him that this was not true. He named the inlet King George's Sound in honor of his sovereign, but later discovered that it was called Nootka by the natives, a name which has per- sisted. It was also discovered, years later, that his first impression regarding the probable visit of Europeans to the Nootka Sound region was correct. A Spanish expedition under the command of Perez had visited the country in 1774 and had claimed the country for thd Spanish king. Heceta and Cuadra had also visited the coast of that region in 1775, and had taken posses- sion of the country in the name of Spain.* No further expeditions were made by any civilized nations, according to Greenhow,^ between Nootka Sound and Cape Mendocino during the years 1778 to 1787. In 1788, however, we find another Englishman, John Meares, casting anchor in Nootka Sound. From ,his headquarters established here he sent vessels to explore along the coast as far north as the sixtieth parallel and south to the forty-fifth. He had attempted to enter the mouth of the Columbia River, but only convinced himself that it could not be done. The names of Cape Disappointment and Deception Bay were ap- plied to the promontory and to the bay as mementoes of his failure.^ The expedition led by Meares derives its importance primarily from the seizure of his ves- sels by Martinez, the commander of Spanish vessels commissioned to explore the northwest coast in 1789, and from the Nootka Sound Convention of the fol- lowing year. * Bancroft, Northieest Coast, I. 150-166 and History of California, I. 241 ff. ^ Oregon and California, 167. * Meares, John, Voyages made in the Years 17S8 and I^8q from China to the N. W. Coast of America,'!. 269, 270. See also Manning, "The Nootka Sound Controversjr" in the Annual Report of the American His- torical Association for 1904, 283-471. 2o6 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST The Nootka Convention and its interpretation by England.— The Nootka Sound Convention was the first international treaty pertaining to the northwest coast of America. It provided among other things that subjects of both England and Spain should be free to navigate and fish in the Pacific, to land and trade with the natives, and to make settlements in all unoccupied districts. Even where the subjects of either power had made settlements, if such settlements had been made since April, 1789, the subjects of the other should be permitted free access for the purpose of carrying on trade. Later, in 1826, England used the terms of the Nootka Convention as an argument against any claims the United States might have to Oregon as a result of the Spanish treaty of 18 19. In other words England interpreted the agreement made with Spain in 1790 to mean that thereby both nations surrendered their rights to claim territory in the Pacific Northwest, unless there was something more tangible on which to base those claims than "vague narratives of discoveries." ^ If this view of the Nootka Convention had been generally un- derstood in 1790, it would have been conceded readily that any claims which England or Spain made to the Pacific Northwest on the basis of the voyages of their respective seamen must be based on explorations made after that year. England's interpretation of the Nootka Convention, therefore [one writer concludes] greatly strengthened the position of America, leaving the two nations exactly equal in so far as America had received the region from Spain by the Florida Purchase, but leaving America free to ad- vance her claims derived from other sources, a resource which England had definitely abrogated for herself.* Vancouver's explorations in the Northwest.— But this interpretation of the Nootka Conventio n, it must ''American State Papers, Foreign Relations, VI. 663. SMcEIroy, Winning of the Far West, 113. EARLY CLAIMS TO OREGON 207 be remembered, was not made by England until 1826. Prior to that year the interest of both the United States and England in the Pacific Northwest had grown, and each believed its claim to the country north of the forty- second parallel and south of the fifty-four degrees, forty minutes north latitude, had been strengthened. The most important English expedition to find its way by sea into the Pacific Northwest was led by Captain George Vancouver in 1792. He came to negotiate with Spanish representatives at Nootka for the pur- pose of determining what lands and buildings were to be restored to the British claimants under the first and second articles of the convention of 1790, or what in- demnity Spain might justly expect from England. He was also instructed to examine and survey the Pacific coast from the thirtieth to the sixtieth parallels of north latitude. The number and extent of settlements made by civilized nations were to be carefully noted by him, and especially was he to secure all the information pos- sible pertaining to any water passage which might con- nect the Pacific on the west shores of America with the Atlantic on the east. With a view to carrying out this particular point he was to make a careful examination of the supposed Strait of Juan de Fuca which was "said to be situated between the forty-eighth and forty-ninth degrees of north latitude, and to lead to an opening through which the sloop Washington is reported to have passed in 1789, and to have come out again to the north- ward of Nootka." ^ With these instructions Vancouver left England in January, 1791, and the spring of the following year found him exploring the northwest coast. His jour- nal for April 27, 1792, contains the following: ° These instructions will be found in the Introduction of Vancouver, George, A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, and Round the World, etc., 3 vols., London, 1798, I. 18-21. 2o8 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST Noon brought us up with a very conspicuous point of land, composed of a cluster of hummocks, moderately high, and projecting into the sea from the low land before men- tioned. ... On the south side of this promontory was the appearance of an inlet, or small river, the land behind not indicating it to be of any great extent; nor did it seem to be accessible for vessels of our burthen, as the breakers extended from the above point, two or three miles into the ocean, until they joined those on the beach nearly four leagues further south. On reference to Mr. Meares's description of the coast south of this promontory, I was at first induced to believe it to be Cape Shoalwater, but on ascertaining its latitude, I presumed it to be that which he calls Cape Disappointment; and the opening south of it. Deception Bay. This cape we found to be in latitude forty-six degrees nineteen minutes, longitude two hundred thirty-six degrees six minutes. The sea had now changed from its natural to river- colored water; the probable consequence of some streams falling into the bay, or into the opening to the north of it, through the low land. Not considering this opening worthy of more attention, I continued our pursuit to the northwest, being desirous to embrace the advantages of the now prevailing breeze and pleasant weather, so favor- able to an examination of the coast, . . ." Vancouver meets Gray. Comments on entrance to Columbia. — Two days later, while taking advan- tage of the "prevailing breeze and pleasant weather" in prosecuting his explorations northward, Vancouver sighted a vessel toward the west, which "was a very great novelty, not having seen any vessel but our con- sort during the last eight months." It proved to be the American ship Columbia commanded by Captain Robert Gray, which had sailed from Boston about nineteen months earlier. Vancouver found, as he had anticipated he would, that Gray had been in command of ^0 Ibid., 209, 210. EARLY CLAIMS TO OREGON 209 the sloop Washington at the time, "we are informed, she had made a very singular voyage behind Nootka." But Gray's account of his explorations in Nootka Sound dif- fered widely from the accounts published in England. ; "It is not possible," Vancouver says, "to conceive any one to be more astonished than was Mr. Gray, on his being made acquainted that his authority had been quoted, and the track pointed out that he had been said to have made in the sloop Washington. In contradic- tion to which, he assured the officers, that he had pene- trated only fifty miles into the straits in question, in an east-southeast direction; that he found the passage five leagues wide, and that he understood from the na- ' tives, that the opening extended a considerable distance to the northward ; that this was all the information he acquired concerning this inland sea, and that he re- turned into the ocean by the same way he had entered at." Gray also told Vancouver that he had been off the mouth of a river where he waited for nine days to enter it but the current was too strong. It was lo- cated in latitude forty-six degrees, ten minutes. And continuing Vancouver explains that this "was, prob- ably, the opening passed by us on the forenoon of the twenty-seventh ; and was, apparently, inaccessible, not from the current, but from the breakers that extended across it." If any inlet existed there it was "inaccessi- ble to vessels of our burden, owing to the reefs and broken water, which then appeared in its neighbor- hood." " Although Vancouver was surprised at sighting the American vessel, she was by no means a stranger to the Pacific Northwest. In fact this was her second voyage into these waters, and other vessels had pre- ceded her. ^^Ibid., 214, 215. 2IO THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST Basis for American interest in Pacific— As soon as the independence of the United States had been rec- ognized by England the citizens of the newly formed republic began the industry of fishing in the Pacific, and their interest in those waters was extended by the beginning of direct trade with the far East. In the summer of 1784 an American vessel, the Empress of China, entered the port of Canton. She had sailed from New York under the command of Daniel Parker, and had returned to that city in May, 1785.'' Other vessels made their way across the Pacific to China, but they were handicapped in the trade because the arti- cles which they carried to the East were so inferior in value to those brought back. As a result they were obliged to take large amounts in specie in order to ob- tain full cargoes on their return trips. To obviate this difficulty and to increase their profits in the trade, some Boston merchants formed an association in 1787, for the purpose of combining the fur trade carried on in the north Pacific waters with the far eastern trade." For prosecuting their plans, the association fitted out two vessels in the summer of 1787, the ship Colum- bia of two hundred and twenty tons commanded by John Kendrick, and the sloop Washington of ninety tons in charge of Robert Gray. Their holds were filled with blankets, knives, iron bars, copper pans, and other articles suitable for trade with the Indians of the Northwest coast. In addition to passports from Mas- sachusetts and sea letters from the federal government, the commanders carried letters from the Spanish min- ister in the United States recommending them for con- sideration to the representatives of his country on the ^2 Greenhow, Oregon and California, 178-181. 13 John Ledyard had seen the possibilities of this plan, but he failed in his efforts to persuade the merchants of New York and Philadelphia to engage in it. See Jared Sparks, The Life of John Ledyard, American Traveller; Comprising Selections from his Journals and Correspondenci, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1828, 126-137. EARLY CLAIMS TO OREGON 211 Pacific coast. The two vessels sailed from Boston on September 30, 1787, doubled Cape Horn in January following, and after experiencing foul weather, a sep- aration, and some misfortune, finally came together again in Nootka Sound in the fall of 1788, approxi- mately a year after they had left Boston. Here they remained for the winter 1788- 1789. In the spring they began a prosperous trade with the natives along the coast. Toward the end of summer all the furs were placed in the hold of the Columbia, and with Captain Gray in command she sailed for China. The furs were exchanged for tea in the Chinese markets, and the Columbia returned to the United States by way of Cape of Good Hope, reaching Boston in August, 1790. She had won the distinction of being the first vessel to bear the American flag around the world. Voyage of 1790-1792. — Almost immediately Gray was sent back to the Pacific. During the summer of 1791 he traded up and down the coast as he had done formerly. The winter was spent in Adventure Cove of Clayoquot harbor. It was in this harbor that the Tonquin, which brought to the Pacific the men who founded Astoria, met its gruesome fate in the summer of 181 1. During the winter Gray built a small vessel, the Adventure, which he launched on March 22, 1792, and sent out equipped to carry on an independent trade. It was while cruising along the coast toward the south that Gray's vessel was sighted by Vancouver as already related. The entry in Boit's Log of the Columbia for April 28, 1792, was as follows: This day spoke to his Britannic Majesty's Ships Discov- ery and Chatham, commanded by Captain George Van- couver, and Lieutenant Wm. Broughton, from England, on a voyage of discovery. Left April i, 1791. Do. Otaheita January, '92, and Sandwich Isles March, '92. A boat boarded us from the Discovery, and we gave them 5II the information in our power. Especially as 212 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST respected the Straits of Juan de Fuca, which place they was then in search of. They bore away for the Straits mouth, which was not far distant. Stood in and drain'd the village we was at yesterday and then bore off after the English ships.^* Gray soon turned about, however, and followed the coast toward the south. On May 7 he saw an inlet which appeared to be a harbor. After preliminary examinations which convinced him of its excellent fa- cilities, he entered. Ere long his vessel was surrounded by canoes filled with Indians. They appeared to be a savage set, and was well arm'd, every man having his Quiver and Bow slung over his shoul- der. Without doubt we are the first Civilized people that ever visited this port, and these poor fellows view'd us and the Ship with the greatest astonishment.^^ On the following day this astonishment gave way to increasing resentment which culminated in an attack at midnight, but a shot from the Columbia's nine pounder demolished a large canoe killing most if not all of its occupants and putting the Indians to flight. The savages had been taught a wholesome lesson and thereafter apparently confined their energies for the time being to trading quantities of skins for such gaudy trinkets as the Americans had to ofifer. On the eleventh the Columbia weighed anchor and sailed out, the inlet having been named Gray's Harbor after her captain." i^Boit, John, "Log of the Columbia, 1790-1792," in the Massachusetts Historical Society, Proceedings (1919-1920), LIII. 244, 245. That part of the Log pertaining to the Pacific Northwest is republished, with editorial notes and comments by E. S. Meany, in the Washington State Historical Society Quarterly, January, 1921, 1-50. 1" Ibid., 245, 246. ^^Ibid., 247- Greenhow, Oregon and California, 235, says it was called Bulfinch's Harbor in honor of one of the owners of the Columbia. This he bases on the extract from the Columbia's Log-Boole which was made by Bulfinch in 1816, and which Greenhow gives in his work, 434-436. The Columbia's official log-book was destroyed, but Bulfinch claimed to have made this copy of part of volume two before its destruction. There can be no hesitancy, however, in giving preference to Bolt's Log in this case. EARLY CLAIMS TO OREGON 213 It was May 12, 1792, that the Columbia entered the river which has since borne her name, and here she remained until the twentieth while her crew traded with the Indians, repaired the ship, and examined the channel. Captain Gray gave the river its name, and called the northern and southern points at the entrance, Cape Hancock and Point Adams respectively. The latter name is still retained on modern maps, but Cape Disappointment, the name given by Meares, is applied to the former. "This river in my opinion," Boit com- mented, "would be a fine place for to set up a Fac- tory." '' Vancouver visits the Columbia. — Gray's vessel struck a rock soon after leaving the Columbia, and he made his way northward with difficulty. At Nootka he gave an account of his discoveries to the Spanish commander. Quadra, whom he found there, together with charts of Gray's Harbor and the river he had named the Columbia. Later Vancouver re- ceived copies of these from Quadra, and on October 13, 1792, sailed south from Nootka, coming opposite Gray's harbor five days later. Thence he sent one of his vessels under the command of Lieutenant Whidley to make an examination of the harbor vv^hile with the other two he proceeded to the mouth of the Columbia. Vancouver was unable to enter the mouth of the river with his own vessel, but his lieutenant, Broughton, effected an entrance in the Chatham on October 20. The commander sailed south with his own vessel to San Francisco Bay, and thence to Monterey where he was joined by his subordinates in December. Here a re- port of their explorations and discoveries was made by Whidley and Broughton. The latter had made his way up the Columbia for a distance of a hundred miles." " Ibid., 24-8. I'Greenhow, Oregon and California, 235-237; 246-248. 214 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST Overland explorations to the Northwest.— In the meantime the basis for American and English claims to the Oregon country were developing from another angle. This was from claims based on overland ex- plorations. We have seen already that the expedition led by Lewis and Clark was the fulfillment of a long cherished plan which Jefiferson had had for exploring the country drained by the Columbia. It also afforded a strong basis for American claims to the Oregon coun- try. Furthermore it stimulated an interest in the fur trade both among British and Americans. As soon as Lewis and Clark appeared on the Missouri their move- ments were watched by agents of the Northwest Com- pany; and when it was known definitely that the Americans had orders to explore the Columbia an ef- fort was made by the British Association to anticipate them. In 1805 the Northwest Company sent a party to occupy the Columbia under the leadership of Laroque, but it went no farther than the Mandan vil- lages on the Missouri. A second expedition was sent out from Fort Chipewyan under Simon Eraser during the following year. Fraser led his party across the Rocky Mountains near the passage of the Peace River, and built a trading establishment on what is now Fraser Lake near the fifty-fourth degree of north lati- tude. Subsequently other posts were formed in the same country, and by 1808 the region was known as New Caledonia among the British traders. During the early part of this same year the Missouri Fur Com- pany was founded, and in 1809 it succeeded in erecting a trading station on the Lewis River, the great southern branch of the Columbia.^® Astor's scheme; Astoria founded. — ^John Jacob Astor was among the first Americans to see the possi-, isGreenhow, Oregon and California, 290; Schafer, Pacific Slope and Alaska, 58; McElroy, Winning of the Far West, 97. EARLY CLAIMS TO OREGON 215 bilities of the development of the fur trade in the far West as a result of the report of the Lewis and Clark expedition. The scheme that developed in his fertile brain for monopolizing the fur trade of the vast terri- tory drained by the Missouri and Columbia rivers has been discussed in the chapter on the fur trade. It is sufficient to remind the reader here that his plans called for a chain of trading posts extending across the con- tinent from New York to the Pacific by way of the Great Lakes and the Missouri and the Columbia rivers. The Pacific Fur Company was organized and two expeditions were fitted out, one to go by sea and the other by land with a view to developing these plans. The ship Tonquin, a vessel of two hundred and ninety tons burden, was sent out from New York on Septem- ber 6, 1 8 10, carrying merchandise for the trade, sup- plies, and materials for building a trading post at the mouth of the Columbia. The vessel reached the mouth of the Columbia March 22, 181 1. Captain Thorn lost seven of his crew in attempting to sound the channel when the elements were turbulent, but the Tonquin finally crossed the bar and on the twenty-fifth was an- chored safely in the river. Two months or more were occupied in selecting a site for a post and unloading the cargo. The name Astoria was given to this the first American colony planted on the Pacific, ^° and on June 5 the Tonquin left the Columbia for its fatal voyage to the north. Meanwhile the land party was making its way across the plains and over the moun- tains, dodging bands of hostile Indians and drinking deeply of the dregs of hardships and sufferings which fell in unmeasured quantities to inexperienced overland expeditions of the first half of the nineteenth century. 20 During the summer of 1810 Captains Jonathan and Nathan Winship of Boston tried to build a commercial station near the mouth of the Co- 4umbia, but the flood had driven them away. Schafer, Pacific Slope and Alaska, £3. 2i6 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST Chastened by adversity, Hunt and his companions ar- rived at Astoria in groups during the early weeks of 1 812. Americans learn o£ presence of Northwest Com- pany. — During the month of May a small party from the fort ascended the river as far as the Cascades, en- tering the mouth of the Cowlitz on the way and visit- ing other inlets where the presence of Indian villages appeared to offer profitable trade. It was led by Alex- ander Mackay whose subsequent loss in the Tonquin disaster was a severe blow to the colony. In the middle of July following another expedition was preparing to ascend the river under the leadership of David Stuart, These preparations were undertaken because two strange Indians came to Astoria bearing a letter from one Northwest Company trader to another. The In- dians were questioned in regard to the country up the river. Their report was favorable, but they also in-- formed the Americans that a rival company had es- tablished itself on the Spokane River. Just as Stuart's party was about to set out a large canoe drew into the cove at Astoria bearing a British flag and David Thompson, the geographer of the Northwest Company. Thompson was indefatigable as an explorer. He had been on the upper Columbia as early as June 30, 1807,^^ and during the succeeding three years he made a number of expeditions through, the mountains dis- covering new routes from the headwaters of the Sas- katchewan and Athabasca rivers to the Columbia. He built Fort Kootenay on the upper Columbia before the end of the year 1807. During the next two years be erected another fort on Pend d'Oreille Lake, where Clark's Fork of the Columbia enters it, and a second in November, 1809, in the Flathead country higher up Clark's Fork. The last tvyo wer e south of the forty- 21 Davidson, The Northviest Company, 98 ; Schafer, Pacific Slope and Alaska, 67. EARLY CLAIMS TO OREGON 217 ninth parallel within the present boundary of the United States. Americans enter territory claimed by North- west Company. — Stuart delayed his departure a little over a week. On July 23, 181 1, accompanied by Thompson and his party, the American leader began his voyage up the river. The two parties journeyed together as far as the Cascades, and Thompson and his men went on in advance. Stuart's party experienced difficulty with the Indians at the Long Narrows and at the junction of the Columbia and Walla Walla rivers. When they arrived at the forks of the Colum- bia they found a piece of paper securely fastened to a flagstaff on which was written the following proclama- tion: Know hereby that this country is claimed by Great Brit- ain as part of its Territories, and that the Northwest Company of Merchants from Canada, finding the Factory for this People inconvenient for them, do hereby intend to erect a factory in this Place for the Commerce of the Country around. D. THOMPSON. . . ?^ Stuart and his men believed that Thompson had placed it there on his way up the river in advance of the Americans, but it had been written July 9 and left by the Englishman on his way down. Pushing on the Americans made their way up the north branch of the Columbia to the junction of the Okanogan in the vicinity of the forty-eighth parallel, and prepared for the winter's trade with the Indians. After arranging to leave the post in charge of one of the clerks, Alexander Ross, and sending four of his men back to Astoria, Stuart with the remaining three ex- plored the country to the head of the Okanogan and 22 Quoted in Schafer, Tacific Slope and Alaska. 67, 68. See also Ban- croft, History of the Northiuest Coast, II. i7i-i75- 2i8 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST crossed the divide to Thompson's branch of the Fraser River. When he returned from his exploration in March, 1812, he found that Ross had collected "1550 beavers, besides other peltries, worth in the Canton market 225o£ sterling, and which on an average stood the concern in but 5>4d. apiece, valuing the mer- chandise at sterling cost, or in round numbers 35^ ster- ling; a specimen of our trade among the Indians 1"" Before April 29 they had increased the number of beaver skins to twenty-five hundred. The success of this expedition was sufficient to stimu- late further inland explorations, and of course others were made, ^* but the War of 181 2 cut short the activi- ties of the Pacific Fur Company. Astor, however, had succeeded in strengthening the claims of the United States to the Oregon country by the erection of fur- trading posts in that territory. Sale of Astoria to Northwest Company. — On Octo- ber 16, 181 3, an agreement was made between the rep- resentatives of the Pacific Fur Company on the one hand and the Northwest Company on the other whereby the former sold its "establishments, furs, and stock in hand" to the latter, for about fifty-eight thou- sand dollars. While in the midst of transferring the goods to their new owners, the British sloop of war Raccoon under the command of Captain Black ap- peared at the mouth of the river. He learned, much to his dissatisfaction, of the sale made by the Amer- icans to British subjects. Hauling down the flag of the United States he raised that of Great Britain over the establishment and changed the name to Fort George. Having "given vent to his indignation against the partners of both companies whom he loudly accused of collusion to defraud himself and his 23 Rpss, A., Adventures of the First Settlers on the Oregon or Columbia River, 150. ?* Schafer, Pacific Slope find Alaska, 68-73. EARLY CLAIMS TO OREGON 219 officers and crew of the reward due for their exertidns, he sailed back to the South Pacific." '' The first article of the treaty of Ghent provides that: All territory, places, and possessions whatsoever, taken by either party from the other during the war, or which may be taken after the signing of this treaty, excepting only the islands hereinafter mentioned, shall be restored without delay, and without causing any destruction or car- rying away any of the artillery or other public property originally captured in the said forts or places, and which shall remain therein upon the exchange of the ratifications of this treaty, or any slaves or other private property. When Captain Black took possession of Astoria he changed the character of the transfer from that of a mere sale from one company to another to that of a military conquest. This change under the provisions of that part of article one of the treaty of Ghent just quoted, caused its subsequent restoration to the United States. In accordance with this provision, therefore, the Secretary of State, Monroe, on July 18, 1815, informed Baker, the charge d'affaires of Great Britain at Wash- ington, that it was the President's intention to reoccupy the post at the mouth of the Columbia immediately. No steps were taken to carry out the plan, however, until 1 8 17. In September of that year Captain J. Bid- die, commanding the sloop of war Ontario, and J. B, Prevost, were commissioned jointly to proceed in the Ontario to the mouth of the Columbia and "assert the claim of the United States to sovereignty of the adja- cent country, in a friendly and peaceable manner, and without the employment of force." ^^ ^^ Greenhow, Oregon and California, 304. 