THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAN. PORTLAND. JUNE 17, 1906.
JASON LEE'S PLACE IN HISTORY
i . , :
Address of H. W. Scott at the Memorial Services in
Honor of Methodist Missionary Held at Salem, Friday.
ADDRESSES by H. W. Scott and Al
len Weir at the memorial services
held at Salem Friday In honor of
Jason Lee are' herewith published. Other
addresses read at the services will be pub
lished at a later time In The Oregonlan.
Mr. Scott's address follows:
That faith which foresees and believes
and Is the substance of all things, was
the Inspiration of the Oregon missions
and the creative power of the growth of
our great states of the Pacific North
west. The history of the origin of each of
our slates lies in the biography and
character of the few who were first actors
in the history. It is a record, therefore,
"f the individual lives of men and women
r:thcr than of great events. Such were
the opening scenes of the history of Ore
gon. 1 refer now. not to the first discoveries
and explorations, .but to the conditions
that started the permanent settlement
and began the continuous social and po
litical life of Oregon. But when we are
able to take up the history of a com
monwealth from its very beginning, and
in particular when that beginning was
in smallest things, of recent development,
almost wholly under our own eyes, there
is obvious advantage. We are able to
see clearly, assign the rounders to their
propeY places and to accord them sever
ally their meed of fame.
There is something unsatisfactory in
beginning a history with the mature state
of a country. As in biography, so' in
history, we desire to go back to the
cradle and see the growth -of social and
political life from the first small be
ginnings. There is. moreover, not a Ut
ile difficulty in finding a later moment
which will afford a real starting point.
In a mature state each condition Is the
result of what went before, and the hu
man mind feels compelled to seek causes
for this as for every other effect.
The absence of written documents in
the early ages obliges us to form all our
Ideas of primitive history from oral tra
ditions, handed down from generation to
generation. These become more or less
changed by laitse of time and are ac
companied with superstition and a be
lief in the miraculous Intervention of the
divinity a doctrine which it enhances
while it envelops the pride of a people
with a halo of glory.
But we have for the origins of the his
tory of Oregon abundance of written and
printed contemporary material; and . we
know, therefore, we arc on the sure and
solid ground of historical truth. Here,
however, are disadvantages, because
there is little room for play of the im
agination. The poetry Is lost.
One who stands as an actor on the
threshold of such a new movement has
great advantage in this, that though his
labors may be arduous, he has a chance,
a certainty almost, of reaching a place
in the memory of posterity. And after
all. fame Is something, and it is some
thing to win oven remembrance among
men. Though a great poet declares the
desire of fame "the last infirmity of the
noble, mind." yet the desire is one that
justifies itself in. the lives of men, and
even at the bar of human history. For
none would live without notice or praise.
If he could gain it, nor pass to the in
finite unknown leaving no mention or
memorials of his name.
I am not now intending to give a sketch
-of the early history of Oregon, but shall
attempt some account of estimate of one
of the leading actors in it, incidentally
only referring to others. I avoid claims
made for one and another, and all con
tioversy as to who "saved Oregon": for
In my conception Oregon was secured to
the United States by a train of events in
which numerous persons were important
Hi tors. Nevertheless. I must give chief
credit for our heginning as an American
state to the missionary effort, of which
Jas'nn Lee was the protagonist.
Attempts were marie prior to the com
.ng of Jason Ioe. but they were failures.
I need not speak of Astor's unsuccess
ful undertaking: nor of the failure of
succeeding adventurers. Wyeth and Bon
neville, whose enterprises were those of
traders; nor of the attempted coloniza
tion by Hall J. Kelley, which ended even
more disastrously. It was not until the
American missionaries entered and pos
si sin-d the country neither as traders nor
us secular colonizers, though in reality
wi.Iing to become both, that a foothold
w:i. Ruined for the occupation of Oregon
liy American settlers. With exception
JASON LEE AND THE STATE
Al-l-ffl' WEIR, of Olympia, represent-in,-
the Governor of Washington and
t..c Washington State Pioneer Association,
i.c.heied tlic following address on "Jason
Lv.u :i.i the State of Washington" at the
Ii.ciikh iul services held at Salem Friday:
Mr. l'resident and Ladles and Gen
t.emcn: Someone has said that a man's
Jife history should not be written until
.' years after his death meaning, I
suppose, that if he had any animosi
ties or imperfections during his life
time they should be permitted to die
out and be forgotten. Besides, the
progressive and far-seeing statesman.
Hie man who is ahead of his day and
generation, is not always appreciated'
until after events have justified his
course. Be that as it may, while there
was no lack of appreciation during his
lifetime of the man whose memory we
honor today, and no reason for post
poning this event, still it is certain
that as time rolls on he looms as a
larger and yet more important figure
m the horizon of the history of the
l-ncinc Northwest.
As we stand reverently near the dust
thai was once. Jason Leo, I wish to say
that, speaking in behalf of the State
nf Washington, her Governor, and the
Washington State Pioneer Association,
1 am honored In having been author
ized to bear a message to you this
evening.
We jionor the memory of Jason Lea
I cause of his noble, pure and conse
crated life, the best years of which
were given to the perilous duties of a
missionary to our land before it could
-lm;ist of many white settlers; because
he it was who preached the first ser
mon from tho Word of God ever ut
tered within the bounds of what is now
I lie State of Washington when his
was literally the voice of "one crying
in the wilderness," and especially be
cause to his wise and far-seeing states
manship, patriotism and energetic,
happily directed efforts, more than to
those of any other individual, is due
the fact that the soil of what is now
tile big, lusty young state to the north
of us, once a part of old Oregon, be
came American soil and not British.
