Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 22.djvu/25

 that time marked on the map "unexplored region." All the in- formation we could get relative to it was through the Hudson's Bay Co. Peter Ogden, an officer of that company, who had led a party of trappers through that region, represented that portions of it were desert-like, and that at one time his com- pany was so pressed for the want of water that they went to the top of a mountain, able to cross the desert. He also stated that portions of the country through which we would have to travel were infested with fierce and war-like savages, who would attack every party entering their country, steal their traps, waylay and murder the men, and that Rogue River had taken its name from the character of the Indians inhabiting its valleys. The idea of opening a wagon road through such a country at that time, was counted as preposterous. These statements, though based on facts, we thought might be exaggerated by the Hudson's Bay Co., in their own interest, since they had a line of forts on the Snake river route, reaching from Fort Hall to Van- couver, and were prepared to profit by the immigration. One thing which had much influence with us was the fact that the question as to which power, Great Britain or the United States, would eventually secure a title to the country, was not settled, and in case prove successful, it was important to have a way by which we cotuld leave the country without running the gauntlet of the Hudson's Bay Co.'s forts and falling a prey to Indian tribes which were under British influence. ed sacks with snow, and were thus war should occur and Britain On the morning of the 20th of June, 1846, we gathered on the La Creole, near where Dallas now stands, moved up the valley and encamped for the night on Mary's river, near where the town of Corvallis has since been built. June 21-Moved up the valley and encamped among the foothills of the Calapooia mountains. June 22-This day we traveled along the base of the Cala- pooias, our course being nearly southeast, passing near a prom-