2«Wi 4ifi. THE GREAT SALT LAKE BASIN 405 a reasonable time, the expedition was to select tempor- ary quarters which might serve as a base for future explorations. Route and order of march. — ^The Oregon trail ex- tended along the south bank of the Platte, but Young followed the north bank. The ground was higher and offered better pasturage, and there was less danger from , Indians. Then, too, the Mormons desired to avoid other emigrants, particularly those from Missouri. In some ways the order of march was like that of disci- plined troops. The bugle roused them at five o'clock each morning and they assembled for prayer and had breakfast. Two hours later, at another call of the bugle, the day's march was begun and the company traveled about twenty miles. In the late evening the live stock was placed in a corral made by the wagons drawn up in such a way that an oblong enclosure was formed, with openings at both ends. Guards were stationed at these entrances, and the tents were placed on the outside near the wagons. At night the saints were summoned to prayer again by the bugle and at nine o'clock to bed. Sundays were given over to worship. They preserved order in marching and kept their guns ready for instant use. Practical information collected. — Throughout the long journey information which might be of service to later emigrants was collected and carefully pre- served. The country in the vicinity of the route tra- veled was carefully explored, and springs, grass, tim- ber, and other objects which might be of service were noted. An ingenious and accurate road-measurer was attached to a wagon, and a person designated to note the distances from point to point, and every feasible camping-ground was marked down — and a Directory for every rod of the road, admirably arranged and filled with useful informa- 4o6 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST tion, was published for the use of those who should fol- low. 18 Arrival at Fort Bridger.— The little band reached Fort Laramie early in June, and halted for two or three weeks. Meanwhile they built ferryboats to cross the North Platte, dried meat for their journey over the mountains, and recruited their horses on the abundant grass in the vicinity. Soon after crossing the river they were overtaken by a company bound for Oregon who prevailed upon the Mormons to ferry them across the Platte, agreeing to compensate them with provisions. Following this profitable experiment a detachment of eight men was left by Young under the direction of Captain Grover, both as a means of obtaining suppUes /and money from the Oregonians and for the purpose of transporting the main body of the Mormons when they should arrive. The explorers then moved rapidly and a little south of what was known as the Oregon track, arriving at South Pass the latter part of June, about the time the emigrants usually crossed the Mis- souri. They skirted the Colorado desert and came into the Green River country. Here they met Elder Bran- nan who had sailed in the Brooklyn from New York for California with two hundred and thirty-eight saints the preceding February. The latter, the elder reported, were opening farms and raising grain on the San Joaquin River. After a brief halt the journey was resumed through the Green River country and Fort Bridger was reached. Thus far the advanced guard had not suffered severe hardships. The real difficulties of the trip were about to begin. Bridger 's account of the country. — Colonel Bridger gave a very discouraging account of the country into 18 Gunnison, J. W., The Mormons or the Latter-Day Saints, in the Valley of the Great Salt Lake, History of their Rise and Progress, Peculiar, Doctrines, Present Conditions and Prospects, Derived from Personal Obser- vations, Philadelphia, i860, 135. THE GREAT SALT LAKE BASIN 407 which the Mormons were about to enter. The region was declared to be destitute of timber and vegetation of all kinds except sage brush. The Bear, Cache, and Willamette valleys were exceptions, but these were al- ready occupied, either by the white man or the Indian. South of Salt Lake one would find good country also, he said, a country in which Indians were raising as good wheat and corn as had ever been produced in Kentucky, but he would give a thousand dollars to any one who would raise an ear of corn in the Great Basin.^^ How- ever, the Mormons were determined to find out for themselves the conditions of the country. They had no guide, but they pushed on directly west over the rugged spurs of the Uintah range until they came to Echo Canon near the western slope of the Wasatch Mountains. An attack of mountain fever held them here for a short time, but Young's impatience would not brook a long delay. He ordered Orson Pratt to cut through the mountains into the valley with the strongest members of the party. Following these directions the little band came to Emigration Canon— a narrow defile that opens on the table lands overlooking Salt Lake. From Fort Bridger they had followed pretty close the route taken by the Donner party. In fact this route was evidently used extensively for several years.^° What accomplished in few weeks. — Near where the Mormons had halted two small streams flowed down from the Wasatch Mountains and made the location seem a promising one. They arrived here July 23, and at once began to prepare for a late planting. The ground was so hard and dry that plows were broken in trying to turn a furrow. The saints thereupon dammed one of the streams and turned the water out, upon the soil to soften it. This was the beginning of 19 Clayton, William, Historical Record, IX. 58, quoted in Coman, Eco- nomic Beginnings of the Far IVest, 11. 173- ^^McBride, J. R., Route of the Mormons, MS., i, 2. 4o8 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST a system of irrigation which was used regularly there- after. We . . . have accomplished more this season — Wood- ruff wrote — than can be found on record concerning any twelve men since the days of Adam. We have traveled with heavily laden wagons more than a thousand miles, over rough roads, mountains, and canons, searching out a land, a resting place for the saints. We have laid out a city two miles square, and built a fort of hewn timber drawn seven miles from the mountains, and of sun-dried bricks or adobes, surrounding ten acres of ground, forty rods of which were covered with blockhouses, besides plant- ing about ten acres of corn, potatoes, and vegetables. All this we have done in a single month, and then returned to Winter Quarters all in one season, traveling over two thousand miles during the summer.^^ Limited accommodations. — ^Within less than a month following the arrival of the pioneers a small force was sent back to meet the first division of the main body of the Mormons and guide them over the moun- tains to their new home. The latter consisted of 1,553 men, women, and children. They brought with them 2,213 cattle, 124 horses, 887 cows, 358 sheep, and a few hogs and chickens. They made the journey overland without serious difficulty, and arrived at their destina- tion during the latter part of September. There was keen disappointment among them when they saw the scarcity of timber and the ground covered with white alkali and infested with lizards, rattlesnakes, and black crickets, but to return was out of the question and they set to work, determined to force a living from the des- ert. A few weeks later they were joined by other bands who had followed them across the plains. It was im- possible for many of them to secure cabins for the win- ter, but they procured shelter by digging caves in the 21 Woodruff, Wilford, Journal. MS., 78. THE GREAT SALT LAKE BASIN 409 dry earth or by placing their covered wagon beds upon the ground and using these. In fact Howard Stans- bury found the Mormons using the latter method dur- ing the winter of 1849. The wagons, "being covered, served, when taken off from the wheels and set upon the ground, to make bedrooms, of limited dimensions it is true, but yet exceedingly comfortable. Many of these were comparatively large and commodious, and, when carpeted and furnished with a little stove, formed an additional apartment or back building to the small cabin, with which they frequently communicated by a door." '' Salt Lake City. — Salt Lake City, or the City of th^ Great Salt Lake as it was called up to the time of its incorporation in 1851, was laid out on a magnificent scale. The streets ran at right angles and were a hun- dred and thirty-two feet wide with sidewalks twenty feet in width. The blocks were six hundred and sixty feet square and were divided into eight lots, each con- taining an acre and a quarter of ground. A city ordi- nance provided that each house should be placed back twenty feet from the front line of the lot, the inter- vening space being reserved for shrubbery and trees. Upon the square reserved for public buildings an im- mense shed was erected which would accommodate three thousand people. It was called The Bowery and was used as a place of worship until the construction of the temple. The houses were built of adobe or sun- dried brick, principally, making a very neat appearance and proving warm and comfortable during the winter months. As early as 1850 buildings of more desirable qualities were introduced, but they were few in number and multiplied slowly because of the scarcity of tim- ber. As early as 1850, however, the wisdom of Brig- ham Young and his followers in selecting the location ^^ An Expedition to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake of Utah, 1855, 123. 410 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST for the city was evident. Stansbury was enthusiastic over the prospects. The irrigating canals, which flow before every door, furnish abundance of water for the nourishment of shade trees, and the open space between each building, and the pavement before it, when planted with shrubbery and adorned with flowers, will make this one of the most lovely spots between the Mississippi and the Pacific.^^ The "starving time." — In March, 1848, Salt Lake City had a population of 1,671. There were 423 houses, and five thousand acres of land were under cultivation, one-tenth of which was planted in wheat. Young him- self was among the number who had gone back to Winter Quarters on the Missouri in 1847 to guide the main body of the saints across the plains. This was done in the summer of 1848. The crops which had been planted in the spring were pretty nearly destroyed by the crickets, and the remnant that was saved pro- vided inadequate supplies through the winter for the population with the summer's large accessions. The new arrivals brought the total number of people in the city to about five thousand. The winter was an excep- tionally severe one, and fuel and food were both scarce. From February to July, 1849, three-quarters of a pound of flour was distributed daily to each person. In many instances families were reduced to digging the roots of the sego lily for food, and to removing the hides from the roofs of the houses to make a broth. The winter 1848 to 1849 has rightly been called the Mormons' starving time. Relief. — From this distressing condition the colony was relieved by the discovery of gold in California. In the summer of 1849 the first gold-seekers arrived at Salt Lake, and the city of the saints soon became the half-way station on the route overland to the Pacific, 23 Ibid., 129. THE GREAT SALT LAKE BASIN 411 and an important center of trade. Many an emigrant had overloaded his wagons with clothing, dry-goods, general merchandise, mechanics' tools and machinery, or had selected a heavy equipment instead of a light one, and by the time he reached the Mormon settle- ment was ready to discard all surplus weight. The emi- grant's misfortune was the saint's opportunity. The gold-seekers, in "absolute disgust for their trains of mer- chandise and splendid emigrant outfits, gave the bulk to the Mormons at their own price." Sometimes wagons, cattle, and merchandise were received in ex- change for a horse or mule outfit which could trans- port the gold-hunter more quickly to his destination.^* The Frontier Guardian, in commenting on the condi- tions, said that pack mules and horses, "worth twenty- five dollars in ordinary times, would readily bring two hundred dollars in the most valuable property at the lowest price. Goods and other property were daily offered at auction in all parts of the city." ^° Flour brought twenty-five dollars a hundred pounds, and the wages of blacksmiths and wheelwrights rose to three dollars a day. Commodities which the Mormons pro- duced sold at fabulous prices; those which the emi- grants brought in from the states could be bought cheaper in Salt Lake City, in many instances, than they cost wholesale in New York. Money began to circu- late. In October, 1849, the General Conference de- cided to organize a corporation to transport passengers and freight from the Missouri to California. The "Great Salt Lake Valley Carrying Company" was formed and proved profitable. The fare per passenger was three hundred dollars from Council Bluffs to Sut- ter's Fort in California, and the freight rate to Salt Lake City was twelve dollars and a half per hundred pounds. " TuIIidge, Edward W., The History of Salt Lake City and its Founders, Salt Lake City, 62. ^'Quoted ibid. 412 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST Manufacturing introduced. — It was Young's ambi- tion to make his people independent of the outside world as soon as possible, and in order to accomplish this he encouraged the introduction of manufacturing plants of various kinds. The General Conference of October, 1849, ordered the construction of a glass fac- tory in the valley, and in a letter written in the same month and year to Orson Pratt who was in England, Young said the saints would have the material for cot- ton and woolen factories ready by the time men and machinery were provided to handle it, and Pratt was urged to send operatives and necessary fixtures as soon as possible. The summer of the following year Pratt urged the officers of companies in England "to seek diligently in every branch for wise, skillful, and in- genious mechanics, manufacturers, potters, etc." " By April, 1852, Young was able to announce that two pot- teries were in operation in the city besides a nail fac- tory, a wooden bowl factory, and many grist and saw mills. A small woolen factory was under construction also. Growth of industry. — Thrift, industry, and coopera- tion were Mormon characteristics. The mountain streams furnished water power which was rapidly util- ized in the saw and grist mills that were constructed. Milldams were erected, roads and bridges were built, and canals were dug to meet the demands of the grow- ing community. An "unfailing stream of pure, sweet water" flowed through the city, and "by an ingenious mode of irrigation, is made to traverse each side of the street, whence it is led into each garden spot, spreading life, verdure, and beauty over what was heretofore a barren waste." " The tithes due from all church mem- "' Quoted in Linn, Story of the Mormons, 403. 27 Stansbury, Howard, An Expedition to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake of Utah, including a Description of its Geography, Natural History, and Minerals, and an Analysis of its Waters luith an Authentic account of the Mormon Settlement, etc. Philadelphia, 1853, 128. THE GREAT SALT LAKE BASIN 413 bers could be paid in labor, and many emigrants helped to pay their transportation charges in the same way. Some of the public buildings were constructed by labor supplied from these sources, as also was forged and cast the machinery used in flour and lumber mills. The iron for these purposes and for making farm tools was taken from the hubs and tires of discarded wagons. When produce and money were brought to the tithing office later, laborers were employed and paid in cloth- ing and food. Employment on the public works had been the means of giving many an influential business man his start in life. Distribution of lands. — Brigham Young made pro- vision for a generous distribution of the land. Five- acre lots were surveyed as garden plots for the me- chanics in the suburbs of the city, and beyond were farms of from ten to eighty acres, the amount of land in each increasing as its distance from the center of the city increased. There was common cultivation during the first year, after which lands were assigned, "each man drawing for his portion of the general inheritance. To the leaders who had plural wives and large families, a proportionate holding was awarded." ^^ Lots of ten acres each were reserved for the temple and for public parks. No charges were made for the first distribution of land except a nominal sum to pay the expense of surveying and recording. After the assignments were made there were some attempts at speculation, but the offenders were sternly rebuked by the spiritual leaders. The profiteer in land — the modern real estate shark — was not tolerated among the saints. If sales had to be made, the first cost plus the actual value of improve- ments was all that could be charged the purchaser. A record of all transactions was kept by the Register. The early Mormons followed the theory that "land be- "^ ** Coman, Economic Beginnings »f the Far West, II. 176, 177. 414 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST longs to the Lord, and his Saints are to use so much as each can work profitably." ^' Industry encouraged. — An organization known as an agricultural society was established. Its principal functions were to teach new arrivals methods of irri- gation, to encourage experiments in raising fruits and vegetables, and to offer prizes to the most successful farmers. In 1854 the territorial assembly ofifered a thousand dollars to any one who would discover a bed of coal within the vicinity of Salt Lake City. For the purpose of encouraging capital to invest in the country the terms of incorporation were made liberal. In 1853 the Deseret Iron Company was chartered, the terri- torial government and the church taking ten thousand dollars' worth of stock in the organization. The Provo Manufacturing Company in 1853 was authorized to raise a capital of a million dollars, and to use it in what- ever manufactures they should think best, and for pro- viding and maintaining such machinery, buildings, dams, watercourses, bridges, and roads as they might need. It was the custom of the bishops to instruct their flocks in the economical administration of their farms, and to read in public a list of all who were to be com- mended for superior husbandry. They also read a black list of the idle and indolent members of the com- munity. These were "held up to reprobation, and threatened, in default of certain tasks allotted them be- ing finished at the next visit, to be deprived of their lots and expelled from the community." ^° The accomplishment of these things indicated organ- ization. The commanding genius of it all was Brig- ham Young. He did the planning and the directing. He supported the weak, warned the negligent, chas- 2^ Gunnison, J. W., The Mormons, or the Latter-day Saints, in the Val- ley of the Great Salt Lake; a History of their Rise and Progress Peculiar Doctrines, Present Conditions and Prospects, Derived from Personal Oh- servaiion, Philadelphia, i860. 145, 146. 2° Coman, Economic Beginnings of the Far West, II. i8i, 182. THE GREAT SALT LAKE BASIN 415 tened the indolent, and encouraged and rewarded the industrious. His word was the law of the land, and throughout his life he remained the autocrat of the Mormons, both religiously and politically. Early government. — Between the autumn of 1847 and March, 1849, the saints in the Great Basin had no political machinery. The government was purely ec- clesiastical. There were secular officials, to be sure, who were authorized to levy and collect taxes, and to perform various functions of a civil character, and there were also peace officers, but culprits were tried before Bishops' Courts and the High Council. Even the secular officials were, as a rule, chosen by the people at their religious meetings over which apostles or elders presided. Usually the nominations were made from the platform by some prominent official of the church, and the members of the congregation expressed their approval by a show of hands.^^ This means simply that ecclesiastical machinery was used to select mem- hers of the church to perform political duties. In the early months of 1849 ^ ^^^^ was issued for a convention to consider the political needs of the com- munity. It was issued to "all the citizens of that por- tion of upper California lying east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains," and early in March delegates assembled at Salt Lake City. They determined to petition Congress for a territorial government which should serve tem- porarily while Congress acted. This apparently was understood when a committee was appointed to draw up and repprt a constitution for the temporary state of Deseret. Constitution of the State of Deseret. — Before the middle of March the committee had submitted a con- stitution and it had been accepted by the convention. This document provided that the seat of government '1 Whitney, Orson F., History of Utah, 4 vols.. Salt Lake City, 1892-1893, I. 389. 4i6 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST should be at Salt Lake City and that the powers should be divided among the executive, legislative, and judi- cial departments. The legislature was to be biennial and its members, in both houses, were to be elected by the people. Sessions were to be annual, the yfirst one early in July, 1849, and regularly thereafter cfn the first Monday in December. Members of the lower house must be at least twenty-five years old and were to be elected biennially. Members of the senate were to be at least thirty years of age and were to be elected for a period of four years. An oath to support the Consti- tution of the United States and of the state of Deseret was required of all members of the legislative assembly. The governor was to be elected for a period of four years, and there was to be a lieutenant-governor, a sec- retary of state, an auditor, and a treasurer. The chief justice of the supreme court and his associates were to be elected by the legislature and were to hold office for four years. Such inferior tribunals as were needed should be created by the legislature. The Mormons had learned the importance of having forces prepared for military service. A state militia including all the men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five who were not exempt from military duty, was to be organ- ized, equipped, armed, and trained immediately. Later the age requirement was changed so that the militia in- cluded youths under eighteen and a company known as "Silver Greys" who were over forty-five. Boundaries. — The boundaries for the state of Deseret were extensive. They were drawn to include not only the present state of Utah, but all of Arizona, nearly all of Nevada, the whole of southern California, and parts of Idaho, Wyoming, and Colorado.'' The seaport of San Diego was included in order to make Salt Lake City more accessible to new converts who desired to move there. It must be remembered that th e saints had ^^Ibid., 393-395. THE GREAT SALT LAKE BASIN 417 energetic missionaries spreading their faith not only in the eastern states but in numerous foreign countries, and that facilities were provided for transporting them to the new Zion as economically as possible. It was believed that the trip by way of the isthmus to San Diego and thence overland to Salt Lake City would be easier than a journey across the plains. Efficient government. — Officers for the provisional government were elected on March 12, 1849, with Brigham Young, President of all the Mormons, as governor. The lieutenant-governor was Young's first ecclesiastical councilor and the secretary of state was his second, and the bishops of all the wards became justices of the peace. Under such circumstances the intimate relationship which existed between church and state is perfectly obvious. However, the political ma- chinery of the temporary state of Deseret worked effi- ciently even if it was administered by ecclesiastical offi- cials. It operated consistently, vigorously, and equitably over all who came under its jurisdiction. Howard Stansbury testified to this both from personal experience and from observation. Upon looking about for twenty of his mules one "fine morning" he found them "safely secured in the public pound, for trespass- ing upon the cornfield of some pious saint," and they were not returned until he had paid the fine imposed by the magistrate, and compensated "the owner for the damage done to his crops." Appeals were frequently made to the Mormon courts by companies of emigrants passing through, "who, having fallen out of the way, could not agree upon a division of their property. The decisions were remarkable for fairness and impartiality, and if not submitted to, were sternly enforced by the whole power of the community. Appeals for protec- tion from oppression, by those passing through their : midst, were not made in vain; and I know of at least one instance in which the marshal of the State was 4i8 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST despatched, with an adequate force, nearly two hundred miles into the western desert in pursuit of some mis- creants who had stolen off with nearly the whole outfit of a party of emigrants. He pursued and brought them back to the city, and the plundered property was re- stored to its rightful owners." ^^ Deseret seeks admission to Union. — ^When the leg- islature of Deseret assembled in July, 1849, plans were completed for seeking admission into the Union. A memorial was adopted by the legislature and signed by citizens, and Almon W. Babbitt was elected a dele- gate to Congress. A little later a plan was submitted which would have secured the admission of Deseret and California as one state with the understanding that they were to separate subsequently and form two dis- tinct commonwealths, but nothing resulted from the proposal.^* Babbitt arrived in Washington late in 1849 bearing the memorial and a copy of the constitution of Deseret. These documents were presented to the Senate by Douglas on December 27, and a month later were referred by that body to the Committee on Terri- tories. At about the same time an "anti-Mormon or anti-Deseret" memorial was placed before the same body by Senator Joseph R. Underwood of Kentucky. This document claimed that the persons whose names it bore were the real representatives of the church of latter day saints. Among those who had signed it was William Smith, brother of the prophet, who had been expelled from the Mormon church at Nauvoo. This may have had something to do with hastening the atti- 33 Stansbury, An Expedition to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake, ijo, 131- 8* For the attitude taken by the officials of Deseret regarding the union with California, see the letter written "by Young, Kimball, and Richards to M. Lyman, dated at Great Salt Lake City, September 6, 1849, quoted in Whitney, History of Utah,.!. 408-410; or Goodwin, Establishment of State Government in California, 153, 154, note 2. A summary of the scheme may be found in Goodwin, ibid., 160-163. The proposal was ignored by California. THE GREAT SALT LAKE BASIN 419 tude of Congress, but that body would probably have refused to admit Deseret to the Union any way. How- ever, the government of Deseret continued to function until Congress passed a bill providing for the organ- ization of the territory of Utah. Becomes Utah territory. — Among the compromise measures of 1850 was one providing for a territorial government for Utah. It did not provoke so much dis- cussion or so much interest as did some other measures in that famous list. It passed the Senate September 7, 1850, and two days later passed the House and was signed by the President. The boundaries of the new territory were not so extensive as those of Deseret — California on the west, on the north the territory of Oregon, on the east the summit of the Rocky Moun- tains, and the thirty-seventh degree of north latitude on the south. In selecting officers for the territory the President remembered the people most concerned. Brigham Young was retained as governor and other t, prominent Mormons were given important appoint- ments. In consideration of this the saints named the first capital of the territory Fillmore, and the county in which it is located was called Millard.