Page:History of Oregon volume 1.djvu/593



disasters attending the immigrations of 1843, 1844, and 1845 stimulated exploration, as we have seen. The United States government was not indifferent to the need cf a better route to Oregon, as the attempts for the third time of one of its officers attest, even if he was always floating away toward California. There were other reasons, besides the sufferings of the immigrants, which influenced both the government and the colonists to desire a route into the Willamette Valley which led away from the chain of the fur company's posts. As the British officers Park and Peel had been anxious to know whether troops could be brought from Canada overland to Fort Vancouver, so thoughtful men among the colonists were desirous to make sure, in the event of their being needed, that troops from the United States could be brought without interruption into Oregon, knowing that in case of war nothing would be easier than for a small force of the enemy to pre-