# Oregon Historical Quarterly/Volume 8/Address of Frederick V. Holman

THE QUARTERLY
OF THE
Oregon Historical Society.
[The Quarterly disavows responsibility for the positions taken by contributors to its pages.
ADDRESS OF FREDERICK V. HOLMAN
At the Dedication of the McLoughlin Institute at Oregon City, October 6, 1907.
We have come here today to witness the dedication of an educational institution named in honor and in kind and affectionate remembrance of Dr. John McLoughlin—the Father of Oregon—one of the best and noblest of men.
Fifty years ago, on the third day of September, 1857, this man—the greatest of Oregon's citizens, the greatest of its benefactors, the greatest of its humanitarians—died in this city, near where this building stands, a martyr to his principles and to his humanity. It is given to comparatively few men to be long remembered, after their deaths, in books and in histories. Still rarer is the man long held in grateful memory, and whose good deeds are treasured in the minds and in the hearts of those who personally knew him and of their descendants, and whose fame is kept alive in the traditions of a people as well as in its histories. Such a man is Dr. John McLoughlin.
EARLY LIFE OF DR. M'LOUGHLIN.
It is hardly necessary at this time to give, in more than bare outline, a recital of the life and deeds of this grand and noble man. For lack of time I cannot, in this address, even mention some of his noble acts.
​304 FREDERICK V. UOLMAN. Doctor McLoughlin Was born October 19, 1784, in Parish La Riviere du Loup, Canada, about one hundred and twenty miles below Quebec, on the south side of the St. Lawrence River. His parents were of a high class. His father was an Irishman, and his mother was the daughter of a Scotchman, a retired officer of the British regular army. His father died while Dr. McLoughlin was a boy. He was brought up in the family of his maternal grandfather. He was educated in Canada and in Scotland, and, probably, partly in France. He became a physician, although he did not long practice his profession. But it gave him a title which became, and will continue forever, a part of his name. In the early pioneer days of Oregon, and until his death, and afterwards he was respectfully and affectionately called "The Good Doctor," and "The Good Old Doctor" by the Oregon pioneers. Doctor McLoughlin was born a man of affairs arid a leader of men. When a very young man, as a physician, he joined the Northwest Company, the great rival of the Hudson's Bay Company. He did not long continue his position as a physi- cian. There were then stirring times in the wilds of Canada. There was strong competition between these two companies. The Northwest Company was composed of strong, forceful men, and a man like Dr. McLoughlin was needed in its affairs. Hie could not continue to look after the ailing when such men needed him as a leader in large affairs. The rivalry between these two great fur companies resulted in actual armed con- flict between them. To be a leader in the Northwest Company required a man of great ability and courage, and of equally great discretion and judgment. In 1821, when these com- panies coalesced, Dr. McLoughlin was in charge of Fort Wil- liam, on the north shore of Lake Superior, the chief depot and factory of the Northw r est Company. THE AUTOCRAT OF THE OREGON COUNTRY. For many years the fur trade of these companies in the Oregon Country had been managed and conducted in a very unsatisfactory manner. In 1824 Dr. McLoughlin was sent to ​DEDICATION OF THE McLouGHLiN INSTITUTE. 305 take charge of the affairs of the Hudson's Bay Company west of the Rocky Mountains, and particularly in the Oregon Coun- try. The Oregon Country was a vast empire in area. It comprised all the country from the present northern boundary of California and Nevada to the southern boundary of Alaska, and from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. Its in- habitants were an hundred thousand Indians, savages unac- customed to be controlled ; with the tribes often hostile to each other and to the white men. For the support and maintenance of his authority, he had but himself and his under-officers and the employees and servants of his company. He assumed command as a leader and he ruled as a master. For more than twenty-one years, until his resignation became effective in 1846, he continued as the autocrat of the Hudson's Bay Com- pany in the whole Oregon Country. He was respected, obeyed, and loved by all his subordinates and was feared, respected, and obeyed by the Indians. The Indians called him the "Great White Chief." Although he sometimes punished In- dians, tribes as well as individuals, as they deserved, there were no Indian wars in the Oregon Country until after he resigned from the Hudson's Bay Company. Dr. McLoughJin selected Vancouver as a place to build a fort, to be his residence, and to be the chief depot and head- quarters of the Hudson's Bay Company west of the Rocky Mountains. He conducted its affairs in a most able manner. He welcomed and made the infrequent travelers his guests. He treated rival traders with the same generous hospitality that he extended to those who came merely to see the country, although he fought, commercially, those traders as com- petitors. His helping hand was given to the early settlers, who tried to build homes in the Willamette Valley before the great immigrations came. He welcomed as friends the early Methodist, Presbyterian, and Catholic missionaries. He as- sisted them to establish their missions in Oregon, and gave them personally every aid and protection until they could take care of themselves, although at the time none of these missionaries were of his religious sect or denomination. With​out his protection and assistance none of these missionaries could have stayed in Oregon. The first Methodist missionaries came to Oregon in 1834; the Presbyterian, in 1836; and the Catholic, in 1838.