The State of Washington desires to
acknowledge her debt of gratitude to
him. and to add her tribule to his
memory today.
Life death. eternity! How vast,
how deep, how solemn are these three
words! Astronomy cannot tell us
where the bounds of this visible uni
verse are. Theology cannot determine
the locality of that invisible universe
from which no traveler returns. But
we are told that somewhere, "in our
Father's house," tare many mansions.'
This we do know, that when a human
being, endowed with the kingly quali
ties of a free moral agent, capable of
using his powers for the uplifting and
bettering of humanity, does so use
those powers Instead of wasting his
ifo in selfish gratification or sloth, or
of Felix Hathaway, who had come by
ship in 1829. of Solomon Smith, of Clat
sop, and perhaps one or two more who
had come with Wyeth's first expedition
in 1S32, there were, so far as 1 am able
to ascertain, no Americans in Oregon
when Jason Lee and his four companions
came in 1834. Hall J. Kelley and Ewing
Young coming from California, arrived
the same . year, a little later.
A word here about the members of this
first missionary party of five persons,
beginning with Jason and Daniel Lee.
Jason Lee was a man of earnest and en
ergetic character. He was devoted to
ideals, yet' one could not nay that he was
a man of great original genius. Such,
indeed, are not numerous in our world.
But he was sincere, strong in his con
victions and in himself. He was a man
of sincere piety, of settled beliefs and was
fit for the work in which he was to en
gage. It was a hopeless scheme, indeed
that of educating and civilizing the In
dians of that time, but he didn't know
it, and therefore didn't trouble himself
with doubts. He believed fully in the
future of this great country, yet was
scarcely aware that the Indian could not
be a factor in it. On the contrary, he
thought the Indian might be. This was
a mistake. But what he did was to lead
the way to American colonization.
The second man was Daniel Lee,
nephew of the former, thoroughly de
voted to the idea of the mission, young
and ardent, not idealistic, but practical,
with a world of good common sense and
with a willingness to works He labored
In the missionary cause in Oregon till
August. 1843. when he left the country,
never to return. The ill-health of his
wife required his departure with her.
They left by sea. Daniel Lee continued
in the ministry in the Eastern States
during many years, and died in OklahomI
in 1815.
With the Lees from New York came
Cyrus Shepard, from Lynn. Mass. He
was thoroughly devoted to the work for
which he had engaged, but had not the
physical constitution necessary for Its
hardships. After his arrival In Oregon
he married a Mist Downing, who came
out by sea In the Hamilton, with the
White party, arriving in 1837. Shepard
died in January, 1840. His wife and two
children survived him.
Jason Lee, Daniel Lee and Cyrus Shep
ard were the original party. In Missouri
they engaged two young men for their
adventure Philip L. Edwards and Court
ney M. Walker.
Edwards was a native of Kentucky. In
hi early boyhood his father removed to
Missouri. Here at the age of 22 he Joined
the Lee expedition to Oregon. He taught
a school at Champoeg in 1835. and in 1836
went to California to obtain cattle for the
settlers in Oregon. With Ewing. Young
he returned with a band of nearly 1200,
which laid the foundation for rapid accu
mulation of the comforts of life andfut
ture "wealth. In March, 1837, Edwards
took the trail for the East, over the
plains, with Jason Lee and two Indian
boys. Returning to his old home in Mis
souri, he entered the field of politics and
was elected to the Legislature. He was
chairman of the delegation from Missouri
to the National convention at Baltimore
in 1S44. which nominated Henry Clay for
the Presidency. At Richmond, Mo., he
practiced law successfully till 1850, -when
he went overland to California and in 1S55
was in the Legislature of that state as a
Representative from Sacramento. Wher
ever he lived he was always a man of
note. He died at Sacramento in 1869.
The fifth member of this pioneer mis
sionary party was Courtney M. Walker.
He was engaged in Missouri, upon a eon
tract for one year, to assist in establish
ing the mission. He never left Oregon,
but took an Indian wife, lived In Yamhill
and left a posterity now, I think, extinct.
As I remember him he was a courtly
gentleman who. toward th end of his life,
managed to dress well, and had the ap
pearance of a man of culture and leisure.
A daughter. Helen, married a lawyer in
Yamhill, named John Cummins, who in
1862 was a Representative of that county
in the legislature. Cummins and wife
went to Washington City, where he prac
ticed law. She died there, after a few
years, leaving no children. The offspring
of white marriages with Indians, though
often worthy persons seldom were long
lived.
I give these detaita. picked up out of
many sources of information not readily
accessible. But they possess an Interest,
since they lie at the basis of the -creation
of the states of the Pacific Northwest:
and the smallest details of the heginning
of great things have human interest and
historic value. ,
All accounts of the missionary move
ment to Oregon begin with the story of
in wrongdoing, his memory should be
honored by those who follow after.
Life is a glorious mystery, with a
heaven beyond for attainment by just
men made perfect. Jason Lee, from
the battlements of heaven today, must
look down with the never-ending sat
isfaction of duty well and faithfully
performed on earth.
In one respect death levels all:
"The hand of the King that the scepter
hath borne;
The brow of the priest that the miter
hath worn;
The eye of the sage and the heart of
the brave, .
Are hidden and lost in the depths of
the grave."
But not so with the splendid charac
ter that lives in the. minds of fellow
mortals after useless clay has served
Its purpose and been laid away in the
grave. Rather should it be said of
these in the language of Lord Lytton:
"There Is no death! The stars go down
To rise upon some fairer shore;
And bright in heaven's jeweled crown
They shine forcvermore.