^° Unofficial news of the formation of the territory reached Salt Lake City in January, 1851. A few weeks later, before he had received official notice of his appointment. Young took the oath of office. During the last days of March he addressed a special message to the legislature of Deseret suggesting certain steps which would facili- tate the transition to a territorial form of government. These steps were taken, and on April 5 the legislature was dissolved. The state of Deseret was replaced by the territory of Utah. Extension of settlements. — Meanwhile the Mor- mons were extending their settlements into the territory 5= Whitney, History of Utah, I. 450, 451. 420 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST north and south of Salt Lake City. Within less than two years after the arrival of the first settlers the num- ber of people had become larger than the number of city lots, and more than the land in the vicinity would maintain in comfort. Exploring parties were sent out in different directions as new territory was needed to support the increasing population, and when a site was selected, usually a small party of volunteers directed by an elder made ready the proposed settlement. This was the common method adopted, but some settlements were developed differently. Thomas Grover, for in- stance, drove his stock to a meadow land twelve miles north of Salt Lake City in the autumn of 1847, intend- ing to pasture them there during the winter. Here others joined him in the spring and a permanent set- tlement was made. In the following year a site for a town was surveyed and called Centerville. Bountiful, near Centerville, was settled in the spring of 1848. The country included in the present city of Ogden was held as a Spanish grant by Miles M. Goodyear in 1841, and he built a fort near the confluence of the Weber and Ogden rivers. This claim was purchased in 1848 by a member of the Mormon battalion who came from Cali- fornia with a few thousand dollars in gold dust. It was one of the most fertile spots in the entire region and drew settlers rapidly both from among the Mormons and the Gentiles. The city of Ogden was laid out in August, 1850, by Brigham Young and others. The set- tlement grew rapidly, and during its early history it was protected from Indian attacks by a wall which was built at a cost of forty thousand dollars. Brigham City and Willard City, both north of Ogden, were set- tled a little later.'' Country south of Salt Lake very attractive. — The saints preferred the country south of Salt Lake City 38 Bancroft, Utah, Chapter XIII. THE GREAT SALT LAKE BASIN 421 because there was a better water supply. In the spring of 1849, about thirty families settled on Utah Lake. The place was called Fort Utah. Precautions were taken to protect the community from the Indians, but hostilities broke out and the little fort soon found itself in a state of siege. Reenforcements were brought from Salt Lake City and the Indians were completely de- feated. This freed Utah valley from hostile Indians un- til 1852. Provo City was founded in 1849. Evans- ville, about fifteen miles northwest of Provo City was settled over a year later, and in 1852 was incorporated under the name of Lehi. Pleasant Grove was laid out in the same vicinity. Payson, Nephi, and other settle- ments south of Utah Lake were made before 1853. The isouthern road to the gold fields of California made by the emigrants of 1849 passed through Nephi. Still fur- ther south Manti and Fillmore were established in 1850 and 1 85 1 respectively. In the southwestern part of the present state of Utah Parowan was also settled in 1 85 1. It attracted considerable interest because of the deposits of magnetic iron ore found in the vicinity. At the suggestion of Young himself, in March, 1851, a company was organized to go to California and form the nucleus of a settlement in the Cajon Pass, where they should "cultivate the olive, grape, sugar-cane, and cotton, gather around them the saints, and select loca- tions on the line of a proposed mail route." '' The pur- pose of the colony was to provide an outfitting post for the people who might come to Utah by way of San Diego. As a result San Bernardino was begun on the site where formerly had been established one of the way stations of the New Mexican-California traders of the 'thirties and 'forties. About three hundred of the saints under the leadership of Lyman and Rich bought the land and laid out the city in the same year in which the company was organized, and they remained the chief ^''History of B. Young, MS., 1851, Bancroft Collection, 14 and 85. 422 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST element of strength in the community until they were recalled to Utah in 1857- 1858. Bibliographical Notes Mormon Settlement in the Great Salt Lake Basin : There is an abundance of material on Mormon religion, but information on the settlement of the Great Salt Lake basin must be gleaned here and there from such general histories as McMaster's, from histories of Utah, and from journals of travelers. The following works will be found helpful: Hubert Howe Bancroft, History of Utah, 1540- i886j San Francisco, 1889; Samuel Bowles, Across the Continent! A Summer's Journey to the Rocky Mountains, and the Pacific States with Speaker Colfax, Springfield, Mass., 1865; Katherine Coman, Economic Beginnings of the Far West; How We Won the Laid Beyond the Mississippi, 2 vols.. New York, 1912; John William Gunnison, The Mormons, or. Latter-day Saints, in the Valley of the Great Salt Lake: a History of their Rise and Progress, Peculiar Doctrines, Present Conditions, and Prospects, Derived from Per- sonal Observation: During a Residence among Them, Philadelphia, 1 860 ; William Alexander Linn, The Story of the Mormons, from the Date of their Origin to the Year 1901, New York 1902; Howard Stansbury, An Expedition to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake of Utah: Including a Description of its Geography, Naturd History, and Minerals, and an Analysis of its Waters: with art" Account of the Mormon Settlement. . . . Also a Reconnaissance of a new Route through the Rocky Mountains, and two Large ad Accurate Maps of that Region, Philadelphia, 1855 (an unpreju- diced contemporary account of the settlement) ; Edward W. Tul- lidge. History of Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City, 1886 (an earlier edition, 1850) ; Orson F. Whitney, Popular History of Utah, Salt Lake City, 1916; Ibid., History of Utah Comprising Preliminary Chapters on the Previous History of her Founders, Accounts of Early Spanish and American Explorations in the Rocky Mountain Region, the Advent of the Mormon Pioneers, the Establishment and Dissolution of the Provisional Governmetit of the State of Deseret, and the Subsequent Creation and Development of the Territorj, 4 vols.. Salt Lake City, 1892-1898; Anonymous: California: Its Past History; its Present Position; its Future Prospects: Containinj a History of the Country from its Colonization by the Spaniards to the Present Time . . . Including a History of the Rise, Progress, and Present Condition of the Mormon Settlements, London, 1850. CHAPTER XIII THE SETTLEMENT OF CALIFORNIA Purpose of this chapter. — The earliest interest of the United States in CaHfornia was purely economic. Through this interest Americans gradually became fa- miliar with the country and began to settle within the territory. At first they yielded uncomplainingly to the laws and customs of the land, but as their numbers in- creased the compliance of the earliest immigrants gave way to a bolder policy which involved them in disputes with the local authorities. Meanwhile reports of this new land on the t'acific attracted an increasing interest among citizens of the United States where they were given wide publicity as time went by, and, combined with unsettled conditions on the frontier, brought home seekers to California in sufficient numbers to dominate affairs within the territory. Then came the discovery of gold in January, 1848, which made California the mecca for tens of thousands of people from all over the world. Out of the chaotic conditions following -their arrival a state government evolved which had functioned in an orderly manner for several months when California was admitted to the Union on Sep- tember 9, 1850. It is the writer's intention to trace these events briefly in this chapter, 5 In a former chapter attention has been directed to ihe early economic interests which Boston merchants manifested in the Pacific Northwest. That interest stirred the wrath of Spanish officials in Mexico, and the following instructions were sent to officers in California : 423 424 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST Should there arrive at the port of San Francisco a ship named Columbia, which they say belongs to General Wash- ington of the American states ... you will take measures to secure this vessel and all the people on board, with dis- cretion, tact, cleverness, and caution, doing the same with a small craft which she has with her as a tender, and with ev^ry other suspicious foreign vessel, giving me prompt notice in such cases in order that I may take such action as shall be expedient.^ This order chronicled California's knowledge of the United States and led to the United States' interest in California. The expedition sent out by the Boston merchants w^as eminently successful as we have seen. Gray spent several months in collecting furs along the Northwest coast during the year 1789, and these were sold in Canton at large profits. In this way a pros- perous fur trade was opened with China, and New England merchants participated with increasing zeal. Beginning of regular commercial intercourse.— In its early stages this trade was carried on along the Northwest coast, but the greater abundance of sea otter in the California waters from San Diego northwards soon drew the fur hunters to the more southern terri- tory. In October, 1796, one of these vessels arrived at Monterey, and with this incident begins a regular com- mercial intercourse between New England and Cali- fornia which, assuming various forms, was carried on until well toward the middle of the nineteenth century.. It is true that the colonial policy of Spain forbade trade with foreigners, but the enforcement of such reguk' tions, in so far as they affected California, was quite impossible. Spain was far away, and public sentiment in California was overwhelmingly in favor of trade with these indefatigable Yankees. They furnished the mission authorities with many essential supplies for which the latter not infrequently traded sea-otter furs. 1 Pedro Fages to Josef Arguello, May 13, 1789, quoted in Bancroft; History of California, I. 445. SETTLEMENT OF CALIFORNIA 425 The New England trader increased his supply of furs by hunting along the great stretches of unfrequented shore or around the islands in neighboring channels. It was not possible for the more conscientious Spanish officials to prevent this because they had no boats with which to pursue the intruders. The skins thus obtained were carried to Canton and exchanged for silks, teas, lacquered wares, and other goods, which in turn were brought back to the islands or to the Russian settle- ments of Alaska or to California. Not infrequently they might be transported directly to Europe or to the United States.^ ; The whaling industry. — The knowledge which the United States acquired of California was not gained entirely from the fur traders who entered her ports and hunted the sea otter along her coasts. The New Eng- land whale fisherman found profitable employment in Pacific waters, and during the very early part of the nineteenth century, began to visit California harbors for supplies before undertaking the long homeward journey. These visits became more frequent as knowl- edge of the value of the hunting grounds was extended. According to Representative Bayles of Massachusetts this trade brought a million and a half dollars annually to New Bedford and Nantucket alone, and from New England and New York one hundred and twenty-nine vessels were employed in its prosecution.' The vessels which came into Monterey and San Francisco usually left four or five hundred dollars' worth of manufactured goods among the Californians which were brought for the purpose of trading for fresh supplies for the return trip. 'Cleland, The Early Sentiment for the Annexation of California; an Account of the Gro/ well expedition in May, and had gone over the Santa Fe trail to New Mexico. They found much excitement here over rumors of plans to embroil that country in Texan troubles. Workman, Rowland, and others were believed to be involved in the plot, and this may have had a great deal to do with the emigration to California. They left Abiquin in September, crossed the Colorado, ^^Belden, Josiah, Statement of Historical Facts on California, MS., Bancroft Collection, 11-14, and Hopper, Charles, Narrative, MS., Bancroft Collection, 3-5. Bidwell and these have been my authority for the over- land route. Bidwell's account is more complete, and doubtless more ac- curate, since it is based on a iournal which he kept, The three agree, however, on the main points. 448 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST and pursued the same route which the Mexican traders had been following for a number of years. A flock of sheep was driven along for food, and the company ar- rived at San Gabriel early in November, having ex- perienced few hardships. Two members of the expedi- tion brought their families on this trip and others did later. About half of the company (there were twenty- five) came in search of permanent homes.^" A prophecy. — In 1838 Alexander Forbes said in com- menting upon the future of California : There is another restless and enterprising neighbor from whom they (the Californians) will most probably soon have to defend themselves, or rather submit to, for although the frontiers of North America are much more distant than the Russians yet to such men as the back settlers, distance is of little moment, and they are already well acquainted with the route. The North American tide of population must roll on southward and overwhelm not only Cahfornia, but other more important states. This latter event, however, is in the womb of time. . . .^^ Interest not in California 1842-1846. — And the time was nearer perhaps than even Forbes may have imagined. Immigration into California during the next four years was not particularly heavy. It will be remembered that interest during this period centered largely on Oregon and Texas. The emigration of 1842, and particularly that of 1843, was directed toward the Pacific Northwest. During the presidential election of 1844 the eyes of the entire nation were turned toward the Columbia and the Rio Grande. The acquisition of Texas was negotiated in 1845, ^^^^ during the following year the forty-ninth parallel was extended across the ^'Wilson, Benjamin D., Observations on Early Days in California and New Mexico, MS., Bancroft Collection. Bancroft, California, IV. 276-278. " Forbes, Alexander, California, a History of Upper and Lo-wer Califor- nia from Their First Discovery to the Present Time, etc., London, 1839, 151, 152. SETTLEMENT OF CALIFORNIA 449 mountains to the Pacific, thereby adjusting the claims of the United States and Great Britain in that section. With these circumstances in mind, if one remembers also the remoteness of California, the difficulties of the overland journey, and the fact that the territory was in- disputably Mexican soil, he may well be surprised at the number of emigrants who came during these years. Overland immigration of 1843. — Lansford W. Hastings had crossed the plains in 1842 with the first important expedition of prospective settlers who came to Oregon. In the following year he led fifty odd peo- ple from Oregon to California, about one third of whom turned back with a company en route to Oregon from California. The only overland expedition appar- ently that came from the United States in 1843 was organized by Joseph B. Chiles who had gone out with the Bartleson company in 1841, but had returned to the settlements. Chiles left Independence in May with his party and followed the well-known route to Fort Hall. At Fort Laramie or in its vicinity the emigrants em- ployed Joe Walker as a guide — a man who had been to California on a former occasion, as we have seen. Food had become scarce by the time the company reached Fort Hall, and it was determined that Chiles and a few followers should go down the Snake or Lewis River to Fort Boise with the expectation of securing provisions there, and make their way over a new route to Sutter's Fort. From the latter place they would send aid to their comrades. Only the first part of the pro- gramme was successfully carried out, the small band entering California over an undefined route from Fort Boise by way of the Malheur and Pitt rivers.'' Route. — Walker was to bring the remainder of the party and the wagons over the southern route by which 28 Fremont, Report on an Exploration of the Country Lying between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains on the Line of the Kansas and Platte Rivers, House Doc. No. l66, 28th Cong., zd Sess., 165, 166 and 247. 450 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST he had left California in 1834. Following pretty nearly the direction taken by Bartleson in 1841 to the sink of the Humboldt River, he then led his expedition to Walker Lake. The journey south over the mountains to Owens River and Lake was made under great diffi- culties. This is said to have been the first party to enter California with wagons, but they were abandoned near Owens Lake, and some machinery which had been brought for establishing a sawmill was buried in the sand. With their remaining possessions on pack ani- mals the company plodded on around Owens Peak and through Walker's Pass. "At Christmas time they were in camp, with abundance of game, grass, and water, which put an end to all their troubles, in a delightful vale, still known by Walker's name on the maps, on the headwaters of a tributary to the Salinas River." " They descended into the Salinas valley during the next month, proceeded to Gilroy's ranch, the present site of Gilroy, and scattered to different points in north- ern and central California. Immigration of 1844 ^^^ 1845. — During the years 1844 and 1845 two hundred and fifty or three hundred immigrants reached California by land, including a small party that came from Oregon in the spring of the former year. Probably the most important of the expeditions of these years was that led by Elisha Stevens. There were more than fifty men in the party besides women and children when they left the Mis- souri River in May, 1844. ^t Fort Hall about half of the company directed their course to Oregon, and the others went to the Humboldt River which they des- cended to the sink. Thence they crossed the Sierras, following approximately the present line of the rail- road, apparently the first to enter California over this route. They had employed an Indian guide to direct 28 Bancroft, California, IV. 395. SETTLEMENT OF CALIFORNIA 451 them over the mountains, and for him the Truckee River is said to have been named/" The company- reached the locality early in December which was later made historic through the sufferings of the Donner party. On the thirteenth of that month their arrival was announced by Sutter. During the following year a larger number of immigrants entered California and they came in several bands, from Oregon and from the Missouri frontier — but probably no new routes were opened by them. There was a large emigration to Oregon during 1845, and at Fort Hall every effort was made to turn the travelers to California. "The most extravagant tales were related respecting the dangers that awaited a trip to Oregon, and of the difficulties and trials to be surmounted. The perils of the way were so magnified as to make us suppose the journey almost impassable." The route to California, however, was declared to be short in comparison, and to possess "many other superior advantages," '^ The majority of the people could not be diverted from the Oregon trail, however, during these years. Immigration of 1846. — The overland immigration of 1846 probably equalled or surpassed that of the five preceding years. The routes were fairly well outlined by this time and the country had been made known through the explorations of Fremont and others. This is illustrated by emigrants for both Oregon and Cali- fornia undertaking to reach their destinations by trying short cuts. The route followed by the Stevens company in 1844 became the most popular, and later was known as the California trail. Probably two thousand emi- grants crossed the plains from Independence to Fort Laramie between May and July, 1846, about one fifth of SOI "Bancroft cites several newspapers published between 1875 and 1880 which speak of this. California, IV. 447, note. SI Palmer, Joel, Journal of Travels over the Rocky Mountains to the Columbia River, Cincinnati, 1852, 43, 44. 452 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST whom came to California.'' From widely different communities along the frontier small parties were formed that met and combined with others on their way to the rendezvous near the big bend of the Mis- souri. At the latter place frequently new groupings were made or old combinations would be enlarged through additions from new arrivals or through trans- fers from one group to another. Changes were made also along the line of march. The best known of these parties is the so-called Don- ner party. The original expedition was formed in Sangamon County, Illinois, by George and Jacob Don- ner and James Reed, in April, 1846. When it left In- dependence in May it had become a part of a larger company of two or three hundred wagons. The party to which the name "Donner" has been applied was formed in the vicinity of Fort Bridger a few months later. The leaders from Sangamon County and a few companions withdrew from the main company intend- ing "to avoid many hardships by taking the cut-ofif south of the lake," a route which had been partly explored by Fremont a few years earlier. Thirty-six men, twenty- one women, and thirty children, five of them infants, formed an expedition under the captaincy of George Donner. Other immigrants refused to join them, and by following the traveled route reached California in safety. Months were spent by the Donner party — from the 28th of July until about the middle of September — in making the "cut-ofif." This was the beginning of numerous bitter experiences which were to prove fatal to so many of the company. After passing around the southern end of Great Salt Lake they finally came to the Humboldt and followed the California trail. Stanton, one of their number, had been sent ahead to Sutter's Fort to procure supplies. On October 19 they met him ^2 Bancroft, California, V. 526, 527. SETTLEMENT OF CALIFORNIA 453 returning near the present town of Wadsworth, Nevada. Sutter had sent them a generous supply of dried beef and flour, and two Indian guides. Had they pressed forward the mountains might have been crossed in time, but they decided to rest their cattle a few days near the present site of Reno. The tragedy of the Dormer party. — On October 23 the company resumed their journey. At Prosser Creek, three miles below the present site of Truckee, they ran into six inches of snow. On the summit they found the snow to be five or six feet deep. The seriousness of their position was too obvious. On a cold, drizzly night in the early part of November, after they had tried in vain to break through the snowdrifts, they came to- gether and agreed upon a plan of action. The mules and cattle were to be slain on the morrow and the meat was to be divided among the members of the party. The wagons and supplies were to be left at the lake which has since borne the name of the prominent members of the company, and the entire party was to cross the mountains on foot. During the night a heavy storm came on and the snow deepened. Day after day it fell. The mules disappeared and nearly all the cattle per- ished. Many of them were buried alive beneath the branches where they had sought shelter, and their bodies were found by driving sharpened sticks into the snow through the foliage around the tree-trunks. These were recovered, the meat stripped from the bones, and stored away for future use. A cabin was found standing near Donner Lake which had been built by the Stevens company, and other crude structures were hastily built and covered with brush and hides. November passed and December came, but time brought only death for relief. As Christmas was approaching a volunteer party of fifteen men and women, the "forlorn hope," started across the mountains on hastily improvised snowshoes to seek relief. They had supplied them- 454 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST selves with rations for six days. At Christmas time, when they had been without food for four days, they reached the "camp of death," and were snowbound for a week. Fourof their number died and were eaten. An- other four died a little later. The others reached the settlements after thirty-two days of toil and suflfering, and relief parties began to form. Four of these went out at intervals from February 5 to April, 1847. The last relief party sent out found only one of the four they had expected to rescue, and he had maintained himself on the dead bodies of his former companions." Forty-eight of the original eighty-seven survived the tragedy, and of these several lived for many years. Overthrow of the Spanish regime. — In the spring of 1846, while the Donner party was preparing to cross the plains, war began between the United States and Mexico. On July 7 following, Commodore Sloat landed a force at Monterey, raised the American flag over the custom house, and posted a proclamation de- claring California annexed to the United States. The feeble opposition that raised its head at various places, particularly in the south, was soon stamped out, and California became permanently a part of the United States. Meanwhile the War Department issued orders to General Kearny, who commanded the land expedi- tion to New Mexico and California, authorizing him to establish a civil government in the territory con- quered. Local officers who were in authority and who proved themselves to be friendly to the United States were to be retained in their positions, and their salaries were to be provided from import duties. When Kear- ny arrived in California near the end of 1846, he found that Stockton (who had succeeded Sloat) and ^^McGlashan, C F., History of the Donner Party, A Tragedy of ihi Sierra, is the best general work on this subject. Patrick Breen, Diar], MS., Bancroft Collection, is the best on events at Donner Lake. Ban" croft, California, V, 530-544, follows McGlashan. SETTLEMENT OF CALIFORNIA 455 Fremont had already taken charge of affairs in that province. The controversy which developed between Kearny and these officers was settled in favor of the former in February of the following year. With the general recognition of Kearny as governor, California settled down under the military authority of the United States, an authority which was to continue until it was turned over to the officers of a state government which had been organized under the direction of General Riley, the last ruler of the military regime. During the period between the arrival of the Donncr party and the discovery of gold, overland immigration to California was comparatively insignificant. This, then, is an appropriate place to take a cursory glance at the population and the location of settlements be- fore taking up the gold rush. Population and location of settlements. — It would not be possible to give the exact population of Cali- fornia at this time. Even the estimates may be far from accurate. Bancroft thinks the total, excluding In- dians, was probably fourteen thousand, of whom six thousahd, five hundred were foreigners." Of the num- ber of different nationalities represented in the territory by 1848, it is possible to speak with more certainty, but not with absolute assurance. We may be confident, how- ever, that many nations were represented in California before the gold rush,^° including all the leading and practically all the smaller nations of Europe, besides many islands of the Pacific. The majority were living with the Spanish-Californians in the towns along the coast. San Diego, Los Angeles, San Pedro, Santa Bar- bara, Monterey, San Jose, and San Francisco each had its quota of Americans, some of whom had married into prominent California families and occupied posi- '* Bancroft, California, V. 643. ^"Goodwin, Establishment of State GovfTnmtnt m» California, New York, 1914, £0, 456 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST tions of influence in the community. A few foreigners had begun to occupy the inland valleys. John Gilroy, a Scotch sailor, had established himself on a ranch where the present town of Gilroy stands. Thomas W. Doak, supposed to have been the first American settler to come to California, was in the vicinity of San Jose. Sutter was near the present city of Sacramento and, in December, 1847, reported a white population of two hundred and eighty men in the district. Charles M. Weber was on a ranch near French Camp doing his best to induce settlers to occupy the country around him. A temporary settlement called New Hope, or Stanislaus, had been made by the Mormons on the north bank of the Stanislaus River, near its mouth, in 1 846. By the spring of 1 847 there were ten or twelve of these thrifty people located there, but the floods and a call from their brethren at Salt Lake broke up the colony a little later. A few settlements had been made north of the present city of Stockton. Settlers had occupied parts of Napa and Sonoma valleys for sev- eral years, and even farther west, near the ocean shore, home seekers had found a place.