Page:Oregon, her history, her great men, her literature.djvu/93



CHAPTER VI

Epoch III is an account of Oregon under the Provisional Government. It begins with the Champoeg meetings in 1843 and extends to March 3, 1849, when a territorial form of government was proclaimed in Oregon by Governor Joseph Lane. Preceding Epoch III, the Hudson's Bay Company administered the chief civil government of Oregon. But many of the settlers advocated a government of the people. There being much opposition to the movement, it was delayed until the death of Ewing Young, (February 15, 1841), who had settled in Yamhill district in November, 1634, and whose estate required prompt legal administration. Since Young belonged neither to the Hudson's Bay Company nor to the Mission, he was what was then called an "independent settler." The death of this American, the first to leave an estate, created a new and serious condition for which there was no legal provision. In this emergency immediate action was imperative. Following the funeral services of Ewing Young (February 17, 1841), a mass meeting was announced to take place at the Mission on the