For ever near, though unseen.
The dear immortal spirits tread;
For all the boundless universe
Is life there is no dead."
"The sweet remembrance of the Just
Shall flourish when he sleeps in dust."
As we contemplate the object and pur
pose of this gathering tonight.-what mem
ories crowd in upon us! The scenes, in
cidents and individuals of the past crowd
in and haunt the vision and fill the minds
of those in this presence who took part
in the doings of early pioneer days in
"Old Willamette," or tnose who had con
temporaneous existence with those days
in the "Oregon country." I wish I might
recall that past yet more vividly to your
attention. I would like to hold before
your eyes the old Chemeketa founded by
the man whose dust rests In yonder Lee
Mission Cemetery; the dwelling erected
by him here when first he built a habita
tion in the "Land of the Sundown Seas."
"The shadows lie across the dim old
room.
The firelight glows and fades into the
gloom.
While mem'ry sails to childhood's distant
shore, v-
And dreams, and dreams of days that
are no more."
When Jason Lee came from the Eastern
states to the "Oregon country," in 1S34,
he came as a vigorous young preacher of
the word of God. fired with enthusiasm
in his mission and message to the native
tribes of the Northwest his ambition to
Christianize and civilize them, and im
bued with a lively conception of the mag
nitude and importance of this country and
of his undertaking. Large and whole
some, mentally and physically, of distin
guished lineage, and having been well
educated and trained to lofty ideals, he
was splendidly equipped for the work that
made him famous and left the stamp and
the four Flathead Indians who, in 1832.
made their way over mountains- and
plains to St. Louis, on a Journey whose
object the missionary spirit tells us was
to obtain religious instruction for them
selves and their people. I confess this
story has always seemed to me to have a
mythical element in it; and Daniel Lee
In his book intimates that the later de
velopment of the story was subject to
doubt. Nevertheless, he tells us that Gen
eral William Clark, of the Lewis and
Clark expedition, told' him in 1834 that
two years before that Is, in 1832 four In
dians, probably Nez Perces had accompa
nied a party of white trapper from tlfls
mountains to St. Louis and had given him
an interesting account of their journey
and Its objects. From the trappers they
had learned of the white man's God and
the Book he had given, and they wanted
to know. General Clark was not a doctor
of theology, and appears to have answered
them in merely conventional terms. The
story carried by the newspapers to the
East touched the religious imagination,
and served the misisonary purpose Just as
well as if the sole object for which the
Indians had accompanied the trappers was
to make these Inquiries. Certain it is
that the cause which started the first of
our missionaries to Oregon was publica
tion in New York of this simple Indian
story. Let no Incredulity smile-at the
simplicity of the recital. This is the true
beginning of the history of the making
of Oregon.
The missionary expedition did not find
its resting place in the country of the
Nez Perces or the Flatheads, according
to the original Intention. It fell in with
the Wyeth party and came on down to
the Willamette, then the settlement of a
few of the men of the Hudson Bay Com
panyBritish subjects, most of whom had
taken Indian wives. The Wyeth party
was to meet at the mouth of the Will
amette the little vessel which Wyeth had
dispatched from Boston, with goods for
the Indian trade. The destination of the
Wyeth party determined also that of the
Lee party. Both were recciid with
kindness by Dr. McLoughlin, the chief
factor of the Hudson's Bay Company.
Shepard remained at Vancouver, detained
by sickness. Jason Lee and Cqurtney
Walker came on up the Willamette by
boat, and Daniel Lee and Edwards took
horses, for which they were indebted to
the kindness of Dr. McLoughlin, and
Joined the others at the site chosen tor
the mission, on the Willamette, a few
miles below the present city of Salem.
It was not till after much deliberation
that'the mislson was established at that
place, for we are told that the merits of
different portions of the country were
considered the Flatheads, the Nez Per
ces, the Cayuse and other tribes were
carefully reviewed, but to the exclusion
of all others the Willamette Valley was
selected, chiefly because it was "strong
ly recommended by Dr. McLoughlin and
the rest of the gentlemen at Vancouver."
How, in the face of the testimony like
this, delivered by the American mission
aries themselves, it could have been sup
posed or told later, that the British peo
ple in the country were enemies of our
people, passes comprehension.
Yet there was sharp competition be
tween the subjects of Great Britain and
the American newcomers in Oregon, for
ascendency in the country. The claims
of both countries extended to the entire
area, from the 42d parallel to 54-40. In
truth, however, neither party could hope
to maintain its claim entire. Such was
the situation that compromise was inev
itable. Our claim to the country north
of the 49th parallel was weak. As weak
was the British claim to the Columbia
and especially weak to the territory south
of the Columbia River. Neither party,
therefore, was able wholly to exclude the
other, though for a time each bravely
made an exclusive claim. The talk on our
side of "fifty-four forty or fight" was
merely the cry of a party among our
own people. Say rather, it was the in
solence of partisanship, for Great Brit
ain's claims, through discovery, explora
tion and occupation, to a standing below
fifty-four forty rested on a basis too
solid to be disposed of in this way; and
besides our claim to "fifty-four forty"
rested merely on a convention between
the United States and Russia, through
which the latter had named "fifty-four
forty" as the southern boundary of her
American possessions. But to this con
vention Great Britain had not been a
party, and she justly declared that her
rights could not be concluded by any ne
gotiation in which she had not partici
pated, or in -whose results she had not
proml.oed acquiescence. The question,
therefore, was still open between Great
Britain and the United States. Both
countries had undoubted claims. Great
Britain, by retrocession of Astoria to the
impress of his personality upon all the
Pacific Northwest for the molding of
character of the white population coming
to these shores, fostering patriotic citi
zenship, and building up a heritage price
less to humanity. The little band under
his leadership were the first to raise the
Stars and Stripes in these ends of the
earth, the first to put forth a successful
effort to establish a local self-government
here, and the first to bring to the atten
tion of the Government of the United
States the importance and desirability
of extending National protection to the
people and exercising National authority
over this vast domain.
