Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 13.djvu/97



In order to have an accurate idea of the Provisional Government of Oregon, the reasons which led to its creation, and of its beginning, it is necessary to consider the condition of affairs in the Oregon Country prior to, and in the years 1841 and 1842.

Prior to the boundary treaty of June, 1846, fixing the present boundary line between the United States and Canada, from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, what is known as the "Oregon Country" was definitely bounded on the south by north latitude 42 degrees, then the north boundary of the Spanish settlements west of the Rocky Mountains, and now the north boundary lines of the States of California and Nevada; on the west by the Pacific Ocean; and indefinitely on the east by the summit of the Rocky Mountains; and on the north by an undetermined line, claimed by the United States as being 54 degrees and 40 minutes, north latitude. It included all of the present States of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, and parts of the States of Montana and Wyoming, and a large part of the present Dominion of British Columbia.