In 1828, Jedediah S. Smith, a rival trader, came to Oregon by the way of California. Of his party of eighteen men, fourteen were massacred at the Umpqua River. Smith was one of the four survivors. Dr. McLoughlin protected these survivors and sent a large party of men to the place of the massacre, who recovered the furs and restored them to Smith.
THE FIRST SCHOOL IN THE OREGON COUNTRY.
In 1832 Dr. McLoughlin established the first school in the Oregon Country. There was no other school in the Oregon Country until the Methodist missionaries began to teach the Indians, in 1835. When Nathaniel J. Wyeth came to Oregon in 1832, on his first expedition, he brought with him, as one of his party, John Ball, who was born in New Hampshire in 1794. He was a graduate of Dartmouth College, and had been admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of New York. He arrived at Fort Vancouver in November, 1832. In his manuscript journal, excerpts from which were published in The Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society of March, 1902, Ball says, under date of November 16, 1832:
   "Mr. Wyeth and myself were invited by Doctor McLoughlin, the oldest partner and nominal Governor, to his own table and rooms at the fort. * * * We were received with the greatest kindness as guests, which was very acceptable, or else we would have had to hunt for subsistence. But not liking to live gratis, I asked the doctor (he was a physician by profession) for some employment. He repeatedly answered me that I was a guest and not expected to work. But after much urging, he said if I was willing he would like me to teach his own son and the other boys in the fort, of whom there were a dozen. Of course I gladly accepted the offer. So the boys were sent to my room to be instructed. * * * I found the boys docile and attentive, and they made good progress. The doctor often came into the school, and was well satisfied and pleased. One day he said: 'Ball, anyway you will have the ​reputation of teaching the first school in Oregon.' So I passed the winter of 1832 and 1833."
I cannot give the exact date when Ball began the school. It was probably late in November or early in December, 1832. He continued to teach until the latter part of February, 1833, when he was assisted by Dr. McLoughlin to start a farm in the Willamette Valley.
John Ball was succeeded, as a teacher of this school at Fort Vancouver, by Solomon H. Smith, who also came with Nathaniel J. Wyeth in 1832. Smith began teaching in the spring of 1833 and continued to teach about eighteen months, until the fall of 1834. He, in turn, was succeeded by Cyrus Shepard. Shepard was a lay Methodist missionary, who came with Rev. Jason Lee and Rev. Daniel Lee and party. These were the first Methodist missioneries. They arrived at Fort Vancouver in September, 1834. As Shepard was not a strong man physicially, he stayed at Fort Vancouver until early in the spring of 1835, while the other Methodist missionaries wero constructing the mission buildings, about ten miles north of Salem, in what is now Marion County. During the fall and winter of 1834 Shepard taught the school at Fort Vancouver. His pupils were about forty-three. Among his pupils were three Japanese, two men and a boy. These were the only survivors, of the crew of seventeen, of a derelict Japanese junk which drifted across the Pacific Ocean and went ashore about fifteen miles south of Cape Flattery, in March, 1833. These Japanese were enslaved by the Indians and cruelly treated.
