Page:Portland, Oregon, its History and Builders volume 1.djvu/251

Rh one was more approachable than he, for he was a man with a kindly courtesy, yet he was ever true to his company's interest, except where humanity required him to act otherwise.

It was necessary that some one should be in command in what was known as "the Oregon country," being all that part of North America north of latitude 42 degrees north, the present northern boundary of California and Nevada, then Spanish possessions, west of the Rocky mountains, south of latitude 54 degrees and 40 minutes, the southern boundary of the Russian possessions, and east of the Pacific ocean. By a convention or treaty between the United States and Great Britain, dated October 20, 1818, it was agreed that for a period of ten years, the Oregon country should be open to the citizens and subjects of the two powers, without prejudice to the rights of either of them or of any other power or state, this being what is called for convenience "joint-occupancy." By another convention or treaty between these two nations, dated August 6, 1827, this joint-occupancy was indefinitely extended, subject to be terminated by either of the two nations by giving notice of twelve months, after October 20, 1828. This joint-occupancy was terminated by the boundary treaty of June 15, 1846, establishing the present north boundary of the United States, south of Alaska, from the Rocky mountains to the Pacific ocean. During this joint-occupancy neither the laws of the United States nor of Great Britain were in force in the Oregon country, but Canada in 1821 passed a law, which probably applied to Canadians in the Oregon county, giving its courts jurisdiction of civil and criminal matters in the Indian territories not within the province of lower or upper Canada or of any civil government of the United States. No attempt was ever made to enforce this law on a citizen of the United States. By his own initiative, approved by common consent, Dr. McLoughlin, became the ruler or the efficient, but kindly autocrat of the Oregon country, as applied to the officers and employees of the Hudson's Bay Company and to the Indians. But his rule was just. On two occasions he caused an Indian to be hanged for murdering a white man.

In 1828 fourteen men of a party of eighteen, commanded by Jedediah S. Smith, an American rival trader, were murdered by Indians near the mouth of the Umpqua river, who took all of Smith's goods and furs. Dr. McLoughlin succored the four survivors, one of whom was Smith, and sent a party of the Hudson's Bay Company's men who recovered the furs, which were of large value. Dr. McLoughlin bought these furs from Smith, paying the fair value to the latter's satisfaction. In 1829, when one of the company's vessels was wrecked near the mouth of the Columbia river and the wreck was looted by the Indians, he sent a well-armed party who punished the Indians. There are other instances of retributive justice meted out by him to the Indians, which lack of space prevents the telling. The result was an admiration and obedience of Dr. McLoughlin by the Indians. They called him the great white chief and, from his masterful ways, his grand appearance and his long white hair, they also called him the white-headed eagle. The few extreme measures he took with the Indians were always justifiable under the circumstances. The unusual conditions justified the unusual methods.

There were no Indian wars during the twenty-two years Dr. McLoughlin had charge of the Hudson's Bay Company's affairs west of the Rocky mountains. The first Indian war, caused by the Whitman massacre, occurred the year after Dr. McLoughlin's resignation went into effect.

Never was there a finer, truer, or more acceptable hospitality extended than that of Dr. McLoughlin at Fort Vancouver to missionaries, without regard to sect, to strangers from any country and also always to rival traders. These traders were all Americans, for British traders were forbidden to trade in the Oregon country, under the grant of the British government to the Hudson's Bay Company. But as the head of this company in the Oregon country, he readily engaged in ruinous competition with rival traders, including Na-