Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1910-04-06
PIONEER OF
BUTTEVILLE
CELEBRATES
Matthew, One of the FramerS
of First Government
in West.

With a clear memory of the pro-
ceedings of the convention at Cham
poeg, held in 1S43, in which his vote
proved to be the deciding one in
founding the first American govern
ment west of the Rock Mountains,
his facilities keenly alert and his in
terest in the affairs of the day not
one whit abated on account of his
great age, f. X. Matthew, pioneer
of Oregon, did on Saturday celebrate
his 92d birthday. He will be waited
upon by a delegation from the Ore
gon State Historical Society in hon
or of the day, and at this time he
will present to the society portrait
of himself painted by George
O'Brien.
Mr. Matthew is French Canadian,
having been born in 1918 of French
parents in Montreal, Canada, which
place he left at the age of 20, going
to Albany, N. Y. Shortly after ar
irving in the United States he went
into the employ of the American Fur
Company and acted as fur trading
agent through the Black Hills dis
trict. In 1912 he Joined a wagon
train, originally organized by DR..
White, but captained by one Hast
ings, at Fort Laramie, and started
for OregOn-the country of dreams,
whose vast forests and rich valleys
were at this time beckoning to hun
dreds of other ambitious young fell
lows of the East and Middle West
There were 80 wagons in the
train, and a good many head of
stock and pack animals" said Mr..
Matthew, recalling the experience.
81 was on a pack horse. We got
through with no dire disaster as far
as Fort Hall, then fur trading sta
ton belonging to the Hudson's Bay
Company. There they told us that
no wagons could go through, and so
we decided to load what we had left
of provisions and equipment, and
proceed by pack animals. When 1
recall the utter lack of knowledge
that any of us who crossed the
plains in that day had of what we
were going to face; the poverty of
most of the families and the utter
lack of facilities for comfort for the
women and children, it seems like a
wild and daring venture. That next
winter was a pretty hard one, and II
it had not been for the unfailing
generosity and kindness of John Me-
Loughlin l do not know what many
of the families would have done.
Use Wheat As Currency.
But the winter came to an end
and with the spring and the chance
to raise vegetables and grain a good
deal of the intense discomfort was
over. The Hudsons Bay Company
had all the provisions, that were to
be had, and as we had almost no
money, wheat was the currency.
remember l went to work that year
for a bushel of wheat day and my
board. The wheat was reckoned at
six bits. The board consisted large
ly of pea soup-made from the field
peas-salmon, and pork occasional
ly. The bread was made from the
coarse chopped wheat. While the
fare was coarse, we were all healthy.
and none the worse for 1t. l took
MY donation claim of $40 acres just
below Champeog in 1886, and l have
lived on it ever since. A part of 1t
/ have divided among my children,
and the rest of it will go to them
when / die. We had 15 children,
seven of whom are still alive"
In mock apology he added THE
government allowed me a section Of
land In consideration of my agreeing
to populate the country, and / did
not think 1t right to defraud the
government"
When asked to recall his memory |
of the notable convention held on I
May 2, 1843, when the public meet !
ing was held at Champoeg to form a
provisional government, he complied
without hesitation.
II remember the event very clear
ly. said he. "Champoeg at that
time was the capital of the North
west the head of the canoe naviga
ton. 1t consisted of one rude build
ing. used as trading post by the
Hudson's Bay Company, There we're
1O2 of us who attended the cOnven-
tion. so of these being French Cana
dian fur trappers associated with
(Coufinuad On PAGE