RESCUE OF JAPANESE SAILORS.
Dr. McLoughlin learned of these Japanese by means of a rude drawing on paper, depicting three ship-wrecked persons, with a junk on the rocks, and Indians engaged in plundering the junk. How this drawing was received by Dr. McLoughlin I have been unable to learn, as the early books on Oregon merely say that the drawing was received. The junk was laden with rice, cotton cloth, and Japanese porcelain, orna​ 308 FREDERICK V. HOLMAN.
men ted with the willow-pattern in blue. Dr. McLousrhlin first sent a party of about thirty men, under the leadership of Tom McKay, who went overland to Point Grenville. The country along the coast was very rough and almost impass- able. This party became discouraged and returned without rescuing the Japanese. Dr. McLoughlin then instructed the captain of the brig Lama to land at the place of the shipwreck and to rescue the Japanese. This the captain accomplished, after great trouble, and brought these three Japanese to Fort Vancouver in the spring of 1834. Under Dr. McLaughlin's di- rections they were restored to health and treated kindly until he could send them to England. From England they were taken to China. THE EARLY OREGON IMMIGRANTS. It was the policy of the Hudson's Bay Company in the Oregon Country to protect the company's fur trade and to prevent the settlement of the Oregon Country, particularly by citizens of the United States. This company desired that the Oregon Country should not become civilized and, especi- ally, should not be Americanized. It wished the country for its own use, to be kept a wilderness for the production of fur- bearing animals, and to have it belong to, or to be under the. control of, Great Britain. But there came a great movement of people of the United States to occupy, to settle, and to have and to hold a large part of the Oregon Country, particularly the Willamette Valley. They did not come as friends of Great Britain or of the Hudson 's Bay Company. They were strong in their Ameri- canism. The first of these home-building immigrations came in 1843. There were nearly nine hundred of them men, women, and children. They arrived at old Fort Walla Walla, on the Columbia River, about the middle of October, 1843. The winter was coming on. Snow had fallen on them in the Blue Mountains. Their provisions were almost exhausted, their clothing nearly worn out. Some went to The Dalles by water. A few of these were drowned in the dangerous rapids of the Columbia River. Many took their wagons with their ​DEDICATION OF THE MCLOUGHLIN INSTITUTE. 309 families to The Dalles, over the unexplored lands along the Columbia River. That was the end of going by wagons. There was not then a feasible route for wagons over the Cascade Mountains. They must go by water to the Willamette Valley and leave their cattle east of the Cascade Mountains until the next spring. They had no boats. Sickness, starvation, and disaster threatened them, and especially the children. The Indians were preparing to massacre these immigrants. To carry out the policy of the Hudson's Bay Company, Dr. Mc- Loughlin had simply to let them alone to do nothing to leave them to their fate. But the diplomatic plans of his country and the policy of his company were brushed aside, for the time being, or forgotten by Dr. McLoughlin. He was a Christian and a gentleman. These American immigrants, the opponents of his country and of his company, Dr. Mc- Loughlin protected from massacre by the Indians. He wel- comed and treated these immigrants as friends. He supplied their necessities, he furnished them with food and clothing, he cared for the helpless. He placed the sick in the company's hospital at Fort Vancouver, under the care of a competent physician, until they were restored to health. Many a mother's heart was made glad by his treatment and care of her children. He furnished boats and batteaux to these immigrants to trans- port them and their belongings through the perilous waters of the Columbia River to the Willamette Valley. He furnished them, on credit, with food and supplies until they could sup- port themselves. He loaned them wheat to sow during the coming season, implements to farm with, and the necessary cattle. He did all these things, not as charity but on account of humanity. The Good Samaritan had his actual existence in Dr. McLoughlin. And so he acted to the immigrants of 1844 and 1845, when he was forced to resign from the Hud- son's Bay Company because of his aids to these early immi- grants. The latter two immigrations needed his assistance to as great an extent as did the immigrants of 1843. Even after his resignation took