Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1882-05-03
THE SETTLEMENT OF OREGON.

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THE SETTLEMENT OF OREGON.
In lol0. the first attempt at settle
ment was.made in Oregon AT Oak Point
on tho south side of the Columbia river.
by Capt. Nathaniel Winship, n New
England sailor. A freshet soon after
carried away the buildings and the en-
terprise was abandoned.
In ISL, a trading post was established
by John Jacob Astor, of New York, at
the mouth of tho Columbia river. and
the place WAS called Astoria. in his hon
or. Chiefly because of the war of 1872
between the United States and Great
Britain this venture proved disastrous.
In 1919 the British took possession of
the post and named it Fort George.
The Hudson Bay company subsequently
obtained the property. ruling snpremely
in the valleys of the Columbia and VIII
iamette until ls4S, excepting, however,
few years prior to 1925. when lis
sway was disputed for a time by the
Northwestern Fur company. which lat
ter corporation was compelled to yield
To Its stronger competitor.
In 1924, the first fruit trees were
planted III Oregon. III 1851. some sery-
ants of the Hudson Bay company aban-
doned hunting and trapping aHd at
tempted wheat growing in the William
cite valley. The fields that were then
plowed have been i'll constant cultiya-
ton ever since, and, after the lapse of
half century, one of them, at French
Prairie, Marion county, still yielded i'll
1879. thirty-tiye bushels TO the acre.
This, indeed, must be superior soil, and
the fact Is striking illustration of the
strength and productiveness of the
land. In 1882 the first school was open
ed. Between 1885 and 1887 missions
were established under the auspices of
various religious societies and denomi-
nations, and the missionaries brought
cattle with thsm. In 1888 the first
printing press arrived in Oregon.
In 1872, Capt. Wilkes of the z. S. Ma
w, at the head of an expedition, sur
veyed the coasts. bays, harbors and riv-
ers of the Territory. In lS43, Lieut.
Fremont, of the U. s. Army, reached
Vancouver, on the Columbia river, and
SO connected with the eastern terminus
of Captain Wilkes explorations.
The Territory was the subject of re-
peated negotiations and threatening
controversies between the United States
and Great Britain from 1913 to 1876.
In the last named year treaty was
signed by the contending powers which
fixed 49 degrees north latitude as the
northern boundary of the claim of the
United States. Meanwhile, since 1871.
there had been considerable increase in
the American population, settlers chief
ly coming from tbs border slave States:
until, at the time of the cession, the
whites numbered about ten thousand.
But during all the years in which the
supremacy over the Territory remained
unsettled. the country was held in joint
occupancy by both nations, under con-
ventions which were from time to time
renewed. Nevertheless. no form of civil
government existed. In 1915, the i'll
habitants had already found themselves
compelled to adopt provisional form
of government, and this continued in
force until 1913. In this year Oregon
Territory was organized by Congress.
and in 1o49 General Joseph Lane was
appointed Governor. BY the seventh
census of the United States, i'll 1880, it
appeared that the Territory embraced
3VS .o52 square miles and had 1924 in
habitants. At this date, also, Naneou-
Yer was tho headquarters of the i'm
mense trade Of the Hudson Bay comp,-
ny. Subsequently the Territories of
Washington and Northern Idaho and
Montana west of the Rocky Mountains,
were partitioned from it. In 1859
contention as to the sovereignty of San
Juan Island. again made war with the
United States and Great Britain imni-
nent. The question was temporarily
settled, however, by military joint oc-
cupancy of the island. But only in
1872 was the Oregon controversy finally
determined by an arbitrament of the
Emperor of Germany which defined the
water boundary.
In lSf6. the first newspaper was es-
tatlished. In the succeeding year
massacre of settlers by tho Indians oc-
cured. This was tho beginning of
much subsequent trouble with the abo-
rigines which retarded the develop
ment Of the country TO great extent.
Indian difficulties, however, have happi-
ly ceased in recent years, and the Inai-
ans are now quietly settled on reserva-
tions. where they are provided for and
educated.
In 1850 a donation law" vas passed
by Congress, which enabled early set
tiers who had taken claims under the
Oregon provisional government to Sc
euro title to their holdings. This Law
likewise encouraged immigration by
literally granting lands TO actual ses
tiers. A married couple received $40
acres and single man $40. This action
Of the Government greatly assisted the
settlement of the country duIing the
brief period that the Law was in force.
In 1859, Oregon was admitted into the
Union as State, with population of
=, 4si5. Her progress for many years
thereafter was comparatively slow. Tho
chief difficulty which her people expe-
rienced was 10 find a market for her
abundant productions. But this seri-
ous obstacle to her rapid advancement
has been surmounted by affording the
proper means of railroad transporta-
tion.- Paci6c Norihssest.