Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 24.djvu/466

 COLONEL GRIMSLEY'S PROPOSED EXPEDITION TO OREGON, IN 1841 Introduction The files of the Indian Department, at Washington, D. C., contain a brief series of interesting, though not viatally important, letters from a prominent citizen of St. Louis, Thornton Grimsley, to President John Tyler and Secretary of War John Bell, relative to an armed expedition to take possession of the Oregon Country. Two of these letters are presented herewith, with a sketch of the life of Colonel Grimsley. These have come to me through the courtesy of Miss Drumm, librarian of the Missouri Historical Society, and are presented without other comment than that they evidence a lively interest in Oregon by the people of the then Western frontier. T. C. Elliott. St. Louis 16th April, 1841. Honerable John Bell, Secty of War. Sir — Some days since I had the honor to address you on the subject of Superintendent of Indian Affairs here, and the Oregon Territory. In that letter I gave it as my opinion that the present incumbent Ma jr. Pilcher — ought to be removed. Time and intercourse with my fellow citizens since has only strengthened my then expressed opinion. No man in or out of office in this country has been more vindictive or is now the pliant tool of T. H. Benton than is this same indian agent. Our next move here, I think, will be to instruct Benton to leave the Senate of the U. States but we cannot do it if the high places of power having a direct bearing on that great object is held by serfs who would buoy him up at the sacrifice of all principle and the complete prostitution of every grow- ing interest of the country. I hope that Pilcher, and all others who was placed in office by the late administration