Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 6.djvu/396

390 390 JOSEPH SCHAFER. number of the QUARTERLY, December, 1900, together with Joaquin Miller's "Pilgrims of the Plains"; and it suffers not at all by comparison with that spirited production. Another source for the emigration of 1843, and one of considerable importance, is Overtoil Johnson and William H. Winter's "Route Across the Rocky Mountains, with a Description of Oregon and California," Lafayette, Ind., 1846. Many letters could be cited to show how the pioneers of 1843 took possession of the Oregon Country on their arrival ; how they reorganized the Provisional govern- ment and made it adequate to the exigencies of the next six years ; how they induced the Hudson Bay Company to recognize this government, and bring themselves and their property under its protection. The serious student will readily find these, and will be convinced that this emigration inaugurated the American era on the Pacific. Burnett speaks truly concerning its influence upon the disputed question of the northern boundary when he says : "We knew to a moral certainty that the moment we brought our families, cattle, teams, and loaded wagons to the banks of the Columbia River in the fall of 1843, the question was practically decided in our favor." JOSEPH SCHAFER.