Page:Centennial History of Oregon 1811-1912, Volume 1.djvu/447



THE CENTKXNIAI. IlLSTORY OF OJJJ'XJON 289

ciiiTfsiioiuli-'iirL' bet\vi'(.'ii the luissiouary ;uk1 tliu iiiCn/luml resulted in tlie Couehes aiid the Cushings' eutranee into Oregon conimerce.

Captain Coueh made several voyages here, and finally took up a claim in Portland, and became one of the founders of that citj", which has done his name well-deserved honor in perpetuating it by giving the name of Couch to one of its important streets and to one of its public schools. Lee's reply to Senator Cush- ing closed with these words : " to whom we can look for laws to govern our ris- ing settlements, but to the Congress of our own beloved country? It depends much upon Congress what the character of our population shall be, and what shall be the faith of the Indian tribes of that country. It may be thought Oregon is of little importance ; but rely upon it, there is the germ of a great state. We are resolved to do what we can to benefit the country, but we throw ourselves upon you for protection. ' ' Lee 's presentation of the claim of the Oregon settlers, was so favorably received by the President and his Cabinet that $5,000 from the secret service fund was contributed toward the expense of the missionary so- ciety, in recognition of the strategic and political importance of the mission of the "Willamette.

On October 9, 1839, the "Lausanne" sailed from New York with fifty-one souls, destined for the Willamette and other missions of Oregon. Among them were George Abernethy, who became Oregon's first provisional governor; Rev. J. P. Richmond, Rev. J. L. Parrish, Rev. Gustavus Hines, Hamilton Campbell and other men afterwards notable in the annals of early days here. Jason Lee made the voyage with them. They touched at Rio, Valparaiso, and made a stay of three weeks in Honolulu. On May 21, 1840, the "Lausanne" entered the Co- lumbia. At Vancouver, Dr. McLoughlin made all welcome, "as long as they chose to remain."

Very soon after their arrival the men appointed to the missions at Clatsop, Nisqually, "The Falls" and The Dalles, were on their way to their stations. In the neighborhood of all these points have sprung up important cities, whose nuclei were the missions.

In 1841 the Central mission was removed aboiit ten miles south from its orig- inal location to Chemekete. A manual training school was erected here for in- struction of Indian children. Mills had been built earlier at this site for the mis- sion. Around this Chemekete mission grew the city of Salem.

THE mission's NEW MISSION

Jason Lee found the Indian population greatly reduced upon his return in the "Lausanne." There was no increase up to that time in the number of Amer- icans in the Willamette, but there were more Canadians and half-breed children. The newer missions found more populous fields at The Dalles and Nisqually, and made great progress. The American immigration of 1841 arrived in the fall of that year, and many settled near the Valley mission.

In 1840 a saw mill and grist mill was built for the needs of the mission on Mill creek, ten miles south of the mission site. On Mill creek was built latei- the Indian manual training school and a mission house. The site of these build- ings was near the old woolen mill at Salem, and two of them are still standing: the oldest of these is a jiart of the residence of Hon. R. P. Boise, at 852 Broad-