^^ Some of these re- cently established settlements were to be deserted and others were to be promoted by the events of '48 and '49. Report of gold discovery. — Gold was discovered at Coloma on the south fork of the American River on January 24, 1848. During February other places in the vicinity were found to contain the same precious material, and the news was dubiously received at Mon- terey. By the month of May all doubt was" removed, and the people of San Francisco began to move to the mines. A few weeks later Governor Mason's soldiers began deserting. Larkin forwarded official news of the discovery on June i, and this reached Washington about the middle of September. A little later a second s« For a detailed account of settlements in central and northern Califor- nia see Bancroft, California, VI. Chapter I. DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION WEST OF THE mS5I55IPPI ~ 1850 LEGEND ' ^§-6 INHABITANTS PER SQUARE MILE I! raa 6-18 INJHABITANTS PER SQUARE MILE lU M 18-45 INHABITANTS PER SQUARE MILE W ^4-5-90 INHABITANTS PER SQUARE MILE C I TIES Ol/£fi 10.000 ® 5000 TO 10,000 O SSOO TO 5000 Jl J_ SETTLEMENT OF CALIFORNIA 457 official messenger, bearing a box of gold, was sent East by Governor Mason, and this was placed on exhibition in the war office in Washington during the last of No- vember or the first of December. Mason made a tour of the gold mines in the early part of the summer of 1848, and sent a report to the Adjutant General at Washington on August 17. Official's report of what he saw in gold fields. — In this report he said that on his way from San Fran- cisco to Sutter's Fort byway of Bodega and Sonoma he found mills lying idle, fields of wheat open to cattle and horses, houses vacant, and farms going to waste. At the Fort all was bustle and confusion. The only two em- ployees Sutter had were receiving ten dollars a day. Merchants were paying him one hundred dollars a month rent per room, and a two-story house in the Fort was rented as a hotel at the rate of five hundred dollars a month. Twenty-five miles farther up the American River, at a point known as "Mormon diggings," he found the hillsides dotted with canvas tents and bush arbors, and about two hundred men were washing gold in the full glare of the hot sun, some with pans, others with close-woven Indian baskets, but the majority with a rude machine known as a cradle. Proceeding another twenty-five miles up the south branch of the American River, he found about four thousand people working with great success along the river, in the dry beds of streams, and on the mountain sides. A small gutter was pointed out to him, not over a hundred yards long, four feet wide, and two or three feet deep, where two men had obtained recently seventeen thousand dollars' worth of gold in seven days. Another small ravine in the same vicinity had produced twelve thousand dollars' worth of gold. "Hundreds of similar ravines, to all appear- ances, are as yet untouched. I could not have credited their reports had I not seen, in the abundance of the precious metal, evidence of their truth. Mr. Neligh, 458 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST an agent of Commodore Stockton, had been at work about three weeks in the neighborhood, and showed me, in bags and bottles, over two thousand dollars' worth of gold; and Mr, Lyman, a gentleman of education and worthy of every credit, said he had been engaged, with four others, with a machine, on the American fork just below Sutter's sawmill, that they worked eight days, and that his share was at the rate of fifty dollars a day." The most moderate estimate he could obtain from men acquainted with conditions was that about four thou- sand men were at work in the gold district, of whom half were Indians, and that from thirty to fifty thousand dollars' worth of gold was obtained daily. He could assert without hesitation that there was more than enough gold in the country drained by the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers to pay the cost of the Mexican war a hundred times over. To obtain it no capital was required, nothing but a pick, a shovel, and a tin pan with which to dig and wash the gravel. In fact, "many frequently pick gold out of the crevices of rock with their butcher knives in pieces from one to six ounces."" Results of publication of report. — ^This report sent to Washington by Mason accompanied Polk's message to Congress December 5, 1848, and was published in the leading papers throughout the country. The re- sults were immediate and widespread. Between De- cember 14, 1848, and January 18, 1849, sixty-one vessels, averaging fifty passengers each, sailed to the Pacific coast from New York, Boston, Salem, Norfolk, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Many more left Charleston, New Orleans, and other ports during the same period for the gold regions. In February, 1849, sixty ships were announced to sail from New York, sev- enty from Philadelphia and Boston, and eleven from New Bedford. The demand was so great that vessels " California Message and Correspondence, 1850, 538-536. SETTLEMENT OF CALIFORNIA 459 were diverted from every other service for the purpose of accommodating the throngs who were clamoring for passage to California. The fever spread to foreign na- tions, and by the middle of January, 1849, at least five different California trading and mining companies were registered in London with an aggregate capital of one million, two hundred and seventy-five pounds. In Europe the desire to emigrate was encouraged still further by the unsettled political conditions then pre- vailing. In the Revue des Deux Mondes for February I, 1849, an announcement was published of the depar- ture of vessels from Havre and from Bordeaux, and from ports of Spain, Germany, Holland, and Great Britain. Even the far East was stirred by the gold fever. The Aha Calif ornian for May 10, 1852, stated that there were fifty-four Chinamen in California in February, 1849, a number which had increased to seven hundred and ninety-one by the end of the year, and by January, 1851, had passed the four thousand mark. In Australia it was almost impossible to secure passage on outgoing ships, and the people on the smaller islands of the Pacific were stirred by the gold news.* Pacific Mail Steamship Company. — In the United States it soon became almost impossible to book passage for California. The Pacific Mail Steamship Company had been chartered just before gold was discovered, and its contract called for the operation of these vessels be- tween Panama and the northern Pacific terminus which was changed from Astoria to San Francisco. The first of these ships, the California, came from New York around Cape Horn, and reached Panama in January, 1849, ready to begin its regular voyages between that place and San Francisco. Hundreds of gold-seekers had already crossed the isthmus, many of them with tickets to San Francisco purchased from agents of the ^' Goodwin, Establishment of State Government in California, Chap- ter III. 46o THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST steamship company, and were waiting for transporta- tion to the Golden Gate. The California was supposed to provide accommodations for little over one hundred; more than four hundred were received on board, some of them paying a thousand dollars or more for steerage tickets. By the time the second vessel, the Oregon, ar- rived in March, the crowd had doubled. About five hundred were taken on board, and conditions had grown no better when the Panama, the third vessel, arrived in May. The entrance of the California into the Bay of San Francisco on February 28, 1849, was an incident me- morable in California history, and among the forty- niners, in later years, none were more proud of the perilous experiences of those early days than the ones who came on the initial trip of one of the steamers, the Panama, the Oregon, or, better still, the California.^' Immigration by land. — Many places within North America were not dependent upon vessels for transpor- tation and were equally excited over the discovery of gold. From these places the people came overland. Burnett thought that at least two-thirds of the popula- tion of Oregon capable of bearing arms came to Cali- fornia in the summer and autumn of 1848.^" Before the spring of 1848 about four thousand came from Mexico, principally from Sonora. In the spring of that year thousands of people from the United States began to assemble at Fort Smith, Independence, and Council Bluffs on the Arkansas and Missouri rivers, prepara- tory to crossing the plains. Bayard Taylor believed that thirty thousand people completed the trip. From the first of May to the first of June company after company took its departure . . . till the emigrant trail from Fort Leavenworth, on the Missouri, to Fort Laramie, '"Bancroft, California, VI. Chapter VIII. ''o Burnett, Recollections of the Past, MS., I. 325. SETTLEMENT OF CALIFORNIA 461 at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, was one long line of mule-trains and wagons. The rich meadows of the Ne- braska, or Platte, were settled for the time, and a single traveler could have journeyed for the space of a thousand miles, as certain of his lodging and regular meals as if he were riding through the old agricultural districts of the middle states.*^ Overland routes of 1849. — Throughout the years 1849 and 1850 emigrants continued to enter California from all parts of the frontier. To those w^ho came from the southern states a choice of many roads vs^as open. They might go from New Orleans by steamer to Pow- der Horn on Matagorda Bay. A road extended thence west through Victoria and San Antonio to El Paso. From the last named place it was possible to go up the Rio Grande to Santa Fe and follow the old Spanish trail round the north bank of the Colorado, crossing the Virgin River to the Mojave River and desert, and through Cajon Pass to Los Angeles; or by General Kearny's line of march through Arizona and along the Gila to the Pacific coast; or again by Colonel Cook's route across the Sonora tableland to Yuma, and thence to the Pacific. Another frontier post of departure was Fort Smith, on the western border of Arkansas, from which place the traveler could continue west by one of three possible routes. The most southern route passed through the Choctaw and Chickasaw countries for about one hundred and eighty miles, crossed the Red River by ferryboat at Preston and ran through the border settlements of northern Texas for one hundred and fifty miles, finally connecting with the extreme southern route at El Paso. The middle route ran al- most directly west from Fort Smith along the south bank of the Canadian River to Santa Fe and Albu- querque in New Mexico. The journey from these "Taylor, Eldorado, II. 35- 462 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST points to California would be over one of the routes indicated above. The northern route from Fort Smith was called the "Cherokee Trail." It extended west to the Grand River, crossing that stream at Fort Gibson. Thence it ran a little north of west to the Verdigris River, following the north bank for a distance of about eighty miles. Crossing the Verdigris and extending northwest it struck the Arkansas River near old Fort Mann on the Santa Fe trail, whence it passed near the base of Pike's Peak to Cherry Creek, down that stream to the South Platte, and over the mountains to Utah and on to California. The first two routes from Fort Smith were opened in 1849; the last — the Cherokee trail — may have been opened about the same time.*^ The most widely traveled route in 1849 was that used by the fur traders and by the California and Oregon im- migrants to Fort Bridger during the early forties. The Mormon trail, which had been used by Brigham Young and his followers when they moved across Iowa to Utah, followed the north bank of the Platte to Fort Laramie, and through South Pass to Salt Lake. This route was also used by emigrants in 1849 and 1850. From the vicinity of Fort Bridger the emigrants might reach California over the routes already indicated in connection with overland emigration preceding the gold rush. Even the route around the southern end of Great Salt Lake was used by a number of travelers, but the majority preferred to go to Soda Springs or Fort Hall. From the latter place emigrants followed the Snake River north of Goose Creek Mountains to Goose Creek and up that stream to the headwaters of the Humboldt River. Toward the end of 1849 or the be- *2 Marcy, Randolph B., The Prairie Traveler, 16-19. Marcy, referring to the Cherokee trail, says: "It has been traveled by large parties of California emigrants for several years, and is well tracked and defined." His account was published in 1859. SETTLEMENT OF CALIFORNIA 463 ginning of 1850, a trail was opened from Bear River across the headwaters of Bannock, Fall, and Raft tribu- taries of Snake River to the main trail at the headwaters of Goose Creek, and thence along the Humboldt to the sink. The most popular route from the sink, and the most direct, was that followed approximately by the railroad to-day — along the Truckee River to its source in the lake of that name, thence down the Yuba to Feather and Sacramento rivers. A branch of this trail came in by Donner Lake and along the north branch of the American River. A northern route — known as the "death route" because of the bitter experiences of those who followed it in the early part of 1849, and not used very much later — left the Humboldt at the great bend of that river and extended northwest to Goose Lake, when it turned southward by the Oregon trail along Pitt River and Honey Lake into the Sacramento valley. A branch from this trail extended across the Upper Mud Lake to Honey Lake. South of the Truc- kee the Carson River route ran south of Lake Tahoe through Johnson Pass and down the south fork of the American River. A branch of this route extended south to the west fork of the Walker River, thence through the Sonora Pass to Sonora and Stockton. The sufferings of overland emigrants. — The suffer- ings experienced by the gold-crazed immigrants of 1849 fell chiefly upon the late arrivals whose passage of the plains occurred at a time when water was scarce and the little grass left by the earlier caravans had dried up. The Indian ravages increased also. One hundred thou-/ sand dollars was appropriated by the government for rehef during the year, and several parties went out from the mines to aid the sufferers. A combination of cir- cumstances made the year 1850 even more disastrous than the preceding one had been. Emigrants undertook the trip with inadequate supplies, and found the Mor- mon way-station unable to provide them. The Hum- 464 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST boldt overflowed and compelled the travelers to go by way of the barren uplands which lengthened the journey and starved the animals. So many of the latter perished in the sink that the effluvia from the putrefying bodies spread the cholera through the ranks of the enfeebled crowds.*' The sufferings were perhaps unparalleled in the annals of overland emigration in America. Dissatisfaction with existing political conditions.— Meanwhile the all-absorbing topic of gold did not pre- vent the people of California from making unfriendly comments on the existing political regime in the terri- tory. The military governors had adopted the diplo- matic scheme of ruling the country through the Mexi- can political machinery which they had found func- tioning lamely at the time of the conquest. This was appreciated by the Californians. The immigration of 1849, however, had increased the Anglo-American population out of all proportion to the native element in the country, and the former had little sympathy for the feelings of the latter and no respect for their politi- cal institutions. Furthermore, the Americans were made more impatient by the apparent indifference of their own government at Washington. The treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo had been signed in February, 1848, and accepted by the Senate in March following, but Congress made no provision for the government of the new acqusition at that session. This the people in California might be expected to overlook. They did it very impatiently. In fact, when Congress met in December, 1848, and adjourned again in March, 1849, without enacting regulations for the government of the territory, the people had already become aggressive on their own behalf." ~^ State government organized. — General Riley be- came military governor of California in April, 1849. ■•3 Bancroft, California, VI. 154, 155 and notes. ** Goodwin, Establishment of State Government in California, 61-70. SETTLEMENT OF CALIFORNIA 465 He had determined soon after his arrival to permit the people to form a government, but he was equally deter- mined to take the initiative in such a move. In May, 1849, he received authentic news that Congress had adjourned without providing territorial government, and on June 3 following, he issued a proclamation call- ing a convention to meet at Monterey on August i for the purpose of drawing up a plan of government. It was the early part of September before a sufficient num- ber of delegates had arrived to begin work. The con- vention was in session from September 3 until October i 13. During that time it determined the boundaries for the proposed state, drew up a creditable constitution forbidding slavery, and fixed November 13 as the day upon which the men of the territory might pass on what had been done. On the day indicated, the constitution was adopted, and officers were chosen for the Lower House of Congress and for the state government. The latter began to function on December 15, 1849. The' '' first legislature was in session until April 22, 1850, dur- ing which time it chose United States senators, and en- acted the laws necessary to bring order out of the chaotic conditions existing in the territory. Admission into Union. — While these things were go- ing on in California, congressmen at Washington were trying to find some plan for an amicable settlement of the slavery controversy — a controversy which had been aggravated by the Mexican cession. Foote offered a resolution in the Senate on December 27, 1849, as fol- lows: "That it is the duty of Congress, at this session, to establish suitable territorial governments for Califor- nia, for Deseret, and for New Mexico." " In his famous compromise resolutions introduced into the Senate on January 29, 1850, Clay said that "California, with suit- able boundaries, ought, upon her application, to be ad- " Journal of the Senate, 31st Cong., ist Sess., 3+. 466 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST mitted as one of the states of the Union, without the imposition by Congress of any restriction in respect to the exclusion or introduction of slavery within those boundaries." "' About the middle of February, while the debate over the conflicting issues was in full swing, President Taylor forwarded to both Houses of Con- gress copies of the constitution which California had adopted. Several weeks were spent by the leaders of the Senate in discussion and in diplomatic fencing be- fore they could put through any sort of scheme. Finally, on April i8, a committee of thirteen was ap- pointed to work out and submit a plan for settling the various issues that were agitating Congress. This com- mittee made its report on May 8, and among other things recommended the admission of California into the Union under the constitution which she had sub- mitted to Congress. This recommendation was ac- cepted by both Houses of Congress, and the bill admitting California was signed by President Fillmore on September 9, 1850. Bibliographical Notes American Settlement of California: The best general history containing information on the subject is H. H. Bancroft, History of California J 7 vols., San Francisco, 1884-1890. Other helpful worb are: Robert Glass Cleland, "The Early Sentiment for the Annexa- tion of California: an Account of the Growth of American Interest in California from 1835 to 1846," in the Southwestern Historical Quarterly, XVIII, Nos. I, 2, and 3; Walter Colton, Three Years in California, New York, 1852; Katharine Coman, Economic Begin- nings of the Far West: How We Won the Land Beyond the Mississippi, 2 vols.. New York, 1912; William Heath Davis, Sixty Years in California, Personal, Political, and Military, San Fran- cisco, 1889; Zoeth Skinner Eldridge (editor). History of California, 5 vols.. New York; Ibid., The Beginnings of San Francisco from the Expedition of Anza, 1774, to the City Charter, of April iS, 1850, with Biographical and other Notes, 2 vols., San Francisco, 1912; Alexander Forbes, California: A History of Upper and *' Cong. Globe., 31st Cong., ist Sess., Part I, 244. SETTLEMENT OF CALIFORNIA 467 Lower California from Their First Discovery to the Present Time, etc., London, 1839; John Frost, History of the State of California from the Period of the Conquest by Spain to her Occupation by the United States of America, New York, 1857; Cardinal Goodwin, The Establishment of State Government in California, 1846-1850, New York, 1914; Horace Grteley Autobiography of Horace Greeley, or Recollections of a Busy Life, New York, 1872; Theodore H. Hittell, History of California, 4 vols., San Francisco, 1885-1897; Ibid., History of the City of San Francisco, San Francisco, 1878; John B. McMaster, History of the People of the United States from the Revolution to the Civil War, 8 vols.. New York, 1883- 1913; Henry K. Norton, The Story of California from the Earliest Days to the Present, Chicago, 1913; Irving B. Richman, Cali- fornia under Spain and Mexico, 1535-1^47 > Boston, 191 1; Josiah Royce, California from the Conquest in 1846 to the Second Vigi- lance Committee in San Francisco, a Study of American Character (American Commonwealth series), Boston, 1886; William Redmond Ryan, Personal Adventures in Upper and Lower California, 2 vols., London, 1852; Bayard Taylor, Eldorado, or Adventures in the Path of Empire, 2 vols., New York, 1850 (other editions) ; Frank Tuthill, The History of California, San Francisco, 1866; Frank Soule, John H. Gibson, and James Nisbet, The Annals of San Fran- cisco; Containing a Summary of the History of the First Dis- covery, Settlement, Progress, and Present Condition of California, and a Complete History of all the Important Events Connected with its Great City; to which Are Added Biographical Memoirs of Some Prominent Citizens, New York, 1855. The Overland Monthly and the Century magazines contain arti- cles which bear on the settlement of California. Additional material is cited in the bibliographies given in Bancroft and other works noted above. CHAPTER XIV THE MEXICAN CESSION The public interest aroused over California through the incidents related in the early part of the preceding chapter finally compelled the attention of the govern- ment at Washington and led to the acquisition of terri- tory from Mexico in 1848 and in 1853, w^hich rounded out the possessions of the United States on the Pacific coast. It is the purpose here to trace these events briefly. Texas and California. — In 1835 the administration at Washington probably made its first attempt to acquire the harbor of San Francisco.'' These early negotiations formed a minor part of the temporary scheme for ac- quiring Texas. In 1829 Anthony Butler succeeded Joel R. Poinsett as minister to Mexico, and for six months the former was permitted to prosecute his designs unmo- lested. Bribery w^as to be the weapon he would use, and his communications to the Department of State from the beginning indicate that he desired to have his government sanction any of the tortuous paths of diplo- macy his own crooked nature might find most conge- nial. He asked to return to the United States early in June, 1834, for the purpose of having a personal inter- view with the President on matters of vital importance. Jackson at last gave his consent, and a year later Butler landed in New York "with a still more extensive scheme of bribery in his head than any he had so far suggested, and in his pocket a note signed by Hernan- dez, a priest standing close to Santa Anna." ^ Butler 1 For a discussion of the statement sometimes made that there were earlier attempts to acquire California, see Cleland, T/ie Early Sentimtnt for the Annexation of California, 12, 13. 27^-1^., 14. 468 THE MEXICAN CESSION 469 addressed a letter to Forsyth, the Secretary of State, a few days after his arrival, and enclosed a note from the Mexican priest. The latter had promised to bring about a cession of certain territory provided a sum of five thousand dollars was placed in the hands of the priest. Butler recommended that this sum be provided and placed at the disposal of Hernandez. It would result not merely in the acquisition of Texas, Butler said, but "would only be the first of a series which must at last give us dominion over the whole of that tract of territory known as New Mexico, and higher and lower California, an empire in itself, a paradise in climate . . . rich in minerals and affording a water route to the Pacific through the Arkansas and Colorado rivers." ^ First official attempt to acquire California.— This letterwas written on June 17, 1835. On August i follow- ing any interest which may have been roused in Cali- fornia as a result of Butler's epistle was increased by the receipt of a letter from William A. Slacum, a purser in the United States navy, to President Jackson. It was the latter communication, according to John Quincy Adams, "which kindled the passion of Andrew Jackson for the thirty-seventh line of latitude from the river Arkansas to the South Sea, to include the river and bay of San Francisco, and was the foundation of Forsyth's instruction to Butler of August 6, 1835, authorizing him to offer five hundred thousand dollars more than he had received authority for before." * These instructions in- cluded the first official attempt of authorities in Wash- ington to secure from Mexico any part of her territory on the Pacific. Forsyth said the chief object should be to obtain possession of San Francisco Bay. This, the President had been informed, would afford the most ^Quoted in Reeves, J. S., American Diplomacy under Tyler and Polk, 73, 74- * Memoirs, XI. 348. 470 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST convenient harbor for the numerous whaling vessels in the Pacific/ No additional territory was sought, and this proposal intrusted to Butler was not submitted to the Mexican government. The American representa- tive thought it would be unwise to make the offer to purchase the harbor of San Francisco at the time, but it was barely possible that certain commercial privi- leges for American ships might be secured. However, Butler was not to have the credit for obtaining even this concession. He received notice of his recall a few months later, and left Mexico. Further attempts during Jackson's administration. ■ — Apparently nothing was done immediately after But- ler's summary dismissal to carry out the instructions contained in Forsyth's despatch of August 6, but before his term of office expired Jackson made two further at- tempts to secure Mexican territory on the Pacific. Santa Anna arrived in Washington about the middle of January, 1837, following his liberation by Houston. He came to request the mediation of the United States between Mexico and Texas. Jackson would attempt the role of mediator providing Mexico would, among other things, "extend the line of the United States to the Rio Grande — up that stream to latitude thirty-eight north and then to the Pacific including north Cali- fornia." For this concession the United States would agree to pay three and a half million dollars.