Born in Stanstead. Can., in 1803, he was
nevertheless a thorough American. His
ancestor. John Lee, was one of the first
54 members of the Massachusetts Bay
Colony to settle at Cambridge, Mass., in
1634. The names of his ancestors appear
In every war of the colonies and of the
United States prior to his time and in the
Pequot war. in the old French and In
dian war, at Concord and Lexington, at
the siege of Boston, at the batttle of
Ixng Island, at the storming of 'Stony
Point, with Washington crossing the
Delaware, at Princeton and Trenton,
Germantown and Monmouth. Colonel
Noah Lee raised and equipped at his
own expense a regiment In Vermont and
led them to the aid of Ethan Allen in the
attack upon Tlconderoga. Captain Na
than Hale, Washington's scout, executed
at New York as a spy by order of Gen
eral Howe, was a descendant from Tabi
tha, youngest daughter of John Lee, as
was also the celebrated divine. Rev. Ed
ward Everett Hale. Among college presi
dents in this same lineage we find the
names of William Alien Lee, of Bowdoin
and Dartmouth, and John Parker Lee, of
Los Angeles. Cal. Among statesmen Is
Thaddeus Stevens, of Pennsylvania;
among jurists. William Strong, a Justice
of the Supreme Court of the United
States; among soldiers of the Civil War,
Kirby Smith, the last Confederate Gen
eral to surrender. His father was a Min
ute Man, and hastened to the defense of
Concord and Lexington, and was with
General Washington at the siege of Bos
ton, and In all the campaigns In New
Jersey. At the close of the Revolutionary
War the elder Lee settled in the then
almost impenetrable wilds of Vermont, In
a location that! was afterward divided bv
the boundary Tine between the United
Cats r.A - -J 'T-1. . 1. - . , . I
uimco tutu .auoua. iits w ll, 11 K II lies
on both sides of the line, is called Rock
Island on the Canadian side of the line
and Derby Line on the American side.
By the location of the boundary the Lees
were left a stone's throw from the line
on the Canadian side. i
Converted In 1826. Jason Lee entered
Wilbraham Academy at Wilbraham.
Mass., the following year, and spent the
remainder of his life in the United States.
Upon his arrival in Oregon, accompanied
by his nephew. Daniel Lee. and Cyrus
Shepherd and P. S. Edwards, he began
United States, after the' War of 1S12. had
acknowledged our right in the country,
and still was acknowledging it; though
she was occupying the country, and we
were not down to the arrival of the
American traders and missionaries, in
1832-34, Yet Great Britain, through eer
channels of diplomatic intercourse what
ever her people here may have said or
claimed never made any serious preten
sion to the territory south of the Colum
bia River, but had insisted on that stream
as the boundary line. But we had.
through Gray's discovery, the exploration
of Lewis and Clark and the settlement
of Astoria even though Astoria had
capitulated a chain of title that made
It Impossible for us to consider this
claim. Still, there could be no termina
tion of the dispute till the slow migra
tion of our people to the Oregon country
gradually established American Influence
here; and finally the large migration of
1843 gave the Americans decided prepon
derance, especially In the country south
of the Columbia. Into this competition
our missionary people were plunged. In
deed, they led the way in it, and to their
efforts, mainly, was due the agitation that
led to increase of American immigration
from our states and gave our people the
ascendency. That there were no colli
sions here, of serious character, between
the representatives of the different coun
tries, was due to good, common sense on
both sides, to mutual forbearance, and to
common language and kinship. The re
ception accorded to our people by the
English was uniformly considerate. We
have-seen how they interested -themselves
in the-settlement of our first missionaries,
and remembrance of the benevolence of
Dr. McLoughlin to our people, shown
many long years. Is a possession that will
be cherished in our history forever.
In every sketch of the early history of
Oregon it is necessary to make some
statement of the controversy between
Great Britain and the United States over
rights of sovereignty here, I shall not
pursue the subject, but must mention It.
for it is the key to our pioneer history,
and the fact must ever be borne in mind
when dealing with any part of the theme.
As missionaries to the Indians, the little
band and those who came after then can
not be said to have been successful. After
few years not many Indians remained to
be educated and civilized. This was not
the fault of the missionaries, but the in
evitable and universal consequence, re
peated liere, of contact of the white and
Indian races. But. as settlers and colo
nizers, our missionaries "came out
strong."
They, with the reinforcements sent out
during the next ten years, became the
chief force that Americanized Oregon and
held the country till the general immigra
tion began to arrive.
The Presbyterians followed the Meth
odists in the missionary effort. Samuel
Parker was sent out in 1835. Whitman
came In 1836. Reinforcement to the Meth
odist mission arrived by sea In the Spring
of 1837. Its leader was Dr. Elijah White.
Dr. White and wife sailed from Boston in
the ship Hamilton, July 2, 1836. They
came by way of the Sandwich Islands.
With them came a dozen persons, for
work In the mission, including three
young women, who became wivea of mis
sionaries. Of these details I can give no
more in so brief an address as this must
be, than are necessary to the main pur
pose of a short and rapid narrative. With
in a year after this reinforcement ar
rived, Jason Lee, realizing the need of a
still stronger force for the work, started
East over the plains. This was in 1838,
more than five years before "Whitman's
ride." undertaken for a similar purpose.
