Page:Portland, Oregon, its History and Builders volume 1.djvu/922

 r force. As

everything seemed peaceful, they also were preparing to leave for the Yakima country, when it was discovered the Indians had quietly taken up their tents and left.

The volunteers immediately went in hot pursuit and overtook them at a place about ten miles from Vancouver, thereafter called "Battle Ground." A council was held and the Indians promised to return. On the way back, the body of Chief Cumtux was found. The cause of his death is not known, but the settlers were afraid that this would arouse the Indians. However, they promised to return peacefully, if allowed a few days to bemoan their chief.

As the anxious and fear-stricken women of Vancouver watched their hus- bands return without the Indians, they were disgusted, and called it "Squaw- back-down." Gathering together, hoods, aprons, and other feminine wearing ap- parel, they hastened out to meet them and presented them with these things. While they stood conversing a scout arrived saying the Indians had started back. The humiliation of the women can easily be imagined.

In 1869 the Columbia City plan was abandoned, and the Catholics laid claim to this Vancouver tract, basing their claims on the congressional donation law of 1848, which gave to all missionary societies then in the Oregon territory, engaged in missionary work, six hundred and forty acres of land. They based their claim upon occupancy and missionary work up to and continuously after the act of 1848, and thereupon laid out the site of Vancouver as it stood for years.

(Information in regard to different city claims was received from Mr. Pat- rick Hough, a resident since 1883, and a teacher in Vancouver, continuously since that time until 1908.)

When the military post became permanent, the authorities disputed the bishop's claim on two points — first : that the bishop and his fellow missionaries had been employees of the Hudson's Bay Company, whose title was extinguished by treaty of 1848; second: that the military occupancy of 1849, antedated Bishop Blanchet's record of claim under the act of 1848.

These questions were argued before the courts and in the land office for many years, being appealed from one court to another. In the meantime, the United States erected permanent structures, and the general land office at Washington offered the bishop thirty thousand dollars to vacate ; but congress failed to make the appropriation.

In 1886, it was finally decided by the supreme court of United States that the mission claim was not valid. As the church authorities had spent many thou- sand dollars defending the claim, congress, about eight years ago at the sugges- tion of Representative Jones, (now Senator Jones), appropriated twenty-five thousand dollars to reimburse the church for money spent on the claim. Thus ended the long-drawn out controversy and claim of the Catholic church to the Vancouver townsite.

And thus it came to pass, that when the territory of Washington was or- ganized in 1853, there were two parties, the bishop and Amos Short, whose claims overlapped some distance west of Main street, probably to Esther avenue. Therefore, when people bought property on this lap, they received deeds from both parties, while those purchasing east of the lap from the bishop only, and west of the lap took claim from Short only.

This state of clouded titles continued until i872,when congress authorized President Grant to issue a patent to Abel G. Trip, the mayor of Vancouver, for the present city site. So in addition to previous titles, all property owners re- ceived new deeds based on the president's patent.

This trouble, together with the bar at the mouth of the Willamette river, which prohibited deep sea vessels entering its harbor, were two causes that re- tarded Vancouver's growth while Portland was forging ahead.

The first school in Vancouver was conducted by W. R. Hathaway, about 1853, in a building erected by the Hudson's Bay Company on the United States Military reservation. A school was later held in the rear of the old C