* On Jan- uary 24, 1837, Wharton, the Texan minister in Wash- ington, wrote John Forsyth, Secretary of State, that Jackson insisted "Texas must claim the Californias on the Pacific in order to paralyze the opposition of the North and East to annexation" by giving them a harbor on the Pacific coast. "He is very earnest and anxious on this point of claiming the Californias and says we = Forsyth to Butler, August 6, 1835, in House Ex. Doc, No. 43 35th Cong., 1st Sess., ig, 19. ' " Cleland, Early Sentiment for Annexation of California, 17. THE MEXICAN CESSION 471 must not consent to less. This is strict confidence. Glory to God in the highest." ' Interest in California maintained. — However, Jack- son did not succeed either in acquiring California or in persuading Texas to claim it. The panic broke with all its fury following the accession of Van Buren to the presidency in 1 837. This with the strained relations be- tween the United States and Mexico during the period would prevent attempts to purchase even if Mexico had been willing to sell, but interest in California increased as time passed. When news of the rebellion of 1836 reached the United States it was accompanied by ru- mors of a possible union between an independent Cali- fornia and Russia, which would mean the extension of the Czar's power from the bay of San Francisco to the Columbia River. The interest and writings of Hall J, Kelley were confined largely to the Oregon country, but he believed California should become a part of the western possessions of the United States. During this same period interest in California was increased by the appearance of Dana's Two Years Before the Mast, and Forbes's California: a History of Upper and Lower California. In 1840 occurred the Graham afifair which has been noted already. The delay on the part of the Mexican government in paying some of the claims made by Americans who were arrested at the time crea- ted comment and was later made the subject of official protest. During the latter part of 1841, as a result of the request of California merchants along the coast, the Secretary of the Navy in his annual report recom- mended an increase in the government's squadron in the Pacific, and later sent Commodore Jones to command the enlarged fleet.' All of these things together with overland immigration kept alive and extended the inter- estof the people of the United States in California. ' Texan Diplomatic Correspondence, I. 193. i94' *Cleland, Early Sentiment for Annexation of California, 18, 23. 472 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST Waddy Thompson's recommendations. — ^With the accession of Tyler to the presidency following the death of Harrison the United States renewed its efforts to get control of Alta California. Powhatan Ellis had urged the purchase of certain ports of the Pacific because of the increase of American commerce and the growing importance of the whale fisheries. A more definite movement for acquiring the territory was set on foot with the arrival in Mexico of Waddy Thompson in April, 1842. In his first communication to Webster he expressed the belief that Mexico would cede both Texas and California to the United States in return for a can- cellation of American claims. Of the two, however, California was the more desirable. It was "the richest, the most beautiful, and the healthiest country in the world. Our Atlantic border secures us a commercial ascendancy there ; with the acquisition of Upper Cali- fornia we should have the same ascendancy on the Paci- fic." The possession of the harbors of San Diego and Monterey would give the nation necessary ports for her whaling vessels, and by opening internal communica- tion with the Arkansas and other western streams the trade of India and the whole Pacific Ocean might be secured. Not only would California be an asset from a commercial point of view, but he was persuaded that it would be of immense value in an agricultural way, and that in time it might be expected to become the "granary of the Pacific." It was "a country in which slavery is not necessary, and, therefore, if that is made an objection let there be another compromise. France and England both have their eyes upon it." And con- cluding, he said: I am profoundly satisfied that in its bearing upon all the interests of our country, agricultural, political, manu- facturing, commercial, and fishing, the importance of the acquisition of California cannot be overestimated. If I THE MEXICAN CESSION 473 could mingle any selfish feelings with interest to my country so vast, I would desire no higher honor than to be an instrument in securing it.^ A few days later Thompson wrote the President in a similar vein, and requested him to read the despatch which he had sent to Webster. He felt confident that he could procure Upper California, and if accom- plished it would be by far the most important event in the history of the United States. He besought the President for special instructions on the subject, "both as to moving on the matter and the extent to which I am to go in the negotiations and the amount to be paid." Like Jackson, he believed the people of the North could be reconciled to the acquisition because of their large fishing and commercial interests there. Be pleased also to have me pretty strongly instructed on the subject of our claims or leave the responsibility to me. Procrastination, the policy of all weak governments, is peculiarly so with this, and they are very poor and will never pay us one farthing unless pretty strong measures are taken.^" Webster's reply to Thompson. — These letters were written during the last of April and the early part of May, 1842. Webster replied on June 27 following. Thompson was given full liberty to approach Mexico on the subject of ceding a part of her territory on the Pacific. A part or all of the claims which the United States held against Mexico might be settled in this way providing the latter was willing. Not only did Webster desire the harbor of San Francisco, but he expressed the belief that if this were ceded the province of California would naturally accompany the port. Thompson was not to make too much of the latter point. In fact he thought it might be more diplomatic and useful if the » Quoted in ibid., 28, and in Rives, United States and Mexico, II. 45, 46. " Ibid., 28, 29. 474 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST American minister should at that time emphasize the convenience and benefit of San Francisco harbor it- self, and imply that it was the chief thing desired by the United States. The exercise of tact and moderation was urged, and Thompson was especially warned against giving the impression that the United States was eager to conclude the purchase. It would be much better to leave the impression among Mexican officials that the United States was willing to settle the claims in this way simply to accommodate Mexico. The cession must be spoken of rather as a convenience to Mexico, as a mode of discharging her debts. By no means give coun- tenance to any extravagant expectations. Avoid all premature commitments, content yourself with sound- ing the government, endeavor to hear more than you say, to learn more than you communicate; and apprise us promptly and regularly of all that may occur on the subject." A few months later an incident occurred which in- terrupted negotiations. This was the seizure of the port of Monterey by Commodore Jones who was in command of the Pacific squadron. Jones thought he had reliable information that war had begun between the United States and Mexico and that California was about to pass into British hands as a result. He moved to Monterey at once and seized the town without ex- periencing any opposition from the Mexican officials stationed there. He was convinced almost immediately of his error and surrendered the town with a formal apology to the officials, and sailed away.^^ The inci- dent aroused bitter feeling in Mexico and resulted in Commodore Jones's being recalled and relieved of his 11 Webster to Thompson in The Writings and Speeches of Daniel Web- ster, i8 vols. (National Edition), Boston, 1903, XIV. 6u, 6i3. See also Cleland, Early Sentiment for Annexation of California, 29; Reeves, Amer- ican Diplomacy under Tyler and Polk, 102. 12 For a detailed account of this incident see Bancroft, California, IV. 298-329, and the reference given there. THE MEXICAN CESSION 475 command temporarily, and to Mexico were offered apologies for what had been done. The affair roused some severe criticism in the United States which was reported in Mexico, and increased the feeling of hos- tility there to such an extent that Thompson felt it nec- essary to inform his government that it was " 'wholly out of the question to do anything as to California and after recent events there it would be imprudent to al- lude to it in any way,' the only possibility of securing territory at all lying in a cession of San Francisco some time in the future when Mexico should find herself un- able to pay the awards of the American claims." "^^ Proposed Tripartite Agreement. — Tyler's desire for California led to an attempt to acquire it through sounding Great Britain upon its acquisition at about the same time that Thompson was corresponding with Webster on the subject. This was to be done by an arrangement among the three powers of the United States, Mexico, and Great Britain. Webster instructed Everett, the American ambassador at London, to make overtures to Her Majesty's government in an informal way for the purpose of settling the Oregon question, "and the matters in dispute between Mexico and the United States by a tripartite arrangement which should, as one provision, embrace a cession to the United States of the port of San Francisco on the coast of Cali- fornia." The idea had come to form an important place in the plans of the administration by the begin- ning of 1843. The Mexican government was to be ap- proached by Thompson, and the subject was also brought to the attention of the Mexican minister at Washington, i Almonte. It was understood that England favored the proposal and an outline to serve as a basis for negotia- tions was sent to Everett by Webster. According to these terms : ( i ) Mexico was to cede Upper California "Cleland, Sentiment for Annexation of California, 31; Reeves, Amer- ican Diplomacy under Tyler and Polk, 103. 476 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST to the United States; (2) the United States would pay millions of dollars for the cession; (3) of this sum, millions of dollars were to be paid to Ameri- can claimants against Mexico; (4) the remainder to be paid to English creditors or iDondholders of Mexico; and (5) the Oregon boundary was to be settled along the line of the Columbia." Both the President and his Secretary of State believed the tripartite arrangement would satisfy all sections of the country, and the former was particularly anxious to have the admission of California included in any treaty that might be drawn up as a result of the negotiations. Tyler discussed the subject with Webster and mani- fested a desire to send him on a special mission to Eng- land, a diplomatic undertaking which the Secretary of State expressed a willingness to undertake if by doing so he could settle the Oregon question and obtain Cali- fornia. However, Congress did not take kindly to the suggestion of a special mission, and the President then endeavored to persuade Everett, the British ambassador, to accept the new embassy to China in order to make it possible for Webster to accept the place in England and carry through the cherished scheme under discussion. To this suggestion Everett did not agree, and at about the same time Thompson's communication arrived in- forming the administration that it would be unwise to approach Mexico on the cession of any territory. Webster felt that he had accomplished all that it would be possible for him to achieve and retired from the cabinet. Following the death of Webster's immediate suc- cessor, Hugh S. Legare, within a month after he had come into ofRce, the cabinet was reorganized and in July, 1843, Abel P. Upshur became Secretary of State. A few months later, February 28, 1844, Upshur was 1* Webster to Everett in Writings and Speeches of Daniel Webster, i8 vols. (National Edition), Boston, 1903, XVI. 394. THE MEXICAN CESSION 477 killed by the explosion of a cannon on board the ship of war Princeton, and John C. Calhoun became head of the Department of State. Breach between Mexico and England. — Meanwhile the relations between Mexico and England became strained and the communications sent to the State De- partment by Waddy Thompson again discussed the pos- sibility of acquiring California. His despatch of Sep- tember 28, 1843, informed the Secretary of State that the strong bond of friendship which had existed be- tween England and Mexico was giving place to resent- ment which had manifested itself in an open insult to the British flag. Five days later the American minister reported an interview with Santa Anna in which the latter had said that an outbreak of hostilities between Mexico and Great Britain seemed probable, in which case the Mexican people would expect the United States to protect California. In a still later communi- cation, October 14, Thompson again referred to the subject, and predicted that in case of hostilities actually beginning between the two countries Mexico would cede California to the United States to prevent England from seizing it. You will remember [Thompson said] that it was the fear of the seizure of Louisiana by England that induced Bonaparte to cede it to us. The acquisition of California will be of Httle less importance. . . . There is no pros- pect whatever of such a cession but in the event of a war between Mexico and England. Then nothing would be Du£f Green as special agent. — Calhoun had suc- ceeded Upshur as Secretary of State early in 1844. Nothing was accomplished by him toward acquiring California, but in the fall of that year he sent his friend, "Cleland, Sentiment for Annexation of Californi(if 32-35, and refer- ences given there. 478 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST Duff Green, as his special agent to cooperate with Ben E. Green, Duff Green's son, in attempts to acquire Texas, New Mexico, and California. Green was soon convinced that there was not the slightest possibility of gaining the consent of Mexico to cede any part of her territory to the United States. Despite the chaotic con- ditions in Mexico and the bitterness of factional strife there, the principle was maintained that to sell any part of the public domain to the United States would be treason. In fact it would be worse than folly to ex- pect a party in Mexico to surrender any portion of Texas or California. The faction bold enough to at- tempt it would certainly be overthrown and its leaders shot. Public sentiment would not support a party that would attempt it. Polk's policy of expansion. — ^Jackson and Tyler had failed, but such was not to be the record of James K. Polk. The last named came into the presidential chair with a well-defined program. It was not dictated to him entirely by his party, nor were his political asso- ciates and advisers responsible for formulating it. The last part of it in particular was the President's own, and his single term in office v»^itnessed the completion of the entire program. The four measures upon which he had set his mind were (i) the reduction of the tariff; (2) the establishment of a subtreasury; (3) the settlement of the Oregon question; and (4) the acquisition of Cali- fornia. Polk then came into office with a positive and definite policy of expansion. He had been there but a short time before he unfolded his plan for acquiring California to the members of the Cabinet. Parrott's mission. — Diplomatic relations with Mex- ico had been suspended when Polk came into office. The Mexican minister at Washington, Almonte, had left in a huff because of the alleged hostile attitude of the United States toward his country as indicated by the annexation of Texas. Meanwhile the United States THE MEXICAN CESSION 479 minister in Mexico, William Shannon, had requested and received his passports, together with a severe con- demnation of the attitude of the United States toward Mexico. These strained relations, however, did not prevent Polk from immediately inaugurating plans for acquiring New Mexico and California. On April 3, 1845, Almonte left New York for Mexico. On board/' the same ship was Dr. William S. Parrott, who went as the secret agent of the President for the purpose of reopening diplomatic relations with the Mexican gov- ernment. Parrott had practiced dentistry in the City of Mexico several years earlier, and subsequently had failed in a business engagement there as a result of which he held a claim against the Mexican govern- ment. The President, however, probably knew nothing of this at the time Parrott was appointed. He was in- structed to reach the President and other prominent of- ficials in Mexico and endeavor, by the use of every honorable means, to convince them that the true interest of their country required a restoration of friendly rela- tions between the two republics. If he became con- vinced of the willingness of Mexico to receive an envoy from the United States, then, but not until then, was he to disclose his own official character. "While you ought not to conceal that the reunion of Texas with the United States is already decreed and can never under any consideration be abandoned, you are at liberty to state your confident belief that in regard to all settled questions, we are prepared to meet Mexico in a liberal and friendly spirit." The United States was ready to send a minister to Mexico "as soon as they receive au- "" thentic information that he will be kindly received." ^° '^^ Quoted in Reeves, Diplomacy under Tyler and Polk, 268, 269. Reeves thinks that Polk's selection of Parrott was a strange one. He had urged claims against Mexico for a supply of English ale, "in a manner that disgusted Thompson, as the records of the State Department would have shown. Thompson's comment on Parrott's claim was that it had grown more enormously than 'Jon^I^'^ gourd.' " Ibid., 270. 480 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST Parrott's report. — Parrott was persuaded from the first that Great Britain exercised an undue influence over Mexican affairs and that there was danger of Cali- fornia's falling into the hands of that nation. Early in June he got into indirect communication with the Mexi- can government and reported that no one believed war would be declared against the United States on account of Texas. The Mexican people were foolish and pre- sumptuous, he said, but hardly enough so to force the administration "to adopt a measure which if persisted in might ere long endanger the national existence of their country." This was his report of July 12, 1845. On August 26 following, he informed Buchanan, the Secretary of State, that a new cabinet had been formed by Herrera which was more in sympathy with Her- rera's views, and that no war would be urged on ac- count of Texas. The desire to receive a commissioner from the United States had been publicly manifested, "and every vessel that arrives at Isla Verde is said to have one on board. I have reason to believe that an envoy from the United States would not only be well received, but his arrival would be hailed with joy. An envoy possessing suitable qualifications for this Court might with comparative ease settle over a breakfast the most important national question, while such as we have lately had here would make matters worse." ^^ Slidell to be appointed Minister to Mexico. — ^John Black and F. M. Dimond, United States consuls at Mexico City and at Vera Cruz respectively, also in- formed the administration that the Mexican govern- ment desired to reestablish diplomatic relations. Polk discussed the subject with members of his cabinet, and at a regular meeting of that body on September 16 it was unanimously determined to send a minister to Mex- ico, but "it was to be kept a profound secret that such a step was contemplated, for the reason mainly that if ^' Quoted in ibid., 271. THE MEXICAN CESSION 481 it was known in advance in the United States that a minister had been sent to Mexico, it would, of course, be known to the British, French, and other Foreign Ministers at Washington, who might take measures to thwart or defeat the objects of the mission." ^' At the same meeting it was agreed that John Slidell should be offered the mission. Polk had said to the cabinet, according to his Diary, that one great object of the mission was to adjust, a permanent boundary between the United States and Mexico, and that in doing this Slidell would be in- , structed to purchase Upper California and New Mex- ico. A better boundary, Polk thought, would be the Del Norte (Rio Grande) from its mouth to El Paso and thence west to the Pacific, the territory north and east of that line to be ceded to the United States. The cost of such a boundary was of secondary importance. It might be acquired for fifteen or twenty million, but the President was willing to pay forty million if neces- sary to acquire it. The next day the President wrote SHdell a confidential letter informing him that it was the intention of the government to appoint him and re- quested him to be ready to depart on the Mexican mis- sion on a day's notice. Meanwhile Parrott's mission in Mexico had become known, and the Mexican government under Herrera was denounced for tolerating him, and was accused of engaging in treason. On November i, El Amiga del Pueblo, a Mexican newspaper declared: This vile government has been and is in correspondence with the usurpers. The Yankee Parrott and the American consul at Mexico are those who have agreed with the government for the loss of Texas, and this same Parrott has departed for the North to say to his government to send a commissioner to make with our government an igno- 18 Polk's Diary, I. 34- 482 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST rainious treaty on the basis of the surrender of Texas and we know not what other part of the republic. Parrott was characterized as a shameless sharper and adventurer, and was accused of having revealed the in- formation regarding his mission before leaving Mex- ico." Slidell's formal appointment had been held up tem- porarily following the cabinet meeting of September 17. Parrott's mission ended October 18, and he carried with him to Washington a note from Black, the Amer- ican consul, which was emphatic in its assurance that the Mexican government was inclined to adjust the questions in dispute between the two republics. Mean- while despatches came from Commodore Connor, who commanded the naval forces in the Gulf of Mexico, expressing similar views. On November 10, 1845, the day following Parrott's arrival in Washington, Buchanan sent Slidell his appointment as "Envoy ex- traordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Mexico," together with his instructions. Slidell's instructions. — "To counteract the influence of foreign Powers, exerted against the United States in Mexico and to restore those ancient relations of peace and good will which formerly existed between the Gov- ernments and the citizens of the sister republics will be the principal object of your mission." The subject of claims against Mexico was reviewed at some length, and Slidell was informed that it would be his "duty, in a prudent and friendly spirit, to impress the Mex- ican government with a sense of their great injustice toward the United States, as well as the patient for- bearance which has been exercised by us." This could not be expected to continue much longer unless these claims were settled in a satisfactory way as soon as possible. Of course Mexico could not settle them. She ^^ Reeves, Diplomacy under Tyler and Polk, 273. THE MEXICAN CESSION 483 was in no position to do so. They would have to be as- sumed by the American government. "Fortunately, the joint Resolution of Congress, approved March i, 1845, 'for annexing Texas to the United States,' presents the means of satisfying these claims, in perfect consistency with the interests as well as the honor of both repub- lics. It has reserved to this government the adjustment 'of all questions of boundary that might arise with other governments.' This question of boundary may there- fore be adjusted in such a manner between the two/ republics, as to cast the burden of the debt due to Amer- ican claimants upon their own government, whilst it will do no injury to Mexico." Then follows a discussion of the respective rights of Texas and Mexico to territory involved in the dispute over the Texas boundary. In considering the question, the Mexican government was informed that the "inde-/ pendence of Texas must be considered a settled fact, and is not to be called in question." This accepted by Mexico, Slidell was to point out to that nation the ad- vantages that might come, both in relief from difficul- ies and from expense in protecting so remote a territory, if the boundary could be adjusted so that the settle- ments in the "long and narrow valley of New Mexico or Santa Fe" would be included within the limits of the United States. If Mexico manifested a willingness to surrender New Mexico to the United States, Slidell was "authorized to offer to assume the payment of all the just claims of our citizens against Mexico, and, in addition, to pay five millions of dollars." A still more desirable boundary "would be an extension of the line from the northwest corner of New Mexico, along the range of mountains, until it would intersect the forty- second parallel." If Mexico rejected these, the Amer- ican minister was to offer to pay all the just claims of citizens of the United States providing the southern republic recognized the boundary Texas had estab- 484 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST lished December 19, 1836: the Rio Grande from its mouth to its source, thence north to the forty-second parallel. It is scarcely to be supposed, however, that Mexico would relinquish five millions of dollars for the sake of retaining the narrow strip of territory in the valley of New Mexico, west of the Rio Grande, and thus place under two distinct Governments the small settlements closely identi- fied with each other, on the opposite banks of the river. There was another subject which would demand the particular attention of the American minister. "From information possessed by this Department it is to be seriously apprehended that both Great Britain and France have designs upon California." The United States was vitally interested in such a possible transfer. If any such design exists, "you will exert all your en- ergies to prevent an act which, if consummated, would be so fraught with danger to the best interest of the United States." Buchanan then calls Slidell's attention to the great importance of San Francisco Bay to the United States. Its advantages were striking and too obvious to require enumeration. If all these should be turned against our country, by the cession of California to Great Britain, our principal commercial rival, the consequences would be disastrous. The Government of California is now but nominally dependent on Mexico, and it is more than doubtful whether her authority will ever be reinstated. Under these circum- stances, it is the desire of the President that you shall use your best efforts to obtain a cession of that Province from Mexico to the United States. Could you accomplish this object, you would render immense service to your country and establish an enviable reputation for yourself. Money would be no object when compared to the value of the THE MEXICAN CESSION 485 • • • acquisition. Still the attempt must be made with great prudence and caution, and in such a manner as not to alarm the jealousy of the Mexican government. Should you, after soundiilg the Mexican authorities on the subject, dis- cover a prospect of success, the President would not hesi- tate to give, in addition to the assumption of the just claims of our citizens on Mexico, twenty-five millions of dollars for the cession. Should you deem it expedient, you are authorized to offer this sum for a boundary, running due West from the southern extremity of New Mexico to the Pacific Ocean, or from any other point on its western boundary, which would embrace Monterey within our lim- its. If Monterey cannot be obtained, you may, if necessary. In addition to the assumption of these claims, offer twenty millions of dollars for any boundary, commencing at any point on the western line of New Mexico, and running due West to the Pacific, so as to include the bay and harbor of San Francisco. ... Of course when I speak of any point on the western boundary of New Mexico, it is understood, that, from the Del Norte to that point, our boundary shall run according to the first offer which you have been authorized to make. I need scarcely add, that, in authoriz- ing the offer of five millions or twenty-five millions or twenty millions of dollars, these are to be considered as the maximum sums. A treaty might be concluded if he could accomplish any of the objects specified. The delicacy and impor- tance of his mission was emphasized. The people to whom he was sent were proverbially jealous, and the intrigues of foreign powers had irritated them against the United States. To conciliate their good will is indispensable to your success. I need not warn you against wounding their national vanity. You may probably have to endure their unjust reproaches with equanimity. It would be difficult to raise a point of Honor between the United States and so feeble and degraded a Power as Mexico. This reflection 486 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST will teach you to bear and forbear much for the sake of accomplishing the great object of your mission.