Passing through Peoria, 111.. In the Win
ter of 1838, he delivered a lecture on Ore
gon. This started a party of young men
from Peoria for Oregon in the Spring of
1839. The party disagreed and divided. A
portion of it passed the Winter at Brown's
Hole, on Green River, some miles below
where the'main line of the Union Pacific
Railroad now crosses that stream. In the
Spring of 1840 it came on to Oregon, ar
riving at Vancouver in May. 1840. In this
Peoria party were Joseph Holman, Sidney
Smith, Amos Cook and Francis Fletcher,
all of whom lived to old age and left de
scendants, now living in various parts of
the state.
Before he had arrived at the end of his
journey eastward, Jason Lee heard of the
death of his wife ,in Oregon, shortly after
he had left her. Bowing: as man must to
so great a grief and loss, yet his purpose
was not shaken. He bestirred himself
with all energy to obtain further help for
the mission in Oregon, and in October,
1839, with a large party that included
many names which became widely known
In our pioneer life, sailed from New York
OF WASHINGTON
work by opening a school for Indian chil
dren In a log house they erected a few
miles below the place where we stand
tonight.
Mr. Lee had an adequate conceptipn of
the country, its importance, and his great
work, even before he left the Atlantic
States, because he had visited Washing
ton, D. C. prior to his coming, where he
interviewed President Andrew Jackson, to
whom he unfolded his plans and from
whom he secured executive indorsement
and a promise of assistance. On his way
West he held religious services at Fort
Hall In what is now Southern Idaho, July
27, 1834, preaching from the text:
"Whether, therefore ye eat or drink,
or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory
of God." I Cor. x:31.
On the following day he conducted the
first funeral services west of the Rocky
Mountains by a Protestant Christian
minister. On September 28, 1S34, he
preached at Vancouver, now in Washing
ton, then a Hudson's Bay Company trad
ing post, and on October 9 following he
preached at Gervals.
Among the missionaries coming
within the next few years, Lee was
easily the foremost in leadership. He
was aggressive and resourceful, plan
ning with wisdom and executing with
the firm, manly tread of a conqueror.
Hl3 consecrated. Christian manhood,
strong in body and mind, hopeful and
helpful, enabled him to accomplish
things. He survived all dangers Inci
dent to crossing the plains, the main
part of the continent then being unin
habited save by wild beasts and hos
tile, treacherous Indians. He blazed
a pathway for oncoming civilization.
Weary and footsore, trudging beside
an ox team over desert plain, through
swamp and forest, never hesitating in
his purpose, immediately upon his ar
rival he began his work with the zeal
6f one who felt that he must be "about
the Master's business."
In 1838. when Mr. Lee returned to
"the states" after reinforcements for
his missions, and to bring the- impor
tance of this country to the attention
of the Government, he carried with
him a memorial to' Congress, which he
had prepared, and which was support
ed by the settlers, that was significant
and important, prophetic of our future
greatness, and which described the
needs and possibilities of the country,
its conditions, and the earnest desires
of the petitioners. One paragraph
alone from his pen will suffice to in
dicate the strength of his grasp of
the situation. He said:
"We need hardly allude to the com
mercial advantages of the territory.
Its happy position for trade with
China, India and the Western Coast of
America. The growing Importance,
however, of the islands of the Pacific
is not so generally known or appre
in the bark Lausanne for the Columbia
River. The vessel arrived in the river
just as the Peoria party' which had start
ed a year earlier came down the Colum
bia to Vancouver, that Is, in May, 1840.'
The party that came by the Lausanne
became known in missionary annals as
"the great reinforcement."
White left Oregon in July. 1840, by sea,
for New York. In 1842 he came out again
to Oregon, over the plains. With him
came a large party, among whom were
persons afterwards well known In the his
tory of Oregon as J. R. Robb, S. W. Moss,
Medorem Crawford, the Pomeroys, An
drew and Darling Smith, and many more.
White himself went back over the plains
in 1845; came again to Oregon via Pana
ma In 1861, with a commission from Pres
ident Lincoln for an Industrial scheme
among the Indians, but, finding it im
practicablemost of the Indians having
passed away remained but a short time
and departed for California. He spent
tue last years of his life In San Francisco,
where he died in 1879.
Of course, it is known and acknowledged
on all sides that the missionary enterprise
led by Jason Lee was not the only one in
the early history of Oregon that left its
impress on the life of the country, direct
ed its course and determined its destiny.
There were other similar undertakings,
but this one was the first, and, on the
whole, more powerful than any other.
After the Whitman massacre, all Protes
tant missions in the Upper Columbia re
gion were abandoned, and the people
came to the Willamette Valley.
But it was not merely to obtain a rein
forcement for the mission that Lee prose
cuted his work in the Eastern States. His
work was the first work done by a resi
dent of Oregon, to Induce the Government
of the United States to aid in colonization
and support of the country, to settle it
with American people, and to establish
here an American state. Knowing also
that commerce must attend the settle
ment of the country, he maae representa
tions to the Cushtngs of Massachusetts,
which interested them in commercial ef
fort In this direction; and this brought
John H. Couch to Oregon In 1840. in the
bark Marylandi with goods for trade, and
again In the Chenamus, in 1844.
The Catholic missions in Oregon were
started in 1838, four years later than the
Methodist, and two years later than the
Presbyterian.
