Page:History of Oregon volume 1.djvu/278

Rh gested to certain ambitious young men the project of establishing a commercial depot at the mouth of the River of the West.

A company of fourteen persons was formed, numbering among its members Thomas J. Farnham, Joseph Holman, Amos Cook, Francis Fletcher, R. L. Kilborne, Sidney Smith, J. Wood, C. Wood, Oakley, Jourdan, and, later, a Mr Blair. The necessary outfit for the journey, costing each man about a hundred and sixty dollars, was soon secured, and all being ready to start, the adventurous little band gathered before the court-house, where a prayer was offered in their behalf. Their motto was 'Oregon or the Grave,' and they bore it aloft upon a flag presented to them by Mrs Farnham, their captain's wife, who accompanied, them one day's march. Their declared intention, upon reaching the Columbia, was to take possession, as American citizens, of the most eligible points, and make settlements.

So now, having pledged themselves never to desert one another, they set out from Peoria about the first of May 1839, and proceeded to Independence, where they took the trail to Santa Fé. They had not been long on the way before Smith received a shot from his rifle in drawing it from the baggage, and having previously rendered himself obnoxious to several of his companions, it was proposed to abandon him. The proposal was denounced by Farnham and some others, and the disagreement thus occasioned caused the breaking-up of the party. When eight weeks on the journey Farnham resigned the command; and two of the best men having joined some Santa Fé traders, the company fell into disorder. At Bent Fort, on the Arkansas River, where Farnham arrived the 5th of July, the company disbanded. Bent Fort is often mentioned by early travellers to Oregon. It was situated eighty miles north by east from Taos in New Mexico, and was first called Fort William, but soon