effect, in 1846, he was the friend of the Oregon immigrants and helped them as far as he was able to ​310 FREDERICK V. HOLMAN. do. He made his home*at Oregon City, and became a "citizen of the United States. THE LATTER DAYS OF DR. M 'LOUGHLIN. E shall not, at this time, go into the details of actions against him, and of how he was unfairly treated by some persons whom he had befriended and helped and protected; I shall merely mention that conspirators against Dr. McLoughlin took for themselves parts of his land claim and, by means of malicious misstatements, caused Congress unjustly to deprive him of all the rest of his land claim, and thus humbled and humiliated and impoverished the grand, the noble, the gen- erous Father of Oregon. I shall merely mention that his kind and humane treatment of these immigrants and others, by lying tongues, was made to appear as inspired by base and unworthy motives and to be to the great prejudice and dam- age of those he had so greatly assisted. I shall not dwell on the sorrows and misfortunes of his latter days. I shall, however, say that he, who sacrificed his all, by reason of his humanity, for his suffering and needy fellowmen and in the making of Oregon, died here in Oregon City, a broken-hearted man. It is tragic that so noble a life should have had so sad an end. But I recall with joy that five years after his death the Legislative Assembly of the State of Oregon restored to Dr. McLoughlin 's descendants most of his land claim, which Con- gress had so deprived him of. By that act Oregon did tardy justice but she redeemed herself and justified and approved the acts and deeds, and vindicated the name and memory of him we here honor today. In Dr. McLoughlin 's noble answer to the Governor in Chief and Directors of the Hudson's Bay Company to the criticisms concerning his aids to the early Oregon immigrants, he wrote defending what he had done, and said that had he not acted as he did, "the trouble which would have arisen would have probably involved the British and the American nations in war," and that "I was silent in full reliance that some day justice would be done me." ​DEDICATION OF THE MCL/OUGHLIN INSTITUTE. 311 And his reliance was well placed. That some day" came long ago. Today is a "some day" spoken of by him. Justice has been done, and is now being done to Dr. McLoughlin. It was not done until after his death. He does not know, unless the dead know. To do justice to the dead is a noble act. In some cases it is a duty, in others it is the inspiration to do right because it is right and because the dead has rested under an imputation which the living alone can rectify. But whether it be duty or inspiration, or both, the good pioneers of Oregon, and their descendants, have seen to it that justice is done to his memory. DR. M'LOUGHLIN'S RELIGION. Dr. McLoughlin was always the friend and supporter of the Christian religion, without regard to sects or denominations, as well as of schools. Out of his land claim in Oregon City, lie gave lots to the Methodists, Presbyterians, Congregational- ists, and Catholics. He gave eight lots to a Catholic Sister- hood and eight lots to the Clackamas Female Protesant Seminary. Rev. Francis Norbert Blanchet, afterwards the first Arch- bishop of the diocese of Oregon City, was one of the first two atholic priests who came to Oregon. In his book, ' ' Historical Sketches of the Catholic Church in Oregon," Archbishop Blanchet says : "It is but just to make special mention of the important services which Dr. John McLoughlin though not a Catholic has rendered to the French Canadians and their families, during the fourteen years he was governor of Fort Vancouver. He it was who read to them the prayers on Sunday. Besides the English school kept for the children of the bourgeois, he had a separate one maintained at his own expense, in which prayers and the catechism were taught in French to the Catholic women and children on Sundays and week days, by his orders. He also encouraged the chant of the canticles, in which he was assisted by his wife and daughter, who took much pleasure in this exercise. He visited and examined his school once a week. * * * He it was who saved the Catho- lics of the Fort and their children from the dangers of perver- sion, and who, finding the log church the Canadians had built, ​312 FREDERICK V. HOLMAN. a few miles below Fairfield, in 1836, not properly located, ordered it to be removed, and rebuilt on a large prairie, its present beautiful site." Dr. McLoughlin's parents were Catholics, and when he was fifteen days old, he was baptized by a Catholic priest. After- wards, and up