^" Significance of the instructions. — Parrott's mission and Slidell's instructions taken together, Reeves de- clares, prove, in the first place, that the Mexican war was not the result of the annexation of Texas, and, in the second, that Polk reopened diplomatic relations w^ith Mexico for the purpose of purchasing California. New Mexico should be included. Slidell's instruc- tions provide the keynote to Polk's aggressive pohcy of expansion. This was to be accomplished by peaceful means. The claims against Mexico which had been discussed since Jackson's administration were to pro- vide the foundation for the plan, and the joint resolution under which Texas was annexed furnished the excuse for initiating the subject. The claims could not be paid in cash by Mexico ; the boundary of Texas was unset- tled. What more natural than to suggest that the claims be paid in land through an adjustment of the boundary of Texas? '^ Slidell reaches Mexico. — With Buchanan's instruc- tions in his possession, Slidell hastened on board a man- of-war and sailed immediately for Vera Cruz, arriving there on November 30, and at once set out for Mexico City. He was to meet bitter disappointment. Her- rera's government had reached the lowest point of effi- ciency and responsibility. "Every morning it looked for a revolution, and every night for a mutiny. Its one idea was to hold on until the assembling of Congress on the first of January, in the hope that something favor- able might then occur; and it found this last resource, threatened by its reasonable and pacific policy in regard to the United States." '' Slidell was made to fee l imme- 2" Buchanan to Slidell, November lo, 1845, in Sen. Ex. Doc. No. «, soth Cong., ist Sess., 71, and in J. B. Moore (editor), Works of James Buchanan, VI. 294-306. 21 Ibid., 274, 275. ?^ Smith, The War 'with Mexico, I. 95, 96, THE MEXICAN CESSION 487 diately that his arrival was premature. A little later a franker attitude was taken toward him by Mexican officials. The council of state, which was a permanent body of nobles, expressed the belief that the United States wished to restore friendly relations between the two republics and avoid war. The American govern- ment was attempting to introduce a minister into Mex- ico against the will of the latter. It would be an unparalleled humiliation if Mexico were to receive a regular American minister before she received satis- faction for the outrage and injury inflicted upon her. "In other words, Mexico had promised to receive Sli- dell, but it did not comport with her interest and dignity to fulfill the agreement." This decision determined his rejection, and on December 20 he received official notification of it and withdrew under an escort to Jalapa, a city on the Vera Cruz road not far from the coast. Here he waited for instructions from his gov- ernment. During the first days of the new year, Jan- uary 4, 1846, Paredes (the new executive) swore to defend the integrity of Mexican territory. The Her- rera government which had manifested a willingness to be friendly was replaced by the administration of Paredes which rode into office on the back of the op- position. Failure of his mission, — Meanwhile Slidell's request ' for further instructions reached Buchanan, and the Sec- retary of State ordered the American minister to remain in Mexico and to do whatever he could to reopen nego- tiations. If he thought it wise he was to let Paredes know that his financial difficulties could be relieved by the United States if his government would arrange matters satisfactorily with the republic of the north. Slidell was to make another formal request for a hear- ing and was to do everything he could honorably to avoid a rupture. On March i, 1846, Slidell tried once more to secure his reception by the Mexican govern- 488 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST ment, but his overtures were rejected, and, completely disgruntled, he left the field in which he had expected to accomplish so much for his government and for himself. The President hoped to gain a settlement with Mex- ico through diplomatic negotiations. "It is the earnest desire of the President," Bancroft had begun his con- fidential communication to Commodore Sloat who com- manded the Pacific fleet, "to pursue the policy of peace; and he is anxious that you, and every part of yoor squad- ron, should be assiduously careful to avoid any act which could be construed as an act of aggression." And in closing, he had repeated : "You are enjoined to do everything consistent with the national honor" to avoid war. Commodore Connor, who commanded the Gulf fleet, received similar orders. However, Polk pre- pared to use compulsion if it should become necessary. The disposition of the military and naval forces was therefore in accord with his diplomatic policy. Taylor was ordered to cross the Sabine River into Texas in May, 1845, i^ order to protect its pending annexation, and that General advanced to Corpus Christi. Connor was ordered, in the event of war, to dislodge the Mex- ican troops "from any post she may have east of the mouth of the Del Norte; take possession of Tampico; and, if your force is sufficient, will take the castle of San Juan d'Ulloa, it being the determination of the President to preserve peace if possible; and if war comes, to recover peace by adopting the most prompt and energetic measures." The Pacific fleet was strengthened by the addition of vessels from the Medi- terranean and East India squadrons, and Sloat was ordered to seize San Francisco Bay and any other Paci- fic ports he could hold in case he heard that hostilities had begun between the United States and Mexico." 23 Bancroft to Sloat, June 24, and Bancroft to Connor July 11 igAt- H. R. Ex. Doc. 60, 30th Cong., ist Sess,, 231-233. •* ^ ". «■ THE MEXICAN CESSION 489 Instructions to Larkin.— Thomas O. Larkin, the most prominent American merchant at Monterey and the United States consul in California, reported the con- dition of that province to Secretary of State Buchanan in the summer of 1845. The people of California, he said, were apathetic and in some cases even disloyal to Mexico, and there were indications that France and Great Britain had designs on the province.^* A short time after the receipt of Larkin's report Buchanan for- warded a communication to the United States consul at Monterey. This was dated October 17, 1845. The in- structions contained therein outlined a policy which was clear and consistent. The President and his ad- visers hoped there would be no war with Mexico. The acquisition of California was one of the important objects of the administration, but it was hoped that this could be done through purchase. Furthermore Polk and his officials desired to secure with California the cooperation and good will of its inhabitants. It would be better if the Californians could be induced to de- clare themselves independent of Mexico. In the contest between Mexico and California [Buchanan wrote] we can take no part, unless the former should com- mence hostilities against the United States; but should California assert and maintain her independence, we shall render her all the kind offices in our power, as a sister Republic. (This government has no ambitious aspirations to gratify and no desire to extend our federal system over more territory than we already possess, unless by the free and spontaneous wish of the independent people of adjoin- ing territories.] The exercise of compulsion or improper influence to accomplish such a result, would be repugnant both to the policy and principle of this government. But whilst these are the sentiments of the President, he could not view with indifference the transfer of California to Great Britain or any other European Power. . . . 2< Larkin to Buchanan, June 6, 1845, and July 10, quoted in Reeves, Diplomacy under Tyler and Polk, 27&. 490 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST Whilst the President will make no effort and use no influence to induce California to become one of the free and independent States of this Union, yet if the people should desire to unite their destiny with ours, they would be received as brethren, whenever this can be done without affording Mexico just cause of complaint. Their true policy for the present in regard to this question, is to let events take their course, unless an attempt should be made to transfer them without their consent either to Great Britain or France. This they ought to resist by all the means in their power, as ruinous to their best interests and destructive of their freedom and independence. In addition to your Consular functions the President has thought proper to appoint you a confidential agent in Cali- fornia; and you may consider the present despatch as your authority for acting in this character. . . . You will take care not to awaken the jealousy of the French and English agents thereby assuming any other than your consular character.^" Gillespie's mission. — It would require several months for the instructions to Larkin and Sloat to reach them by way of Cape Horn and the Sandwich Islands, For this reason duplicates of the despatches were sent through Mexico in the care of Lieutenant Archibald H. Gillespie of the United States marine corps, who permitted it to be understood later that he had also been charged with important verbal commun- ications. He delivered Sloat's orders, but committed to memory the instructions to Larkin while on the voy- age to Vera Cruz, and destroyed the paper — probably because Sloat had a cipher code while Larkin had none.^" Gillespie came recommended by the admin- istration. "He is a gentleman," Buchanan had written Larkin, "in whom the President imposes entire confi- dence. He has seen these instructions and will cooper- 2= Buchanan to Larkin, October 17, 1845; Moore, Buchanan, VI. 275-277. '^* Rives, United States and Mexico, II. 169. THE MEXICAN CESSION 491 ate as a confidential agent with you, in carrying them into execution." The Lieutenant of Marines, it ap- pears, also brought a message to John C. Fremont, who was supposed to be somewhere on the Pacific coast when Gillespie left Washington. The Bear Flag. — Gillespie arrived in Monterey April 17, 1846, just six months after the date of the in- structions he brought to the American consul. He spent two days with Larkin and then started for San Francisco Bay and Sutter's Fort, arriving at the latter place April 28. Supplying himself with men and horses he moved north in pursuit of Fremont whom he joined on the western shore of Klamath Lake in Oregon on May 9." The combined expeditions then returned down the Sacramento valley and established camp at the Bear and Feather rivers. A report was brought here that Vallejo was sending a hundred and seventy horses south to General Jose Castro, and rumor de- clared they were to be used to expel foreigners from the land and to erect a fort on Bear River. On June 9 a dozen men commanded by Ezekiel Merritt started in pursuit and at dawn of the following day surprised the Mexicans in charge and seized the horses. These they took back with them to Fremont's camp, arriving there on the morning of the eleventh. Itwas then determined to take Sonoma which was the only Mexican settlement of any importance north of San Francisco Bay. On the afternoon of the same day Merritt left camp with twenty-nine men for the purpose of executing this plan. Others joined them along the way and early Sunday morning, June 14, they roused the little village and made prisoners of Mariano Vallejo, his brother Sal- "The mission of Gillespie has been frequently discussed. See Ban- croft, California, V. 26-29, 85-89; Royce, California, 129-150; Richman, California, 307-3 12, and notes ; Rives, United States and Mexico, II. Chapter XXXIV; and Fremont's latest version printed in his Memoirs, 488-490, and in "The Conquest of California," published in the Century Magazine for April, 1891, XLI. 917-928. 492 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST vador, his brother-in-law, Jacob B. Leese, and his secretary, Victor Prudon. The prisoners were sent to Fremont who ordered them confined in Sutter's Fort, though disclaiming any part in the Sonoma affair. Meanwhile the leaders of the revolutionary movement debated, consumed quantities of aguardients, and agreed to declare California an independent republic. A flag was constructed by William L. Todd, in the upper left- hand corner of which was drawn a five-pointed red star fifteen inches in diameter, and facing the star was a bear. Below the star and the bear was the emblem "California Republic." William B. Ide who had suc- ceeded to the command drew up a proclamation declar- ing the government formed to be "a just, liberal, and honorable" one which should secure to its citizens "life and property; detect and punish crime and injustice; encourage virtues, industry and literature; foster agri- culture and manufactures, and guarantee freedom to commerce." ^' Sloat appears. — The appearance of Commodore Sloat on July 7, 1846, put an end to all schemes for establishing a California republic. He had reached Monterey on the second, but Larkin had persuaded him to delay action for five days. At the end of the period he landed two hundred and fifty men, raised the Amer- ican flag over the custom house, fired a salute, and posted a proclamation declaring California annexed to the United States. On July 9 the flag was raised at San Francisco and Sonoma, and two days later at Sutter's Fort. On the twenty-third Sloat placed Stockton in command, and six days later sailed for home. There was some desultory fighting in California during the next few months, but all opposition was at last stamped out and by the treaty of Cahuenga on January 13, 1847, the conquest was complete. 2* The proclamation is quoted in Bancroft, California, V. 152 note. For an account of the Bear Flag revolt see ibid., 145-190, and reference eiven therein. THE MEXICAN CESSION 493 It is necessary now to turn back to the activities of the administration in Washington in order to trace the movement of events leading to the declaration of war against Mexico, the conquest of other Mexican terri- tory, and the conclusion of peace. Wilmot proviso and anti-slavery sentiment. — ^We have said that Polk had a sincere desire to settle the Mexican problems peaceably. This is shown by an examination of the despatches sent to diplomatic, mili- tary, and naval officials during the period preceding the outbreak of the war. However, all efforts at peace failed and in May, 1846, war began between the two countries. On August 4 following, the President asked Congress for two million dollars to be used for carrying on negotiations. On Saturday morning, August 8, a bill was introduced appropriating two million dollars "for the purpose of defraying any extraordinary ex- penses which may be incurred in the intercourse be- tween the United States and foreign nations." Through Jacob Brinkerhoflf of Ohio, David Wilmot of Penn- sylvania was induced to offer an amendment to the bill which read as follows :^^ Provided, that, as an express and fundamental con- dition of the acquisition of any territory from the Republic of Mexico by the United States, by virtue of any treaty : which may be negotiated between them, and to the use by the Executive of the moneys herein appropriated, neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist in any part of said territory, except for crime, whereof the party shall first be duly convicted. The proviso was discussed freely, and the bill with this attached finally passed the House by a vote of eighty-five to seventy-nine. It was taken to the Senate on Monday morning, the last day of the session. Con- gress was to adjourn at noon for the convenience of cer- 2» Adams, Memoirs, XII. 270. 494 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST tain members who took the train for Baltimore.'" The bill was brought up and a motion made to strike out the Wilmot proviso. This was opposed in a speech by Davis of Massachusetts which was prolonged until the hour of adjournment. The next session began in De- cember and another effort was made to put through the proviso, but it could not be done. The proviso was sig- nificant, among other things, as the sequel to the "bar- gain of 1844," and it afforded anti-slavery men in all parties an opportunity to express their opposition to annexing any more slave territory. James Russell Lowell expressed the sentiment of the latter group in the fierce satire of his Bigelow Papers: They may talk o' Freedom's airy Tell they're pupple in the face, — It's a grand gret cemetary Fer the barthrights of our race; They jest want this Californy So's to lug new slave-states in To abuse ye, an' to scorn ye. An' to plunder ye like sin. Success of United States troops. — ^While Congress was in the midst of sectional discussion and Polk was expressing in his Diary '^ his views on the subject of the Wilmot proviso, the American troops were carrying out the President's plan of winning a peace as soon as possible. Taylor won easily over the Mexicans in the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, and then crossed the Rio Grande and defeated them again at Monterey. Santa Anna had been permitted to pass through the lines by the President's order, but took the side of the patriot and organized a new army with which he made a vain attack upon Taylor at Buena Vista in February, 1847. Meanwhile Ke arnv had led ■"Persinger, "The 'Bargain of 1844' as the Origin of the Wilmot Pro- viso," in American Historical Association, Annual Retort iqtt t ,«« mt THE MEXICAN CESSION 495 his troops to Santa Fe, which was taken without firing a gun, and a civil government was established. He then made his way to California where he arrived in time to take a small part in completing the conquest of that territory. Scott landed at Vera Cruz in March, 1847, and without difficulty fought his way steadily across the mountains and into the valley of Mexico. Proposals to annex all of Mexico. — Late in October news of the decisive victory of American arms reached Washington and gave rise to an active agitation to in- corporate into the Union the whole of Mexico.^^ Those who were opposed to the administration asserted that this was the intention of the President, and the fact that Robert J. Walker, his Secretary of the Treasury, ad- vocated such a policy increased their suspicion. Dur- ing the months of December, 1847, and the early weeks '2 For a discussion of this subject see E. G. Bourne, "The Absorption of Mexico," in Essays in Historical Criticism, 227-242. There was con- siderable discussion in the public press of the day apparently demanding occupation of the country. In Niles' fTeekly Register, LXXIII. 113, the Baltimore American comments on the subject and quotes from the New York Sun, which in turn had quoted the Washington Union: "Though late in the season, we are happy to welcome the government organ to a share in the admiration of a beautiful country, which we expressed five months ago. . . . God has not made a more magnificent land than Mex- cio. It is a paradise blessed with every variety of climate, every capacity of soil, and almost every species of fruit and flower on the face of the earth." And "if you look beyond her beauty to her wealth, behold the cotton, wheat, maize, indigo, and cochineal fields, a source of wealth in- exhaustible. Look, too, at her forests of mahogany, rose, zebra and satin woods — at her dye woods richer than the treasures of India. Or if the Vnion will penetrate still further, let it look down into those mines of Potosi, Zacatecas, and Durango. Look at the gold and silver glittering there in masses that want for the pick of the Saxon. . . . Mexico is truly a magnificent country, over and under the soil bursting with everything the heart can desire. We have seen this for years, and the Union now sees it. Four years ago, too, we saw and urged the advantages of a ship canal or railway across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and five months ago we saw and urged the necessity of occupying that beautiful country, Mexico. "The Union now sees and urges all this. Better late than never, we welcome the Union and the whole press of the Union to share our admira- tion. Let them repeat it until it becomes a common theme, and we shall see the Aztec and American eagle clasping wings, and our Yankee boys swapping knicknacks with the Americanized Rancheros for gold." 496 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST of January, 1848, a number of resolutions were intro- duced into Congress in ;favor of or opposed to the policy of all of Mexico. Of the latter a number were introduced by southern Whigs and gave illustration to the point that the interests of slavery and expansion were not identical, Calhoun of South Carolina was opposed to it, while Dickinson of New York, a Demo- crat of the Hunker type, and Hannegan of Indiana were among its strongest supporters. On December 15, Calhoun had offered a resolution, "that to conquer Mexico or hold it either as a province or to incorporate it in the Union would be inconsistent with the avowed object for which the war has been prosecuted; a de- parture from the settled policy of the government; in conflict with its character and genius and in the end subversive of our free and popular institutions." ^' In discussing them a few days later Cass made the assertion that "no man in this nation" was "in favor of the extinction of the Nationality of Mexico." "Why, you can hardly read a newspaper," Calhoun exclaimed, "without finding it filled with speculation upon this subject. The proceedings which took place in Ohio at a dinner given to one of the volunteer officers of the army returned from Mexico show conclusively that the impression entertained by the persons present was, that our troops would never leave Mexico until they had conquered the whole country. This was the sentiment advanced by the officer and it was applauded by the assembly, and endorsed by the official paper of that state." In his speech delivered January 4, 1848, he made his statement stronger. At that time, he said, there was "a party scattered all over every portion of the country in favor of conquering the whole of Mex- ico. To prove that such was the case, it is only neces- sary to refer to the proceedings of numerous large pub- ''s Quoted in Bourne, Essays in Historical Criticism, 234. Cong Globe, 30th Cong., ist Sess., 26. THE MEXICAN CESSION 497 lie meetings, to declarations repeatedly made in the public journals, and to the opinions expressed by the officers of the army and individuals of standing and influence, to say nothing of declarations made here and in the other House of Congress." '* Reasons for failure of proposals. — What then pre- vented the annexation of all Mexico in 1847 to 1848? Bourne, in concluding his essay on the subject, gives four reasons why it failed : ( i ) The growing realiza- tion that territorial expansion and the extension of slavery were involved so inextricably with each other that every accession of territory would precipitate a slavery crisis powerfully counteracted the natural in- clinations of people toward expansion which inclina- tions are so clearly revealed to-day. (2) The fact that the members of Congress who met in December, 1847, had been elected over a year earlier, before the great military victories of 1847 had begun to undermine the first revulsion from a war of conquest, gave the control of the House to the Whigs, who as a party were com- mitted against conquest and annexation. (3) There was the opposition of President Polk, who controlled the policy of the government. (4) There was not time for the movement to gain sufficient headway to over- come these obstacles. While Polk had opposed annexing the whole of Mexico, he had expressed a desire at an earlier period I to take over more territory than was acquired. On June 30, 1846, near the end of an animated discussion be- tween Buchanan and Walker at a cabinet meeting, Polk expressed himself as follows on the subject: As to the boundary which we should establish by a Treat y of Peace, I remarked that I preferred the twenty- '* Quoted by Von Hoist, III. 343. The speech may be found in Calhoun's Works, IV. 396-424. See Niles' Weekly Register, LXXIII. 334. Bourne, ^35-237, gives a number of instances bearing out Calhoun's assertion. See also Smith, War •with Mexico, II. 243-246. 498 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST sixth degree to any boundary North of it, but that if it was found that that boundary could not be obtained ] was willing to take thirty-two degrees, but that in any event we must obtain Upper California and New Mexico in any Treaty of Peace we would rnake.^^ Trist's appointment and instructions. — Shortly after Scott had taken command of the troops in a move against Mexico City from Vera Cruz the President had appointed a special agent to accompany the army and negotiate a peace at the earliest opportunity. Nicholas Philip Trist, a Virginian, and chief clerk of the State Department, was selected for the mission. He was a man with but little training in diplomatic experiences and one who lacked the essential characteristics of pa- tience, tact, and judgment. He received from the Sec- retary of State, Buchanan, an official letter, which considerably restricted his discretionary powers, and the project of a treaty together with a statement that under no circumstances should peace be concluded without the cession to the United States of New Mex- ico and California and the recognition of the Rio Grande as the southwestern boundary. What Slidell had been authorized to do before the outbreak of the war now became an ultimatum, thanks to the success of the army. According to his instructions Trist was authorized to pay in addition to the claims not more than twenty millions for the cession of New Mexico and Upper California, and an additional amount not to exceed five millions for Lower California. For the right of transit and passage across Tehuantepec he might pay an additional five millions. The project accompanying Trist's instructions contained eleven ar- ticles covering the points just mentioned. As soon as the treaty was ratified by Mexico, according to the third article, information should be given the military and ^^ Polk, Diary, I. 496, 497. THE MEXICAN CESSION 499 naval commanders of both sides and hostilities should be suspended immediately. This was the President's idea of "conquering a peace." ^^ Scott and Trist. — Trist reached Vera Cruz on May 6, 1847. Immediately there began a bitter correspon- dence between him and General Scott which came near wrecking the cause in which both were interested. Knowledge of the disagreement reached the President, and under date of June 12, 1847, he wrote in his diary: It appears that General Scott has taken offence because Mr. Trist was sent to his Head Quarters as a commissioner invested with Diplomatic Powers and full authority to con- dude a Treaty of peace. He desired to be invested with this power himself. ... It is clear from this despatch, as well as one of previous date enclosing a letter from Gen'l Scott to Mr. Trist, that he would not cooperate with iMr. Trist in accomplishing the object of his mission, the conclusion of an honorable peace. ^' Trist recalled. — It was not long, however, before Polk heard more of the dispute through other channels and determined to recall Trist. Mr. Trist is recalled because his remaining longer with the army could not, probably, accomplish the objects of his mission, and because his remaining longer might, and probably would, impress the Mexican government with the belief that the United States were so anxious for peace that they would ultimately conclude one upon the Mexican terms. Mexican commissioners and their instructions. — Trist received and acknowledged his recall, and pre- pared to return to the United States, but was finally '"Buchanan's letter of instructions and the project in S. Ex. Doc. No. 52, 30th Cong., ist Sess., 81-89. "Polk's Diary, III. 57. The correspondence between Trist and Scott may be found in S. Ex. Doc, No. S2, 30th Cong., ist Sess., 154 ff. 500 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST persuaded by Scott '^ and the Mexican commissioners to remain and conclude a treaty. The Mexican com- missioners with whom he was to carry on negotiations were instructed to endeavor first to procure the imme- diate retirement of the American army to points north of the Rio Grande and Gila rivers. Second, they were to try to induce the United States to submit its preten- sions with respect to Mexico to a congress of represen- tatives from all American nations, and agree to abide by the decision of such a congress. Or, as a substitute for this plan, an effort might be made to have the sub- . ject submitted to friendly powers for arbitration. But these directions were included in order to pay tribute to appearances. More serious instructions followed. The commissioners were to ask that the boundary be established along the Rio Grande from its mouth to a point two leagues north of El Paso, thence to the source of the Gila River, down that stream to the Colorado, and to the Pacific along a parallel north of San Diego. Some strong, friendly power was to guarantee the boundaries and the territory ceded was to be organized into states or territories immediately. Additional demands would require the protection of all property held for religious purposes, would recognize the valid- ity of land grants made by Mexico, would have the United States assume all claims of American citizens against the southern republic, and would expect the United States to pledge itself to annex no more Mex- ican territory. As soon as the treaty was signed Amer- ^® Scott and Trist had become friendly by this time and Polk was con- vinced that the latter had been made the tool of the former. "Though he had in a previous despatch acknowledged the receipt of his letter of recall from the Secretary of State, he announces that he had reopened nego- tiations with the Mexican authorities and had resolved to conclude a treaty with them. His despatch is arrogant, impudent, and very insulting to hi« government, and even personally offensive to the President. He admits he is acting without authority and in violation of the positive order re- calling him. It is manifest to me that he has become the tool of Gen'l Scott and his menial instrument, and that the paper was written at Scott'* instance and dictation." Polk, Diary, III. 300, 301. THE MEXICAN CESSION 501 ican troops were to be withdrawn, captured artillery and munitions of war were to be restored, and the cus- tom-houses were to be at once returned to the Mexican authorities. These were the principal matters included in the general instructions. In separate documents the com- missioners were required to endeavor to get the line of the Nueces, instead of the Rio Grande. This point was to be yielded only in case the treaty would fail by re- quiring it. The amount to be required from the United States for the cession of territory was to be not less than thirty million.