Page:History of Oregon volume 1.djvu/153

102 settlements, in a canoe furnished by McLoughlin, with a crew and every comfortable provision for the journey. At Champoeg he was met by Jason Lee, to whom the same ever-courteous autocrat had sent an express to make announcement of the arrival in the country of a distinguished stranger, and of his intended visit. By this unbounded liberality and unremitting attention two objects were gained: a favorable impression of the personnel of the fur company was established, and a perfect knowledge of the movements of all strangers was acquired. By politely assuming that every individual who came to the country was dependent on Fort Vancouver for the conveniences of living, a perfect system of surveillance was maintained without offence being given.

In company with Lee, Slacum called on all the settlers of French Prairie at their homes, after which he spent a few days at the Mission, rendering himself thoroughly conversant with the affairs of the American settlement.

The case of Ewing Young had been stated to Slacum at Fort Vancouver, and he found it a subject of anxiety, both at the fort and the Mission, that a distillery was to be put in operation in the Willamette Valley. At the fort he was authorized to say to Young that if he would abandon his enterprise of making whiskey, he would be permitted to get his necessary supplies from Fort Vancouver on the same terms as other men, and to this proposition Slacum counselled him to accede, saying that in his opinion his point with the fur company was gained by this concession.

Young, however, continued obdurate. Slacum then proposed to furnish him a loan of one hundred and fifty dollars with which to procure for himself and Carmichael a supply of proper clothing from Fort Vancouver, to be purchased in Slacum's name; and to give both a passage to California, where Young desired