Jason Lee, leaving Oregon In 1838 and
reaching the Atlantic States early in 1839,
at onco directed his efforts to the pur
poses he had in view, and for which he
had made the tedious Journey over the
plains. Before he started for Oregon he
and P. L. Edwards, who had come with
him, drew up a memorial to Congress,
which was signed by Lee and Edwards,
by every member of the mission at Wil
lamette station, by 17 other American cit
izens, nearly all at that time in the coun
try, and by nine French Canadians, who
desired to become citizens of the United
States. The object of the memorial was
to induce the Congress to extend the
protection of the United States over the
Oregon Country, and to encourage its set
tlement by American citizens. It was
dated March 16, 1838. Lec carried this me
morial to Washington. It was an elab
orate statement of the merits and value
of the Oregon Country, and the first ap
peal made to the Government of the Uni
ted States by any body of the American
settlers in Oregon, for assertion by Con
gress of the rights and sovereignty of
the United States. "Our Interests," said
these petitioners In Oregon," are Identi
cal with those of our own country. We
flatter ourselves that we are the germ of
a great state, and are anxious to give an
early tone to the moral and intellectual
character of its citizens. We are fully
aware, too, that the destinies of our pos
terity will be deeply affected by the char
acter of those who emigrate to this coun
try. The territory must populate. The
Congress of the United States must say
by whom; by the reckless and unprinci
pled adventurer, the refugee from Botany
Bay, the wanderer from South America,
the deserting seamen, or by our own
hardy, and enterprising pioneers." Fur
ther, the position of Oregon, on the Pa
cific Coast, and its necessary relations to
future commerce, were explained, and
strong appeal was added, that the United
States should at once "take formal pos
session." It is not my intention to claim merit for
oife at the expense of another. All our
pioneers did well. All performed their
part. But It Is due to the truth of his
tory to show that Jason Lee was the
leader in colonial as in missionary work
in Oregon, and that his Journey to the
East In the interests of Oregon, and his
appeal to Washington, antedated the
Journey and the appeal of Whitman by
five years.
ciated. As these Islands progress In
civilization their demands for the prod
ucts of more northern climates will
increase; nor can any country supply
them with beef, flour, etc., on terms so
advantageous as this."
This memorial reads like the argu
ments, of expansionists in Congress
within the past decade. It was pre
sented to the United States Senate by
Senator Linn of Missouri on January
28. 1839, in connection with a bill to
create a territory south of latitude 62
and west of the Rocky Mountains, to
be called "Oregon Territory."
Mr. Lee also enlisted the active sup
port of Caleb Cushing in his plan to
add more stars to our Naational em
blem from the far Pacific Northwest.
On January 17, 1839, he wrote to Mr.
Cushlng from Middletown, Conn., re
ferring to the memorial and to the
"Oregon question":
"you are aware, sir, that there is
no law in the country to protect or
control American citizens, and to whom
shall we look, to whom can we look,
for the establishment of wholesome
laws to regulate our infant and rising
settlements but to the Congress of our
own beloved country,"
"The country will be settled, and that
speedily, from some quarter, and it de
pends very much upon the speedy action
of Congress what tbat population shall be
and what shall be the fate of the Indian
tribes in that territory. It may be
thought that Oregon Is of little import
ance, but rely upon it there is the germ
of a great state.
"We are resolved to do what we can
to benefit the country, but we are con
strained to throw ourselves upon you for
protection."
During the year 1839 Mr. Lee traveled
extensively throughout the East, deliver
ing lectures at many points, awakening
great interest and enthusiasm in and over
the subject of far-away Oregon, its con
dition and its wonderful natural re
sources, mild and equable climate and its
advantageous geographical location with
reference to the growth of civilization and
the aggrandizement of the United States
among the growth and development of
the nations of the world. He attended
the Methodist Episcopal Conference at
Alton, 111., and captured the rapt atten
tion of all there in his theme and his
personality. From there he went to
Peoria, and lectured, and at that point
was organized the first company of Amer
icans who were not missionaries to seek
permanent homes in Oregon.
While in the East, Mr. Lee met and
married Lucy Thomoson, of Barre, Vt.,
a lady 'of rare culture and attractiveness,
who accompanied him back to his Far
Western home. Here in Old Chemeketa
was their family fireside, here was set
up their family altar; here, on February
26. 1842, their daughter, Lucy Anna Maria
Lee, was born; here that daughter grew
We have said the contest between
our own people and the subjects of
Great Britarn for possession of the
Oregon country was the key to our pio
neer history. It stimulated the early
migration and hastened the settlement.
The missionary stations were outposts
on the line of colonization. It was
through their appeals, chiefly, that the
Oregon country was brought to the at
tention of the pioneer spirit, ever mov
ing westward; and it is not too much
to say that most of those who came to
Oregon during the first 20 years of set
tlement and growth were moved to
come by the agitation begun and car
ried on by those engaged in the 'mis
sionary cause.
There is a vague instinct which leads
restless spirits to leave their native
country in early life, to try fortune
elsewhere. Each thinks, no doubt that
beyond his visual horizon their lies new
moral space, .with large, though un
known, opportunities. Change of place
is the natural demand of this restless
ness of spirit. The world, through all
ages, has received the benefit of it; it
has been one of the great moving
forces in the history of our race. Our
Oregon of today is a product of it.
