Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 23.djvu/86



58 T. C. ELLIOTT

unknown but small suggestions here and there indicate that someone of prominence near Boston did it.

Albany, in 1766, was important as the residence of some of the merchants who supplied goods to agents at Detroit, Mack- inac, and elsewhere. It rivalled Montreal in the fur trade. The communication between Albany and those Western trading posts was by the Mohawk River, Oneida Lake, the Onondago river to the waters of Lake Ontario at Qswego, thence to the portage at Niagara and the waters of Lake Erie and Lake Huron. Carriage was by canoes and batteaus, except that on Lake Erie a single small sailing vessel, named the Gladwyn, made regular trips during the seasons of open water. By this route Major Rogers and his wife, and presumably his fellow- adventurers, traveled; presumably together although there is no proof of it. A large Indian council between the officers under Supt. Johnson and Indian chiefs was held at Oswego in July of that year, and Major Rogers had a part in that, but arrived at Mackinac early in August.

One of the early acts of Major Rogers after arriving at Mackinac was to put in motion his plans to send agents into the Mississippi valley to spend the winter. Such expenditure of British money was beyond the instructions of Supt. John- son, but that was then of small concern to the Major. We are fortunate in being able to present as documents herewith some of the written instructions given by Major Rogers to his representatives. The first of these, in the order of print- ing, is that given to Captain Carver under date August 12th at Mackinac. It is proper to call attention to two items of Carver's instructions, namely, the absence of any mention of the name Ourigan, and the presence of direct orders that the journals kept by Carver should be delivered to Major Rogers.

One month later, Sept. 12th, 1766, instructions were issued to two other agents, and these interest us more directly because both make direct mention of the name OURIGAN, and outline the search for the river of that name and the Northwest Passage connecting Hudson's Bay with the Pacific ocean. Incidentally some deposit of treasure on one of the mythical rivers was to be visited. Captain James Tute was to be the leader of the