Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 2.djvu/289

Rh settlement of the country, caution, and even secrecy, was an absolute necessity, and Mr. Hinman characterizes Mr. Whitman as a cautious man.

After the winter of 1844, which had been spent with pleasure and profit at the mission at Waiilatpu, Mr. Hinman accepted the offer of a similar position in the Oregon Institute, which was located on the present site of Salem. This institution was not distinctively a mission school, but had a board of trustees of its own. The Methodist mission had by this time been discontinued in the Willamette Valley, although many who had been connected with it were living in the region on claims of land. Although Mr. Hinman did not have an opportunity to become acquainted with the early history of the mission, yet he was acquainted with many who had figured prominently in it, and he speaks of them with great respect. The settlement on the French Prairie was not far below on the river, but of it Mr. Hinman has no recollections of importance. Farther down the river, at Oregon City, was the seat of the Provisional Government, which had been created just two years before. Mr. Hinman gives us an impression of the peaceful conditions of those times. There were few disputes, and most of these were settled without recourse to a trial. There was little fear of Indian outbreaks at that time, and as little feeling of hostility between the Americans and the English,—among the people as a whole. The claim of land taken up by Doctor McLoughlin at Oregon City was the only thing that gave rise to any strong feeling, and upon this question the people were divided. In fact, things were so peaceful that Mr. Hinman, in reply to a question in regard to the civil government, said, with a twinkle of the eye, "People were so civil in those times that they did not need a government." What