, 1856-06-20
From the Oregon Weekly Times.

SIR-The interests and people Of Oregon
and Washington Territories are Identical
and the same. The settlers were induced
to emigrate to this country by National
bride, donating to the heads of each family
first, six hundred and forty acres of Indian
land ; second, three hundred and twenty.
one acres, or to each adult person one hun.
= dred and sixty acres. This was considered
by Congress a sufficient inducement to lure
the honest husbandman and mechanic from
his quiet home in the older States, hazard
his own life and the lives Of his family in a
Journey across the Plains, subjecting them
to every hardship, suffering and privation
humanity can endure, for The purpose of per-
mdnentiy settling The country and nrestiHg IL
from British and Indian rule.
This National bribe had the desired
effect. The honest farmer, mechanic, and
tradcsman abandoned their quiet homes
and pursuits in the Western States, and
after a six months journey of unequalled
hardships, suffering, priyation, loss Of prop
erty, and in thousands Of instances the sac
riice of human life, they reached their des-
tined donated homes and settled among Indi-
ans, The title 10 lrhose lands had not been cE-
tngHisAed BY purchase or treaty. They were
now two thousand miles from comfortable
homes and Christian Societies, in the "wilds
OF the West" surrounded on all sides by
hostile savages. Their only alternative
was to treat with the Indians on any terms
most effective to the security Of life and
property, whatever those terms might be,
reason, bribes, or menace. They succeed
ed in holding and settling the country, and
received from Congress an organized form
Of Government, with annual appropriations
Of money from the Federal Treasury the
most meagre and penurious, till the popu-
lation Of both Territories amounted to sixty
thousand souls. During all this time, our
postal system was erialiHdRy neglected, and
uncarcd for, not daily line of any length
in either Territory, aud the weekly and
semi-weekly lines indiferently conducted,
subjecting the greater portion Of our mail
matter to the hazard of private convey
ance. Our military roads boosted two or
three appropriations Of the enormous sums
of twenty thousand dollars each ! The
last Of which has been in the hands of
military spectators for nearly two years !
Our harbors, bays, coast, and fisheries,
have received from Congress the slightest
notice and most pitiful appropriations for
either improvement or forti6cation, while
the great natural railroad route-the pater
graGle Of he Continent, has remained unsur-
veyed aud unnoticed by Government
Unable Of ourselves to create o commerce,
or develop, unaided, the natural resources
of tho country, and being mostly pastoral
and agricultural people, the products of
the farm and herd accumulated largely on
our hands, while tae lille appropriations
from the Federal Treasury accumulated in
the hands Of military spectators. Aid
came not from Government, neither was
our interests cared for. The whole coun-
try was PROSTATE under the mastery in
activity" policy Of the home Government /;
pending this crisis, savage and fearful
Indian war broke out in different portions
of our widely extended Territory, which
ragged with great violence, laid waste our
houses and property, and sacrificed the in
nocent and helpless in satiating the thirst
for blood and savage hate Of the Indian.
The Fall Of 1855 found the o. s. army
in these Territories totally inadequate to
the suppression of Indian hostilities, and
the officers in command called on the Gov
ernors Of the two Territories for volunteers
to aid in suppressing the outbreak they
promptly met the requisition Of the Army,
and the people fiocked to its standard a
large Regular and Volunteer force assem-
bled at Fort Dalles and marched against
IL Va ho
formidable for Kamiakin, the principal war
chief, and he fed with bis forces before it;
our army returned in confusion to Fort
Dalles, the officers in command reporting
to General Wool" Saw but few Indians;
army unfit and unprepared for winter
campaign; snow very deep; no cause Of s0ar,
and recommends retreat to winter quar-
teFs." This report was backed up by let
ters from officers and citizens in the service
of the army; consequent upon which, the
army was ordered by you to retire to win
ter quarters, and not to leave their post if
our citizens were being massacred within
FIVE miles of the Fort. You repaired to
San Francisco, where you indulged in q
TRADE Of SANDER and abuse welded through
the public press against the people Of the
two Territories, stigmatizing them as muir
derers, originators Of the war, and dogs
barking at your heels" The home Gov
ernment was petitioned by you to treat the
whole affair ns a solemn farce, unworthy
of its notice, as the Whites were the ag-
gressors and sole cause Of the1war, urging
at the same time the non-payment Of its
claims. While you were thus defaming
the people of the two Territories, and be-
traying Government into grievous error,
our most worthy citizens with their inno-
cent wives and children we're being butch
cred on every side by the ruthluss savage,
and your officers and army were luxuria-
ting on their wine, Indian OonleH and cigars,
in the comfortable quarters to which you
had assigned them.
n l.