^' Treaty concluded. — The official conference between Trist and the Mexican commissioners began in the City of Mexico on January 2, 1848. The American repre- sentative explained that the line of the Rio Grande and |the inclusion of San Diego in the California territory ceded to the United States constituted a sine qua non. He further informed the commissioners that this gov- ernment would not pay more than fifteen million dol- lars for the territory included in the cession Mexico would be expected to make. There was discussion and delay which annoyed Trist, and again it looked as if a satisfactory settlement could not be made. Pressure was exerted upon the Mexican President, Pena y Pena, by the commissioners and the British charge d'affaires, which resulted in instructions going finally to the com- missioners authorizing them "to sign the treaty with the least possible burdens upon the country, in view of the melancholy circumstances in which it is situated." " And at Guadalupe Hidalgo, the seat of the famous shrine of the virgin of Guadalupe, the treaty was signed according to the terms insisted upon by Trist. "Rives, V. S. and Mexico, II. 603. *" Quoted in ibid., 612. See Chapter XLIX for a full account of the 'treaty negotiations ; Reeves, Diplomacy under Tyler and Polk; and Smith's ^ar tuitk Mexico, II. Chapters XXVII, XXXII. 502 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST Gila River boundary in the project. — In the fourth article of the project which Trist carried with him to Mexico the boundary which he was instructed to obtain was to follow the middle of the channel of the Rio Grande to the southern line of New Mexico, "thence westwardly along the southern boundary of New Mex- ico to the southwestern corner of the same ; thence north- ward along the western line of New Mexico, until it in- tersects the first branch of the river Gila; or if it should not intersect any branch of that river, then to the point on the said line nearest to such branch ; and thence in a direct line to the same, and down the middle of said branch and of said river, until it empties into the Rio Colorado, and the middle of the Gulf of California, to the Pacific Ocean." " Gila River as route for railroad. — The boundary outlined in article five of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo provided that the Gila River line as indicated in the project should be definitely established as the boundary line between the two republics in that sec- tion.*^ However, Buchanan had, as early as July, 1847, begun to suspect that such a line was not the best one to settle upon. Accordingly he wrote to Trist suggest- ing an "important modification" of this line: and this is, to run it along the thirt^'-second parallel of north latitude from the Rio Grande to the middle of the Gulf of California ... or, if this cannot be obtained, to run it due west from the southwest angle of New Mexico to the middle of the gulf. Either of these lines would include within our limits the whole course of the Gila. From information derived from Major Emory, the valley of that river presents a favorable route for a railroad to the Pacific; but this would sometimes pass on one side and ■•1 S. Ex. Doc. No. 52, 30th Cong., ist Sess., 86. ^2 For the treaty concluded by Trist see ibid., 38-64. The line from the mouth of the Gila to the Pacific was of course made direct in the final treaty instead of including Lower California as provided in the project. THE MEXICAN CESSION 503 sometimes on the other of the bed of the stream. For this reason it is deemed important that the whole valley of that river should be included within the boundary of the United States. " Six days later the Secretary of State again addressed Trist on the subject: The more I reflect upon the subject, the better am I convinced of the importance of running the boundary line between the Rio Grande and the Gulf of California, along the thirty-second parallel of north latitude. We cannot learn that the boundaries of New Mexico have ever been authoritatively and specifically determined; and difficulties might hereafter arise between the two governments in ascertaining where the southwestern angle of New Mexico is situated. A conversation with Major Emory since the date of my last despatch, has convinced me still more of the importance of this modification.** Commissioners and their difficulties. — ^Trist did not secure the modification suggested, however, and that part of the boundary extending along the Gila remained as outlined in Buchanan's project of 1847, and as em- bodied in article five of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hid- lago. This same article of the treaty of 1848 provided that the United States and Mexico should each appoint a commissioner and a surveyor, who should meet at San Diego within a year of the date of the exchange of the ratification of the treaty for the purpose of running the boundary from the Pacific to the mouth of the Rio Grande. The joint commission from the two countries met at San Diego on July 6, 1849, a few days after the time stipulated by the treaty. From the beginning the work was hampered by partisan politics in the United States and by bickerings among the commissioners themselves.*^ There was considerable delay and diffi- " Buchanan to Trist, July 13, 1847, in ibid., 90. "Buchanan to Trist, July 19, 1847, in ibid., 91. *'For information on this part of my subject I am under obligation to 504 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST culty in determining the initial point on the Rio Grande, and not until December 25, 1850, could the commis- sioners agree upon a compromise. This provided that the southern boundary of New Mexico should extend three degrees west of the Rio Grande along the parallel of thirty-two degrees and twenty-two minutes. Con- gress refused to accept the compromise, however, and legislated the commission out of existence. Route for railroad endangered. — In fact the subject was complicated by two circumstances. In the first place it was believed that the compromise settled upon .by the commissioners would sacrifice the only practi- cable southern route for a Pacific railway. In the sec- ond, the inhabitants and officials living in the disputed territory were in a dangerous mood. Conditions were not improved by raids of filibusters from 1848 to 1853. These the United States would not or could not restrain. Peaceable settlement determined upon. — However, the situation had its hopeful aspects. The administra- tive officials in Mexico fully understood the seriousness of involving their country in another war with the United States, and they were in great need of money. Then, too, the strenuous opposition in the United States which the recent war had produced there was fresh in the memory of political leaders and would cause them to shrink from involving their country in another struggle with Mexico, lest they should endan- ger the solidarity of their party and possibly imperil the Union itself. These conditions in the two coun- tries would influence the leaders to establish a peaceful settlement if it could be accomplished. In fact Santa Anna had already determined to settle the difficulties peaceably if he could, and had given a commission to negotiate the treaty to J. N. Almonte on July 26. James Gadsden and his instructions. — The United Dr. James Fred Rippy, -whose valuable thesis on The Relation of tht United States and Mexico, 1848-1860, is still in manuscript form. » 9g wkh 88 16 Woahlnffton ll THE MEXICAN CESSION 505 States selected as its agent to adjust the outstanding difficulties a southerner by the name of James Gadsden. His letter of appointment was dated May 24, 1853, and he received other communications dated July i, 15, and 16. The instructions given must have been complete and detailed.*^ He was directed to make no efifort at that time to renew negotiations regarding the isthmus of Tehuantepec, and probably he was authorized to pay fifteen or twenty millions of dollars for Lower Cali- fornia, Sonora, and a portion of Chihuahua together with a release from further responsibility for the In- dians of the Southwest. Treaty is drawn up. — With his instructions in hand Gadsden arrived at his destination in August and im- mediately entered upon his duties. The two things in which he was probably most interested were the acqui- sition of territory and a route for a southern Pacific railway, but the Mexican Minister of Relations was persistent in his demands for a settlement of Indian difficulties. Gadsden's efforts to carry out his purpose were hampered still further by reports to the effect that the United States was concentrating troops on the south- western frontier and by the threatened invasion of fili- busters from California. The latter report particu- larly caused much uneasiness in Mexico. Gadsden promised to place this matter before his government at once and assured the Mexican officials that the Presi- dent would take action to stop such raids. A corre- spondence then began in regard to a settlement of the outstanding questions. By the middle of December, after numerous conferences, a project was drawn up by the American minister and a completed draft was agreed to by the last day of the year. With this in his possession Gadsden reached Washington during the early week s of 1 854. *°Dr. Rippy says the contents of these letters are not fully known, but "ley probably related primarily to the questions of a new boundary and to indemnities for Indian depredations. Ibid., Chapter VII. 5o6 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST Amended and accepted by Senate, — The treaty was laid before the Senate in February by President Pierce with a request that it be ratified, but it met with strong opposition from some of the members of that body. In fact amendments were made to it by the Senate, and these were accepted by the government of Mexico. However, it was the last of June, 1854, before Congress passed legislation to carry the provisions into effect, and on the same day ratifications were exchanged. As ac- cepted by the two countries the treaty fixed the boun- dary line as it now exists. The United States gained the Mesilla valley or an addition of about 45,535 square miles of territory for which it paid ten millions of dollars. The agreement also abrogated article eleven of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which provided that the United States should protect Mexico from the incursions of Indians. The Gadsden purchase was the last addition of terri- tory acquired adjacent to the United States. It in- cluded the route along the Gila River which had been in great demand in order to enable the projected Southern Pacific railroad to build its roadbed entirely upon American soil. At first it was incorporated with the Territory of New Mexico, but was later divided between that territory and Arizona. Bibliographical Notes Mexican Diplomacy through 1853 : In addition to the general histories of the period the following works are valuable: J. F. H. Claiborne, Life and Correspondence of John A Quitman, 2 vols., New York, i860; Robert Glass Cleland, "The Early Sentiment for the Annexation of California: an Account of the Growth of American Interest in California from 1835 to 1846," in The South- western Historical Quarterly, XVIII, Nos. I, 2, and 3; Carl Russel Fish, American Diplomacy, New York, 1919; J. W. Foster, A Century of American Diplomacy, jy'j6-i8'/6, Boston, 1900; Albert Bushnell Hart, The Foundations of American Foreign Policy, New York, 1910; William Fletcher Johnson, Americas Foreign Rela- THE MEXICAN CESSION 507 tionsj 2 vols., New York, 1916; Julius Klein, The Making of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, on February 2, 1848, Berkeley, California, 1905 (in the University Chronicle, Vol. VII, No. 4) ; Clayton Charles Kohl, Claims as a Cause of the Mexican War, New York, 1914 (New York University Series of Graduate School Studies, No. 2) ; John Bassett Moore, The Principles of American Diplomacy, New York; J. S. Reeves, American Diplomacy under Tyler and Polk, Baltimore, 1907; Justin Harvey Smith, The War with Mexico, 2 vols.. New York, 1919; Ibid., Polk and California (extracts from Mass. Historical Society Publications, Dec, 1916- Jan., 1917, 83-91) ; Ibid., Poinsett's Career in Mexico (in Ameri- can Antiquarian Society for April, 1914) ; Freeman Snow, Treaties and Topics in American Diplomacy, Boston, 1894 (gives the trea- ties) ; Lyon G. Tyler, The Letters and Times of the Tylers, 3 vols., Richmond, 1884- 1896. INDEX Adams negotiates territory ques- tion with Spain, 104-109 Advertising, a factor in develop- ing the West, 270 Alaman report, on U. S.-Mex- ican relations (1830), 331- 333 — recent comments on, 333, 334 American Fur Company, and Presbyterian missionaries in Oregon, 292 — at Saint Louis, 129-130 — expansion of, and competition with rivals, 127-136 — formed by John Jacob Astor, 120 American population in Louisi- ana, increase of, 87 American settlements in Texas, early, 150 American, settlers of Upper Louisiana, 75 Anahuac, Texans expel Mexican troops from (1835), 190, 191 Arkansas, becomes a territory (1819). 95,96 — Missouri, and Kansas ex- plored by Shaw, 58 — post, and La Harpe, 5 — River, road to Fort Osage from, 140-141 — Territory of, 86 removal of Indians, from, 89, 90 Astor, John Jacob, and Amer- ican Fur Company, 120 — and development of North- west fur trade, 215 — and his early interest in Trans - Mississippi West, 119-120 — and Pacific Fur Company, 120-121, 215 — great fur dealer, 119 — strengthens American claims to Oregon country, 218 Astoria, first American Pacific Colony, 215 — marks termination of Pacific Fur expedition, 123-124 — restored to United States, 219, 220, 221 — sold to Northwest Company 218, 219 Atkinson, Colonel, and his Northwest Expedition, 48, 49 — and Long opposed by Con- gress, 50, 51 — expedition of, to effect Indian treaties, 230, 231 Austin, Moses, and his impor- tance in early Texan his- tory, 159-162 — opposes acquisition of Texas, 334- 335 — Stephen F., and anti-Mexican developments, 192-197 and his Texas colony, 162- 172 and Texas Convention of 1833, 189, 190 — Texas colony, government of, 168-169 Ayish Bayou, Early Texas set- tlement, 150 Ajmntamiento, the, in Texas colony, functions of, 171- 172 Bale, Peace of, and the French in relation to Louisiana, 11 509 5IO INDEX "Bargain of 1844" in the Ore- gon controversy, 3 77-38 1 — Southern Democrats win, 378-381 Bay St. Louis, explored by Bien- ville, 2 Bean, Ellis, leaves a Memoir of Nolan's expedition of 1800, 153 Bear Flag, the, in California, 491 Becknell, William, historic Southwest, expedition of, 138, 139 — initiates trade in the South- west, 138, 139 Berger, fur trader, assists McKenzie, 133-134 Berthier, General, and Napo- leon's Louisianan project, 12, 13, 14 Bienville, French explorer of the Mississippi, 2 Big Horn Range discovered by Verendrye, 5 Biloxi, Back Bay of, site of early French fort, 2 Blackfeet country entered by McKenzie, fur trader, 132- 135 Black Hawk Purchase (1832) important in Iowa history, 249, 250 Bonneville, Captain, explora- tions of, 232 Boone, Daniel, 1 1 Boonslick country, the, 87 Boston merchants arouse Spanish wrath, 423 Boundaries, according to Napo- leon, 102 — attempts to fix (1803-21), lOI Bradbury and Breckenridge ex- peditions, 56, 57 Breckenridge and Bradbury ex- peditions, 56, 57 Bridger, Fort, construction of, marks end of fur-trade era, 114 Brindamur, famous outlaw, 9 British Association jealous of American Northwest ex- plorations, 214 British interest in Oregon, Gal- latin's Estimate of, 369-371 British, the, attempt to settle the Oregon issue, 381-390 Buchanan appoints and instructs Slidell, minister to Mexico, 482, 483, 484 — Mexico, and Texas, 361-367 — Oregon, and the 49th parallel, 385,386 — writes Mexico on Texas An- nexation, 361, 362 Butler, Colonel Anthony, and his interest in Texas, 327 — receives instructions from President Jackson, 330 — succeeds Poinsett as U. S. Representative to Mexico, 330 — U. S. Minister to Mexico, unscrupulous dealings of, 468-470 Cadron country explored by Nuttall, 61 Calhoun, Secretary of War, and his plans to fortify Missis- sippi and Missouri rivers, 47-51 — Tyler, and the Oregon issue, 381 California, acquired from Mex- ico (1848, 1853), 468 — admitted into the Union, 465, 466 — advertised by Robidoux, 439 — and Dr. William S. Parrott, secret agent of Polk, 478- 482 — and Isaac Graham, 434, 435, 436 INDEX 511 — and Jedediah S. Smith, 428- 432 — and Mexico — Early U. S. negotiations, 467-475 — and New England, beginning of commerce between, 424 — and New Mexico, overland trade between, 145-147 — and Spain, 426, 427, 428 — annexed to the United States (1847), 492 — before 1841, no overland homeseekers in, 437, 438 — beginning of U. S. interest in, 423, 424 — Company formed for immi- gration to, 440, 441 makes (northern) journey to (1841), 441, 447 second, travels southern route ( 1 841), 447, 448 — conditions alarm Mexico, 433 — expedition of I. R. Walker to, 232 — first American settlers in, 426, 427 — first official attempt to acquire, 469, 470 — foreign influences in: the waltz, 427, 428 — Fremont's mission to, 242, 243 — future of, prophesied (1838) by Alexander Forbes, 448 — gold discovery, 456, 464 relieves Mormons, 410, 411 U. S. Government official reports, 457-459 — gold in, affects Oregon, 321- 323 — gold rush, by land, 460-464 terrible sufferings involved, 463-464 — Great Britain, and France, 484 — hides and tallow trading, 425, 426 — homeseekers, conditions that brought, 438, 439 — immigration and the panic of 1837, 438, 439 — immigration of 1844 and 1845, 450, 451 — immigration of 1846, 450, 451 — immigration sentiment waxes and wanes, 438-440 — interest in, maintained, 471 — 1842-1846, interest not in, 448 — Johann August Sutter in, 436-437 — Mexico conditions, 433-436 — negotiations. Duff Green as special agent in, 477, 478 — New Helvetia established in, 436-437 — 1843, overland immigration to, 449, 450 — overthrow of Spanish regime in, 454, 455 — political conditions, dissatis- faction with, 464 — President Polk plans to ac- quire, 478 — prophesied as "granary of the Pacific," 472 — proposed Tripartite Agree- ment: United States, Great Britain, Mexico, 475, 476 — Republic project fails, 491, 492 ^ — resume of the development of, 423 — revolution of 1836, causes of the, 433, 434 — Russians extend settlements to, 200 — settlements, population and location of, 455, 456 — state government organized, 464, 465 — the Bear Fla^ of, 491 — the Patties in, 432 — the steamer, voyage of (1849), 459> 460 512 INDEX — tragic history of the Donner party's journey to, 451-454 — trail, making a, 444 — Treaty of Guadaloupe Hi- dalgo (1848^, 464 — U. S. attempts to acquire, dur- ing Jackson's administration, 470, 471 ■ — Webster's and Waddy Thompson's correspondence about, 472, 473, 474 — Young, Wolfskin, Walker, and others in, 432, 433 Canning, George, on Early Eng- lish Oregon diplomacy, 368, 369 Caravan trade, importance of, 144-147 Carson, Kit, guides Fremont's Western expedition, 234 Cavelier, Robert, or Sieur de la Salle, as explorer of the Mississippi, i Cession of Louisiana by France to Spain, 7 Champoeg Convention of 1843 (Oregon), 315-317 Chariton, rapid growth of, 91 Chiles and California immigra- tion (1843), 449, 450 Chinese in Northvi^est, proposal to introduce, 276 Christian Advocate, the, and the Oregon missionary move- ment, 286 Cimarron Desert, the, dangers of travel across, 141, 142 Cincinnati Convention ( 1 843 ) relative to Oregon, 375-376 Claiborne, first governor of the new Louisiana, 84 Clark and Lewis Expedition, 34-40 Clark, Fort, established, 38 Clark, George Rogers, 10 Colonization Act of Coahuila and Texas (1825), 173- 174 Colonization law of April 28, 1832 (Texas), 184 Colonization law of 1824, the National, 172-173 Colonization Society of Oregon, 282-284 Colorado, and the Stephen H. Long expedition to the Rockies, 52, 53 — Fremont explores in, 237 Columbia Fur Company ab- sorbed by American Com- pany, 130, 131 Columbia River boundary and England, 382, 383 — named after Robert Gray's vessel, 213 — steam navigation on, 294 — visited by Vancouver, 21 j Columbia, Territory of, 324 Commerce, Iowa, the site of Mormon settlement, 397 Commercial trader compared to fur trader, 137 Competition among fur compa- nies, 127-136 Congressional discussion of Ore- gon, 277-280 Congressional report on Pacific Northwest, extremely im- portant, 275, 276, 277 Constitutional Election in Anglo- American Texas, the first, 170, 171 Convention of 181 8, between England and the United States, concerning Louisiana territory, 1 1 1 , 112 — deals with Anglo-American Northwest claims, 218, 219 — renewal of, 224, 225 Convention of 1832 (Texas), 187, 188 Convention of 1833 (Texas), 188-190 Cook, Captain James, voyages to the Pacific, 204, 205 Cooper County, 91 INDEX 513 Cotton in Louisiana, 7 Council BlufEs, naming of, 38 — the termination of Major Long's scientific expedition, 50 Dana increases California inter- est by his "Two Years be- fore the Mast," 471 Deception Bay, 205 Democrats, northern and south- ern, and Oregon contro- versy, 376-381 Deseret, State of, see State of Deseret Des Moines County, Iowa, or- ganized, 250 De Witt grant, the, (Texas), 174, 175 d'Iberville, Sieur, French ex- plorer of the Mississippi, 2 — receives message left by La Salle's party, 2 Disappointment, Cape, 205 Donner party's migration to California (1846), tragedy of the, 451-454 Douglas, Stephen A., on Texas annexation, 359, 360 — resolution of, on Texas an- nexation, 359, 360 Douglas Texas resolution sub- mitted to Texas govern- ment, 360 Drake, Sir Francis, voyages to the Pacific, 204 Dubuque County, Iowa, organ- ized, 250 Dubuque's Grant (Iowa), 247, 248 Dubuque, Julien, prominent in Iowa history, 247, 248, 249 Dutch immigration to the West, 258, 259, 260, 261 Dutch, the, found a town (Pella) in Iowa, 259 East, Far, beginnings of Amer- ican trade with the, 210, 211 Edwards, Hayden, and the Fre- donian uprising (Texas), 180, 181, 182 Emigrant trains, description of, 178, 179 Empresario in early Texas, the, 173, 174, 176, 177 England and Columbia River boundary, 382, 383 — and Louisiana, Treaty of Paris, 7 — and Mexico, breach between, and the California issue, . 477 — interprets Nootka Sound treaty, 206 — Oregon, and the 49th parallel, 385, 386 — Russia, United States, and Monroe Doctrine, 202, 203 — stirred by Polk on Oregon issue, 383-385 English discovered by early French Mississippi explor- ers, 3 English voyages, early, in the Northwest, 204-214 Escort, government, for Santa Fe caravan, 142, 143, 144 European plants, important in Louisiana agriculture, 6 Expansion policy of President Polk, 478 Explorations west of Mississippi, unsuccessful, 33 Exports, early, from Louisiana, 7 Expositor, The, paper publisned by opposing Mormon fac- tion, 401 Far West, beginning of Mormon movement into (1846), 404 "Florida Parishes," the, 84 Florida, West, declares indepen- dence (1810), 81, 82 514 INDEX — included in new state of Louisiana, 84 Fonda, explores trans-Mississippi West, 67-70 — his route of exploration in the West, 68-70 Forbes, Alexander, prophesies California's future (1838), 448 — California, history of, stimu- lates interest, 471 Fort Bridger, arrival of Mor- mons at, 406 — country of, account of, 406, 407 Fort de Chartres, 17 18, to Check English on the Ohio and Mississippi, 5 Fort Orleans in relation to French and Spanish, 4 Fort Osage to the Arkansas, road from, 140, 141 Fort Smith reached by Nuttall, 61 — reached by Rocky Mountains Expedition, 53, 54 Fort Snelling established on Upper Mississippi (1822), 47, 48 Fort Sutter, Fremont reaches, 238, 239 Fort Vancouver, Fremont at, 238 Fowler, Jacob, explores trans- Mississippi West, 64-67 — on the upper Rio Grande, 66 France, and her Louisiana nego- tiations, II, 12 — claims Oregon country, 200 — Great Britain, and Califor- nia, 484 Franco-Spanish negotiations over Louisiana, 13, 14 Fredonian uprising (Texas, 1826), 180, 181, 182 — affects U. S. -Mexican rela- tions, 182 Fremont, John C, first Western expedition of (1842), 233- 235 — fourth expedition of (unoffi- cial), 243 — homeward route of, second ex- pedition, 240, 241 — second Western expedition of, 235-241 — third expedition of, 241, 242, 243 _ . — what he did, his own estimate of, 239, 240 Fur-trade, competition, 127-136 — era, limits of, 114 — importance of, I14, II 5 — in Louisiana, under Spain, 9, 10 — Lewis and Clark report stirs interest in, 115, 116. — period (1806- 1843) Fur trader, and Indian, rela- tions between, 136, 137 — compared to commercial trader, 137 Gadsden purchase (Mexico), the, 506 Gallatin, Albert, on British in- terest in Oregon, 369-371 Garden Grove founded by Mor- mons, 403 Germans in Iowa, 261 Ghent, England and the United States confer there concern- ing Louisiana territory, 1 10- 112 — Treaty of, left many unset- tled questions, 220, 221 Girard Tract, the, in Iowa, (1795), 248 Gila River, in the Mexican treaty, 502 — route for railroad, 502, 503, 504 Gillespie and Mexico-California issue, 490-492 Godoy and Napoleon, 14, 15 INDEX 515 — discovery in California re- lieves Mormons, 410, 411 — in California affects Oregon, 321-323 and great immigration by land, 460-464 terrible sufferings of seek- ers, 463, 464 — in Oregon, discovery of, 323 — report of, 456, 457 — rush to California — overland routes of 1849, 461-463 Gonzales, founding of (Texas), 175- 176 Graham, affair of 1840 (Califor- nia), the, 435, 436 — Isaac, in California affairs, 434. 435, 436 Gray, Robert, and the Boston expedition to Pacific North- west, 424 — explorer of the Northvv^est, 208-213 — first to carry American flag around the world, 210, 211 Great Britain, and Oregon, 305- 307. 