Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1875-05-05
A 81, 100000 CLAIM ALLOWED.
The Methodist Episcopal Missionary Society
secretary DeIano's Decision in Favor OF |
its Claim for Land Worth = ,OOO,OOO.

-Secresary DeIano's Decision in Favor OF
its Claim for Land Worth = l,O0O,OOO.
From the Pittsburg Commercial, March 8.
The Secretary of the interior has rem
dered decision giving the Missionary
Society of the Methodist Episcopal
Church possession of over 200 acres Of
land at the Dalles of the Columbia
River, Wasco County, Oregon. The
case came to the Secretary on al appeal
from an adverse decision of the Com
missioner Of the General Land Office.
In rendering his decision, Mr.. Delano
gives the history of the claim.
The Methodist Missionary Society
established a station at the Dalles in
1886, and erected buildings, cleared
and inclosed portion of the land, and
used it as farm. This and three sta
tons established by the American
Board Of Commissioners for Foreign
Missions for religious work among the
Indians, were, the Secretary says, ''the
earliest white settlements in Eastern
Oregon. They induced and we're the
mueller around which gathered the flood
[of emigration from the States that
opened up that section, overwhelmed
British influence and secured the North
western territory to this country. From
1884 until the missionaries were at
tackled and driven out in 1847 by the
Indians, the whole Northwestern terri
tory was held in joint occupancy by
Great Britain and the United States,
the. boundary line not being settled Or
defined" The result of the contest as
to which country should final
ly possess it ''probably depended
upon the fact which could first settle
with emigrants." The agents of the
Hudson Bay Company and Catholic
priests sent from Canada, gave their
influence in favor of the British, while
the Methodist and American Board
missionaries succeeded in attracting
"the title OF American emigration that
turned the scale in favor of our Govern
ment, resulting in the establishment of
the Provisional Government of Ore
gon,' which was wholly American.
This government continued until the
Territory of Oregon was created in 184S.
In that year Congress passed an act
confirming to the missionary societies
tracts of land in Oregon not exceeding
$40 acres, "now occupied" etc. At the
time Of the passage of the act the mis-
sionaries were not residing on their
claims, having been driven from them
III December, 1947, by the Indians
But the Dallas was actually held as a
missionary station, until those in charge
were obliged to flee in reasonable fear
of their lives.
AS soon as it was safe to do so the
missionaries returned to the station,
renewed their labors and attempted to
establish their work, and their re-
peeted attempts to do SO were nly
| frustrated by the intervention of the
military authorities" who had occupied
the claim, when the missionaries were
forced to leave it, and had built fort
on the land. Subsequently a military
reservation was created by the order of
the President which included some $40
acres of the Methodist claim. The
missionary society demanded and OBJ
tanned of the Government $40, 900 for
this land.
AS soon as the act of 194S could be
complied with, which was in 1850, the
boundaries of the Methodist Missionary
Soclety's claim were specifically desig-
mated, and Secretary Delano says the
lines thus established should be adopt
ed. Certain citizens of the town of
Dalles contested the claim of the society,
but the Secretary thinks they have no
reason for complaint against the ad-
verse decision, because ''long before the
inception of their claims, the lines of
the mission property had been definite
ly fixed and indicated upon the
face of the ground, made of public
record, and publication had thereof
in the newspapers published nearest
the land. The claim of the society was
notorious, and parties settling thereon
and instituting claims thereto did so at
their peril" The case has been pend
ing at Washington for several years.
The adverse decision OF the Commits
sioner Of the General Land Office was
rendered in 1871. The tract of land
which by Secretary Delano's decision
belongs to the Methodist Missionary
Society includes the town Of Dalles,
and is estimated to be worth one million
dollars.