Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 37.djvu/87

 on the reports of the Murderers who were pleading to alleviation than truth yet there it is on the words of these Villians he published his reports without consideration without a doubt these wretches have told him the truth and poor John was shot as a means of self preservation they not being satisfied with the tendency of these aspersions still they desend farther from the standard of man by turning Calumny to truth to strengthen their vile intentions of fabricating the memory of the deceased Cowardly wretch not being satisfied with the ball going through poor John by his treacherous act still proceeds further by running up to his Victim and placing his foot on his neck whilst struglling in the agonies of death to hasten his end they have endeavoured to make it appear that he was always drunk and on these occasions he would be very violent beating &c The Wine which was sent to him, allowance for the year was found almost complete his accounts well kept up and his journal brought up to the day before he was Murdered and the letters he wrote to Mr Work bitterly complains of the two assistants that Sir George left him and says that he would leave the service unless they send him better assistants than the two he had Sir G Simpson arrived there five days after this fatal act was committed on his way to England. when he first went there and on his return here to go to California he praised John as an active and industrious Young man having his Fort in better order than any other person in the Coast a few Months after arrives there again find him no more Murdered by his men yet after what he has seen on a former occasion desides with these Villians. There is a Mystery in this affair and I am afraid there will be some difficulty to find the truth of this atrocious Murder.

Poor John he had a great deal of trouble the short time he was in this world, & if he had remained in Canada this would never have happened He is such a determined man and I am partly convinced it has been the means of his untimely end. our people here are such beasts they take every advantage of insulting their Masters especially when there is a favorable opportunity. I am now alone with my Father and Mother My Sister is in