309, 310 — France, and California, 484 — Oregon, and the Monroe Doctrine, 386, 387, 388 — United States, Mexico; pro- posed Tripartite Agreement (California), 475, 476 Great Salt Lake, Fremont in the vicinity of, 237 — Mormons migrate to, 392 — Valley Carrying Company, Mormons organize, 411 Green, Duff, special agent in the California negotiations, 477, 478 G''6gg, Josiah, historian of Santa Fe trade expeditions, 144 Guadaloupe Hidalgo Treaty (California), 464 Gulf of Mexico, French fort on, 2 Gutierrez-Magee Texan expedi- tion, 154-157 Harrison and Tyler elected, 343, 344 Helvetia, New, in California, establishment of, 436, 437 Hidalgo, Guadaloupe, Treaty of (California), 464 Hides and tallow trade, Califor- nia, 425, 426 Hot Springs reached by Nut- tall, 61 Houston, Sam, and the U. S. Government, relative to Texas, 348 — 'On annexation of Texas, 335, 336, 337 — regarding Texas annexation, 346-351 Howard County Established 1816, 90 Hudson Bay Company absorbs Northwest Company, 222 — Great Britain, and Oregon, 307 — in Oregon, property rights of, 389. — posts in the Northwest, 288, 289, 290 Humboldt River, expedition along the, 445, 446 Hunt and Lisa, as fur traders, 121-124 Iberville bayou, 2 Illinois country and agriculture, early eighteenth century, — French expeditions from, 5 Illinois, reception of Mormons in, 395. 396 Indian, and fur trader, relations between, 136, 137 — depredations (Iowa), protec- tion against, 254 — land cessions (lowa^, 252, 253 5i6 INDEX — settlers in Louisiana, 88, 89 — squatters cause trouble in Louisiana, 88 — trader, a factor in Louisiana's development, 6 — treaties in Iowa history, 253 Indians, and American Fur Com- pany, 132-135 — a scourge to Santa Fe traders, 141-144^ — Nez Perce, in search of the Bible, 286 — on Santa Fe route, great dan- gers from, 1 41-147 — removed from Arkansas Ter- ritory (1824-1828), 89, 90 — treaties concluded by Atkin- son with (1825), 230, 231 Indigo in Louisiana, 6 Iowa, admitted to the Union (1846), 257 — after 1850, reasons for rapid growth of, 261, 262 — City founded (1839), 251 — constitution, 255, 256, 257 — constitutional convention, 254, 255 — early population of, 251 — first white settlement in, 247 — heavy immigration to, 262, 263, 264 — in 1850, settled area of, 261 — Indian land cessions in, 252, 253 — Indian name, meaning of the, 251, 252 — Irish in, 261 — Julien Dubuque in, 247, 248, 249 — population, growth of, sum- marized, 264 — rush of population to ( 1 843 ) , 253. 254 — southern, Mormon migration through (1846), 403 — the Girard Tract in, 248 — well advertised, 251-252 — westward, moving trontier of, 263, 264 Irrigating canals of the Mor- mons, 410 Jackson, President, instructs But- ler on Mexico, 330 makes offer to Mexico about Texas, 328 private views of, regarding Texas, 338, 339 — private citizen, anxious about Texas, 351, 352 still for Texas annexation, 344, 345 urges Texas annexation, 353.354 Jefferson and British relations, 21, 22 — and his keen interest in ex- ploration, 32, 33 ■ — and Louisiana Purchase nego- tiations, 19-31 — and the Mississippi contro- versy with Spain, 19, 20 — corresponds with Nolan's agent, in Texas, 1 51-152 — dealing with France and Spain, 19-22 — on the territorial limits, 100- 109 — recommends to Congress an expedition to Far West, 33.34 Jesuits and their early settle- ments, 5 Jones, Commodore, and the Monterey incident (Cali- fornia), 474, 475 Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas explored by Shaw, 58 Kansas River, Fremont explores along, 236 Kaskaskia, Jesuit settlement, 1700, 1817, 5, 6 Kearny, General, as Governor of California, 455 INDEX 517 Kelley, Hall Jackson, govern- ment investigates Oregon reports of, 298-301 — his place in Oregon annals, 285 — important in Oregon history, 280-285 — meets Oregon missionaries, 291 — on California, 47 1 Kendrick, John, voyager of the Northwest, 210, 211 La Harpe and the Arkansas, 5 Land problem, the, in Austin's Texas Colony, 169, 170 Lands, distribution of, among the Mormons, 413, 414 Larkin, Thomas O., and Mexico- California issue, 489, 490 La Salle, or Robert Cavalier, in relation to France and the Mississippi, i Laussat on the Louisiana Pur- chase, 72, 73 Lead mining in Illinois and Wis- consin, 249 Leclerc subdues Toussaint L'Ouverture, 18 Lee, Jason and Daniel, Oregon missionaries, 287 Lewis and Clark Expedition, 34-40 important results of, 40 Jefferson's instructions to, 36, 37 — report quickens fur-trade in- terest, 115-116 — return of, beginning of fur- trade era, 114 Linn's Bill concerning settlement of Oregon ( 1 841), 303 — on Oregon, and Great Britain, 305-307 discussion of, 305-308 Lisa, and Hunt, as fur traders, 121-124 — states his policy with the In- dians, 137 Livingstone and Louisiana Pur- chase negotiations, 25-30 Long, James, filibustering Texan expedition of, 157-159 — Major, Northwest expedition of (1823), 226-230 — Stephen H., and Atkinson en- counter Congressional oppo- sition, 50, 51 and his scientific expedi- tion up the Missouri, 49, 50 and Rocky Mountain Ex- pedition, 51-54 "Long's Republic" makes Texas "free and independent," 157- .159 Louisiana and its retrocession from Spain to France, 11, 12, 13, 14 — and the French, 11, 12 — ceded, population and settle- ment of, 8, 9 — cession. Congress divides into two parts, 74 — Claiborne first governor of, 84 — District of, 74 — divided into nine military dis- tricts, 3 — growth of, slow, 6 — in 18 1 2, population of (1804- 1812), 85,86 — internal problems of, 80 — northern boundary of, 109, 112 — northern part of, 86, 87 — population in 1803, 74 — southern, explorations in, 40, 41 — southern settlements of, 87, 88 — under Spanish rule, prosperity of, 9, 10 Louisiana Purchase, and France's claim to Trans-Mississippi West, I 5i8 INDEX — and Jefferson's diplomatic tri- umph, 19-31 — eastern part of, gradual parti- tion of, 246, 247 — final agreements on, 112 — final settlement of, 1803 and 1804, 72 — formal surrender at two points on the Mississippi, 72 — proposals and counter-pro- posals, 28, 29 — public sentiment concerning, 72, 73 — ranks next to Independence and Constitution, 23, 24 — treaty signed, 30 L'Ouverture, Toussaint, 16-19 and Santo Domingo, 16-19 and the United States, 16-18 Lumber industry and the Mor- mons in Upper Mississippi, 265, 266 — in Wisconsin and Minnesota, 265 — western, extension of, 268, 269 Madison, President, nullifies West Florida's independ- ence, 82 — plans for fortifications on Upper Mississippi, 47 Madrid, and the Treaty of 1795, II Magee-Gutierrez Texan expedi- tion, 154-157 Magee-Kearny Expedition East of the Mississippi, 54, 55 Maine, discussion of her admis- sion contingent on Mis- souri's admission, 96, 97 Mallet, Pierre and Paul, explore to within sight of the Rockies, 5 "Manuel Lisa, and Company," fur traders, 118 — states his policy with the In- dians, 137 Manufacturing introduced among Mormons, 412, 414 Marbois and Louisiana Pur- chase, 24-29 Marcy, Captain Randolph B., one of later Western explor- ers, 244 Maurepas, Lake, explored by Bienville, 2 McKenzie, Kenneth, fur trader with American Fur Com- pany, 132-135 Meares, John, reaches Nootka Sound, 205 Methodist Missionary Board and early Oregon missions, 287 Mexican Grant in Texas, terms of, 167, 168 Mexican War, Mormons volun- teer in the, 403, 404 Mexico, alarmed by rumors in California, 433 — and California settlers, 427, 428 — and early negotiations for California by United States, 467-475 — and England, breach between, and the California issue, 477 — and Texas, 483, 484 Law of April 6, 1830, 182, 183, 184 relations just prior to Texas annexation, 362-367 strained relations between, 184, 185 — and United States at war, 454.455 — at war with the United States, 493, 494 — attitude of, toward United States (1830), 331-333 — California, and Dr. William S. Parrott, secret agent, 478-482 — California conditions, 433- 436 INDEX 519 issue ; Thomas Larkin con- sul in California, 489, 490 — confirms Austin's grant in Texas, 166-168 — curbs American immigration to Texas, 184 — loses California, 492 — loses Texas, 195, 196, 197 — objects to Texas Convention of 1833, 188-190 — proposals to annex, 495, 496, 497 > 498 — protests Texas annexation, 361 — receives conciliatory reply from Buchanan about Texas, 361, 362 — rendered anxious by Texas im- migration, 179-180 — Slidell appointed minister to, 482 — Texas revolts against, 194 — treaty between United States and, amended and accepted by Senate, 506 Conclusion of, 501 drawn up, 505 final difficulties, 502, 505 final negotiations, 499-501 Gila River in the, 502 — Treaty Commissioners, diffi- culties of the, 503, 504 — United States, Great Britain ; proposed Tripartite Agree- ment (California), 475, 476 Michigan Territory, additions to, 246 Mines, lead, in Illinois and Wis- consin, 249 "Mines of Spain," Dubuque's headquarters known as, 248 Minnesota, and Wisconsin, lum- bering in, 265 — "boosting" the settlement of, 270, 271 — early missionary settlements in, 267, 268 — early post offices in, 272 — foreigners in, 273, 274 — population of, 272, 273 — River (St. Peter's) reached by Long, 227 — valley, early towns in, 271, 272 Mission established at Waiilatpu, Oregon, 296, 297 Missionaries' activities in the West, results of, 301 — crossing the plains, experiences of, 292, 293 — later call for (Oregon), 301 — make overland expedition to Oregon, 287, 288 Missionary movement in Oregon, 286-298 — movement of, to Oregon, 286, 287 Missionary settlements, early, in the West, 267, 268 Missions, Oregon, reenforced, 297, 298 Mississippi, Upper, explorations in, 232-236 site of early French settle- ments, 5 Missouri admitted into the Union (1821), lOI — Compromise (1820), 96-98 — Constitution of, 98-101 — emigration to Oregon from, 303, 304, 305 — founded (1808), 214 — Fur Company a formidable competitor of Rocky Moun- tain Company, 127 — - Kansas, and Arkansas explored by Shaw, 58 — Mormons persecuted in, 393, 394. 395 — petition for Statehood de- feated, 93-95 — River and French Cana- dians, 4 Atkinson's expedition up, 231 explored by Bradbury, 56 520 INDEX steamboats on, 135, 136 — Territory of, 85, 86 (1812-1820), settlement of, 90, 91 (1820), summary of popu- lation, 92, 93 Mobile, the site of early French post, 3 Monroe, and Louisiana negotia- tions, 19-31 — appointed minister to France and Spain, 21 — Doctrine, and Polk on the Oregon issue, 386, 387, 388 Oregon, and Great Brit- ain, 309, 310 Russia, England, and United States, 202, 203 — President, on the Northwest situation, 223 Monterey incident, the, in Cali- fornia history, 474, 475 Morfontaine, Treaty of, restores relations between France and United States, 12 Morgan, George, and his pro- posed American colony . (1789), 76, 77, 78 — in Upper Louisiana, influence of, 78 Mormon, Church founded by Jo- seph Smith (1830), 392 — settlements, 257, 258 Mormons, active in manufactur- ing, 412 — advisability of community set- tlement for, 396 — after Smith's death, renewed persecutions of, 402, 403 — and polygamy, 400-402 — arrive at Fort Bridger, 406 — begin movement into the Far West (1846), 404 — distribution of lands among the, 413, 414 — early government of, 415, 416 — employ tithes system, 412, 413 — establish the State of Deseret, 415-418 — explore Fort Bridger country, 406, 407, 408 — extend settlements, 419-422 — found settlement at Nauvoo, 111., 397 — General Conference of (1849), 4", 412 — great migration of, to the West, 392, 393 — growth of industry among the, 412, 413, 414 — increase and prosper, 397, 398, 399 — in Far West, hardships of, 408, 409 — in Illinois, community settle- ment of, 396 — in Missouri, persecution of, 393, 394, 395 — in Upper Mississippi valley, 265, 266 — journey of, to Far West, 405, 406 — lay out Garden Grove and Mount Pisgah, 403 — many settlements, of, 419-422 — migrate through southern Iowa (1846), 403 — migration of, from Ohio to Missouri, 392, 393 — organize Great Salt Lake Valley Carrying Company, 411 — thrifty and enterprising, 398 — volunteer in the Mexican War, 403, 404 Napoleon, and his ideas of boun- daries, 102 — and Monroe on Louisiana Purchase, 29, 30 — in relation to Louisiana's retrocession from Spain to France, 12, 13, 14 — on the Louisiana Purchase, 24, 25 INDEX 521 Natchitoches, site of French fort in 1717, 4 Nationalism and the West, 255, 256 Nauvoo, great Mormon exodus from, 403 — settlement founded by the Mormons, 397 New England and California, beginning of commerce be- tween, 424 New Helvetia in California, es- tablishment of, 436, 437 New Mexico and California, overland trade between, 145, 147 New Orleans, founded, 1718, by Bienville, 3 Nez Perce chiefs in search of the Bible, 286 NicoUett, J. N., famous ex- plorer, 233 Nolan, Philip, and his expedition of 1800, 152, 153 — and Jefferson's interest in his findings, 151, 152 — famous in early Texan annals, 150-153 — makes early expedition to Texas, 150 Nootka Sound, Convention, in- ternational treaty regarding American northwest coast, 206 — Meares and Cook reach, 205 Northern boimdary of United States, determining the, 229 Northern settlements of Louisi- ana, 86, 87 Northwest, claims, renewed at- tempts to settle, 224, 225 — Company acquires Astoria, 218, 219 and its relations with Americans, 216-225 and John Jacob Astor's fur trade, 120 and Pike's explorations, 42, 43 — decline of American interest in the, 222-224 — early English voyages in the, 204-214 — new explorations in the, plans for, 226 — on the Columbia River, 214 — overland expeditions to the, 214 — Pacific, conditions in 1824, summary of, 203, 204 — territory dispute settled ; Brit- ish-American, 389-390 Northwesterners v. Southerners in Oregon controversy, 374, 380, 381 Nuttall accompanies Major Bradford on government trip among Indians and loses his way, 62 — completes his explorations (1820), 64 — explorer of the West, 60-64 — reaches Fort Smith, 63, 64 Oregon, about middle of 19th Century, 324, 325 — and Great Britain, 305-307, 309, 310 — and the "Bargain of 1844," 377-381 — and the Champoeg Conven- tion (1843), 315-317 — and the Webster- Ashburton Treaty, 309, 310, 37i, 373 — Attempts to organize local government in, 314-317 — "boosted" by Hall Jackson Kelley, 280 — British-American joint occu- pancy in, termination of, 388-390 — Colonization Society, 282, 284 — Company, The, encourages settlement of Oregon, 310- 313 522 INDEX - considered "not worth posses- sing, 278, 279 - controversy and the Cincin- nati Convention ( 1 843 ) , 375, 376 and the 49th parallel, 385, 386 local meetings on behalf of, 374, 375 President Polk on the, 383-385 settled, British-American, 389, 390 - country, claims of various na- tions to, 200 France's claims to, 200 relations betvireen Russia and United States concern- ing, 200-204 Spain's claims to, 200 - Democrats, slavery, and ex- pansion, 376, 377 - development at north and di- vision of, 323, 324 - development of, discussed by federal government, 299-301 - diplomacy, British, George Canning on, 368, 369 to 1827, summary of, 368 - discovery of gold in, 323 -emigration from Missouri to, 303, 304, 305 -enters national politics, 376- 381 - federal government's interest in, 299-301 - gold in California affects, 321- 323 - Great Britain, and United States, 373, 374 -history of, Congressional re- port important in, 275, 276, 277 - 1843, immigration to, 312, 313 _ - 1848, immigration to, 318 - immigration to, company formed for, 310, 31 1 — importance of Kelley's pioneer work in, 280-285 — industries of, 318, 319 — Linn's Bill regarding settle- ment of (1841), 303 — missionary movement in, 286- 298 — more optimistic views con- cerning, 279, 280 — population of, 318, 319 — settlers, location of, 313, 314 — 1848, territory government established in, 319 — territory, bill to organize (1828), 277, 278 O'Reilly, The Bloody, in Louisi- ana, 7, 8 Orleans admitted into the Union, 83,84 — becomes the State of Louisi- ana, 84 — opposition to admission into the Union, 83, 84 — Territory of, 74 Overland expedition of Pacific Fur Company, 121, 125 Pacific, basis for American in- terest in, 209-213 — Fur Company organized, 215 organized by John Jacob Astor, 120, 121 overland expedition of, I2I-I25 — Mail Steamship Company and California gold, 459, 460 — Northwest, beginning of com- merce along coast of, 424, 425 Champoeg Convention (Oregon) important to, 316 conditions in 1824 sum- marized, 203, 204 Congressional committee on, appointment of, 275 report of (1821), 275, 276, 277 INDEX 523 Gray's Boston expedition to the, 424 proposal to introduce Chi- nese in, 276 Paiute Indians on the Santa Fe caravan trail, 147 Panic of 1827 causes movement to California, 438, 439 Paris, Treaty of, 7 Parker, Samuel, Presbyterian missionary to Oregon, 292, 293> 294 publishes volume of travels, 294 Parrott, Dr. William S., secret agent and Mexico-California issue, 478-482 — — reports on Mexico and California, 480 Patties, the, California explorers, 432 Pella, the Dutch settlement in Iowa, 259 Pembina, Long's expedition ar- rives at, 227 Pichon, French charge, and Lou- isiana, 22, 23 Pike's Peak and its first ascent by vchite men, 52 Pike, Zebulon Montgomery, and his tour of Southw^est, 44-47 — as an explorer, 41-46 — explores in Spanish territory, 45,46 — on the Upper Mississippi, 41, 44 Pisgah, Mount, founded by Mor- mons, 403 Poinsett, pessimistic reports of, concerning Mexico, 330, 331 — U. S. Representative in Mex- ico, and Texas, 328, 329, Polk, President, appomts Trist to negotiate peace with Mexico, 498, 499 — expansion policy of, 478 — on annexation of Mexico, 497, 498 — on the Oregon issue, 383-385 firm stand of, 386, 387, 388 — Oregon, and Monroe Doc- trine, 386, 387, 388 — plans to acquire California, 478 — recalls Trist, agent to Mex- ico, 499 — stirs England on Oregon ques- tion, 383-385 Polygamy, not sanctioned by all Mormons, 401 — splits Mormon Church itself, 400-402 Pontchartrain, Lake, explored by Bienville, 2 Post offices in Minnesota, early, 272 Prairie du Rocher post, 5 Presbyterians take up Oregon missionary work, 292 "Project" of Napoleon, relative to Louisiana, of great import in United States history, 13 Quincy, Josiah, opposes admis- sion of Orleans to the Union, 83, 84 Red River, explored by Bien- ville, 2 Rendezvous, in fur trading, ori- gin of the, 126, 127 Republic of Texas, constitution adopted for, 196 Right of deposit of merchandise at New Orleans, 19, 23 Robidoux advertises California, 439 Robinson, Dr. John H., and his mission to New Mexico, 46 Rocky Mountain Fur Company competes with American Company, 131, 132 — dissolution of, 128 524 INDEX — is short-lived, 125-126 — some successes of, 127 — work, great importance of, 128, 129 Rocky Mountains, John C. Fre- mont explores, 234, 235 — Expedition disbands at Cape Girardeau, Oct. 12, 1820, divides, for purposes of ex- ploration, 52, 53 under Long, 51-54 Russia, and the Oregon country, 200-204 — England, United States, and Monroe Doctrine, 202, 203 — negotiates w^ith United States about Oregon country, 202, 202 Russian-American Fur Company formed (1799), 200 Rysw^ick, Treaty of, marks be- ginning of official French Mississippi exploration, 2 Saint Anthony and Saint Paul as rival towrns, 269, 270 Saint Denis, Sieur de, and South- west territory, 4 Sainte Genevieve, best known American district of Louisi- ana, 76 Saint Louis, a center for Amer- ican Fur Company, 129- 130 — as fur-trade center, 115 — Missouri Fur Company, dis- asters come to first expedi- tion of, 116-118 end of, 118, 119 establishment of, 116 Saint Paul and Saint Anthony as rival towns, 269, 270 Saint Petersburg, Russia and United States sign treaty at (1824), 203 Saint Peter's River (Minnesota) reached by Long, 227 Saint Philippe post, 5 Salt Lake City laid out by the Mormons, 409 — Mormon settlement, magnifi- cence of, 409, 410 San Ildefonso, Treaty of, 13, 14 . San Jacinto, Battle of, Texans defeat Santa Anna in, 197 Santa Anna, General, and Amer- icans in Texas, 186, 187 — defeated by Taylor in Mex- ican war, 495 — defeated by Texans, 197 Santa Fe and Pike's Southwest Expedition, 44, 45, 46 — a profitable expedition to (1824), 139 — caravan expedition, the an- nual, importance of, 144, 145 — caravan trail, Fremont on the, 240, 241 — road, 140, 141 — route menaced by Indians, 141-144 — trail, the, lure of, 147 Santo Domingo, a thorn in Na- poleon's side, 15-19 Scholte, Henry Peter, heads Dutch immigration to West, 258, 259, 260, 261 Schoolcraft, Henry, explorer of the West, 59, 60 Scott, General, and Trist, spe- cial agent to Mexico, dis- pute between, 499 Selkirk's Colony in the North- west, at Pembina, 228, 229 Settlers in Texas, character of, I77> 178 Shaw, Colonel John, explorer of the West, 57, 58 Sierra Nevada Mountains, Cali- fornia company crosses the, 446, 447 Slacum Memorial concerning Oregon development, 298- 301 INDEX 525 Slavery and the Oregon contro- versy, 376, 377 — Congressional discussion of, 96-101 — in Texas, 179 — Wilmot proviso concerning, 493, 494 Slidell appointed minister to Mexico, 482 — fails in his Mexican mission, 486, 487 — official instructions to, 482, 483, 484 — significance of instructions to, 486 Sloat, Commodore, and Califor- nia Republic project, 492 Smith, Jedediah S., and his sec- ond journey to California, 430, 432 — explorations of 1824-1825, 126 — highly important in virestern annals, 431, 432 — makes first overland trip to California, 428, 429, 430 — noted explorer of the West, 126-128 — tragic death of, 141, 142 Smith, Joseph, aspires to U. S. presidency, 399-400 — at the zenith of his power, 399 — founds Mormon church (1830), 392 — Mormon leader, succeeded by Brigham Young, 402 — plans Mormon settlement (Iowa), 396, 397 — violent death of, 401, 402 Southern Louisiana, explorations and settlements in, 40, 41, 87, 88, 92 Southveest, the, begmnmg of trade with, 137 — the, commercial trader of, 137 — the, exploration of, by Pike, 44.47 Spain acquires Louisiana from France, 1762, 7 — and Boston merchants, rela- tive to Pacific Northwest, 423, 424 — and California, 426, 427 — and the Oregon country, 200 — and United States, friction be- tween, 103 — negotiates territory question with the United States, 104- 109 Spanish-American trouble in Texas, 154-157 Spanish regime overthrown in California, 454, 455 Spanish "retributive expedition," 1720, 4 Squatters in Iowa, 249 Stanbury, Captain Howard, one of later Western explorers, 243. 244 '"Starving time" of the Mormons, and its relief, 410, 411 State of Deseret, Mormon, 415- 418 becomes Utah Territory, 419 boundaries of, 416, 417 constitution of, 415, 416 efficient government of, 417, 418 seeks admission to Union, 418,419 Steamboats on the Missouri, and their importance to Amer- ican fur trade, 135, 136 — record of, 135, 136 Stuart, David, American North- west explorer, 216-218 Sugar in Louisiana, 6 Sutter, Johann August, in Cali-. fornia, 436, 437 Tallmadge Missouri slavery amendment, history of, 93- 95 526 INDEX Tallow and hides trade, Califor- nia, 425, 426 Taos as Fonda found it, 69 Taylor, General, defeats Mexi- can armies, 495 Territorial settlement with Spain, final basis of, 107, 108 "Territory of Orleans," popula- tion of, 79, 80 Tesson, Louis Honore, early Iowa settler, 249 Texas, acquisition of, opposed by Austin, 334, 335 — administration changes, 342, 343_ — American uprising in (1832), 185-187 — and early explorations, 4 — and Mexico, 483, 484 just prior to Texas annexa- tion, 362-367 Law of April 6, 1830, 182, 183, 184 strained relations between, 184, 185 — and political parties, 354-356 — annexation favored by Stephen A. Douglas, 359, 360 finally accomplished (1845), 366, 367 Mexico protests, 361 Northern and Eastern States oppose, 342 sentiment and Tyler's re- election, 358 solicited, 339, 340 — as "Long's Republic," 157, 159 — at end of second decade, 19th century, bad plight of, 159 — character of settlers in, 177, — concessions and population of 176, 177 — Convention of 1832, 187, 188 — Convention of 1833, 188-190 — debt of, to Moses Austin, 159, 162 — Declaration of Independence, I95> 196, 197 — declared by James Long "free and independent" 158 — diplomacy of, regarding an- nexation, 346, 347 — early American settlements in, 150 — early efforts to acquire, 327 — early settlers' hardships in, 165, 168 — first 300 American families in, 164 — has choice between two pro- posals, 366 — immigration to, renders Mex- ico anxious, 179, 180 — independence of (1836), 337 — — recognized, 339 — interest of Colonel Anthony Butler in, 327 — in the presidential campaign (1844), 356, 357 — population, growth of, 197, 198 — President Jackson makes offer to Mexico about, 328 — reaction in, and negotiations with U. S. Government, 348, 349> 350 — receives copy of Douglas reso- lution on annexation, 360 — revolution against Mexico, outbreak of, 194 principles of, 194, 195 — Sam Houston on Annexation of, 335. 336, 337 — sentiment in United States concerning Mexico and, 328, 329, 330 — slaves in, 179 — solicitations for annexation of, rejected by Administration, 340, 341, 342 — Treaty of Annexation de- feated, 352, 353 INDEX 527 signed (1844), 351 terms of, 351, 35a — unscrupulous dealings of An- thony Butler concerning, 468, 470 — war party gains strength, igo — wealth, growth of, 198 Thompson, David, British Northwest explorer, 216- 218 — Waddy, and Webster, corre- spond about California, 472, 473, 474 . Thorn, Captain, and the Ton- quin's tragic Northwest trip, 215 Tithes system among Mormons, 412, 413 Toussaint L'Ouverture, 16-19 Trader, commercial, compared to fur trader, 137 — fur, compared to commercial trader, 137 Trans-Mississippi explorations, unofficial, 55-70 Treaties, Indian, in Iowa history, I 253 Treaty between Russia and United States signed at St. Petersburg (1824), 203 — of Amity, Settlement, and Limits, Spanish- American, 112 — of Guadaloupe Hidalgo (Cali- fornia), 464 — of Paris and English territory in Louisiana, 7 — of 1783 recognizes part of Louisiana territory as Amer- ican, 10 — of 1 81 9, Spanish-American, 109 — of 1 81 7 with Cherokee In- dians, 89 Tripartite Agreement proposed (California) United States, Great Britain, Mexico, 475, 476 Trist, special agent for Mexican affairs, recalled, 499 — special agent for Mexican peace, Polk appoints, 498, 499 — special agent to Mexico, and General Scott, dispute be- tween, 499 remains after his recall, by request of Mexicans, 499- 501 Tyler and Harrison elected, 343, 344 — Calhoun, and the Oregon issue, 381 — President, delivers message concerning Texas annexa- tion, 352 favors Act of Congress to admit Texas, 354 re-elected (1844), 356-358 views of, on Texas annexa- tion, 345, 346 Ulloa, de, Don Antonio, 7 United States, acquires Califor- nia, 492 — at war with Mexico, 493, 494 — change of administration in (1840), 343, 344 — determining northern boun- dary of, 229 — Great Britain, Mexico ; pro- posed Tripartite Agreement (California), 475, 476 — negotiates treaty with Mex- ico, 499-506 Upper Louisiana, American set- tlers of, 75 — changes in organization of, 85 — 1804, summary of settlements in, 78, 79 Upper Mississippi, explorations in (1832-40), 233-236 — valley. Mormons in the, 265, 266 Utah Territory replaces Mor- mon State of Deseret, 419 528 INDEX Vancouver, in the Northwest, explorations of, 206-209 — meets Robert Gray, explorer, 208, 209 — visits the Columbia River, 213 Van Zandt, Houston's Texas representative to United States, 346-351 W^agons on expeditions, use of, 139 Walker, I. R., conducts Califor- nia expedition under Bonne- ville, 232 Walker, Joe, guides 1843 Cali- fornia immigration, 449, 450 Waltz, the, as a foreign influence in California, 427, 428 War of 1812, and events imme- diately preceding, interrupt exploration, 47 — checks westward movement of population, go Washington, Territory of, 324 population of the (1853), 324 Webster and Waddy Thompson correspond about California, 472, 473, 474 Webster-Ashburton Treaty and the Oregon question, 371- 373 — (Oregon), history of, 309, 310 "Western Engineer," The (1819), a steamboat on the Missouri, 135 West, the, and nationalism, 255, 256 — later explorations in (1849- 1850), 243, 244 West Florida included in the new state of Louisiana, 84 Whaling industry. New Eng- land, and California, 425 White River explored by School- craft, 59, 60 Whitman, Marcus, Presbyterian Oregon missionary, 292, 294, 295. 296 Willamette Cattle Company, the, 298, 299 Willamette (Oregon), the, mis- sion established on, 289, 290, 291 Wilmot slavery proviso, 493, 494. Wisconsin, and Minnesota, lum- bering in, 265 — Early missionary settlements in, 267 — Early towns in, 266, 267 — Territory of, organized, 246 Women, white, the first to jour- ney across the plains, 295 Wyeth, Nathaniel J., aids Ore- gon missionaries, 287 — early pioneer in Oregon, 282- 285 Yellowstone River explored by Clark, 40 — mouth of, reached by Lewis and Clark, 39 "Yellowstone," The (1831), a steamboat on the Missouri, i35> 136 Young, Brigham, governor of State of Deseret, 419 — introduces manufacturing among Mormons, 412 — organizing genius of, 414, 415 — political and religious auto- crat, 415 — succeeds Joseph Smith as Mor- mon leader, 402 a