Iowa territorial gazette and advertiser. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa Territory [Iowa]) 1840-1846, 1846-05-02
BURLINGTON, IOWA: SATURDAY, MAY 2, ls4e.

@& tsEE .S
2, 1916. L ee
hide within their bosoms all that il neces
sary TO the Subsistence, comfort and wealtl
Of man, into land teeming with million
Of enterprising freemen industriously en-
gagged in developing its hidden resources
and thereby making 1.-THE theatre Of man.
highest destiny on earthl
Sir, il ever there was prayer, deep
solemn, earnest-if ever . supplicatio,
which should find an instantaneous re
Spouse in the hearts and acts Of an Ameri
can Congress, it 10 that which was read q
your table, at an early day Of the rresen
session, from the American citizens now
settled on the coast Of the Pacific. Thes,
people. sir, 'bone Of our bone and flesh o
our flesh," have gone thi,her under III.
ptghted faith Of this, the Government O
their choice, that the egis Of our lave " oulc
be extended over them, forts built for theil
protection, and liberal grants OF land made
TO them. For, situated as they are, these
measures are Of the utmost moment 70 them,
Mr.. Chairman, to plant colony and to
lay the foundation Of . State or States vu che
coast ofthe Pacific, is an enterprise Of no
ordinary character. In addition to the
natural difficulties arising from the distance
which our emigrants have to travel from
the settled portions Of the country to reach
Oregon--the wilderness character Of the
region Of the region over which they have
to pass, infested as it is with numerous and
hostile tribes Of Indians-the first settlers
Of any country have always to contend
with innumerable obstacles, which only
undaunted firmness ofmind and conetancy
of purpose can overcome. These men.
women and children, 10 the number Of
from seven to ten thousand, many Of them
in extremely INDECENT circumstances, un-
aided BY the powerful arm of their Cow
eminent, and in violation Of its penal stat
utes, which forbid them 10 enter the Indian
country, have accomplished that which it
has been time and again asserted, on this
floor, that the Government ofthe u. States
could not do with an army Of paid and
soldiers. They have marched to
the Pacific, maintained themselves, and, it
is stated on COED authority, raised, in the
fertile valleys Of the Columbia, and the
Willamette, one hundred thousand bushels
Of surplus wheat, Of the last years crop.
Behold the germ Of . mighty empire
which has burst into existence, az il were
but yesterday, and constituting an integral
portion Of our favored land! Shall il re-
main uncared for-unprotected-and be,
BY our studied neglect and cold blooded
Indifference. lost to US? thrust not, sir.
speak thus feelingly, Mr.. Chairman,
10 support Of the claims Of the settlers in
Oregon and in vindication Of the characters
Of the western pioneer, being excited to
10 SO by the ungenerous sneers and un-
merited attack Of the gentleman from Vir-
ginia, and also by the remarks Of my friend
Mr.. Hunt from New York, on the .slaw-
less" character OF the frontier population.
Sir, l reiterate. that from sympathy and
my feelings Of attachment to
lie frontier population are strong. Were
hey otherwise, should be wanting in the
inner and better feelings oil man, false to all
The obligations Of duty and gratitude, and
lraitorous to the land Of my nativity. For
| was born in . territory west ofthe Mis-
sissippi river. and have resided through
my whole life among that people who in
habit the extreme frontier. I am now
lhirty-iour years Of age, and have never,
Is yet, had voice in the election Of Pres
dent or other officer higher than the one
now ill.
have lived many years Of my life with
out the jurisdiction Of magistrates or law
of any kind. Yet, let my friend from N.
York know, that even under these circum-
strnces, we administered Justice and res
pected the laws of God. And assure
him, that had he been there, he would
have seen that although officers and Pc
nal code were wanting, when murder or
other felony was committed, Jury was
im panneled, and il the accused was found
guilty BY his peers. sallows was erected
and he hanged. Debts were collected Is
as they now are; and law, BY the
common consent Of the people, was virtu-
ally enforcee.
Mr.. Chairman, comparisons are said to
be odious. will not, therefore, attempt
to draw any between the people Of the old
and new States, however advantageous to
the latter l may think the contrast would
be. Sir, Daniel Boone, Of whom have
before spoken. was the type-the embody
ment Of all the marked characteristics Of
the frontier men; and being SO, l can with
confidence appeal from the character which
the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. PEN
dleton has given them to the general esti-
mate which mankind have awarded to their
great prototype. Il was but few months
since that deputation Of grateful Ken
(amongst whom was the eloquent
John ]. Criuenden, who did justice to his
visited Boone's humble grave in
Missouri, whence they bore his bones, 10
deposite them in the place Of his early
the once .'dark and bloody land''
Of his younger days, now the fourishing
and populous State Of Kentucky.
Lord Byron, in speaking Of Boone, in
his early settlement in the West, says:
1Crime came not near him-she Is not the child
OF solitude; health shrank not from him--for
Her home is in the rarely trodden wild:
He was not alone: around him grew
"A syivan tribe Of children Of the chase.