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172 Fred Wilbur Powell

presenting the results of his observations he chose to waste his efforts on the question of the American title, concerning which he had little if any information that was not already available to the authorities at Washington. Thus, in the year mentioned, he published a series of articles in the Bunker Hill Aurora, giving an account of the discoveries and examinations made on the Northwest Coast by the early Spanish, American, and British navigators. These articles, together with docu- ments relating to the claims of Bulfinch and other Americans to the land on Vancouver Island purchased by Captain Kendrick, he presented in 1838 to Lewis F. Linn, senator from Missouri. Linn was chairman of a "select committee to which was re- ferred a bill to authorize the President of the United States to occupy the Oregon Territory." In his report he quoted at length from Slacum's memorial, and used some of Kelley's data on the discovery and occupation of the Columbia, but he does not appear to have set a high value upon this material, for he failed to mention Kelley's name.^®

During 1838 and 1839 Kelley contributed another series of articles to the American Traveller of Boston, dealing with the question of title. In 1839 came an opportunity for service of a more practical nature. Caleb Cushing, chairman of the house committee on foreign affairs, asked him to contribute a memoir on Oregon and California, based on personal observations. To this request he gladly responded. The result appears in the appendix to Cushing's supplemental report on the "Territory of Oregon."ii

In 1839 also, Kelley presented through John Davis, senator from Massachusetts, a memorial to congress "praying a grant of land in the Oregon Territory for the purpose of establishing a colony thereon," which was referred to a select committee. In this document, he made a clear statement of his eflforts to promote the. settlement of Oregon, and declared that since "many of the individuals whose attention had been directed by his exertions towards Oregon, and who originally enlisted

10 25 cong. a sess. S. doc. 470; Settlement of Oregon, 77.

11 as cong. 3 sess. H. rq>. loi: 47-61. See appendix.