to the year 1841, Dr. McLoughlin was a mem- ber of, at least he affiliated with the Anglican Church. In 1842 he became a member of the Catholic Church and con- tinued, a consistent, exemplary, and steadfast member of that church until his death. It was truly said by J. Quinn Thorn- ton, one of Oregon's early pioneers, a Protestant, in speaking of Dr. McLoughlin, that "as a Christian he was a devout Roman Catholic, yet, nevertheless, Catholic in the largest sense of that word. ' ' There has been some question as to when Dr. McLoughlin joined the Catholic Church. Commodore Charles Wilkes, of the United States Navy, was at Fort Vancouver in May, 1841. In his ' ' Narrative ' ' he says that, at that time, Dr. McLoughlin, although treating the Protestant missionaries with great kind- ness, was then a professed Catholic. This shows that Dr. McLoughlin was then attentive to the usages and tenets of that church. The matter has now been settled, I think, beyond dispute. For this I am indebted to the kindness of Rev. A. Hillebrand, pastor of St. John's Church, at Oregon City. The original "Memoraixte" of the establishment of the first Catholic mission in Oregon, kept by Archbishop F. N. Blanchet, are now a part of the archives of St. John's Church. A copy of a part of this Memoranda, given to me by Father Hillebrand, is as follows: "When they F. N. Blanchet, V. G. of the Archdiocese of Quebec, and Rev. Modeste Demers, assistant missionary ar- rived at Fort Vancouver [in 1838] , Dr. John McLoughlin was chief-factor and governor of the Hudson Bay Company, west of the Rocky Mountains, and in charge of said Fort Van- couver. Said Dr. was then a Protestant. About September [1842J he begged to [be] received in the Holy Catholic Church. On the 18th of November, he made his abjuration of the Protestant church and his profession of the Catholic faith ​DEDICATION OF THE MCLAUGHLIN INSTITUTE. 313 and his first communion at Fort Vancouver at midnight mass of Christmas of the same year 1842 and was confirmed after- ward." In his protection of Smith and his companions, and the re- covery and the restoration of the furs; in his welcome to travelers and rival traders ; in his kindness to, and protection of the missionaries; in his rescue of the humble Japanese sailors ; and in his salvation of the early immigrants Dr. Me- Loughlin was actuated as a Christian and by the broad spirit of humanity, and without regard to the race or to the rank or to the station in life of those he helped. It was a high but a well-deserved honor when, in 1846, Pope Gregory XVI made Dr. McLoughlin a Knight of St. Gregory the Great, of civil grade. Yet such was the humility of Dr. McLoughlin, that while he accepted the honor, I do not know of an instance where he used the title or boasted of it. REPUTATION OF DR. M 'LOUGHLIN. Most justly the reputation and fame of Dr. McLoughlin overshadows that of any resident of Oregon during the whole period of his life in Oregon. Many distinguished men, con- temporaries of his, since his death, and, in many instances, years after his death, have spoken publicly of him, and in his honor, of his acts, of his character, of his humanity, and of what he did in the making of Oregon in words of the high- est praise. Equally effective, but more touching to me, have been the tributes of esteem and affection spoken in private conversation, in plain and simple words, but with great feeling and heart-felt emotion, by old Oregon pioneers, some of whom are still living, in extolling his personal qualities and virtues and in bearing witness to his assistance to them and theirs in the perilous and trying days of the forties. The life of Dr. John McLoughlin was not in vain. He set and maintained a high standard of conduct which succeeding generations may well emulate. He had no idea that he was a hero or that he was, or would become, a great historic figure. The simplicity of his life and deeds is one of their charms. ​314 FREDERICK V. HOLMAN. His martyrdom was not through pride or from the desire of being a martyr. It was forced on him and he resented the injustice done him. But way far beyond the conspirators and their actions against him he stood sublime and so he and his memory stand today. THE DEDICATION OF THE M^LOUGHLIN INSTITUTE. Let there be praise and commendation of those who planned the erection of this Institute and of those who contributed to its erection; especial credit is due to Father Hillebrand, who originated the idea and who has, with untiring energy, carried it to completion, and who gave the Institute its name. It is particularly fitting that this school, and these cere- monies, should