Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 6.djvu/370

364 364 W. D. FENTON. great importance to us as a people, there is every reason to believe is finally settled," and relies for his authority upon the Polynesian, a paper published August 29, 1846, in the Sandwich Islands, which extract quoted reads : "The senate ratified the treaty upon the Oregon question by a vote of 41 to 14." The Governor proceeds to say that the Polynesian credits this news item to the New York Gazette and Times of the issue of June 19, and he adds : "Should this information prove correct, we may shortly expect officers from the United States Government to take formal possession of Oregon and extend over us protection we have long and anxiously looked for." Speaking of the emigration of 1846, the Governor says: "Another emi- gration has crossed the Rocky Mountains, and most of the party has arrived in the settlements. About 152 wagons reached this place very early in the season via Barlow's road, for which- a charter was granted him at your last session. About 100 wagons are on their way, if they have not already reached the upper settlements by the southern route. They have no doubt been detained by traveling a new route. The difficulties attending the opening of a wagon road are very great and probably will account in some measure for their detention. The emi- gration falls very far short of last year, probably not numbering over 1,000 souls. This is accounted for by a great part of the emigration turning off to California. We trust that those coming among us may have no cause to regret the decision that brought them to Oregon." There were sixteen members in this house. In his message to the legislature of date December 7, 1847, Governor Abernethy says: "The emigration the past season has been much larger than any preceding one, amounting to between 4,000 and 5,000 souls. They have all arrived in the settlements, unless a few families should still be at The Dalles and Cascades, and scattered them-