The Indian races of Oregon, and in
particular of Western Oregon,' rap
idly melted away. But among the white
settlers, fast increasing in numbers
after 1840, there was a growing field
for religious, moral and, educational
work. Jason Lee had remarried; and
again his wife was called away by
death. Sore as was his bereavement, he
pursued his work. New demands were
constantly arising, and to meet these
he deemed it necessary to make another
Journey to the Eastern States, for ad
ditional assistance. Parting with his
co-laborers in the missions, and leav
ing his infant daughter, he sailed from
the Columbia River in November, 1843,
just after the arrival of the great Im
migration of that year. Passing
through Mexico, he reached New York
in May, 1844. Thence he went again
directly to Washington to urge once
more upon the Government the neces
sity of terminating the Joint occupa
tion of Oregon and of establishing
quickly and definitely the sovereignty
of the United States. But Jason Lee
was never to see Oregon again. Confer
ences with his missionary board, and
work of preparation for larger efforts
in Oregon occupied him during the re
mainder of the year 1844. But his
arduous labors, the privations and sac
rifices of more than ten years had
broken his constitution, and in March,
1845, his mortal part passed from earth.
But his spirit is here, and the work he
set in motion is a possession here for
ever. It is fit 'that Oregon should re
cover the dust and that her soil should
hold it, as the life of her people holds
his spirit. Yet human glory was not his
aim. His object was a higher one. and
he achieved it. His name lives; yet of
such mould was he that, assured as he
was that the Almighty Judge could not
forget, even the oblivion of man could
have been no matter to him.
He was still young not yet 42 years
of age; but "virtue, not length of days,
the mind matures"; and, "that life is
long which answers life's great end."
A great nature is a seed. The spirit
of life and of action which springs
from It grows and will grow among
men for ever. Thus it is that man is
the only being that cannot die. The poet
tells us in mournful cadence that the
path of glory leads but to the grave.
But this Is true only in a superficial
sense. The path of true glory does not
end in the grave. It passes through It,
to larger opportunities of Bervlce Into
as spirit that it stimulates and feeds,
and Into the spirit that survives It, in
men's minds, forever.
Not long remembered would Jason
Lee have been we may suppose but
for the fortune of opportunity that
sent him to Oregon. With all men of
action It Is so. But for his opportunity,
given by the Civil, War, General Grant
would have no name. How slight the
original incidents that have linked the
name of Jason Lee inseparably with
the history of Oregon! The Protestant
missions failed, as missions, but they
were the main instruments that peo
pled Oregon with Americans. That Is,
they were more successful than their
authors ever dreamed they could be.
They established the foundations of
the sovereignty of the United States
in the Pacific Northwest. The mission
was the first low wash of the waves
where now rolls this great human sea.
ADDRESS DELIVERED AT
BY ALLEN WEIR,
to womanhood and developed into one of
the most lovely and lovable of Christian
characters ever known on the Coast.
Wherever he was, Jason Lee was abund
ant in labors. In his chosen field here,
from the California line to Puget Sound,
his activities were incessant. A great
many trips were made by him up and
down the Columbia River, with no con
veyance except an Indian canoe, and no
shelter when overtaken by nightfall but
the friendly earth and the forest and 6ky
overhead and round about. On the 9th
day of October, 1839, a company of mis
sionaries and their families, some 52 per
sons In all. sailed from New York in the
ship Lausanne for the "Oregon Country,"
to reinforce the work of Mr. Lee. These
were recruits, enlisted through his ef
forts. They arrived at the mouth of the
Columbia River June 1. 1840, and 12 days
later met at Vancouver for consultation.
Mr. Lee, as superintendent of tho mis
sion work, assigned them to their differ
ent stations. On June 15 he appointed Dr.
John P. Richmond, of this party, to es
tablish a mission at Nisqually. near Puget
Sound, now in Pierce County. Washington.
Dr. Richmond was the first Ajnerican
man with a family to become a resident
north of the Columbia River. Mr. Lee had
visited and selected the place for this
mlsslcm in 1838. The first American child
born In the Puget Sound country was a
son of Dr. and Mrs. Richmond. The en
try in the family Bible reads:
"Francis Richmond, son of John P.
Richmond and wife, America, was born
at Puget Sound, near Nisqually. Oregon
Territory, on the 28th day of February,
Anno Domini 1842, and was baptized by
Rev. Jason Lee, Supt, of Oregon Mis
sions." It seems inexpressibly sad even yet that
the beloved wife of Mr. Lee should have
so prematurely ended her earthly career in
1844, and that his own life ended .early in
the following year, just apparently In the
beginning of his great usefulness.,
Jason Lee would have graced any posi
tion of honor and responsibility to which
the American people might have called
him, and would have risen equal to any
emergency. .The splendid Institution of
learning here In Salem, with its long, hon
orable and highly useful career, is a fit
ting monument to the man. No mauso
leum erected here to mark his resting
place could be too elegant or costly to
properly express the love and appreciation
of the people for him and his memory.
But his grandest monument is the splen
did character he bullded, of which we get
an occasional glimpse for our edification
and Inspiration. He was modest, unas
suming, one of the quiet, forceful souls,
devoted In every fiber to a great work.
The everlasting snows qn Mount Hood
are not purer nor fairer than the unsul
lied personal character he left behind.
While his work has been carried on by
other devoted and able men, and Its
sphere of usefulness will go on broaden
ing like the waves rippling from a stone
to increase in power,y we may believe
throughout all ages.
Jason Lee. though a preacher of, pow
er, relied not on the graces of pulpit
eloquence. Deep was his earnestness-, but
he was not a showy man. His Journey
to the West and his work herein vastly
extended his spiritual and Intellectual
wision. Bancroft, in his study of the
character of Lee. says: "No discipline
of lecture-room, general ministration or
other experience, could have been so val
uable a preparation for his duties as the
rude routine of the days of his overland
Journey. It secmd to him as If
his theological sea had suddenly
become boundless, and he might
sail unquestioned whithersoever the
winds should carry him. It was
delightful, this cutting loose from con
ventionalisms, for even Methodist preach
ers are men. Not that there was present
any Inclination toward a relaxation of ,
principles, as is the case with so many
on leaving home and all its healthful in
fluences; on the contrary, he felt him
self more than ever the chosen of God.
as he was thus brought nearer him in
nature, where he was sustained and
guarded by day. and at night enfolded
in his starry covering. Fires, both phy
sical and mental, blazed brightly, and he
was not a whit behind the most efficient
of his company in willingness, ability and
courage." This Is the testimony of a
writer who, throughout his monumental
work on the origins of the Pacific States,
has shown little disposition to laud the
missionaries, or to accord them more
than their due.