be here, in Oregon City. This city was founded and named by Dr. McLoughlin. It was here he lived and suf- fered. It was here he was aspersed and was despoiled. It was here he died a martyr. It is here his body has lain buried in an honored grave for fifty years in the same block of land on which this Institute stands. It is on a part of his land claim. By the dedication to his name and memory, this Institute becomes a sacred monument on hallowed ground. This monument will assist in preserving his fame. But it cannot make his memory more dear to true Oregonians. That is treasured in their hearts. It is a heritage which will be transmitted, as a precious thing, to the remotest generations. In the dedication of this Institute today, .let us dedicate ourselves to the good and lofty qualities of Dr. McLoughlin. Let us strive to emulate some of his virtues. If we fail, we shall have the benefit of our endeavors even in our failures. Let us cultivate, if we but feebly imitate, his humanity even if it result in nothing better than a more kindly feeling for our fellowmen. It may not be strictly according to the religious idea that Abou Ben Adhem was right when he told the angel to write his name as one who loves his fellowmen, when the angel said he was writing the names of those who love the Lord, but it strikes a note which sets vibrating a responsive and sympa- thetic chord in every normal human breast, without regard to ​DEDICATION OF THE McLouGHLiN INSTITUTE. 315 race or religion or sect. In our appreciation of the motives and acts of these humanitarians, we show that the quality of humanity has an abiding place in every truly manly and womanly heart that it is naturally a part of our being. It is one of the qualities which differentiates us from the beasts and shows that our souls are attuned to the melodies of the divine. To the pupils and students who attend here, there will al- ways be the inspiration of the life and character of Dr. John McLoughlin. The name of this Institute will call to their minds the high ideals of his virtues, of his kindness, of his generosity, of his hospitality, of his philanthropy, of his hu- manity, of his mastery of himself, and of others, of his proper obedience to those in authority over him, and also of his obedi- ence to the higher laws of God and of Humanity when his obedience otherwise would have conflicted therewith. There will be before them his example of duty, well and faithfully done under discouraging and distressing circumstances; of doing right because it is right without regard to the conse- quences. DR. M'LOUGHLIN'S CHARACTER. Today comes to us, all the stronger, the feeling of what Dr. McLoughlin was and what he did. Today we more fully ap- preciate what he accomplished in laying the foundation of Oregon ; and we feel, that although dead, his spirit still lives, and his example is helping to make a better and a greater Oregon. In speaking of Dr. McLoughlin it is difficult to refrain from extravagant eulogy. His noble life makes us almost forget that he had any of the weaknesses and imperfections incident to human beings. His virtues stand pre-eminent. Let us not deify him, but give to him and to his memory their proper meed, for he freely exercised the God-like qualities with which he was endowed. He exalted not himself. He did not pose as a model. He was human, but he was a manly man, and his heart was full of .loving-kindness. He recognized right as it was given him to see it, and he acted accordingly. He saw his ​316 FREDERICK V. HOLMAN. duty as a man and he was not afraid, nor did he shirk, but, quietly and effectively, he performed it for the duty's sake and not for his own glorification. As a man Dr. McLoughlin was forceful, masterly, fearless, honest, true, faithful, sympathetic, and impulsive, yet usually having himself under control; as a gentleman he was courte- ous, knightly, honorable, considerate, and approachable ; as an autocrat he was assertive of his authority and maintained peace. While he ruled with an iron hand, he was just, merci- ful, humane, and kind. As an humanitarian all else was for- gotten in his love of his fellowman, and in his desire to help the poor, the needy, the unfortunate, and the distressed he loved his neighbor as himself ; as a Christian, he was devout and sincere, and, with humility, he earnestly endeavored to follow the precepts of Jesus and to conduct his life and actions as exemplified by the Master. To this Noble Man, to this Great White Chief, to this Good Old Doctor, to this Savior of the Oregon Pioneers, to this great Humanitarian the Father of Oregon be honor and praise for all time.