It is small business either to disparage
or flatter the ministry. But we may.
even at the grave, speak of the minister
as a man. Theology, like conscience, be
longs to the private property of each
communion: we shall not Invade its pre
cincts nor call its devotees to question.
But putting aside the doctrine of the
priest and considering only the sacerdotal
calling in Its relations to the world, we
must acknowledge the moral superiority
and exalted privileges which this profes
sion offers to the man of genius, spirit
and virtue who devotes himself to its
exercise. On this basis the missionaries
to Oregon, of all denominations, Protest
ant and Catholic, are to be Judged with
out loss to them of any clement of worthy
reputation.
Of the two women who shared with
Jason Lee the labors of his life in Ore
gon the annals of the time are full of
appreciative notice and description. Each
was a type of devoted womanhood.
Though they gave all for the opportunity
to labor in this then unknown field, and
sacrificed their lives In it, they are for
tunate In name and fame. The first wife.
Anna Maria Pittman, died in May 18.18;
the second, Lucy Thompson, In March.
1842. Sorrowful fatality, dun to the con
ditions of remote pioneer life. In which
woman bad to bear more than her part,
and yet in her hour of need could not
have the assistance that her sisters in
more favored circumstances receive.
Such were some .of the sacrifices of the
pioneer time, through which this country
was prepared as a dwelling place for the
succeeding generations.
It is difficult for any generation to esti
mate rightly Its contemporary men and
women of real worth. There are many
mistaken estimates. After the Restora
tion in England, John Milton was over
looked and forgotten. Though the liter
ary defender of the Commonwealth and
regicides, he was regarded as too un
important for notice. His obscurity se
cured him immunity from prosecution,
and he died unnoticed. But so great Is
he now that Kings and Princes and
nobles of his time walk abofit under his
shadow; the very ag that neglected him
is now known as "The Age of Milton."
and receives its luster from his name.
Mind and spirit are the controlling forces
of the world. Men of pre-eminence can
be estimated only by their peers. Equality
of judgment is too scantily bestowed in
any living generation to Insure a correct
decision, to settle the scale of preten
sion, to arrange the gradations of favor,
or the definitive place or title which each
Is to occupy In the ranks of fame. Con
temporary men often pronounce that to
be greatest which approaches nearest to
themselves, since they are able to look
upon it with the distinctness of close
proximity. But the Judgment is with the
future time. We get no proper sense of
the majesty of our mountain peaks when
near them. We must draw back a little,
if we would take in their full grandeur.
On. this view the work of our mission
aries In Oregon rises to proportions more
and more majestic, as we study It from
the standpoint of history and of conse
quences; and though others bore lofty
spirits and did great work, no name
stands or will stand above that of Jasou
Lee.
MEMORIAL SERVICES
OF OLYMPIA
capt Into placid waters, yet the Impetus
given to it all by the man himself who
laid broad and deep foundations will con
tinue as an abiding example for all who
follow.
Jason Lee undoubtedly felt the respon
sibility of being an instrument in God's
hands in working out the higher destiny
of the race. The oncoming civilization
of which he was a forerunner swept
across the continent, subduing the savage
races and changing conditions and over
coming all obstacles, and now at the dawn
of the new century it has passed ail for
mer boundaries and is crossing the ocean
to repeople the Philippines. Hawaii, Porto
Rico and other "Islands of the Sea," and
the new order of things has become a part
of tha world's history. He would doubt
less feel that the unfurling of the Stars
and Stripes and the playing of "The Star
Spangled Banner" and "America" on
these new shores, accompanied by the
roar and rattle of our artillery, were but
incidents in the onward march of our
Christian civilization; and that when w
say
"Forever float that standard sheet.
Where breathes the foe but falls before
us,
"With Freedom's soli beneath our feet
And Freedom's banner streaming o'er
us?"
We should do so In a spirit of humility
born of the responsibility placed upon us
by the all wise arbiter of destiny who
holds the fate of nations as in the hollow
of his hand, and who desires to use us as
instruments In working out the uplift of
the human race. He was one of our no
bility. His life would say to succeed
ing generations:
"Look up, my young American! Stand
firm on earth;
Where noble deeds and mental power glva
places over birth."
Young Schoolteachers' Plight.
When a young schoolteacher, whose
home Is in Southern Oregon, married
Herman Short, of Portland, it appears
that she made a sad mistake. Raised in
comfortable surroundings and liberally
educated, she could reasonably have ex
pected a somewhat different type of man
from Short for a husband. According to
Detectives Kay and Hill. w,ho have taken
the couple. Short has forced his wlfo to
earn a livelihood in various menial ca
pacities, and lately. In order to secure'
larger revenue, has driven her to a sec
tion of the city where the prevailing color
scheme Is red. Now she is tired of the
wretch and wishes to go back to the home
in Southern Oregon. The two officers have
communicated with her father, and hope
to get her reinstalled in her home. They
likewise have an ambition to get Short
installed in the penitentiary.
"Always tired" describes a dangerous
condition. Hood's SarsapartUa will give
you strength.